ARTES
LIBRARY
1837
SCIENTIA
VERITAS
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TUEBOR
SI QUÆRIS PENINSULAM AML, NAM”
CIRCUMSPICE
GIFT OF
REGENT LLHUBBARD

William Tanne
2-2.
by hire hotter Beds.
R
Jammu Jane Fanner
と
​her to her by
her Father
13th August1045.
FRONTISPIECE.

1088000
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
See Puge 6.
THE
LIFE
AND
SURPRISING ADVENTURES
OF
ROBINSON CRUSOE,
OF

York, Mariner;
Who lived Eight and Twenty Years all alone in an uninhabited
Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of
the Great River Oroonoque;
HAVING BEEN
Cast on Shore by Shipwreck,
WHEREIN
ALL THE MEN PERISHED BUT HIMSELF:
With an Account how he was at last strangely delivered by
Pirates.
WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
Adorned with Cuts.
WELLINGTON:
PRINTED & SOLD BY F. HOULSTON & SON.
Sold also, by all other Booksellers.
1812.
Res
Regent L. L. Hubbard
at.
10-15-1924
PREFACE.
10000000—
Fever the story of any private man's adventures
in the world were worth making public, and
were acceptable when published, the Editor of this
account thinks this will be so.
The wonders of this man's life exceed all that (he
thinks) is to be found extant; the life of one man
being scarce capable of a greater variety.
The story is told with modesty, with serious-
ness, and with a religious application of events to
the uses to which wise men always apply them,
viz. to the instruction of others by example, and to
justify and honour the wisdom of Providence in all the
variety of our circumstances, let them happen how
they will.
The Editor believes the thing to be a just history of
fact; neither is there any appearance of fiction in it:
and though he is well aware there are many, who,
on account of the very singular preservations the
author met with, will give it the name of a romance ;
yet, in whichever of these lights it shall be viewed, he
imagines that the improvement of it, as well to
the diversion as to the instruction of the reader, will be
the same; and, as such, he thinks, without further
compliment to the world, he does them a great service
in the publication.
ROBINSON CRUSOE,
I
&c.
WAS born in the year 1632, in the city of York,
of a good family, though not of that country,
my father being a foreigner of Bremen, who settled
first at Hull: he got a good estate by merchandize,
and, leaving off his trade, lived afterwards at York,
from whence he had married my mother, whose re-
lations were named Robinson, a very good family in
that country, and from whom I was called Robin-
son Kreutznaer; but, by the usual corruption of
words in England, we are now called, nay, we call
ourselves, and write our name, Crusoe; and so my
companions always called me.
I had two elder brothers, one of which was a lieu-
tenant-colonel to an English regiment of foot in Flan-
ders, formerly commanded by the famous Colonel
Lockhart, and was killed at the battle near Dunkirk
against the Spaniards: what became of iny second
brother, I never knew, any more than my father or
mother knew of what was become of me.
Being the third son of the family, and not bred to
any trade, my head began to be filled very early
with rambling thoughts: my father, who was very
ancient, had given me a competent share of learning,
as far as house-education and a country free-school
generally goes, and designed me for the law; but I
would be satisfied with nothing but going to sea,
and my inclination to this led me so strongly against
the will, nay the commands of my father, and
against all the entreaties and persuasions of my mo-
A 3
6
ther and other friends, that there seemed to be some-
thing fatal in that propensity of nature tending di-
rectly to the life of misery which was to befal me.
My father, a wise and grave man, gave me serious
and excellent counsel against what he foresaw was
my design. He called me one morning into his
chamber, where he was confined by the gout, and ex-
postulated very warmly with me upon this subject; he
asked me what reasons, more than a mere wander-
ing inclination, I had for leaving his house and my
native country, where I might be well introduced,
and had a prospect of raising my fortune by appli-
cation and industry, with a life of ease and pleasure.
He told me it was for men, either of desperate for-
tunes, or such whose affluence enabled them to at-
tempt it, who went abroad upon adventures, to rise
by enterprize, and make themselves famous in under-
takings of a nature out of the common road: that
these things were all either too far above me, or too
far below me: that mine was the middle state, or
the upper station of low life, which he had found by
long experience was the best state in the world, the
most suited to human happiness, not exposed to the
miseries and hardships, the toil and sufferings of the
labouring part of mankind, and not embarrassed
with the pride, luxury, ambition, and envy of the
great. He told me, I might judge of the happiness
of this state, by this one thing, that this was the
state of life which all other people envied; that
kings have frequently lamented the miserable consc-
quences of being born to great things, and wished they
had been placed in the middle of the two extremes,
between the mean and the great; that the wise man
gave his testimony to this as the just standard of
7
true felicity, when he prayed to have neither poverty
nor riches.
He then pressed me earnestly, and in the most
affectionate manner, not to play the young man, nor
to precipitate myself into miseries which the station
of life I was born in seemed to have provided a-
gainst; and that if I was not easy and happy in the
world, it must be my own fault that must hinder it,
that he should have nothing to answer for, having
thus discharged his duty in warning me against
measures which he knew would be to my hurt.
But that if I would stay and settle at home, he
would do every thing in his power for me.
He con-
cluded with telling me, I had my elder brother for
an example, to whom he had used the same persua-
sions to keep from going into the Low Country wars,
but could not prevail, his young desires prompting him
to run into the army, where he was killed; and though
he would not cease to pray for me, yet he would
venture to say, that if I did take this foolish step,
God would not bless me, and I would have leisure
hereafter to reflect upon having neglected his advice
when there might be none to assist in my recovery.
I observed in this last part of his discourse, which
proved truly prophetic, that the tears ran down his
face very plentifully, and especially when he men-
tioned my brother who was killed; and that when he
spoke of my having leisure to repent, and none to as-
sist me, he was so moved, that he broke off the dis-
course, and told me, his heart was so full, he could
say no more.
I was sincerely affected with this advice, as in-
deed who could be otherwise? and I resolved not to
think of going abroad any more, but to settle at
home according to my father's desire. But, alas!
;
8
a few days wore it all off; and I took my mother, at
a time when I thought her a little pleasanter than
ordinary, and told her, that my thoughts were so en-
tirely bent upon seeing the world, that I should ne-
ver settle to any thing with resolution enough to go
through with it, and my father had better give me
his consent than force me to go without it; that I
was now eighteen years old, which was too late to
go apprentice to a trade, or clerk to an attorney;
and that if she would speak to my father to let me
go one voyage abroad, if I came home again and did
not like it, I would go no more, and I would pro-
mise by a double diligence to recover that time I
had lost.
This put my mother into a great passion: she told
me, she knew it would be to no purpose to speak to
my father upon any such subject: that for her part
she would not have so much hand in my destruc-
tion; and I should never have it to say, that my mo-
ther was willing when my father was not.
It was almost a year after this, being one day at
Hull, where I went casually, and without any de-
sign of making an elopement, I met one of my com-
panions who was going by sea to London, in his fa-
ther's ship, and pressing me to go with them, telling
me, it should cost me nothing for my passage, I
consulted neither father nor mother, nor so much as
sent them word, but leaving them to hear of it as
they might, and in an ill hour, God knows, on the
first of September, 1651, I went on board a ship
bound for London; never any young adventurer's
misfortunes, I believe, began sooner, or continued
longer than mine. The ship was no sooner out of
the Humber, but there arose a violent storm, and as
I had never been at sea before, I was most inexpres-
9
sibly sick in body and terrified in mind; I thought
the judgments of God deservedly followed me for
my disobedience to my parents. It was then only
I called to mind the good advice of my father, how
easy
and comfortable was a middle state of life; and
if it pleased God to set me on dry land once more,
I would, like a true repenting prodigal, go home to
my father.
These wise and sober thoughts continued all the
while the storm continued, and indeed some time af-
ter; but the next day the wind was abated, and the
sea calmer, and I began to be a little inured to it:
however, I was very grave for all that day, being
still a little sea-sick; but towards night the weather
cleared up, the wind was quite over, and a charm-
ing fine evening followed; the sun went down per-
fectly clear, and rose so the next morning: having
little or no wind, and a smooth sea, the sun shining
upon it, the sight was, as I thought, the most de-
lightful that ever I saw.
I had slept well in the night, and was now no
more sea-sick, but very cheerful, looking with won-
der upon the sea that was rough and terrible the day
before, and could be so calm and so pleasant in so
little time after. And now, lest my good resolu-
tions should continue, my companion, who had in-
deed enticed me away, comes to me, Well, Bob,"
says he, clapping me upon the shoulder, "how do
you
do after it? I warrant you were frighted, wa'n't
you, last night, when it blew but a capful of wind?”
"A capful d'you call it?" said I,
said I," 'twas a terrible
storm." "A storm, you fool!" replies he,
"do
you call that a storm? why it was nothing at all;
give us but a good ship and sea-room, and we think
10
+
I
nothing of such a squall of wind as that; but you're
but a fresh-water sailor, Bob; come, let us make a
bowl of punch, and we'll forget all that; d'ye see
what charming weather 'tis now?" To make short
this sad part of my story, we went the way of all sailors,
the punch was made, and I was made drunk with
it, and in that one night's wickedness I drowned all
my repentance, all my reflections upon my past
conduct, and all my resolutions for the future.
found indeed some intervals of reflection, and serious
thoughts did, as it were, endeavour to return again
sometimes; but I shook them off, and roused myself
from them as from a distemper, and applying myself
to drinking and company, I had in five or six days
got as complete a victory over conscience as any
young fellow, that resolved not to be troubled with
it, could desire. But I was to have another trial
for it still; and Providence seemed resolved to leave
me entirely without excuse. For if I would not
take this for a deliverance, the next was to be such
a one as the worst and most hardened wretch among
us would confess both the danger and the mercy.
The sixth day of our being at sea we came into
Yarmouth Roads; the wind being contrary, and the
weather calm, we had made but little way since the
storm. Here we were obliged to come to anchor,
and lay eight days, during which time a great many
ships from Newcastle came into the same roads, as
the common harbour where the ships might wait for
a wind for the river Thames.
The wind, after we had lain four or five days,
blew very hard; but the Roads being reckoned as
good as a harbour, our men were unconcerned, and
not in the least apprehensive of danger, but spent the
11
time in rest and mirth. On the eighth day in the
morning, the wind increased, and we had all hands
to work to strike our top-masts, and make every
thing snug and close, that the ship might ride as ea-
sy as possible. By noon the sea went very high in-
deed, and our ship. rid forecastle in, shipped several
seas, and we thought once or twice our anchor had
come home; upon which our master ordered out
the sheet anchor: so that we rode with two anchors
a-head, and the cables veered out to the best end.
By this time it blew a terrible storm indeed, and
now I began to see terror and amazement in the faces
even of the seamen themselves. The master, though
vigilant in the business of preserving the ship, yet,
as he went in and out of his cabin by me, I could
hear him say softly to himself several times, "Lord
be merciful, we shall be all lost, we shall be all un-
done!" and the like. At this I was dreadfully
frightened; I got up out of my cabin, and looked
out; but such a dismal sight I never saw: the sea
went mountains high, and broke upon us every three
or four minutes. When I could look about, I
could see nothing but distress round us: two ships,
that rid near us, we found had cut their masts by
the board, being deeply loaden; and our men cried
out, that a ship which rid about a mile a-head of us
was foundered. Two more ships being driven from
their anchors, were run out of the roads to sea, at
all adventures, and that with not a mast standing.
Towards evening the mate and the boatswain beg-
ged the master of our ship to let them cut away the
fore-mast, to which he was very unwilling: but the
boatswain protesting to him, that if he did not, the
ship would founder, he consented; and when they
12
had cut away the fore-mast, the main-mast stood so
loose, and shook the ship so much, they were oblig-
ed to cut it away also, and make a clear deck.
The storm continued with such fury, that the sea-
men themselves acknowledged they had never known
a worse. We had a good ship, but she was deep
loaden, and wallowed in the sea, so that the seamen
every now and then cried out she would founder.
It was my advantage, in one respect, that I did not
know what they meant by founder, till I enquired.
Still the storm increased, and I saw what is not often
seen, the master, the boatswain, and some others
more sensible than the rest, at their prayers, expect-
ing every moment that the ship would go to the bot-
In the middle of the night, and under all the
rest of our distresses, one of the men that had been
down on purpose to see, cried out we had sprung a
leak; another said there was four feet water in the
hold. Then all hands were called to the pump. At
tom.
that very
word my heart, as I thought, died within
me, and I fell backwards upon the side of my bed,
where I sat in the cabin. However, the men rous-
ed me, and told me, that I that was able to do no-
thing before was as well able to pump as another;
at which I stirred up, and went to the pump and
worked very heartily. While this was doing, the mas-
ter seeing some light colliers, who, not able to ride out
the storm, were obliged to slip and run away to sea,
gave orders to fire a gun as a signal of distress.
who knew nothing of what that meant, was so sur-
prised, that I thought the ship had broke, or some
dreadful thing happened. In a word, I was so
surprised that I fell down in a swoon. As this was a
time when every body had his own life to think of,
I,
13
nobody minded me, or what was become of me; but
another man stept up to the pump, and, thrusting
me aside with his foot, let me lie, thinking I had
been dead; and it was a great while before I came
to myself.
We continued firing guns till a light ship, who had
rid it out just a-head of us, ventured a boat out to
our assistance. It was with the utmost hazard the
boat came near, but it was impossible for us to get
on board, or for the boat to lie near the ship's side,
till at last, the men rowing very heartily, and ventur-
ing their lives to save ours, our men cast them a rope
over the stern with a buoy to it, which they, after
great labour and hazard, got hold of, and we haul-
ed them close under our stern, and got all into their
boat.
We were not much more than a quarter of an hour
out of our ship when we saw her sink, and then I un-
derstood for the first time what was meant by a ship
foundering in the sea; I must acknowledge I had
hardly eyes to look up when the seamen told me she
was sinking; for they rather put me into the boat
than that I might be said to go in, my heart was as it
were dead within me, partly with fright, partly with
horror of mind, and the thoughts of what was yet be-
fore me.
While we were in this condition, the men yet la-
bouring at the oar to bring the boat near the shore,
we could see, when our boat mounted the waves, a
great many people running along the shore to assist
us when we should come near; but we made but slow
way towards the shore, nor were we able to reach it,
till, being past the light-house at Winterton, the
shore falls off to the westward towards Cromer, and
B
14
so the land broke off a little the violence of the wind.
Here we got in, and though not without much dif-
ficulty got all safe on shore, and walked afterwards
on foot to Yarmouth, where, as unfortunate men, we
were used with great humanity, as well by the
magistrates of the town, who assigned us good quar-
ters, as by particular merchants and owners of ships,
and had money given us sufficient to carry us either
to London, or back to Hull, as we thought fit.
Had I now had the sense to have gone back to
Hull, and have gone home, I should have been hap-
py, and my father, an emblem of our blessed Savi-
our's parable, had even killed the fatted calf for me,
for hearing the ship I went away in, was cast away
in Yarmouth Road, it was a great while before he
had any assurance that I was not drowned.
My companion, who had helped to harden me
before, who was the master's son, was now less for-
ward than I; the first time he spoke to me after we
were at Yarmouth, which was not till two or three
days, for we were separated in the town to different
quarters, it appeared his tone was altered; and look-
ing very melancholy, and shaking his head, asked
me how I did, and telling his father who I was, and
that I had come this voyage only for a trial, in order to
go further abroad; his father, turning to me with a
very grave and concerned tone, Young man," says
you ought never to go to sea any more; you
ought to take this for a plain and visible token that
you are not to be a seafaring man.' "Why, sir,"
said I; "will you go to sea no more?" "That is another
case," said he; "it is my calling, and therefore my
duty, but as you made this voyage for a trial, you see
what a taste Heaven has given you of what you are
he, "
(C
>>
:
15
i
to expect, if you persist; perhaps this is all befallen
us on your account, like Jonah in the ship of Tar-
shish. Pray, (continues he,) what are you? and on
what account did you go to sea?" Upon that I
told him some of my story; at the end of which he
burst out with a strange kind of passion.
"What
had I done," says he, "that such an unhappy wretch
should come into my ship; I would not set my
foot in the same ship with thee again for a thousand
pounds!" He afterwards talked very gravely to me,
exhorted me to go back to my father, telling me I
might see a visible hand of Heaven against me.
"And young man," said he, "depend upon it, if you
do not go back, wherever you go, you will meet
with nothing but disasters and disappointments, till
your father's words are fulfilled upon you.”
We parted soon after: for I made him little an-
swer, and saw him no more; which way he went, I
know not. As for me, having some money in my
pocket, I travelled to London by land; and there,
as well as on the road, had many struggles wich my-
self, what course of life I should take, and whether
I should go home or go to sea.
As to going home, shame opposed the best moti-
ons that offered to my thoughts; and it immediately
occurred to me how I should be laughed at among
the neighbours, and should be ashamed to see, not
only my father and mother, but every body else;
from whence I have since often observed, how in-
congruous and irrational the common temper of
mankind is, especially of youth, to that reason
which ought to guide them in such cases: they are
not ashamed to sin, and yet are ashamed to repent;
not ashamed of the action for which they ought just-
$
16
ly to be esteemed fools, but are ashamed of the re-
turning, which only can make them be esteemed wise
men.
That evil influence which carried me first away
from my father's house, that hurried me into the
wild and indigested notion of raising my fortune;
and that impressed those conceits so forcibly upon
me, as to make me deaf to all good advice, and to
the entreaties and even the command of my father,
presented the most unfortunate of all enterprizes to
my view; and I went on board a vessel bound to
the coast of Africa; or, as our sailors vulgarly call
it, a voyage to Guinea.
+
It was my lot first of all to fall into pretty good
company in London, which does not always happen
to such loose and unguided young fellows as I then
was; the devil generally not omitting to lay some
snare for them very early: but it was not so with me,
I first got acquainted with the master of a ship whỏ
had been on the coast of Guinea; and who, having
had very good success there, was resolved to go
again; and taking a fancy to my conversation,
which was not at all disagreeable at that time, hear-
ing me say I had a mind to see the world, told me,
if I would go the voyage with him, I should be at
no expence; I should be his messmate and his com-
panion; and if I could carry any thing with me, I
should have all the advantage of it that the trade
would admit; and perhaps I might meet with some
encouragement.
I embraced the offer, and entering into a strict
friendship with this captain, who was an honest and
plain-dealing man, I went the voyage with him, and
carried a small adventure with me, which, by the dis-
17
interested honesty of my friend the captain, I in-
creased very considerably; for I carried about 401.
in such toys and trifles as the captain directed me to
buy. This 401. I had mustered together by the as-
sistance of some of my relations whom I correspond-
ed with, and who, I believe, got my father, or at
least my mother, to contribute so much as that to
my first adventure.
This was the only voyage which I may say was
successful in all my adventures, and which I owe to
the integrity and honesty of my friend the captain,
under whom also I got a competent knowledge of the
mathematics and the rules of navigation, learned how
to keep an account of the ship's course, take an ob-
servation; and, in short, to understand some things
that were necdful to be understood by a sailor: for,
as he took delight to instruct me, I took delight to
learn; and this voyage made me both a sailor and
a merchant; for I brought home five pounds nine
ounces of gold dust for my adventure, which yield-
ed me in London, at my return, almost 3001. and
this filled me with those aspiring thoughts which
have since so completed my ruin.
Yet even in this voyage I had my misfortunes; I
was continually sick, being thrown into a violent ca-
lenture by the excessive heat of the climate; our
principal trading being upon the coast, from the la-
titude of 15 degrees North even to the line itself.
I was now set up for a Guinea trader; and my
friend, to my great misfortune, dying soon after his
arrival, I resolved to go the same voyage again, and
I embarked in the same vessel with one who was his
mate in the former voyage, and had now got the
command of the ship. This was the unhappiest
B 3
18
voyage that ever man made; for though I did not
carry quite 1001. of my new gained wealth, so that
I had 2001. left, and which I lodged with my friend's
widow, who was very just to me, yet I fell into
terrible misfortunes in this voyage. Our ship mak-
ing her course towards the Canary Islands, or rather
between those islands and the African shore, was sur-
prised early in the morning by a Turkish rover of
Sallee, who gave chase to us with all the sail she
could make. We crowded also as much canvas as
our yards would spread, or our masts carry, to get
clear; but finding the pirate gain upon us, and
would certainly come up with us in a few hours, we
prepared to fight; our ship having twelve guns, and
the rover eighteen. About three in the afternoon
he came up with us, and bringing to, by mistake,
just athwart our quarter instead of athwart our stern,
as he intended, we brought eight of our guns to bear
on that side, and poured in a broadside upon him,
which made him sheer off again, after returning our
fire, pouring in also his small shot from near 200
men which he had on board. However, we had not
a man touched, all our men keeping close. He
prepared to attack us again, and we to defend our-
selves; but laying us on board the next time upon our
other quarter, he entered sixty men upon our decks,
who immediately fell to cutting and hacking the
decks and rigging. We plied them with small shot,
halfpikes, powder-chests, and such like, and cleared
our deck of them twice. However, to cut short this
melancholy part of our story, our ship being disa-
bled, and three of our men killed, and eight wound-
ed, we were obliged to yield; and were carried all
prisoners into Sallee, a port belonging to the Moors.
19
The usuage I had there was not so dreadful as at
first I apprehended; nor was I carried up the coun-
try, to the emperor's court, as the rest of our men
were, but was kept by the captain of the rover, as
his proper prize, and made his slave, being young
and nimble, and fit for his business. At this sur-
prising change of my circumstances, from a mer-
chant to a miserable slave, I was perfectly over-
whelmed; and now I looked back upon my father's
prophetic discourse to me, that I should be miserable
and have none to relieve me, which I thought now
was so effectually brought to pass, that I could not
be worse; that now the hand of Heaven had over-
taken me, and I was undone without redemption.
But, alas! this was but a taste of the misery I was
to go through, as will appear in the sequel of this
story.
As my new master had taken me home to his
house, so I was in hopes, that he would take me with
him to sea again, believing that it would some time
or other be his fate to be taken by a Spanish or Por-
tuguese man of war; and that then I should be set at
liberty. But this hope of mine was soon taken
away; for when he went to sea, he left me on shore
to look after his little garden, and do the drudgery
of slaves about his house; and when he came home
again from his cruize, he ordered me to lie in the ca-
bin, to look after the ship. Here I meditated no-
thing but my escape, and what method I might take
to effect it; but found no way that had the least
probability in it.
After about two years, an odd circumstance pre-
sented itself, which put the old thoughts of making
some attempt for my liberty again in my head. My
20
master lying at home longer than usual, without fit-
ting out his ship, which, as I heard, was for want of
money; he used constantly, once or twice a week,
sometimes oftener, if the weather was fair, to take the
ship's pinnace, and go out into the road a fishing;
and as he always took me and a young Moresco with
him to row the boat, we made him very merry, and
I proved very dexterous in catching fish, insomuch,
that sometimes he would send me with a Moor, one
of his kinsmen, and the youth the Moresco, as they
called him, to catch a dish of fish for him.
It happened one time, that going a fishing with him.
on a calm morning, a fog rose so thick, that though
we were not half a league from the shore we lost
sight of it; and rowing we knew not whither, or
which way, we laboured all day, and all the next
night; and when the morning came, we found we
had pulled off to sea, instead of pulling in for the
shore; and that we were at least two leagues from the
land; however we got well in again, with a great
deal of labour, and some danger, for the wind began
to blow pretty fresh in the morning; and we were
all very hungry.
But our master, warned by this disaster, resolved
to take more care of himself for the future; and hav-
ing by him the long-boat of our English ship, he re-
solved not to go a fishing any more without a com-
pass and some provision: so he ordered the carpen-
ter of his ship, who was also an English slave, to
build a little state room or cabin in the middle of the
long-boat, like that of a barge, with a place to
stand behind it to steer and haul home the main-
sheet; and room before for a hand or two to stand
and work the sails. She sailed with what we call
21
a shoulder of mutton sail; and the boom gibbed
over the top of the cabin, which lay very snug and
low, and had in it room for him to lie, with a slave
or two, and a table to cat off, with small lockers to
put in some bottles of such liquor as he thought
fit to drink; particularly his bread, rice, and cof-
fee.
We went frequently out with this boat a fishing;
and as I was most dexterous to catch fish for him, he
never went out without me: it happened that he had
appointed to go out in this boat, either for pleasure,
or for fish, with two or three Moors of some distinc-
tion in that place, and for whom he had provided
extraordinarily; and had therefore sent on board the
boat over night, a larger store of provisions than u-
sual; and had ordered me to get ready three fuzees
with powder and shot, which were on board his ship;
for that they designed some sport of fowling as well
as fishing.
I got all things ready as he had directed, and
waited the next morning with the boat washed clean,
her ancient and pendants out, and every thing to ac-
commodate his guests; when my master came on
board alone, and told me his guests had put off go-
ing, and ordered me, with the man and boy, as usual,
to go out with the boat, and catch them some fish,
for that his friends were to sup at his house;
and commanded that as soon as I had got some
fish, I should bring it home; all which I prepared
to do.
At this moment my former notions of deliverance
darted into my thoughts; for now I found I was like-
ly to have a little ship at my command; and my
master being gone, I prepared to furnish myself, not for
22
fishing business, but for a voyage; though I knew
not, neither did I so much as consider, whither I
should steer; for any where to get out of that place
was my way.
My first contrivance was to make a pretence to
speak to this Moor, to get something for our sub-
sistence on board; for I told him we must not pre-
sume to eat of our master's bread; he said, that was
true; so he brought a large basket of rusk, or biscuit
of their kind, and three jars with fresh water, into
the boat; I knew where my master's case of bottles
stood, which it was evident, by the make, were taken
out of some English prize, and I conveyed them into
the boat, while the Moor was on shore, as if they
had been there before, for our master: I conveyed
also a great lump of bees-wax into the boat, which
weighed above half a hundred weight, with a parcel
of twine or thread, a hatchet, a saw, and a hammer,
all which were of great use to us afterwards; especi
ally the wax to make candles. Another trick I
tried upon him, which he innocently came into:
his name was Ismael, whom they call Moloy: so I
called to him, " Moloy,” said I, our master's guns
are on board the boat: can you not get a little pow-
der and shot, perhaps we may kill some alcamies (a
fowl like our curlieus) for ourselves; for I know he
keeps the gunner's stores in the ship." "Yes," says
he, "I'll bring some." Accordingly, he brought a
great leather pouch, which held about a pound and
half of powder, or rather more; and another with
shot, that had five or six pounds, with some bullets,
and put all into the boat: at the same time I had
found some powder of my master's in the great ca-
bin, with which I filled one of the large bottles in the
23
case, which was almost empty; pouring what was
in it into another: and thus furnished with every
thing needful, we sailed out of the port to fish.
The castle, which is at the entrance of the port, knew
who we were, and took no notice of us; and we were
not above a mile out of the port before we hauled in our
sail, and sat us down to fish. The wind blew from
the N. N. E. which was contrary to my desire; for
had it blown southerly I had been sure to have made
the coast of Spain, and at least reached the bay of
Cadiz; but my resolutions were, blow which way it
would, I would go from that horrid place where I
was, and leave the rest to fate.
After we had fished some time, and caught no-
thing, (for when I had fish on my hook, I would not
pull them up, that he might not see them ;) I said to
the Moor, “This will not do, our master will not be
thus served; we must stand further off." He, think-
ing no harm, agreed; and being at the head of the
boat, set the sails; and, as I had the helm, I ran the
boat out near a league further, and then brought her
to, as if I would fish; when, giving the boy the
helm, I stept forward to where the Moor was; and,
making as if I stooped for something behind him, I
took him by surprise, and tossed him clear overboard
into the sea; he rose immediately, for he swam like
a cork, and called to me, begging to be taken in, and
told me he would go all over the world with me;
he swam so strong after the boat that he would have
reached me very quickly, there being but little wind;
upon which I stept into the cabin, and fetching one of
the fowling-pieces, I presented it at him, and told
him, I had done him no hurt, and if he would be
quiet I would do him none: but,” said I, “you
swim well enough to reach the shore, and the sea is
(6
24
calm, make the best of your way to the shore, and
I will do you no harm; but if you come near the
boat I'll shoot you through the head; for I am re-
solved to have my liberty." So he turned himself
about and swam for the shore; and I make no doubt
but he reached it with ease, for he was an excel-
lent swimmer.
I could have been content to have taken this
Moor with me, and have drowned the boy; but
there was no venturing to trust him: when he was
gone, I turned to the boy, whom they called Xury,
and said to him, “Xury, if you will be faithful to me,
I'll make you a great man, but if you will not stroke
your face to be true to me, (that is, swear by Ma-
homet and his father's beard,) I must throw you in-
to the sea too." The boy smiled in my face, and
spoke so innocently, that I could not mistrust him;
and swore to be faithful, and go all over the world
with me.
While I was in view of the Moor that was swim-
ming, I stood out directly to sea with the boat rather
stretching to windward, that they might think me.
gone towards the straits-mouth, (as indeed any one
that had been in their wits must have been suppos-
ed to do;) for who would have supposed we were
sailed on to the southward; to the truly Barbarian
coast, where whole nations of Negroes were sure to
surround us with their canoes, and destroy us; where
we could not go on shore, but we should be devour-
ed by savage beasts, or more merciless savages of
human kind.
But as soon as it grew dusk in the evening, I
changed my course, and steered directly South and
by East, bending my course a little towards the East,
that I might keep in with the shore; and having a
25
fair fresh gale of wind, and a smooth quiet sea, I
made such sail, that I believe by the next day at
three o'clock in the afternoon, when I first made the
land, I could not be less than one hundred and fifty
miles South of Sallee; quite beyond the Emperor of
Morocco's dominions, or indeed of any other king
thereabouts, for we saw no people.
Yet such was the fright I had taken at the Moors,
and the dreadful apprehensions I had of falling into
their hands, that I would not stop, or go on shore,
or come to an anchor, (the wind continuing fair,) till
I had sailed in that manner five days; and then the
wind shifting to the southward, I concluded, that if
any vessel was in chase of me, they would now give
over; so I ventured to make to the coast, and came
to an anchor in the mouth of a little river, I knew
not what, or where; neither what latitude, what
country, what nation, or what river: I neither saw,
nor desired to see, any people; the principal thing I
wanted was fresh water. We came into this creek
in the evening, resolving to swim on shore as soon
as it was dark, and discover the country; but
as soon as it was quite dark, we heard such a dread-
ful noise of barking, roaring, and howling of wild
creatures, we knew not of what kind, that the poor
boy was ready to die with fear, and begged of me not
to go on shore till day. Well, Xury," said I,
"then I won't; but it may be, we may see men by
day, who will be as bad to us as those lions."
“Then we may give them the shoot gun," says Xu-
ry, laughing, "make them run away;" such English
Xury spoke by conversing among us slaves. How-
ever, I was glad to see the boy so cheerful, and I
gave him a dram out of our master's case of bottles
C
<
26
to cheer him up: after all, Xury's advice was good,
and I took it; we dropped our little anchor; and
lay still all night, for we did not sleep; and in two
or three hours we saw great creatures, we knew not
what to call them, of many sorts, come down to the
sea-shore, and run into the water, wallowing and
washing for the pleasure of cooling themselves; and
they made such hideous howlings and yellings, that
I never indeed heard the like.
Xury was drea-lfully frighted, and indeed so
was I too; but we were much more frighted when
we heard one of these mighty creatures come swim-
ming towards our boat; we could not see him, but
we might hear him by his blowing to be a monstrous,
huge, and furious beast. Xury said it was a lion,
and it might be for ought I know; poor Xury cried
out to me to weigh the anchor and row away.
No," says I," Xury, we can slip our cable with a
buoy to it, and go to sea: they cannot follow us far.”
I had no sooner said so, but I perceived the creature
(whatever it was) within two oars length, which some-
thing surprised me; however, I immediately stepped
to the cabin door, and taking up my gun, fired at
him; upon which he immediately turned about, and
swam towards the shore again.
But it was not possible to describe the horrid
noise, and hideous cries and howlings, that were rais-
ed as well upon the edge of the shore, as higher with-
in the country, upon the noise or report of the gun,
a thing I have reason to believe those creatures had
never heard before. This convinced me that there
was no going on shore for us in the night upon that
coast; and how to venture on shore in the day was
another question too; for, to have fallen into the
27
hands of any of the savages, had been as bad as to
have fallen into the paws of lions and tigers; at least
we were equally apprehensive of the danger of it.
Be that as it would, we were obliged to go on
shore somewhere or other for water, for we had not
a pint left in the boat; when or where to get it was
the point. Xury said, if I would let him go on
shore with one of the jars, he would find if there was
any water, and bring some to me. I asked him, why
he would go; why I should not go, and he stay in
the boat. The boy answered with so much affec-
tion, that he made me love him ever after: says he,
"If wild mans come, they eat me, you go way."
"Well, Xury," said I, we will both go, and if the
wild mans come, we will kill them; they shall eat
neither of us." So I gave Xury a piece of rusk
bread to eat, and a dram out of our master's case of
bottles, which I mentioned before, and we hauled the
boat in as near to the shore as we thought proper,
and waded on shore, carrying nothing but our arms,
and two jars for water.
((
I did not care to go out of sight of the boat, fear-
ing the coming of canoes with savages down the ri-
ver: but the boy, seeing a low place, about a mile
up the country, rambled to it, and by and by I saw
him come running towards me; I thought he was
pursued by some savage, or frighted by some wild
beast, and I ran towards him to help him; but when
I came nearer to him, I saw something hanging over
his shoulders, which was a creature he had shot, like
a hare, but different in colour, and longer legs; how-
ever, we were glad of it; and it was very good meat;
but the great joy that poor Xury came with, was to
28
:
tell me he had found good water, and seen no wild
mans.
But we found afterwards, that we need not take
such pains for water; for a little higher up the creek
where we were, we found the water fresh when the
tide was out, which flows but a little way up; so
we filled our jars, and feasted on the hare we had
killed, and prepared to go on our way, having seen
no footsteps of any human creature in that part of
the country.
As I had been one-voyage to this coast before, I
knew very well that the islands of the Canaries, and
the Cape de Verd islands also, lay not far off from the
.coast.
But as I had no instruments to take an ob-
servation, to know what latitude we were in, I could
not expect easily to find any of the islands.
My
hope was, that if I stood along this coast, till I came
to that part where the English traded, I should find
some of their vessels that would relieve and take us
in.
By the best of my calculation, that place where
I now was, must be that country which, lying be-
tween the Emperor of Morocco's dominions and the
Negroes, lies waste and uninhabited, except by wild
beasts: the Negroes having abandoned it, and gone
further South, for fear of the Moors: and the Moors
not thinking it worth inhabiting, on account of its
barrenness; and indeed both forsaking it, because of
the prodigious number of tigers, lions, leopards, and
other furious creatures which harbour there; so that
the Moors use it for their hunting only, where they
go like an army, two or three thousand men at a
time.
29
(C
he
Xury look-
eat me one
I said no more
Several times I was obliged to land for fresh wa-
ter, after we had left this place; and once in parti-
cular, being early in the morning, we came to an an-
chor under a little point of land, which was pretty
high; and the tide beginning to flow, we lay still to
go further in. Xury, whose eyes were more about
him than, it seems, mine were, calls softly to me,
and tells me, that we had best go further off the
shore; for," says he, "look yonder lies a dreadful
monster on the side of that hillock fast asleep." I
looked where he pointed, and saw a dreadful mon-
ster indeed; for it was a terrible great lion that lay
on the side of the shore, under the shade of the hill,
that appeared to hang a little over him. "Xury," said
I," you shall go on shore and kill him."
ed frighted, and said, "Me kill!
mouth!" one mouthful he meant.
to the boy, but bade him lie still,
biggest gun, which was almost musket bore, and
loaded it with a good charge of powder, and with
two slugs, and laid it down: then I loaded another
gun with two bullets, and the third (for we had three
pieces) I loaded with five smaller bullets. I took
the best aim I could with the first piece to have shot
him in the head: but he lay so with his leg raised a lit-
tle above his nose, that the slug hit his leg about the
knee, and broke the bone. He started up, growling
at first; but finding his leg broke, fell down again,
and then got upon three legs, and gave the most hi-
deous roar that I ever heard. I was a little surpris-
ed that I had not hit him on the head; however, I
took up the second piece immediately, and, though
he began to move off, fired again, and shot him in
the head, and had the pleasure to see him drop; and
and I took our
C 3
30
(6
making but little roise, he lay struggling for life.
Then Xury took heart, and would have me let him
go on shore.
Well, go," said I. So the boy jumped
into the water, and taking the little gun in one hand,
swam to the shore with the other hand; and
coming close to the creature, put the muzzle of the
piece to his ear, and shot him in the head again,
which quite dispatched him.
This was game indeed to us, but this was no food;
and I was very sorry to lose three charges of pow-
der and shot upon a creature that was good for no-
thing to us. However, Xury said, he would have
some of him; so he comes on board, and asked me
to give him the hatchet, For what, Xury?" said I;
"Me cut off his head;" said he. However, Xury
could not cut off his head; but he cut off a foot, and
brought it with him, and it was a monstrous great
one.
I bethought myself, however, that perhaps the
skin of him might, one way or other, be of some va-
lue to us; and I resolved to take off his skin, if I
could. So Xury and I went to work with him: but
Xury was much the better workman at it, for I knew
very ill how to do it. Indeed, it took us up (both)
the whole day; but at last we got off his hide, and
spreading it on the top of our cabin, the sun effec-
tually dried it in two days' time, and it afterwards
served me to lie upon.
After this stop, we made on to the southward con-
tinually for ten or twelve days, living very sparingly
on our provisions, which began to abate very much;
and going no oftener in to the shore than we were
obliged to for fresh water. My design in this was,
to make the river Gambia or Senegal, in hopes to
31
meet with some European ship; and if I did not, I
knew not what course I should take, for I put the
whole of my fortune upon this single point, either
that I must meet with some ship, or must perish.
I now began to see that the land was inhabited;
and in two or three places as we sailed by, we saw
people stand upon the shore to look at us; we could
also perceive they were quite black, and stark
naked.
I was once inclined to have gone on shore to them;
but Xury was my better counsellor, and said to me,
"No go, no go!" However, I hauled in nearer the
shore, that I might talk to them, and I found they
ran along the shore by me a good way. I observed
they had no weapons in their hands, except one, who
had a long slender stick, which Xury said was a
lance, and that they would throw them a great way
with good aim; so I kept my distance, but talked
with them by signs as well as I could, and particu-
larly made signs for something to eat. They beck-
oned to me to stop my boat, and they would fetch
me some meat. Upon this I lowered the top of my
sail, and lay by; and two of them ran up into the
country, and in less than half an hour came back,
and brought with them two pieces of dried flesh, and
some corn, such as is the produce of their country;
but we neither knew what the one or the other was;
however we were willing to accept it. But how to
come at it was our next dispute; for I was not for
venturing on shore to them, and they were as much
afraid of us: but they took a safe way for us all; for
they brought it to the shore, and laid it down, and
went and stood a great way off till we fetched it on
board, and then came close to us again.
32
We made signs of thanks to them, for we had no-
thing to make them amends: but an opportunity of-
fered that very instant, to oblige them wonderfully;
for while we were lying by the shore, came two
mighty creatures, one pursuing the other (as we took
it) with great fury, from the mountains towards the
sea: whether it was the male pursuing the female,
or whether they were in sport or in rage, we could
not tell, any more than we could tell whether it was
usual or strange, but I believe it was the latter; be-
cause, in the first place, those ravenous creatures sel-
dom appear but in the night; and, in the second
place, we found the people were terribly frighted, es-
pecially the women. The man that had the lance
or dart did not fly from them, but the rest did; how-
ever, as the two creatures ran directly into the wa-
ter, they did not seem to offer to fall upon the Ne-
groes, but plunged themselves into the sea, and
swam about as if they had come for their diversion;
at last one of them began to come nearer our boat
than at first I expected; but I lay ready for him;
for I had loaded my gun with all possible expedi-
tion, and bade Xury load both the other.
as he came fairly within my reach, I fired, and shot
him directly in the head: he sunk immediately down
into the water, but rose instantly, and plunged up
and down as if he was struggling for life. He im-
mediately made to the shore; but between the
wound, which was his mortal hurt, and the strang-
ling of the water, he died just before he reached the
shore.
As soon
It is impossible to express the astonishment of
these poor creatures at the noise and the fire of my
gun; some of them were ready even to die for fear,
$3
and fell down, as if dead, with terror. But when
they saw the creature dead and sunk into the water,
and that I made signs to them to come to the shore,
they tock heart, and came, and began to search for
the creature. I found him by his blood staining the
water, and by the help of a rope which I slung
round him, and gave the Negroes to haul, they drag-
ged him on shore, and found that it was a most cu-
rious leopard, spotted, and fine to an admirable de-
gree; and the Negroes held up their hands with
admiration to think what it was I killed him
with.
The other creature, frighted with the flash of fire,
and the noise of the gun, swam on shore, and ran up
directly to the mountains from whence they came.
I found the Negroes were for eating the flesh of this
creature, so I was willing to have them take it as a
favour from me, which when I made signs to them
that they might take him, they were very thankful,
immediately falling to work at him; and with a
sharpened piece of wood they took off his skin much
more readily than we could have done with a knife;
they offered me some of the flesh, which I declined,
making as if I would give it them, but made signs
for the skin, which they gave me very freely, and
brought me a great deal more of their provisions,
which, though I did not understand, yet I accept-
ed. I made signs to them for some water, and held
out one of my jars, then turning it bottom upward,
to shew that it was empty, and that I wanted to
have it filled. They called immediately to some of
their friends, and there came two women, and brought
a great vessel made of earth, and burnt as I suppose
in the sun; this they set down for me, as before, and
34
I sent Xury on shore with my jars, and filled them
all three. The women were as stark naked as the
men.
I was now furnished with roots and corn, such as
it was, and water; and leaving my friendly Negroes,
I made forward for about eleven days more, without
offering to go near the shore, till I saw the land run
out a great length into the sea at about the distance
of four or five leagues before me; and the sea being
very calm, I kept a large offing to make this point;
at length, doubling the point at about two leagues
from the land, I saw land plainly on the other side
to seaward; then I concluded that this was the Cape
de Verd, and those the islands called from thence
Cape de Verd islands. However, they were at a
great distance, and I could not well tell what I had
hest to do; for if I should be taken with a fresh gale
of wind I might neither reach one nor other.
In this dilemma, as I was very pensive, I stepped
into the cabin, and sat me down, Xury having the
helm; when on a sudden the boy cried out,
"Mas-
ter! Master! a ship with a sail!" and the foolish boy
was frighted out of his wits, thinking it must needs
be some of his master's ships sent to pursue us, when
I knew we were gotten far enough out of their reach.
I jumped out of the cabin, and immediately saw not
only the ship, but what she was, (viz.) that it was a
Portuguese ship; and, as I thought, was bound to
the coast of Guinea for Negroes. But when I ob-
served the course she steered, I was soon convinced
they were bound some other way, and did not design
to come any nearer to the shore; upon which I
stretched out to sea as much as I could, resolving to
speak with them if possible.
¡
35
With all the sail I could make, I found I should
not be able to come in their way, but that they
would be gone by, before I could make any signal
to them; but after I had crowded to the utmost,
and began to despair, they, it seems, saw me by the
help of their perspective-glasses, and that it was
some European boat, which, as they supposed, must
belong to some ship that was lost; so they shorten-
ed sail to let me come up. I was encouraged by
this; and as I had my master's ancient on board, I
made a waft of it to them for a signal of distress, and
fired a gun, both which they saw; for they told me
they saw the smoke, though they did not hear the
gun: upon these signals they very kindly brought
to, and lay by for me, and in about three hours'
time I came up with them.
They asked me what I was, in Portuguese, and in
Spanish, and in French, but I understood none of
them; but at last, a Scot's sailor, who was on board,
called to me, and I answered him, and told him I
was an Englishman, that I had made my escape out
of slavery from the Moors at Sallee: then they bid
me come on board, and very kindly took me in, and
all my goods.
It was an inexpressible joy to me, any one will be-
lieve, that I was thus delivered, as I esteemed it,
from such a miserable and almost hopeless condition
as I was in; I immediately offered all I had to the
captain of the ship, as a return for my deliverance;
but he generously told me, he would take nothing
from me, but that all I had should be delivered safe
to me when I came to the Brasils. For," says he,
“I have saved your life on no other terms, than as I
would be glad to be saved myself; and it may one
time or other be my lot to be taken up in the same
66
፡፡
36
condition: besides," said he," when I carry you to
the Brasils, so great a way from your country, if I
should take from you what little you have, you will
be starved there, and then I only take away that life
I have given. No, no," says he, "seignor Inglise,
(Mr. Englishman,) I will carry you thither in cha-
rity; and those things will help you to buy you sub-
sistence there, and your passage home again."
As he was charitable in this proposal, so be was
just in the performance to a tittle; for he ordered
the seamen, that none should offer to touch any
thing I had; then he took every thing into his own
possession, and gave me back an exact inventory of
them, that I might have them, even so much as my
three carthen jars.
As to my boat it was a very good one, and that he
saw, and told me he would buy it of me for the ship's
use, and asked me what I would have for it. I told
him he had been so generous to me in every thing,
that I could not offer to make any price of the boat,
but left it entirely to him; upon which he told me
he would give me a note of his hand to pay me eighty
pieces of eight for it at Brasil; and when it came
there, if any one offered to give more, he would
make it up: he offered me also sixty pieces of eight
more for my boy Xury, which I was loath to take;
not that I was not willing to let the captain have
him, but I was very loath to sell the poor boy's liber-
ty, who had assisted me so faithfully in procuring
my own. However, when I let him know my rea-
son, he owned it to be just, and offered me this me-
dium, that he would give the boy an obligation to set -
him free in ten years if he turned Christian. Upon
this, and Xury saying he was willing to go to him,
I let the captain have him.
37
And now I was once
miserable of all con-
We had a very good voyage to the Brasils, and ar-
rived in the bay de Todos los Santos, or All-Saints
bay, in twenty-two days after.
more delivered from the most
ditions of life; and what to do next with myself I
had now to consider.
The generous treatment the captain gave me, I can
never enough remember: he would take nothing of
me for my passage, gave me twenty ducats for the
leopard's skin, and forty for the lion's skin, which I
had in my boat, and caused every thing I had in the
ship to be punctually delivered me, and what I was
willing to sell, he bought; such as the case of bot-
tles, two of my guns, and a piece of the lump of
bees-wax, for I had made candles of the rest; in a
word, I made about two hundred and twenty pieces
of eight of all my cargo, and with this stock I went
on shore in the Brasils.
I had not been long here, but being recommended
to the house of a good honest man like himself, who
had an ingenio, as they call it, that is a plantation
and a sugar-house, I lived with him some time, and
acquainted myself with the manner of their plant-
ing and making of sugar; and seeing how well the
planters lived, and that they grew rich, I resolved, if
I could get licence to settle there, I would turn
planter among them; intending, in the mean time,
to find out some way to get my money, which I had
left in London, remitted to me.
For this purpose,
I got a letter of naturalization, purchasing as much
land that was uncured, as my money would reach ;
and formed a plan of my plantation and settlement,
such a one as might be suitable to the stock which
I proposed to myself to receive from England.
D
38
}
I had a neighbour, a Portuguese from Lisbon, but
born of English parents, whose name was Wells, and
in much such circumstances as I was: I call him
neighbour, because his plantation lay next to mine;
and we went on very sociable together; my stock
was but low, as well as his; and we rather planted
for food, than any thing else, for about two years.
However, we began to increase, and our land began
to come into order: so that the third year we plant-
ed some tobacco, and made each of us a large piece
of ground ready for planting canes in the year to
come; but we both wanted help; and now I found,
more than before, I had done wrong in parting with
my boy Xury.
But, alas! for me to do wrong, that never did
right, was no great wonder: I had no remedy but to
go on.
I had got into an employment quite remote
to my genius, and directly contrary to the life I de-
lighted in, and for which I forsook my father's
house, and broke through all his good advice; nay,
I was coming into the very middle station, or upper
degree of low life, which my father advised me to
before, and which if I resolved to go on with, I might
as well have staid at home, and never have fatigued
myself in the world, as I had done. I used often to
say to myself, I could have done this as well in
England among my friends; as have gone five
thousand miles off to do it among strangers and sava-
ges in a wilderness, and at such a distance, as never
to hear from any part of the world that had the least
knowledge of me.
In this manner I used to look upon my condition
with the utmost regret. I had nobody to converse
with but now and then this neighbour; no work to,
39
be done but by the labour of my hands; and I used
to say, I lived just like a man cast away upon some
desolate island, that had nobody there but himself.
But how just has it been, and how should all men
reflect, that when they compare their present condi-
tions with others that are worse, heaven may oblige
them to make the exchange, and be convinced of
their former felicity, by their experience. I say, how
just has it been, that the truly solitary life I reflect-
ed on in an island, of mere desolation, should be my
lot, who had so often unjustly compared it with the
life which I then led, in which had I continued, I
had in all probability been exceeding prosperous
and rich.
I was in some degree settled in my measures for
carrying on the plantation, before my kind friend,
the captain of the ship that took me up at sea, went
back; for the ship remained there in providing her
loading, and preparing for her voyage, near three
months: when telling him what little stock I had left
behind me in London, he gave me this friendly and
sincere advice: "Seignor Inglese," says he, for so he
always called me, " if you will give me letters, and
a procuration here in form to me, with orders to the
person who has your money in London, to send your
effects to Lisbon, to such person as I shall direct, and
in such goods as are proper for this country, I will
bring you the produce of them (God willing) at my
return; but since human affairs are all subject to
changes and disasters, I would have you give orders
but for one hundred pounds sterling, which you say
is half your stock, and let the hazard be run for the
first: so that if it come safe, you may order the rest
40
the same way and if it miscarry, you may have the
other half to have recourse to for your supply."
This was wholesome advice, and looked so friend-
ly, that I could not but be convinced it was the best
course I could take; so I accordingly prepared let-
ters to the gentleman with whom I had left my mo-
ney, and a procuration to the Portuguese captain as
he desired.
I wrote the English captain's widow a full account
of all my adventures, my slavery, escape, and how I
had met with the Portuguese captain at sea, the hu-
manity of his behaviour, and in what condition I was
now in, with all other necessary directions for my
supply; and when this honest captain came to Lis-
bon, he found means, by some of the English mer-
chants there, to send over, not the order only, but a
full account of my story to a merchant in London,
who represented it effectually to her; whereupon,
she not only delivered the money, but out of her
own pocket sent the Portuguese captain a very
handsome present for his humanity and charity to
me.
The merchant in London vesting this hundred
pounds in English goods, such as the captain had
written for, sent them directly to him at Lisbon, and
he brought them all safe to me to the Brasils; among
which, without my direction, (for I was too young
in my business to think of them,) he had taken care
to have all sorts of tools, iron-work, and utensils,
necessary for my plantation, and which were of
great use to me.
When this cargo arrived, I thought my fortune was
made, fcr I was surprised with the joy of it: and my
41
good steward the captain had laid out the five pounds
which my friend had sent him for a present for him-
self, to purchase and bring me over a servant under
bond for six years' service; and would not accept of
any consideration except a little tobacco, which I
would have him accept, being of my own produce.
Neither was this all; but my goods being all
English manufactures, such as cloths, stuffs, baize,
and things particularly valuable and desirable in the
country, I found means to sell them to a very great
advantage; so that I may say, I had more than four
times the value of my first cargo, and was infinitely
beyond my poor neighbour, I mean in the advance-
ment of my plantation; for the first thing I did, I
bought me a Negro slave, and an European servant
also; I mean, another besides that which the cap-
tain brought me from Lisbon.
But as abused prosperity is oftentimes made the
very means of our greatest adversity, so was it with
me. I went on the next year with great success in
my plantation; I raised fifty great rolls of tobacco,
on my own ground, more than I had disposed of for
necessaries among my neighbours: and these fifty
rolls being each of above one hundred pounds
weight, were well cured, and laid by against the re-
turn of the fleet from Lisbon. And now, increasing
in business and wealth, my head began to be full of
projects and undertakings beyond my reach; such
as are indeed often the ruin of the best heads in bu-
siness.
Having now lived almost four years in the Brasils,
and beginning to thrive and prosper very well upon
my plantation, I had not only learned the language,
but had contracted acquaintance and friendship
D 3
42
among my fellow planters, as well as among the
merchants at St. Salvadore, which was our port;
and that, in my discourse among them, I had fre-
quently given them an account of my two voyages to
the coast of Guinea, the manner of trading with the
Negroes there, and how easy it was to purchase up-
on the coast, for trifles, such as beads, toys, knives,
scissars, hatchets, bits of glass, and the like, not on-
ly gold dust, Guinea grains, elephants' teeth, &c.
but Negroes for the service of the Brasils, in great
numbers.
They always listened very attentively to my con-
versation on this subject, but especially to that part
which related to the buying of Negroes, which was
a trade at that time not far entered into, but, as far
as it was, had been carried on by the Assientos, (or
permission of the king of Spain and Portugal,) and
engrossed in the public stock; so that few Negroes
were bought, and those excessive dear.
Being in company with some merchants and
planters of my acquaintance, and talking of those
things very earnestly, three of them came to me
the next morning, and told me, they had been mu-
sing very much upon what I had conversed with
them about the last night; and they came to make
a secret proposal to me: and, after enjoining me se-
crecy, they told me, that they had a mind to fit out
a ship to go to Guinea; that they had all plan-
tations as well as I, and were straitened for nothing
so much as servants; that as they could not public-
ly sell the Negroes when they came home, so they
desired to make but one voyage, to bring the Negroes
on shore privately, and divide them among their own
plantations; wishing that I would go their super-
1
43
cargo in the ship, to manage the trading part upon
the coast of Guinea; and they offered me, that I
should have my equal share of the Negroes, without
providing any part of the stock.
This was a fair proposal, it must be confessed, had
it been made to any one that had not had a settle-
ment and plantation of his own to look after; which
was in a fair way of coming to be very considera-
ble, and with a good stock upon it: but for me that
was thus established, and had nothing to do but go
on as I had begun for three or four years more, and
to have sent for the other hundred pounds from
England, and who in that time, and with that little
addition, could scarce have failed of being worth
three or four thousand pounds sterling, and that in-
creasing too; for me to think of such a voyage, was
the most preposterous thing that ever man in such
circumstances could be guilty of!
But I, that was born to be my own destroyer,
could no more resist the offer, than I could restrain
my first rambling designs, when my father's good
counsel was lost upon me. In a word, I told them
I would go with all my heart, if they would under-
take to look after my plantation in my absence, and
would dispose of it to such as I should direct, if I
miscarried. This they all engaged to do, and enter-
ed into writings or covenants to do so; and I made
a formal will, disposing of my plantation and effects,
in case of my death; making the captain of the ship
that had saved my life, as before, my universal heir,
but obliging him to dispose of my effects as I had di-
rected in my will: one half of the produce being
to himself, and the other to be shipped to Eng-
land.
44
In short, I took all possible caution to preserve
my effects; and keep up my plantation. Had [
used half as much prudence to have looked into my
own interest, and have made a judgment of what I
ought to have done, and not to have done, I had cer-
tainly never gone away from so prosperous an under-
taking; leaving all the probable views of a thriving
circumstance, and gone upon a voyage to sea, attend-
ed with all its common hazards; to say nothing of
the reasons I had to expect particular misfortunes
to myself.
But I was hurried on, and obeyed blindly the dic-
tates of my fancy, rather than my reason; and ac-
cordingly, the ship being fitted out, and the cargo
finished, and all things done as by agreement by my
partners in the voyage, I went on board in an evil
hour again, 1st of September, 1659, being the same
day eight years that I went from my father and mo-
ther at Hull, in order to act the rebel to their au-
thority, and the fool to my own interest.
Our ship was about one hundred and twenty tons
burden, carried six guns, and fourteen men, besides
the master, his boy, and myself; we had on board
no large cargo of goods, except of such toys as were
fit for our trade with the Negroes; such as beads,
bits of glass, shells, and odd trifles; especially little
looking-glasses, knives, scissars, hatchets, and the
like.
The same day I went on board we set sail, stand-
ing away to the northward upon our own coast, with
design to stretch over for the African coast, when they
came about ten or twelve degrees of northern lati-
tude; we had very good weather, only excessive hot,
all the way upon our own coast, till we came to the
45
height of St. Augustino; from whence, keeping fur-
ther off at sea, we lost sight of land, and steered as
if we were bound for the isle Fernando de Noronha,
holding our course N. E. by N. and leaving those
isles on the East. In this course we passed the line
in about twelve days' time; and were by our last ob-
servation in seven degrees twenty-two minutes north-
ern latitude, when a violent tornado or hurricane
took us quite out of our knowledge. It began from
the S. E. came about to the N. W. and then settled
into the N. E. from whence it blew in such a terri-
ble manner, that for twelve days together, we could
do nothing but drive; and scudding away before it,
let it carry us wherever fate and the fury of the
winds directed; and during these twelve days, I
need not say, that I expected every day to be swal-
lowed up, nor indeed did any in the ship expect to
save their lives.
In this distress, we had, besides the terror of the
storm, one of our men die of the calenture, and a
man and a boy washed overboard. About the
twelfth day, the weather abating a little, the master
made an observation as well as he could, and found
that he was in about eleven degrees North latitude,
but that he was twenty-two degrees of longitude dif
ference West from Cape St. Augustino; so that he
found that he was gotten upon the coast of Guiana,
or the North part of Brasil, beyond the River Ama-
zons, toward that of the River Oroonoque, com-
monly called the Great River; and now he began
to consult with me what course he should take; for
the ship was leaky, and very much disabled; and
he was for going directly back to the coast of
Brasil.
46
I was positively against that; and, looking over
the charts of the sea-coast of America with him, we
concluded there was no inhabited country for us to
have recourse to, till we came within the circle of
the Caribbee Islands; and therefore resolved to stand
away for Barbadoes, which, by keeping off at sea, to
avoid the indraft of the bay or gulph of Mexico, we
might easily perform, as we hoped, in about fifteen
days' sail; whereas we could not possibly make our
voyage to the coast of Africa, without some assist-
ance, both to our ship and to ourselves.
With this design we changed our course, and
steered away N. W. by W. in order to reach some of
our English islands, where I hoped for relief; but
our voyage was otherwise determined; for being in
the latitude of twelve degrees eighteen minutes, a se-
cond storm came upon us, which carried us away
with the same impetuosity westward, and drove us
so out of the way of all human commerce, that had
all our lives been saved, as to the sea, we were rather
in danger of being devoured by savages than ever re-
turning to our own country.
In this distress, the wind still blowing very hard,
one of our men, early one morning, cried out, “land!”
and we had no sooner run out of the cabin to look
out, in hopes of seeing whereabouts in the world we
were, but the ship struck upon a sand, and in a mo-
ment, her motion being so stopped, the sea broke
over her in such a manner, that we expected we
should all have perished immediately, and we were
even driven into our close quarters, to shelter us
from the very foam and spray of the sea.
It is not easy for one, who has not been in the
like condition, to describe or conceive the consterna-
47
tion of men in such circumstances; we knew no-
thing where we were, or upon what land it was we
were driven, whether an island or the main, whether
inhabited or not inhabited: and, as the rage of the
wind was still great, though rather less than at first,
we could not so much as hope to have the ship hold
many minutes without breaking in pieces, unless the
winds, by a kind of miracle, should turn immediate-
ly about. Thus we sat looking one upon another,
and expecting death every moment, and every man
acting accordingly, as preparing for another world;
for there was little or nothing more for us to do in
this: that which was our present comfort, and all
the comfort we had, was, that, contrary to our ex-
pectation, the ship did not break yet, and that the
master said the wind began to abate.
Now, though we thought that the wind did a little
abate, yet the ship having thus struck upon the sand,
and sticking too fast for us to expect her getting off,
we were in a dreadful condition indeed, and had no-
thing to do but to think of saving our lives as well
as we could. We had a boat at our stern just be-
fore the storm; but she was first staved by dashing
against the ship's rudder, and in the next place she
broke away, and either sunk, or was driven off to
sea; so there was no hope from her: we had another
boat on board, but how to get her off into the sea,
was a doubtful thing; however, this was not a time
to debate; for we fancied the ship would break in
pieces every minute; and some told us she was ac-
tually broken already.
In this distress, the mate of our vessel lays hold of
the boat, and with the help of the rest of the men,
they got her flung over the ship's side, and getting all
48
into her, let go, and committed ourselves, being ele-
ven in number, to God's mercy, and the wild sea;
for though the storm was abated considerably, yet
the sea went dreadfully high upon the shore, and
might well be called, Den wild Zee, as the Dutch call
the sea in a storm.
And now our case was very dismal indeed; for
we all saw plainly, that the sea went so high, the
boat could not live, and that we should be inevitably
drowned. As to making sail, we had none, nor, if
we had, could we have done any thing with it; so
we worked at the oar towards the land, though with
heavy hearts, like men going to execution; for we
all knew, that when the boat came nearer the shore,
she would be dashed in a thousand pieces by the
breach of the sea. However, we committed our
souls to God in the most earnest manner, and the
wind driving us towards the shore, we hastened our
destruction with our own hands, pulling, as well as
we could, towards land.
After we had rowed, or rather driven about a
league and a half, as we reckoned it, a raging wave
mountain-like, came rolling a-stern of us, and plain-
ly bade us expect the coup-de-grace. It took us with
such a fury, that it overset the boat at once; and
separating us as well from the boat, as from one ano-
ther, did not give us time hardly to say, "O God!"
for we were all swallowed up in a moment.
Nothing can describe the confusion of thought
which I felt when I sunk into the water: for though
I swam very well, yet I could not deliver myself
from the waves so as to draw breath, till that wave
having driven me, or rather carried me a vast way
on towards the shore, and having spent itself, went
49
back, and left me upon, the land almost dry, but
half dead with the water I took in: I had so much
presence of mind as well as breath left, that seeing
myself nearer the main land than I expected, I got
upon my feet, and endeavoured to make on towards
the land, as fast as I could, before another wave
should return, and take me up again: but I soun
found it was impossible to avoid it, for I saw the sea
come after me as high as a great hill, and as furious
as an enemy which I had no means or strength to
contend with; my business was to hold my breath,
and raise myself upon the water, if I could, and so
by swimming to preserve my breathing, and, it pos-
sible, pilot myself towards the shore.
The wave that came upon me again, buried me at
once twenty or thirty feet deep in its own body; and
carried me with a mighty force and swiftness to-
wards the shore; while I held my breath, and assist-
ed myself to swim forward with all my might. I
was ready to burst with holding my breath, when I
felt my head and hands shoot out above the surface
of the water; and though it was not two seconds of
time that I could keep myself so, yet it relieved me
greatly, gave me breath and new courage. I was
again covered with water, but not so long but I held
it out; and finding the water had spent itself, and
began to return, I struck forward against the return
of the waves, and felt ground again with my feet. I
stood still a few moments to recover breath, when a-
nother wave, having hurried me along as before,
landed me, or rather dashed me, against a piece of a
rock, and that with such force, as left me senseless,
and indeed helpless, as to my own deliverance; for
the blow, taking my side and breast, beat the breath,
E
50
as it were, quite out of my body; and had it return-
ed again immediately, I must have been strangled in
the water; but I recovered a little before the return
of the waves; and seeing I could not be covered a-
gain with the water, I held fast by a piece of the
rock, till the wave went back. Now as the waves
were not so high as at first, being near land, I held
my hold, till the wave abated; and then took ano-
ther run, which brought me so near the shore, that
the next wave, though it went over me, yet did not
swallow me up, as to carry me away; and the next
run I took, I got to the main land, where, to my
great comfort, I clambered up the cliffs of the shore,
and sat down upon the grass, free from danger, and
quite out of the reach of the water.
I was now landed, and safe on shore, and began
to look up and thank God that my life was saved,
in a case which, some minutes before, afforded scarce
any room to hope. I believe it is impossible to ex-
press, what the ecstasies and transports of the soul
are when it is so saved, as I may say, out of the very
grave; and I do not wonder now at that custom, viz.
that when a malefactor, who has the halter about his
neck, is tied up, and just going to be turned off, and
has a reprieve brought him; I say, I do not wonder
that they bring a surgeon with it, to let him blood
that very moment they tell him of it, that the sur-
prise may not drive the animal spirits from his heart,
or overwhelm him.
"For sudden joys, like griefs, confound at first.”
I walked about on the shore, lifting up my hands,
and my whole being, as I may say, wrapped up in
ROBINSON CRUSOE.

Robinson Crusoe shipwrecked.
51
the contemplation of my deliverance, making a
thousand gestures and motions which I cannot de-
scribe, reflecting upon my companions that were
drowned, and that there should not be one soul sav-
ed but myself; for, as for them, I never saw them af-
terwards, or any sign of them, except three of their
hats, one cap, and two shoes that were not fellows.
I cast my eyes to the stranded vessel, when the
breach and froth of the sea being so big, I could
hardly see it, it lay so far off, and considered, “ Lord!
how was it possible I could get on shore!"
After I had solaced my mind with the comfortable
part of my condition, F began to look round me, to
see what kind of place I was in, and what was next
to be done; when I soon found my comforts abate,
and that I had a dreadful deliverance: for I was wet,
had no clothes to shift me, nor any thing either to
eat or drink, to comfort me; neither did I see any
prospect before me, but that of perishing with hun-
ger, or being devoured by wild beasts: and that
which was particularly afflicting to me, was, that I
had no weapon either to hurt or kill any creature
for my sustenance, or to defend myself against any
other creature that might desire to kill me for theirs.
I had nothing about me but a knife, a tobacco pipe,
and a little tobacco in a box; this was all my provi-
sion; and this threw me into terrible agonies of mind,
so that for a while I ran about like a madman.
Night coming upon me, I began, with a heavy heart,
to consider what would be my lot, if there were any
ravenous beasts in that country, seeing that at night
they always come abroad for their prey.
All the remedy that offered to my thoughts at that
time was, to get up into a thick bushy tree, like a
52
!
fir, but thorny, which grew near me, and where I
resolved to sit all night, and consider the next day
what death I should die; for, as yet, I saw no pros-
pect of life.
I walked about a furlong from the
shore to see if I could find any fresh water to drink,
which I did to my great joy; and having drank, and
put a little tobacco in my mouth, to prevent hunger,
I went to the tree; and, getting up into it, endeavour-
ed to place myself so, as that, if I should sleep, I
might not fall; and, having cut me a short stick,
like a truncheon, for my defence, I took up my lodg-
ings; and having been excessively fatigued, I fell
fast asleep, and slept as comfortably as, I believe,
few could have done in my condition; and found
myself the most refreshed with it, that I think I ever
was on such an occasion.
When I waked it was broad day, the weather
clear, and the storm abated, so that the sea did not
rage and swell as before; but that which surprised
me most was, that the ship was lifted off in the
night, from the sand where she lay, by the swelling
of the tide, and was driven up almost as far as the
rock, which I first mentioned, where I had been so
bruised by being dashed against it: this was within
about a mile from the shore where I was, and the
sbip seeming to stand upright still, I wished myself
on board, that at least, I might save some necessary
things for my use.
When I came down from my apartment in the
tree, I looked about me again, and the first thing I
found was the boat, which lay as the wind and the
sea had tossed her up upon the land, about two miles
upon my right hand. I walked as far as I could
upon the shore to have got to her; but found a neck
53
or inlet of water between me and the boat, which
was about half a mile broad, so I came back, for
the present, being more intent upon getting at the
ship, where I hoped to find something for my present
subsistence.
A little after noon I found the sea very calm, and
the tide ebbed so far out, that I could come within
a quarter of a mile of the ship: and here I found a
fresh renewing of my grief; for I saw evidently, that
if we had kept on board, we had been all safe; that
is to say, we had all got safe on shore, and I had not
been so miserable as to be left entirely destitute of all
comfort and company, as I now was: this forced
tears from my eyes again: but as there was little re-
lief in that, I resolved, if possible, to get to the ship;
so I pulled off my clothes, for the weather was ex-
tremely hot, and took the water; but when I came
to the ship, my difficulty was still greater to know
how to get on board, for as she lay a-ground, and
high out of the water, there was nothing within my
reach to lay hold of: I swam round her twice, and
the second time I spied a small piece of a rope,
which I wondered I did not see at first, hang down
by the fore-chains, so low, as that, with great diffi-
culty I got hold of it, and by the help of that rope,
got up into the forecastle of the ship. Here I found
that the ship was bulged, and had a great deal of wa-
ter in her hold, but that she lay on the side of a bank
of hard sand, or rather earth, and her stern lay lift-
ed up upon the bank, and her head low almost to
the water; by this means all her quarter was free,
and all that part was dry; for you may be sure my
first work was to search and to see what was spoiled
and what was free; and first I found that all the
E 3
54
ship's provisions were dry, and untouched by the
water; and being very well disposed to eat, I went
to the bread-room and filled my pockets with bis-
cuit and ate it as I went about doing other things,
for I had no time to lose.
I also found some rum in the great cabin, of which
I took a large dram, and which I had indeed need e-
nough of to spirit me for what was before me. Now
I wanted nothing but a boat to furnish myself with
many things which I foresaw would be very neces-
sary to me.
It was in vain to sit still and wish for what was
not to be had; and this extremity roused my appli-
cation. We had several spare yards, and two or
three large spars of wood, and a spare top-mast or
two in the ship; I resolved to fall to work with
these, and flung as many of them overboard as I
could manage of their weight, tying every one with
a rope, that they might not drive away; when this
was done, I went down the ship's side, and pulling
them to me, I tied four of them fast together at both
ends as well as I could, in the form of a raft; and
laying two or three short pieces. of plank upon them
cross-ways, I found I could walk upon it very well,
but that it was not able to bear any great weight, the
pieces being too light; so I went to work, and with
the carpenter's saw I cut a spare top-mast into three
lengths, and added them to my raft, with a great deal
of labour and pains; but hoping to furnish myself
with necessaries encouraged me to go beyond what
I should have been able to have done upon another
occasion.
My raft was now strong enough to bear any rea-
sonable weight, my next care was what to load it
55
•
with, and how to preserve what I had laid upon it
from the surf of the sea; but I was not long consi-
dering this, I first laid all the planks or boards upon
it that I could get, and having considered well what
I most wanted, I first got three of the seamen's
chests, which I had broken open and emptied, and
lowered them down upon my raft; the first of these
I filled with provisions, viz. bread, rice, three Dutch
cheeses, five pieces of dried goat's flesh, which we
lived much upon, and a little remainder of Europe-
an corn, which had been laid by for some fowls
which we brought to sea with us, but the fowls were
killed; there had been some barley and wheat to-
gether, but, to my great disappointment, I found af-
terwards, that the rats had eaten and spoiled it all.
As for liquors, I found several cases of bottles belong-
ing to our skipper, in which were some cordial wa-
ters, and in all about five or six gallons of arrack;
these I stowed by themselves, there being no need to
put them in the chest, nor any room for them.
While I was doing this, I found the tide began to
flow, though very calm, and I had the mortification
to see my coat, shirt, and waistcoat, which I had left
on shore upon the sand, swim away; as for my
breeches which were only linen, and open kneed, I
swam on board in them and my stockings. This
put me upon rummaging for clothes, of which I
found enough, but took no more than I wanted for
my present use, for I had other things which my eye
was more upon; as first, tools to work with on shore.
and it was after long searching that I found out the
carpenter's chest, which was indeed a very useful
prize to me, and much more valuable than a ship-
loading of gold would have been at that time; I got
56
it down to my raft, without losing time to look into
it, for I knew in general what it contained.
My next care was for some ammunition and arms.
There were two fowling-pieces in the great cabin,
and two pistols; these I secured first, with some
powder-horns, and a small bag of shot, and two old
rusty swords; with much search I found two barrels
of gunpowder dry and good, and a third which had
taken water; those two I got to my raft, with the
arms. And now I thought myself pretty well freight-
ed, and began to think how I should get to shore
with them, having neither sail, oar, nor rudder, and
the loast gust of wind would have overset all my
navigation.
I had three encouragements: a smooth calm sea;
the tide rising and setting in to the shore; and what
little wind there was blew me towards the land.
Having found two or three broken oars belonging to
the boat, and besides the tools which were in the
chest, I found two saws, an axe, and a hammer;
and with this cargo I put to sea. For a mile, or
thereabouts, my raft went very well, only that I
found it drive a little distant from the place where
I had landed before; by which I perceived that
there was some indraft of the water, and consequent-
ly I hoped to find some creek or river there, which
I might make use of as a port to get to land with my
cargo.
It proved to be a creek; and in endeavouring to
keep in the middle of the stream, I had liked to have
suffered a second shipwreck, which, had it been so,
would, I verily think, have broke my heart; for
knowing nothing of the coast, my raft ran a-ground
at one end of it upon a shoal, and not being a-ground
1
1

ROBINSON CRUSOE.
Robinson Crusoe returning upon his Raft from
the Wreck.
57
at the other end, my cargo was slipping off towards
that end that was afloat. I set my back against the
chests, to keep them in their places, but could not
thrust off the raft with all my strength; neither
durst I stir from the posture I was in, but, holding
up the chests with all my might, I stood in that
manner near half an hour, in which time the tide
flowing, my raft floated again; and driving up high-
er I found myself in the mouth of a little river, with
land on both sides.
I observed a little cove on the right shore of the
creek, to which with great pain and difficulty I guid-
ed my raft, for I was not willing to be driven too
high up the river, hoping in time to see some ship at
sea, and therefore resolved to place myself as near
the coast as I could. Having got safe into the cove
at high water, though my raft drew about a foot of
water, I thrust her on upon a fiat piece of ground,
and there moored by sticking my two broken oars in-
to the ground; one on one side near one end, and
one on the other side near the other end; and thus I
lay till the water ebbed away, and left my raft and
all my cargo safe ou shore.
My next work was to view the country, and seek
a proper place for my habitation, and where to stow
my goods to secure them from whatever might hap-
pen. Where I was, I yet knew not, whether on the
continent or on an island; whether inhabited or not
inhabited; whether in danger of wild beasts or not.
There was a hill not above a mile from me, which
rose up very steep and high, and which seemed to
over-top some other hills which lay as in a ridge
from it northward. I took out one of the fowling-
pieces, and one of the pistols, and a horn of powder;
53
and thus armed, I travelled for discovery up to the
top of that hill, where after I had with great labcur
and difficulty got to the top, I saw my fate, to my
great affliction; that I was in an island environed e-
very way with the sea, no land to be seen, except
some rocks which lay a great way off, and two small
islands less than this, which lay about three leagues
to the West.
I found also that the island I was in was barren.
and, as I saw good reason to believe, uninhabited,
except by wild beasts, of which, however, I saw
none; yet I saw abundance of fowls, but knew not
their kinds; neither, when I killed them, could I tell
what was fit for food, and what not. At my com-
ing back, I shot at a great bird which I saw sitting
upon a tree on the side of a great wood: I believe it
was the first gun that had been fired there since the
creation of the world. I had no sooner fired, but
from all parts of the wood there arose an innumerable
number of fowls of many sorts, making a confused
screaming and crying, every one according to his u-
sual note; but not one of them of any kind that I
knew: as for the creature I killed, I took it to be a
kind of a hawk, its colour and beak resembling it,
but it had no talons or claws more than common;
its flesh was carrion, and fit for nothing.
Contented with this discovery, I came back to my
raft, and fell to work to bring my cargo on shore,
which took me up the rest of the day: what to do
with myself at night I knew not, nor indeed where
to rest; for I was afraid to lie down on the ground,
not knowing but some wild beasts might devour me,
though I afterwards found there was really no need
for those fears.
59
་
However, as well as I could, I barricadoed myself
round with chests and boards that I had brought on
shore; and made a kind of a hut for that night's
lodging; as for food, I yet saw not which way to
supply myself, except that I had seen two or three
creatures like hares run out of the wood where I shot
the fowl.
I now began to consider, that I might yet get a
great many things out of the ship, which would be
useful to me, and particularly some of the rigging
and sails, and such other things as might come to
hand; and I resolved to make another voyage on
board the vessel, if possible: and as I knew that the
first storm that blew must necessarily break her all in.
pieces, I resolved to set all other things apart till I
got every thing out of the ship that I could.. When
the tide was down, I set off as before, only that I stript
before I went from my hut, having nothing on but
a chequered shirt, a pair of linen drawers, and a pair
of pumps on my feet.
I got on board the ship, and prepared a second
raft; and having had experience of the first, I nei-
ther made this so unwieldy, nor loaded it so hard;
but yet I brought away several things very useful to
me: as, first, in the carpenter's store I found two or
three bags full of nails and spikes, a great screw-
jack, a dozen or two of hatchets, and above all,
that most useful thing called a grind-stone: all these
I secured, together with several things belonging to
the gunner, particularly two or three iron crows,
and two barrels of musket-bullets, seven muskets,
and another fowling-piece, with a small quantity of
powder; a large bag full of small shot, and a great
roll of sheet-lead: but this last was so heavy, I
60
could not hoist it up to get it over the ship's
side.
Besides these things, I took all the men's clothes
that I could find, and a spare fore-top-sail, hammock,
and some bedding; and with this I loaded my se-
cond raft, and brought them all safe on shore to my
very great comfort.
I was under some apprehensions during my ab-
sence from the land, that at least my provisions
might be devoured on shore; but when I came back,
I found no sign of any visitor, only there sat a crea-
ture like a wild cat upon one of the chests, which,
when I came towards it, ran away a little distance,
and then stood still; she sat very composed, and un-
concerned, and looked full in my face, as if she had
a mind to be acquainted with me. I presented my
gun at her, but as she did not understand it, she was
perfectly unconcerned at it, nor did she offer to stir
away; upon which I tossed her a bit of biscuit,
though by the way I was not very free of it, for my
store was not great. However, I spared her a bit,
and she went to it, smelled at it, and ate it, and look-
ed (as if pleased) for more; but I thanked her, and
could spare no more; so she marched off.
Having got my second cargo on shore, (though I
was fain to open the barrels of powder, and bring
them by parcels, for they were too heavy, being
large casks,) I went to work to make me a little tent
with the sail, and some poles which I cut for that
purpose; and into this tent I brought every thing
that I knew would spoil, either with rain or sun;
I piled all the empty chests and casks up in a circle
round the tent, to fortify it from any sudden attempt,
either from man or beast.
61
When I had done this, I blocked up the door of
the tent with some boards within, and an empty
chest set up an end without; and spreading one of
the beds upon the ground, laying my two pistols just
at my head, and my gun at length by me, I went to
bed for the first time, and slept very quietly all
night. I was very weary and heavy; for the night
before I had slept little, and had laboured very hard
all day, as well to fetch all those things from the
ship, as to get them on shore.
I had the biggest magazine of all kinds now that
ever was laid up, I believe, for one man; but I was
not satisfied still; for while the ship sat upright in
that posture, I thought I ought to get every thing out
of her that I could; so every day at low water I
went on board, and brought away something or
other; but particularly the third time I went, I
brought away as much of the rigging as I could, as
also all the small ropes and rope-twine I could get,
with a piece of spare canvas, which was to mend the
sails upon occasion, and the barrel of wet gunpow-
der; I brought away all the sails first and last, for
they were useful to me as canvas only.
But that which comforted me more still, was, that
after I had made five or six such voyages, and thought
I had nothing more to expect from the ship that was
worth meddling with; I found a great hogshead of
bread, and three large runlets of rum or spirits, a box
of sugar, and a barrel of fine flour: this was surpris-
ing to me, because I had given over expecting any
more provisions, except what was spoiled by the
water. I soon emptied the hogshead of that bread,
and wrapt it up parcel by parcel, in pieces of the sails,
which I cut out; and got it all safe on shore.
F
62
The next day I made another voyage: and now
having plundered the ship of what was portable, and
fit to hand out, I began with the cables; and cut-
ting the great cable into pieces, such as I could
move, I got two cables and a hawser on shore, with
all the iron work I could get; and having cut down
the spritsail-yard, and the mizen-yard, and every
thing I could to make a large raft, I loaded it with
all those heavy goods, and came away: but my good
fortune began to leave me; for this raft was so un-
wieldy, and so overladen, that after I had entered
the little cove, where I had landed the rest of my
goods, not being able to guide it so handily as I did
the other, it overset, and threw me and all my car-
go into the water. As for myself, it was no great
harm, for I was near the shore; but as to my cargo,
it was great part of it lost, especially the iron, which
would have been of great use to me: however, when
the tide was out, I got most of the pieces of cable
a-shore, and some of the iron, though with infinite la-
bour. After this, I went every day on board, and
brought away what I could get.
I had been now thirteen days on shore, and had
been eleven times on board the ship; in which
time I had brought away all that one pair of hands
could well be supposed capable to bring; though I
verily believe, had the calm weather held, I should
have brought away the whole ship, piece by piece.
But preparing to go on board the twelfth time, I
found the wind began to rise: however, at low wa-
ter I went on board; and though I thought I had
rummaged the cabin so effectually, as that nothing
more could be found, yet I discovered a locker with
drawers in it; in one of which I found two or three
1
63
razors, and a pair of large scissars, with some ten or
a dozen of good knives and forks: in another I
found about thirty-six pounds value in money, some
European coin, some Brasil, some pieces of eight,
some gold, and some silver.
I smiled to myself at the sight of this money.
“O drug!" said I aloud, “what art thou good for?
Thou art not worth to me, no not the taking off the
ground; one of these knives is worth all this heap,
I have no manner of use for thee, even remain where
thou art, and go to the bottom as a creature whose
life is not worth saving!" However, upon second
thoughts, I took it away, and wrapping all this in a
piece of canvas, I began to think of making another
raft; but while I was preparing this, I found the
sky overcast, and the wind began to rise, and in a
quarter of an hour it blew a fresh gale from the
shore; it presently occurred to me, that it was in
vain to pretend to make a raft, with the wind off
shore, and that it was my business to be gone before
the tide of flood began, otherwise I might not be a-
ble to reach the shore at all: accordingly I let my-
self down into the water, and swam across the chan-
nel, which lay between the ship and the sands, and
even that with difficulty enough, partly with the
weight of the things I had about me, and partly the
roughness of the water; for the wind rose very has-
tily, and before it was high water it blew a storm.
But I got home to my little tent, where I lay with
all my wealth about me very secure.
It blew very
hard all that night, and in the morning when I
looked out, behold no more ship was to be seen. I
was a little surprised; but recovered myself with
this satisfactory reflection; viz. that I had lost no
64
time, nor abated any diligence to get every thing out
of her that could be useful to me; and that indeed
there was little left in her that I was able to bring a-
way, if I had had more time.
My thoughts were now wholly employed about
securing myself against either savages, if any should
appear, or wild beasts, if any were in the island;
and I had many thoughts of the method how to do
this, and what kind of dwelling to make, whether I
should make me a cave in the carth, or erect a tent.
I resolved upon both; the manner and description
of which it may not be improper to give an account of.
I soon found the place I was in was not fit for my
settlement, because it was upon a low moorish ground
near the sea, and would not be wholesome, and more
particularly because there was no fresh water near
it; so I resolved to find a more healthy and conve-
nient spot of ground.
I consulted several things in my situation which
I found would be proper for me; first, health, and
fresh water; secondly, shelter from the heat of the
sun; thirdly, security from ravenous creatures,
whether men or beasts; fourthly, a view of the sea,
that if God sent any ship in sight, I might not lose
any advantage of my deliverance, for which I was
not willing to banish all expectation.
In search of a place proper for this, I found a
small plain on the side of a rising hill, whose form
towards this plain was steep as a house-side, so that
nothing could come down upon me from the top;
on the side of this rock there was a hollow entrance,
worn a little way in, like the entrance or door of a
cave, but there was not really any cave or way into
the rock at all.
1
65
On the flat of the green, just before this hollow
place, I resolved to pitch my tent.
This plain was
not above a hundred yards broad, and about twice
as long, and lay like a green before the door, and at
the end of it descended irregularly every way down
into the low grounds by the sea-side.
It was on the N. N. W. side of the hill, so that I
was sheltered from the heat every day, till it came to
a W. and by S. sun, or thereabouts, which in those
countries is near the setting.
Before I set up my tent, I drew a half circle be-
fore the hollow place, which took in about ten yards
in its semidiameter from the rock, and twenty yards
in its diameter from its beginning and ending.
In this half circle I pitched two rows of strong
stakes, driving them into the ground till they stood
very firm like piles, the biggest end being out of the
ground about five feet and a half, and sharpened on
the top; the two rows did not stand above six inch-
es from one another.
Then I took the pieces of cable which I had cut
in the ship, and laid them in rows one upon another,
within the circle between these two rows of stakes,
up to the top, placing other stakes in the inside,
leaning against them, about two feet and a half
high, like a spur to a post; and this fence was so
strong, that neither man nor beast could get into it, or
over it. This cost me a great deal of time and la-
bour, especially to cut the piles in the wood, bring
them to the place, and drive them into the earth.
The entrance into this place I made to be, not by
a door, but by a short ladder to go over the top;
which ladder, when I was in, I lifted over after me;
and so I was completely fenced in, and fortified, as
F 3
66
I thought, from all the world, and consequently,
slept secure in the night.
Into this fence or fortress, with infinite labour, I
carried all my riches, provision, ammunition, and
stores, of which you have the account above; and I
made me a large tent, to preserve me from the rains,
which in one part of the year are very violent there;
I made it double, one smaller tent within, and one
larger tent above, and covered the uppermost with a
large tarpaulin, which I had saved among the sails.
And now I lay in a hammock, which was indeed
a very good one, and belonged to the mate of the
ship.
I next began to work my way into the rock, and
bringing all the earth and stones that I dug down out
through my tent, 1 laid them up within my fence, in
the nature of a terrace, so that it raised the ground
within about a foot and a half; and thus I made a
cave just behind my tent, which served me like a cel-
lar to my house.
It cost me much labour, and many days, before all
these things were brought to perfection. A storm of
rain falling at this time from a thick dark cloud, ac-
companied with a sudden flash of lightning, and af-
ter that a great clap of thunder: I was not so much
surprised with the lightning, as I was with a thought
which darted into my mind as swift as the lightning
itself:-"O my powder!" My very heart sunk with-
in me, when I thought, that at one blast all my
powder might be destroyed; on which, not only my
defence, but the providing my food, as I thought, en-
tirely depended. I was not anxious about my own
danger; though, had the powder took fire, I had
never known who had hurt me.
+
1
1
67
Such impression did this make upon me, that,
after the storm was over, I laid aside all my works,
my building, and fortifying, and applied myself to
make bags and boxes to separate my powder, in
hopes, that whatever might come, it might not all
take fire at once; and to keep it so apart, that it
should not be possible to make one part fire another.
I finished this work in about a fortnight; and I
think my powder, which was in all about 140 pounds
weight, was divided in not less than a hundred par-
cels. As to the barrel that had been wet, I did not
apprehend any danger from that, so I placed it in.
my new cave, which in my fancy I called my kit-
chen; and the rest I hid up and down in holes among
the rocks, so that no wet might come to it, marking
very carefully where I laid it.
In the interval of time while this was doing, I went
out once at least every day with my gun, as well to
divert myself, as to see if I could kill any thing fit
for food: and as near as I could to acquaint myself
with what the island produced. The first time I
went out, I presently discovered that there were
goats in the island, which was a great satisfaction to
me; but then it was attended with this misfortune
to me, that they were so shy, so subtle, and so swift
of foot, that it was with great difficulty I could come
at them: but I was not discouraged at this, not
doubting but I might now and then shoot one, as it
soon happened; for, after I had found their haunts
a little, I laid wait in this manner for them: I ob-
served if they saw me in the vallies, though they were
upon the rocks, they would run away as in a terrible
fright; but if they were feeding in the vallies, and I
was upon the rocks, they took no notice of me; from
68
whence I concluded, that by the position of their op-
tics, their sight was so directed downward, that they
did not readily see objects that were above them.
So afterwards I took this method; I always climb-
ed the rocks first to get above them, and then had
frequently a fair mark. The first shot I made among
these creatures, I killed a she-goat, which had a lit-
tle kid by her, which she gave suck to, which griev-
ed me heartily; but when the old one fell, the kid
stood still by her till I came and took her up; and
not only so, but when I carried the old one with me
upon my shoulders, the kid followed me quite to my
inclosure; upon which I laid down the dain, and
took the kid in my arms, and carried it over my pale,
in hopes to have bred it up tame: but it would not
eat, so I was forced to kill it, and eat it myself.
These two supplied me with flesh a great while, for
I ate sparingly, and saved my provisions (my bread
especially) as much as I possibly could.
I must now give some little account of myself, and
of my thoughts about living, which it may well be
supposed were not a few. I had a dismal prospect
of my condition; for as I was not cast away upon
that island, without being driven by a violent storm
quite out of the course of our intended voyage some
hundreds of leagues out of the ordinary course of the
trade of mankind, I had great reason to consider it
as a determination of heaven, that in this desolate
place, and in this desolate manner, I should end my
life; the tears would run plentifully down my face
when I made these reflections, and sometimes I
would expostulate with myself, why Providence
should thus completely ruin his creatures, and ren-
der them so absolutely miserable, so without help

ROBINSON CRUSOE.
Robinson Crusoe bringing Home the Goat
which he had shot.
69
abandoned, so entirely depressed, that it could
hardly be rational to be thankful for such a life.
But something always returned swift upon me to
check these thoughts, and to reprove me; and par-
ticularly one day walking with my gun in my hand
by the sea-side, I was very pensive upon the subject
of my present condition, when reason, as it were, ex-
postulated with me in this way," Well, you are
in a desolate condition it is true; but pray, remem-
ber, where are the rest of you? Did not you come
eleven of you into the boat? where are the ten? Why
were not they saved, and you lost? Why were you
singled out? Is it better to be here or there?” and
then I pointed to the sea. All evils are to be con-
sidered with the good that is in them, and with what`
worse attends them.
Then it occurred to me again, how well I was
furnished for my subsistence, and what would have
been my case if it had not happened, which was a
hundred thousand to one, that the ship floated from
the place where she first struck, and was driven so
near to the shore that I had time to get all these
things out of her. What would have been my case,
if I had been to have lived in the condition in which
I at first came on shore, without the necessaries of
life, or any means to procure them? "Particular-
ly," said I aloud, (though to myself,)" what should.
I have done without a gun; without ammunition;
without any tools to make any thing, or to work
with? without clothes, bedding, a tent, or any man-
ner of covering?" and that now I had all these to a
sufficient quantity, and was in a fair way to provide
myself in such a manner, as to live without my gun
when my ammunition was spent.
70
And now, being to enter into a melancholy rela-
tion of a scene of silent life, such perhaps as was ne-
ver heard of in the world before, I shall take it
from its beginning, and continue it in its order. It
was, by my account, the 30th of September when I
first set foot upon this horrid island; when the sun,
being to us in its autumnal equinox, was almost
just over my head; for I reckoned myself, by obser-
vation, to be in the latitude of 9 degrees 22 minutes
North of the line.
After I had been there about ten or twelve days,
it came into my thoughts, that I should lose my
reckoning of time for want of books, and pen and
ink, and should even forget the sabbath days from
the working days; but to prevent this, I cut it with
my knife upon a large post, in capital letters, and,
making it into a great cross, I set it up on the shore
where I first landed; viz. "I came on shore here
on the 30th of September, 1659." Upon the sides
of this square post, I cut every day a notch with my
knife, and every seventh notch was as long again as
the rest, and every first day of the month as long
again as that long one; and thus I kept my calen-
dar, or weekly, monthly, and yearly reckoning of
time.
In the next place we are to observe, that among
the many things which I brought out of the ship in
the several voyages which I made to it, I got several
things of less value, but not at all less useful to me,
which I omitted setting down before; as in particu-
lar, pens, ink, and paper; several parcels in the cap-
tain's, mate's, gunner's, and carpenter's keeping;
three or four compasses, some mathematical instru-
ments, dials, perspectives, charts, and books of navi-
71
gation; all which I huddled together, whether I
might want them or not; also I found three very
good bibles which came to me in my cargo from
England, and which I had packed up among my
things; some Portuguese books also, and among
them two or three popish prayer-books, and several
other books, all which I carefully secured. And I
must not forget that we had in the ship a dog and
two cats, of whose eminent history I may have oc-
casion to say something in its place; for I carried
both the cats with me; and as for the dog he jump-
ed out of the ship himself, and swam on shore to me
the day after I went on shore with my first cargo,
and was a trusty servant to me many years.
I
wanted nothing that he could fetch me, nor any
company that he could make up to me: I only
wanted to have him talk to me, but that would not
do.
I now found I wanted many things, notwithstand-
ing all that I had amassed together; and of these,
that of ink was one; as also, spade, pick-axe, and
shovel, to dig or remove the earth; needles, pins,
and thread. As for linen, I soon learned to want
that without much difficulty.
This want of tools made every work I did go on
heavily, and it was near a whole year before I had
entirely finished my little pale or surrounded habi-
tation. The piles or stakes, which were as heavy as
I could well lift, were a long time in cutting and
preparing in the woods, and more by far in bringing
home; so that I spent sometimes two days in cutting
and bringing home one of those posts, and a third
day in driving it into the ground; for which purpose
I got a heavy piece of wood at first, but at last be-
72
thought myself of one of the iron crows, which, how-
ever, though I found it, yet it made driving these
posts or piles very laborious and tedious work.
But what need had I to be concerned at the tedi-
ousness of any thing I had to do? seeing I had time
enough to do it in; nor had I any other employment
if that had been over, at least that I could foresee;
except the ranging the island to seek for food, which
I did, more or less, every day.
now began to consider seriously my condition,
and the circumstances I was reduced to; and I drew
up the state of my affairs in writing, not so much to
leave them to any that were to come after me, (for
I was like to have but few heirs,) as to deliver my
thoughts from daily poring upon them, and afflict-
ing my mind; and as my reason began now to mas-
ter my despondency, I began to comfort myself as
well as I could, and to set the good against the evil,
that I might have something to distinguish my case
from worse; and I stated it very impartially, like
debtor and creditor, (the comforts I enjoyed, against
the miseries I suffered,) thus-
EVIL.
I am cast upon a horri-
ble desolate island; void
of all hope of recovery.
I am singled out and
separated, as it were,
from all the world, to be
miserable.
GOOD.
But I am alive, and
not drowned, as all my
ship's company were.
But I am singled out
too from all the ship's
crew to be spared from
death; and He that
miraculously saved me
78
I am divided from man-
kind; a solitary one ba-
nished from human soci-
ety.
I have no clothes to
cover me.
I am without any de-
fence, or means to resist
any violence of man or
beast.
I have no soul to speak
to, or relieve me.
from death, can deliver
me from this condition.
But I am not starved,
and perishing on a barren
place, affording no suste-
nance.
But I am in a hot cli-
mate; where, if I had
clothes, I could hardly
wear them.
But I am cast on an
island where I see no
wild beasts to hurt me,
as I saw on the coast of
Africa: and what if I
had been shipwrecked
there?
But God wonderfully
sent the ship in near
enough to the shore, that
I have gotten out so many
necessary things as will
either supply my wants,
or enable me to supply
myself, even as long as I
live.
Upon the whole, here was an undoubted testimony,
that there was scarce any condition in the world so
miserable, but there was something negative, or
&
V
74
something positive to be thankful for in it, and let
this stand as a direction from the experience of the
most miserable of all conditions in this world, that
we may always find in it something to comfort our-
selves from, and to set, in the description of good and
evil, on the credit side of the account.
Having now brought my mind a little to relish my
condition, and given over looking out to sea, to see
if I could spy a ship; I say, giving over these things,
I began to apply myself to accommodate my way of
- living, and to make things as easy to me as I
could.
I have already described my habitation, which
was a tent under the side of a rock, surrounded with
a strong pale of posts and cables, but I might now
rather call it a wall; for I raised a kind of wall up
against it of turfs, about two feet thick on the out-
side; and after some time (I think it was a year and
half) I raised rafters from it, leaning to the rock,
and thatched or covered it with boughs of trees, and
such things as I could get to keep out the rain,
which I found at some times of the year very violent.
I set myself to enlarge my cave and works fur-
ther into the earth: for it was a loose sandy
rock, which yielded easily to the labour I bestowed
on it: and so when I found I was pretty safe as to
beasts of prey, I worked sideways to the right hand
into the rock; and then turning to the right hand
again, worked quite out, and made me a door to
come out, on the outside of my pale or fortifica-
tion.
This gave me not only egress and regress, as it were
a back-way to my tent and store-house, but gave me
room to stow my goods.
!
75
And now I began to apply myself to make such
necessary things as I most wanted, particularly a
chair and a table; for without these I was not able
to enjoy the few comforts I had in the world; I
could not write or eat, or several things with so much
pleasure, without a table.
So I went to work; but never having handled a
tool in my life, I was particularly awkward: and yet
in time, by labour, application, and contrivance, I
found at last that I wanted nothing but I could have
made it, especially if I had had tools; however, I
made abundance of things, even without tools, and
´some with no more than an adze and a hatchet, and
that with infinite labour; for example, if I wanted
a board, I had no other way but to cut down a tree,
set it on an edge before me, and hew it flat on either
side with my axe, till I had brought it to be as thin
as a plank, and then dub it smooth with my adze.
It is true, by this method I could make but one
board out of a whole tree; but this I had no remedy
for but patience, any more than I had for the pro-
digious deal of time and labour which it took me up
to make a plank or board; but my time or labour
was little worth, and so it was as well employed one
way as another.
However, I made me a table and a chair in the
first place; and this I did out of the short pieces of
boards that I had brought on my raft from the ship:
but when I had wrought out some boards, as above,
I made large shelves of the breadth of a foot and a
half one over another, all along one side of my cave,
to lay all my tools, nails, and iron-work; and, in a
word, to separate every thing at large in their places,
that I might come easily at them: I knocked pieces
76
into the wall of the rock to hang my guns, and all
things that would hang up.
So that, had my cave been to be seen, it looked like
a general magazine of all necessary things; and I had
every thing so ready at my hand, that it was a great
pleasure to me to see all my goods in such order,
and especially to find my stock of all necessaries so
great.
I began now to keep my journal; of which I shall
here give you the copy (though in it will be told all
these particulars over again) as long as it lasted, for
having no more ink, I was forced to leave it off.
THE JOURNAL.
SEPTEMBER 30, 1659. I, poor miserable Robin-
son Crusoe, being shipwrecked, during a dreadful
storm, in the Offing, came on shore on this dismal,
unfortunate island, which I call the Island of Des-
pair; all the rest of the ship's company being drown-
ed, and myself almost dead.
All the rest of that day I spent in afflicting my-
self at the dismal circumstances I was brought to;
viz. I had neither food, house, clothes, weapon, nor
place to fly to; and, in despair of any relief, saw no-
thing but death before me; either that I should be
devoured by wild beasts, murdered by savages, or
starved to death for want of food. At the approach
of night I slept in a tree for fear of wild creatures,
but slept soundly though it rained all night.
October 1. In the morning, I saw to my great
surprise, the ship had floated with the high tide, and
was driven on shore again much nearer the island;
this was some comfort, as I hoped, if the wind aba-
ted, I might get on board, and get some food and ne-
77
1
}
I
cessaries out of her for my relief; which I did.
went upon the sand as near as I could, and then
swam on board. This day also it continued raining,
though with no wind at all.
From the 1st of October to the 24th. All these
days entirely spent in many several voyages to get all
I could out of the ship, which I brought on shore,
every tide of flood, upon rafts. Much rain also in
these days; though with some intervals of fair wea-
ther: but, it seems, this was the rainy season.
Oct. 20. I overset my raft, and all the goods I
had got upon it; but being in shoal water, and the
things being chiefly heavy, I recovered many of them
when the tide was out.
Oct. 25. It rained all night and all day, with
some gusts of wind; during which time the ship
broke in pieces, the wind blowing a little harder
than before, and was no more to be seen, except the
wreck of her, and that only at low water.
I spent
this day in covering and securing the goods which I
had saved, that rain might not spoil them.
Oct. 26. I walked about the shore almost all
day, to find out a place to fix my habitation; great-
ly concerned to secure myself from any attack in
the night, either from wild beasts or men. Towards
night I fixed upon a proper place under a rock, and
marked out a semi-circle for my encampment, which
I resolved to strengthen with a work, wall, or forti-
fication, made of double piles, lined within with ca-
ble, and without with turf.
From the 26th to the 30th, I worked very hard in
carrying all my goods to my new habitation, though
some part of the time it rained exceeding hard.
The 31st in the morning, I went out into the is-
G 3
78
land with my gun to see for some food, and discover
the country; when I killed a she-goat, and her kid
followed me home, which I afterwards killed also,
because it would not feed.
November 1. I set up my tent under a rock, and
lay there for the first night, making it as large as I
could, with stakes driven in to swing my hammock
upon. The next day I set up all my chests and
boards, and the pieces of timber which made my raft,
and with them formed a fence round me, a little
within the place I had marked out for my fortifica-
tion.
Nov. 3. I went out with my gun, and killed two
fowls like ducks, which were very good. In the af-
ternoon, I went to work to make me a table. The
next morning I began to order my times of work, of
going out with my gun, time of sleep, and time of
diversion; viz. every morning I walked out with my
gun for two or three hours, if it did not rain; then
employed myself to work till about eleven o'clock;
then ate what I had to live on; and from twelve to
two I lay down to sleep, the weather being excessive
hot; and then in the evening to work again.
working part of this day and of the next were whol-
ly employed in making my table, for I was yet but
a very sorry workman, though time and necessity
made me a complete natural mechanic soon after, as
I believe it would do any one else.
The
Nov. 5. This day went abroad with my gun and
my dog, and killed a wild cat, her skin pretty soft,
but her flesh good for nothing: every creature I kill-
ed, I took off the skins and preserved them. Com,
ing back by the sea-shore, I saw many sorts of sea-
fowls, which I did not understand; but was surpris-
79
ed and almost frighted with two or three seals,
which, while I was gazing at, not well knowing what
they were, got into the sea, and escaped me for that
time.
Nov. 6. After my morning walk I went to work
with my table again, and finished it, though not to
my liking; nor was it long before I learned to mend
it.
Nov. 7. Now it began to be settled fair weather.
The 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and part of the 12th, (for
the 11th was Sunday,) I took wholly up to make me
a chair, and with much ado brought it to a tolera-
ble shape, but never to please me: and even in the
making I pulled it in pieces several times. Note. I
soon neglected my keeping Sundays; for, omitting
my mark for them on the post, I forgot which was
which.
Nov. 13. This day it rained, which refreshed me
exceedingly, and cooled the earth; but it was accom-
panied with terrible thunder and lightning, which
frighted me dreadfully for fear of my powder. As
soon as it was over, I resolved to separate my stock
of powder into as many little parcels as possible, that
it might not be in danger.
Nov. 14, 15, 16. These three days I spent in
making little square chests or boxes, which might
hold about a pound, or two pounds, at most, of pow-
der; and putting the powder in, I stowed it in pla-
ces as secure and remote from one another as possi-
ble. On one of these three days I killed a large
bird that was good to eat, but I knew not what to
call it.
Nov. 17. This day I began to dig behind my
tent into the rock, to make room for my further con-
80
venience. Note. Three things I wanted exceedingly
for this work; viz. a pick-axe, a shovel, and a wheel-
barrow, or basket; so I desisted from my work, and
began to consider how to supply that want, and
make me some tools. As for a pick-axe, I made use
of the iron crows, which were proper enough, though
heavy: but the next thing was a shovel or spade;
this was so absolutely necessary, that indeed I
could do nothing effectually without it; but what
kind of one to make I knew not.
Nov. 18. The next day, in searching the woods,
I found a tree of that wood, or like it, which in the
Brasils they call the iron tree, for its exceeding hard-
ness; of this, with great labour, and almost spoiling
my axe, I cut a piece, and brought it home too with
difficulty enough, for it was exceeding heavy.
The excessive hardness of the wood, and having no
other way, made me a long while upon this machine;
for I worked it effectually by little and little into the
form of a shovel or spade, the handle exactly shaped
like ours in England, only that the broad part hav-
ing no iron shod upon it at the bottom, it would not
last me so long; however, it served well enough
for the use which I had occasion to put it to; but
never was a shovel, I believe, made after that fashion,
or so long a making.
I was still deficient, for I wanted a basket or a
wheel-barrow; a basket I could not make by any
means, having no such things as twigs that would
bend, to make wicker ware, at least none yet found
out; and as to a wheel-barrow, I fancied I could
make all but the wheel, but that I had no notion of,
neither did I know how to go about it; besides, I
had no possible way to make the iron gudgeons for
81
the spindle or axis of the wheel to run in, so I gave
it over; and so for carrying away the earth which I
dug out of the cave, I made a thing like a hod which
the labourers carry mortar in, when they serve the
bricklayers.
This was not so difficult to me as making the sho-
vel; and yet this, and the shovel, and the attempt
which I made in vain to make a wheel-barrow, took
me up no less than four days, excepting my inorn-
ing walk with my gun, which I seldom neglected;
and very seldom failed to bring home something fit
to eat.
Nov. 23. My other work having now stood still
because of my making these tools, when they were
finished, I went on, and working every day, as my
strength and time allowed, I spent eighteen days en-
tirely in widening and deepening my cave, that it
might hold my goods commodiously.
Note. During all this time, I worked to make this
room or cave spacious enough to accommodate me as
a warehouse or magazine, a kitchen, a dining-room,
and a cellar; as for my lodging, I kept to the tent,
except that sometimes in the wet season of the year
it rained so hard that I could not keep myself dry,
which caused me afterwards to cover all my place.
within my pale with long poles in the form of rafters,
leaning against the rock, and load them with flags
and large leaves of trees like a thatch.
December 10, I began now to think my cave or
vault finished, when on a sudden (it seems I had
made it too large) a great quantity of earth fell down
from the top and one side, so much that in short it
frighted me, and not without reason too; for if I had
been under it, I had never wanted a grave-digger.
82
Upon this disaster I had a great deal of work to do
over again; for I had the loose earth to carry out,
and, which was of more importance, I had the ceil-
ing to prop up, so that I might be sure no more
would come down.
Dec. 11. This day I went to work with it ac-
cordingly, and got two shoars or posts pitched up-
right to the top, with two pieces of boards across
over each post, this I finished the next day; and set-
ting more posts up with boards, in about a week
more I had the roof secured; and the boards stand-
ing in rows, served me for partitions to part off my
house.
Dec. 17. From this day to the twentieth I pla-
ced shelves, and knocked up nails on the posts to
hang every thing up that could be hung up; and
now I began to be in some order within doors.
Dec. 20. Now I carried every thing into the
cave, and began to furnish my house, and set up
some pieces of boards, like a dresser, to order my
victuals upon, but boards began to be very scarce
with me; also I made me another table.
Dec. 24 and 25. Much rain; no stirring out.
Dec. 26. No rain, and the earth much cooler
than before, and pleasanter.
Dec. 27. Killed a young goat, and lamed ano-
ther so that I catched it, and led it home in a string:
when I had it home, I bound and splintered up its
leg, which was broke. N. B. I took such care of it
that it lived, and the leg grew well, and as strong as
ever; but by nursing it so long, it grew tame, and
fed upon the little green at my door, and would not
go away. This was the first time that I entertained
a thought of breeding up some tame creatures, that
83
I might have food when my powder and shot was all
spent.
Dec. 28, 29, 30. Great heats, and no brecze; so
that there was no stirring abroad, except in the even-
ing for food.
This time I spent in putting all my
things in order within doors.
January 1. Very hot still; but I went abroad
early and late with my gun, and lay still in the mid-
dle of the day. This evening, going further into the
vallies, which lay towards the centre of the island,
I found there was plenty of goats, though exceed-
ing shy and hard to come at; however, I resolved to
try if I could not bring my dog to hunt them
down.
Jan. 2. Accordingly, the next day, I went out
with my dog, and set him upon the goats; but I
was mistaken, for they all faced about upon the dog;
and he knew his danger too well, for he would not
come near them.
Jan. 3. I began my fence or wall; which, being
still jealous of my being attacked by somebody, I re-
solved to make very thick and strong.
N. B. This wall being described before, I purposely
omit what was said in the journal; it is sufficient
to observe, that I was no less time than from the
third of January to the fourteenth of April, work-
ing, finishing, and perfecting this wall, though it
was no more than about twenty-four yards in
length; being a half circle from one place in the
rock, to another place about eight yards from it;
the door of the cave being in the centre behind
it.
All this time I worked very hard, the rains hinder-
ing me many days, nay, sometimes weeks together;
84
but I thought I should never be perfectly secure till
this wall was finished. It is scarce credible what in-
expressible labour every thing was done with; espe-
cially the bringing piles out of the woods, and driv-
ing them into the ground, for I made them much
bigger than I need to have done.
When this wall was finished, and the outside double
fenced with a turf wall raised up close to it, I persuad-
ed myself that if any people were to come on shore
there, they would not perceive any thing like a ha-
bitation; and it was very well I did so, as may
be observed hereafter, upon a remarkable occa-
sion.
During this time, I made my rounds in the woods
for game every day when the rain permitted me, and
made frequent discoveries in these walks of some-
thing or other to my advantage; particularly I found
a kind of wild pigeons, who built not as wood-pi-
geons, in a tree, but rather as house-pigeons in the
holes of the rocks; and taking some young ones, I
endeavoured to breed them up tame, and did so; but
when they grew older they flew all away, which per-
haps was at first for want of feeding them, for I had
nothing to give them; however, I frequently found
their nests, and got their young ones, which were ve-
ry good meat.
And now, in the managing my household affairs,
I found myself in want of many things, which I
thought at first it was impossible for me to make;
for instance, I could never make a cask to be hoop-
ed; I had a small runlet or two, but I could never
arrive to the capacity of making one by them,
though. I spent many weeks about it; I could nei-
ther put in the heads, or join the staves so true to
85
onc another, as to make them hold water, so I gavo
that over.
In the next place, I was at a great loss for can-
dle; so that as soon as ever it was dark, which was
generally by seven o'clock, I was obliged to go to
bed. I remembered the lump of bees-wax with
which I made candles in my African adventure,
but I had none of that now. The only remedy I
had was, that when I had killed a goat, I saved the
tallow, and with a little dish made of clay, which I
baked in the sun, to which I added a wick of some
oakum, I made me a lamp; and this gave me light,
though not a clear steady light like a candle. In
the middle of all my labours it happened, that rum-
maging my things, I found a little bag, which, as I
hinted before, had been filled with corn, for the
feeding of poultry, not for this voyage, but before, as
I suppose, when the ship came from Lisbon; but
what little remainder of corn had been in the bag, was
all devoured by the rats, and I saw nothing in the
bag but husks and dust; and wanting the bag for
some other use, (I think it was to put powder in,
when I divided it for fear of the lightning, or some
such use,) I shook the husks of corn out of it on one
side of my fortification under the rock.
It was a little before the great rains, just now men-
tioned, that I threw this stuff away, taking no notice
of any thing, and not so much as remembering that
I had thrown any thing there; when about a month
after, or thereabouts, I saw some stalks of something
green shooting out of the earth, which I fancied
might be some plant I had not seen; but I was sur-
prised, and perfectly astonished, when, after a little
longer time, I saw about ten or twelve ears come
H
86
out, which were perfect green barley, of the
same kind as our European, nay, as our English
barley.
It is impossible to express the astonishment and
confusion of my thoughts on this occasion; I had
hitherto acted upon no religious foundation at all;
indeed, I had very few notions of religion in my
head, nor had entertained any sense of any thing
that had befallen me, otherwise than as a chance, or,
as we lightly say, what pleases God; without so
much as enquiring into the end of Providence in
these things, or his order in governing events in the
world: but after I saw barley grow there, in a cli-
mate which I knew was not proper for corn, and es-
pecially that I knew not how it came there, it start-
led me strangely, and I began to suggest, that God
had miraculously caused this grain to grow without
any help of seed sown, and that it was so directed pure-
ly for my sustenance on that wild miserable place.
This touched my heart a little, and brought tears
out of my eyes, and I began to bless myself, that
such a prodigy of nature should happen on my ac-
count; and this was the more strange to me, because
I saw near it, all along by the side of the rock, some
other straggling stalks, which proved to be stalks of
rice, and which I knew, because I had seen it grow
in Africa when I was a-shore there.
I not only thought these the pure productions of
Providence for my support; but not doubting but
that there was more in the place, I went all over that
part of the island, where I had been before, peering
in every corner, and under every rock, to see for
more of it, but I could not find any; at last it oc-
curred to my thoughts, that I had shook the bag of
87
chicken's meat out in that place, and then the won-
der began to cease; and I must confess, my religi-
ous thankfulness to God's Providence began to abate
too, upon discovering that all this was nothing but
what was common; though I ought to have been as
thankful for so strange and unforeseen a Providence,
as if it had been miraculous: for it was really the
work of Providence as to me, that should order or
appoint, ten or twelve grains of corn should remain
unspoiled, (when the rats had destroyed all the rest,)
as if it had been dropt from heaven: and that I
should throw it out in that particular place, where
it being in the shade of a high rock, it sprang up im-
mediately; whereas, if I had thrown it any where
else at that time, it had been burnt up and de-
stroyed.
I carefully saved the ears of corn, you may be
sure, in their season, which was about the end of
June: and laying up every corn, I resolved to sow
them all again, hoping in time, to have a quantity
sufficient to supply me with bread; but it was not
till the fourth year that I could allow myself the
least grain of this corn to cat, and even then but
sparingly.
Besides this barley, there was, as above, twenty
or thirty stalks of rice, which I preserved with the
same care, to make me bread, or rather food; for I
found ways to cook it up without baking.
But to
return to my journal.
I worked excessive hard these three or four months
to get my wall done; and the fourteenth of April I
closed it up, contriving to go into it, not by a door,
but over the wall by a ladder, that there might be no
sign on the outside of my habitation,
April 16. I finished the ladder; so I went up
88
with the ladder to the top, and then pulled it up af-
ter me, and let it down on the inside; this was a
complete inclosure to me; for within I had room
enough, and nothing could come at me from with-
out, unless it could first mount my wall.
The very next day after this wall was finished, I
had almost had all my labour overthrown at once,
and myself killed. The case was thus: as I was bu-
sy in the inside of it, behind my tent, just in the en-
trance into my cave, I was terribly frighted with a
most dreadful surprising thing indeed! for all on a
sudden I found the earth came tumbling down from
the roof of my cave, and from the edge of the hill
over my head, and two of the posts I had set up in
the cave cracked in a frightful manner: I was hear-
tily scared, but thought nothing of what was really
the cause, only thinking that the top of my cave was
falling in, as some of it had done before; and for
fear I should be buried in it, I ran forward to my
ladder; and, not thinking myself safe there neither,
I got over my wall for fear of the pieces of the hill
which I expected might roll down upon me: I was
no sooner stept down upon the firm ground, but I
plainly felt it was a terrible earthquake, for the
ground I stood on shook three times in about eight
minutes distance, with three such shocks, as would
have overturned the strongest building that could be
supposed to have stood upon the earth; and a great
piece of the top of a rock, which stood about half a
mile from me next the sea, fell down with such a ter-
rible noise, as I never heard in all my life; I per-
ceived also, the very sea was put into violent motion
by it; and I believe the shocks were stronger under
the water, than on the island.
I was so amazed with the thing itself, having ne-
89
ver felt the like, or conversed with any one that had,
that I was like one dead or stupified; and the mo-
tion of the earth made my stomach sick, like one
that was tossed at sea; but the noise of the falling of
the rock awaked me, as it were; and rousing me from
the stupified condition I was in, filled me with hor-
ror, and I thought of nothing then but the hill fall-
ing upon my tent, and all my household goods, and
burying all at once; and this sunk my very soul
within me a second time.
After the third shock was over, and I felt no more
for some time, I began to take courage; and yet I
had not heart enough to get over my wall again, for
fear of being buried alive; but sat still upon the
ground, greatly cast down and disconsolate, not
knowing what to do. All this while I had not the
least serious religious thought, nothing but the com-
mon, "Lord have mercy upon me!" and when it was
over, that went away too.
While I sat thus, I found the air over-cast, and
grow cloudy, as if it would rain; and in less than
half an hour it blew a most dreadful hurricane: the
sca was all on a sudden covered over with foam and
froth, the shore was covered with the breach of the
water, the trees were torn up by the roots, and a ter-
rible storm it was. This held about three hours,
and then began to abate; and in two hours more it
was calm, and began to rain very hard.
All this while I sat upon the ground very much
terrified and dejected, when on a sudden it came into
my thoughts, that these winds and rain being the
consequence of the earthquake, the earthquake itself
was spent and over, and I might venture into my
་་་*
H 3
90
cave again. With this thought my spirits began to
revive, and the rain also helping to persuade me, I
went in, and sat down in my tent; but the rain was
so violent, that my tent was ready to be beaten down
with it, and I was forced to go into my cave, though
very much afraid and uneasy for fear it should fall
on my head.
This violent rain forced me to a new work, viz. to
cut a hole through my new fortification, like a sink
to let water go out, which would else have drowned
my cave.
After I had been in my cave some time,
and found no more shocks of the earthquake follow,
I began to be more composed; and now to support
my spirits, which indeed wanted it very much, I
went to my little store, and took a small sup of rum,
which however I did then, and always, very sparing-
ly, knowing I could have no more when that was
gone.
It continued raining all that night, and great part
of the next day, so that I could not stir abroad; but
my mind being more composed, I began to think of
what I had better do; concluding, that if the island
was subject to these earthquakes there would be no
living for me in a cave, but I must consider of build-
ing me some little hut in an open place, which I
might surround with a wall as I had done here, and
so make myself secure from wild beasts or men: but
concluded, if I stayed where I was, I should cer-
tainly, one time or other, be buried alive.
With these thoughts I resolved to remove my tent
from the place where it stood, which was just under
the hanging precipice of the hill, and which, if it
should be shaken again, would certainly fall upon
91
my tent.
And I spent the two next days, being the
19th and 20th of April, in contriving where and how
to remove my habitation.
The fear of being swallowed up alive, made me
that I never slept in quiet; and yet the apprehension
of lying abroad without any fence was almost equal
to it: but still, when I looked about, and saw how
every thing was put in order, how pleasantly con-
cealed I was, and how safe from danger, it made me
very loath to remove.
In the mean time it occurred to me, that it would
require a vast deal of time to do this, and that I must
be contented to run the venture where I was, till I
had formed a camp for myself; and had secured it
so as to remove it. So with this resolution I com-
posed myself for a time, and resolved that I would
go to work with all speed to build me a wall with
piles and cables, &c. in a circle, as before, and set
my tent up in it when it was finished; but that I
would venture to stay where I was till it was finish-
ed and fit to remove to. This was the 21st.
April 22. The next morning I began to consider
of means to put this resolve into execution, but I
was at a great loss about my tools; I had three large
axes, and abundance of hatchets, (for we carried the
batchets for traffic with the Indians,) but with much
chopping and cutting knotty hard wood, they were
all full of notches and dull; and though I had a
grind-stone, I could not turn it and grind my tools
100.
This cost me as much thought, as a statesman
would have bestowed upon a grand point of politics,
or a judge upon the life and death of a man. At
length I contrived a wheel with a string, to turn it
with my foot, that I might have both my hands at
92
liberty. Note. I had never seen any such thing in
England, or at least, not to take notice how it was
done, though since I have observed it is very com-
mon there; besides that, my grind-stone was very
large and heavy. This machine cost me a week's
work to bring it to perfection.
April 28, 29. These two whole days I took up
in grinding my tools, my machine for turning my
grind-stone performing very well.
April 30. Having perceived my bread had been
low a great while, now I took a survey of it, and re-
duced myself to one biscuit-cake a day, which made
my heart very heavy.
May 1. In the morning looking towards the sea-
side, the tide being low, I saw something lie on the
shore bigger than ordinary; and when I came to it,
it proved to be a small barrel and two or three pic-
ces of the wreck of the ship, which were driven on
shore by the late hurricane; and looking towards
the wreck itself, I thought it seemed to lie higher out
of the water than it used to do. On examining the
barrel, I found it was a barrel of gunpowder, but
it had taken water, and the powder was caked as
hard as a stone; however, I rolled it further on
shore for the present.
When I came down to the ship, I found it strange-
ly removed; the forecastle, which lay before buried
in the sand, was heaved up at least six feet; and the
stern, which was broke to pieces, and parted from
the rest by the force of the sea, soon after I had left
rummaging her, was tossed up, as it were, and cast
on one side, and the sand was thrown so high on that
side next her stern, that where there was a great
place of water before, so that I could not come
´93-
within a quarter of a mile of the wreck without
swimming, I could now walk quite up to her when
the tide was out; I was surprised with this at first, but
soon concluded it must be done by the earthquake.
This wholly diverted my thoughts from the design
of removing my habitation; and I busied myself
that day in searching whether I could make any
way into the ship; but I found nothing was to be
expected of that kind, for that all the inside of the
ship was choked up with sand.
May 3. I began with my saw, and cut a piece
of a beam through, which I thought held some of the
upper part or quarter-deck together, and when I had
cut it through, I cleared away the sand as well as I
could from the side which lay highest; but the
tide coming in I was obliged to give over for that
time.
May 4. I went a fishing, but caught not one fish
that I durst eat of, till I was weary of my sport;
when just going to leave off, I caught a young dol-
phin. I made a long line of some rope-yarn, but I
had no hooks, yet I frequently caught fish enough,
as much as I cared to eat; all which I dried in the
sun, and ate them dry.
May 5 to 14. Went every day to the wreck, and
got a great deal of pieces of timber and board, or
plank, and two or three hundred weight of iron.
May 15. I carried two hatchets to try if I could
not cut a piece off the roll of lead, by placing the
edge of one hatchet, and driving it with the other;
but as it lay about a foot and a half in the water,
I could not make any blow to drive the hatchet.
May 16. It had blowed hard in the night, and
the wreck appeared more broken by the force of the
靠
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water; but I stayed so long in the woods to get pi-
geons for food, that the tide prevented me going to
the wreck that day.
May 24. Every day to this day I worked on the
wreck, and with hard labour I loosened some things
so much with the crow, that the first blowing tide
several casks floated out, and two of the seamen's
chests; but the wind blowing from the shore, no-
thing came to land that day but pieces of timber,
and a hogshead which had some Brasil pork in it;
but the salt-water and sand had spoiled it.
I continued this work every day, to the 15th of
June, except the time necessary to get food, which
I always appointed during this part of my employ-
ment, to be when the tide was up, that I might be
ready when it was ebbed out; and by this time I
had gotten timber, and plank, and iron-work, enough
to have built a good boat, if I had known how; and
also, I got at several times, and in several pieces,
near a hundred weight of the sheet-lead.
June 16. Going down to the sea-side, I found a
large tortoise or turtle; this was the first I had seen,
which it seems was only my misfortune, not any
defect of the place, or scarcity; for had I happened
to be on the other side of the island, I might
have had hundreds of them every day, as I found af-
terwards; but perhaps had paid dear enough for
them.
June 17. I spent in cooking the turtle: I found
in her threescore eggs; and her flesh was to me at
that time the most savoury and pleasant that I ever
tasted in my life, having had no flesh but of goats
and fowls, since I landed in this horrid place.
June 18. Rained all day, and I stayed within.
95
I thought at this time the rain felt cold, and I was
something chilly, which I knew was not usual in
that latitude.
June 19. Very ill, and shivering, as if the wea-
ther had been cold.
June 20. No rest all night; violent pains in my
head, and feverish.
June 21. Very ill; frighted almost to death with
the apprehensions of my sad condition, to be sick,
and no help: prayed to God for the first time since
the storm off Hull, but scarce knew what I said, or
why; my thoughts being all confused.
June 22. A little better, but under dreadful ap-
prehensions of sickness.
June 23. Very bad again; cold and shivering,
and then a violent head-ache; but on the 24th I was
much better.
June 25. An ague, very violent; the fit held me
seven hours; cold fit and hot, with faint sweats af-
ter it.
June 26. Better; and having no victuals to eat,
took my gun, but found myself very weak; howe-
ver, I killed a she-goat, and with much difficulty
got it home, and broiled some of it, and ate; I
would fain have stewed it, and made some broth,
but had no pot.
June 27. The ague again so violent, that I lay
in bed all day, and neither ate nor drank. I was
ready to perish for thirst, but so weak, I had no
strength to stand up, or to get myself any water to
drink: prayed to God again, but was light-headed,
and when I was not, I was so ignorant that I knew
not what to say; only I lay and cried, " Lord, look
upon me! Lord, pity me! Lord, have mercy upon
me!" I suppose I did nothing else for two or three
96
hours, till the fit wearing off, I fell asleep, and did
not wake till far in the night; when I waked, I
found myself much refreshed, but weak, and exceed-
ing thirsty however, as I had no water in my whole
habitation, I was forced to lie till morning, and
went to sleep again. In this second sleep, I had
this terrible dream.
I thought that I was sitting on the ground on the
outside of my wall, where I sat when the storm
blew after the earthquake, and that I saw a man de-
scend from a great black cloud, in a bright flame
of fire, and light upon the ground: he was all over
as bright as a flame, so that I could but just bear to
look towards him; his countenance was most inex-
pressibly dreadful, impossible for words to describe;
when he stepped upon the ground with his feet, I
thought the earth trembled, just as it had done be-
fore in the earthquake, and all the air looked to my
apprehension, as if it had been filled with flashes of
fire. He was no sooner landed upon the earth, but
he moved forward towards me, with a long spear or
weapon in his hand, to kill me; and when he came
to a rising ground, at some distance, he spoke to me,
or I heard a voice so terrible that it is impossible to
express the terror of it; all that I can say I under-
stood was this," Seeing all these things have not
brought thee to repentance, now thou shalt die!" At
which words I thought he lifted up the spear that
was in his hand to kill me.
The horrors of my soul at this terrible vision, I
find myself unable to describe; nor is it any more.
possible to describe the impression that remained up-
on my mind when I awaked, and found it was but
a dream.
I had, alas! no divine knowledge; what I had re-
97
ceived by the good instruction of my father, was
then worn out by an uninterrupted series (for eight
years) of seafaring wickedness, and a constant con-
versation with nothing but such as were, like my-
self, wicked and profane to the last degree. I do
not remember that I had in all that time one thought
that so much as tended either to looking upwards
towards God, or inwards towards a reflection upon
my own ways, but a certain stupidity of soul, with-
out desire of good, or conscience of evil, had entire-
ly overwhelmed me, and I was all that the most har-
dened, unthinking, wicked creature among our com-
mon sailors can be supposed to be; not having the
least sense, either of the fear of God in danger, or of
thankfulness to God in deliverances.
This will be the more easily believed, when I add,
that through all the variety of miseries that had to
this day befallen me, I never had so much as one
thought of it being the hand of God, or that it was
a just punishment for my sin, my rebellious beha-
viour against my father, or my present sins, which
were great; or so much as a punishment for the ge-
neral course of my wicked life.
But now, when I began to be sick, and a distinct
view of the miseries of death came to place itself be-
fore me; when my spirits began to sink under the
burden of a strong distemper, and nature was ex-
hausted with the violence of the fever; conscience,
that had slept so long, began to awake; I began to
reproach myself with my past life, in which I had
so evidently, by uncommon wickedness, provoked
the justice of God to lay me under uncommon
strokes, and to deal with me in so vindictive a man-
ner.
I
3.
98
These reflections oppressed me for the second or
third day of my distemper; and in the violence, as
well of the fever, as of the dreadful reproaches of
my conscience, extorted some words from me, like
praying to God, though I cannot say they were ei-
ther a prayer attended with desires, or with hopes;
it was rather the voice of mere fright or distress; my
thoughts were confused, the convictions great upon
my mind, and the horror of dying in such a misera→
ble condition, raised vapours into my head with the
mere apprehensions; and in these hurries of my
soul, I know not what my tongue might express,
but it was rather exclamation, such as,
"Lord!
what a miserable creature am I! If I should be sick,
I shall certainly die for want of help, and what will
become of me!" Then the tears burst out of my
eyes, and I could say no more for a good while.
In this interval, the good advice of my father came
to my mind, and presently his prediction, which I
mentioned at the beginning of this story, viz. " That
if I did take this foolish step, God would not bless
me; and I would have leisure hereafter to reflect
upon having neglected his counsel, when there
might be none to assist in my recovery."
"Now,”
said I aloud, “my dear father's words are come to
pass.-God's justice has overtaken me, and I have
none to help or hear me. I rejected the voice of Pro-
vidence, which had mercifully put me in a posture or
station of life, wherein I might have been happy and
easy; but I would neither see it myself, nor learn to
know the blessing of it from my parents; I left them
to mourn over my folly, and now I am left to
mourn under the consequences of it. I refused their
help and assistance who would have lifted me into
99
the world, and would have made every thing easy to
me; and now I have difficulties to struggle with,
too great for even nature itself to support, and no as-
sistance, no help, no comfort, no advice." Then I
cried out, "Lord, be my help, for I am in great dis-
tress!"
This was the first prayer, if I may call it so, that
I had made for many years. But I return to my
journal.
June 28. Having been somewhat refreshed with
the sleep I had had, and the fit being entirely off, I
got up; and though the fright and terror of my
dream was very great, yet I considered that the fit
of the ague would return again the next day, and
now was my time to get something to refresh and
support myself when I should be ill; and the first
thing I did, I filled a large square case bottle with
water, and set it upon my table, in reach of my bed,
and to take off the chill, or aguish disposition of the
water, I put about a quarter of a pint of rum into it,
and mixed them together; then I got me a piece of
the goat's flesh, and broiled it upon the coals, but
could cat very little; I walked about, but was very
weak, and withal very sad and heavy-hearted, with
the thoughts of my miserable condition; dreading
the return of my distemper the next day. At night
I made my supper of three of the turtle's eggs,
which I roasted in the ashes, and ate, as we call it,
in the shell: and this was the first bit of meat I had
ever asked God's blessing to (that I could remem-
bei) in my whole life.
After I had eaten, I tried to walk, but found my-
self so weak that I could hardly carry the gun, (for
I never went out without that,) so I went but a little
100
way, and sat down upon the ground, looking about
upon the sea, which was just before me, and very
calm and smooth: as I sat here, some such thoughts
as these occurred to me-
"What is this earth and sea of which I have seen
so much? Whence is it produced? and what am I,
and all the other creatures wild and tame, human
and brutal, whence are we? Sure we are all made
by some secret power, who formed the earth and sea,
the air and sky; and who is that?" Then it follow-
ed most naturally, "It is God that has made it all!
Well, but," then it came on strangely, “if God has
made all these things, he guides and governs them
all, and all things that concern them: for the pow-
er that could make all things, must certainly have
power to guide and direct them. If so, nothing can
happen in the great circuit of his works, either with-
out his knowledge or appointment: and if nothing
happens without his knowledge, he knows that I am
here, and am in this dreadful condition, and if nothing
happens without his appointment, he has appointed
all this to befall me."
Nothing occurred to my thoughts to contradict.
any of these conclusions; and therefore it rested
upon me with the greater force, that it must needs
be, that God had appointed all this to befall me;
that I was brought to this miserable circumstance
by his direction, he having the sole power, not of me
only, but of every thing that happened in the world.
Immediately it followed-" Why has God done
this to me? What have I done to be thus used?”
My conscience presently checked me in that enqui-
ry, as if I had blasphemed, and methought it spoke
to me like a voice; "Wretch! dost thou ask what
101
thou hast done! Look back upon a dreadful mis-
spent life, and ask thyself what thou hast not done!
Ask, why is it that thou wast not long ago destroy-
ed? Why wast thou not drowned in Yarmouth
roads? Killed in the fight when the ship was tak-
en by the Sallee man of war? Devoured by the
wild beasts on the coast of Africa? Or, drowned
here, when all the crew perished but thyself? Dost
thou ask what have I done?"
1
I was struck dumb with these reflections, as one
astonished, and had not a word to say, no not to an-
swer to myself, but rose up pensive and sad, walked
back to my retreat, and went up over my wall, as if
I had been going to bed, but my thoughts were sad-
ly disturbed, and I had no inclination to sleep; so
I sat down in my chair, and lighted my lamp, for
it began to be dark. Now, as the apprehension of
the return of my distemper terrified me very much,
it occurred to my thoughts, that the Brasilians take
no physic but their tobacco, for almost all distem-
pers; and I had a piece of a roll of tobacco in one
of the chests, which was quite cured, and some also
that was green, and not quite cured.
I went, directed by heaven no doubt; for in this
chest I found a cure for both soul and body, I open-
ed the chest, and found what I looked for, viz. the
tobacco; and as the few books I had saved lay
there too, I took out one of the bibles which I men-
tioned before, and which to this time I had not
found leisure or so much as inclination to look in-
to; I say, I took it out, and brought both that and
the tobacco with me to the table.
What use to make of the tobacco, I knew not, as
to my distemper, or whether it was good for it, or
}
I 3
102
C
no; but I tried several experiments with it, as if I
was resolved it should hit one way or other: I first
took a piece of a leaf, and chewed it in my mouth,
which indeed at first almost stupified my brain, the
tobacco being green and strong, and that I had not
been much used to it; then I took some and steep-
ed it an hour or two in some rum, and resolved to
take a dose of it when I lay down; and lastly,
I burnt some upon a pan of coals, and held my nose
close over the smoke of it as long as I could bear it,
as well for the heat, as the virtue of it, till I was al-
most suffocated.
In the interval of this operation, I took up the bi-
ble and began to read, but my head was too much
disturbed with the tobacco to bear reading, at least
that time; only having opened the book casually,
the first words that occurred to me were these-
"Call on me in the day of trouble, and I will deli-
ver thee, and thou shalt glorify me."
The words were very apt to my case, and made
some impression upon my thoughts at the time of
reading them, though not so much as they did after-
wards; for, as for being delivered, the word had no
meaning, as I may say, to me; the thing was so re-
mote, so impossible, in my apprehension of things,
that I began to say as the children of Israel did,
when they were promised flesh to eat, "Can God
spread a table in the wilderness?" so I began to say,
"Can God himself deliver me from this place?"
And as it was not for many years that any hope ap-
peared, this prevailed very often upon my thoughts.
It grew now late, and the tobacco had, as I said,
dozed my head so much, that I inclined to sleep: so
I left my lamp burning in the cave, lest I should
103
want any thing in the night, and went to bed; but
before I lay down, I did what I had never done in
all my life, I kneeled down, and prayed to God to
fulfil the promise to me, that if I called upon him in
the day of trouble he would deliver me.
After my
broken and imperfect prayer was over, I drank the
rum in which I had steeped the tobacco, which was
so strong and rank of the tobacco, that indeed I
could scarce get it down; immediately upon this I
went to bed. I found presently it flew up into my
head violently; but I fell into a sound sleep, and
waked no more, till by the sun, it must necessarily
be three o'clock in the afternoon the next day: nay,
to this hour I am partly of opinion, that I slept all
the next day and night, and till almost three the
day after; for otherwise I knew not how I should
lose a day out of my reckoning in the days of the
week, as it appeared some years after I had done;
for if I had lost it by crossing and recrossing the line,
I should have lost more than one day. But, in
my account, it was lost, and I never knew which
way.
When I awaked, I found myself exceedingly re-
freshed, and my spirits lively and cheerful; when I
got up I was stronger than I was the day before, and
my stomach better, for I was hungry; and in short,
I had no fit the next day, but continued much al-
tered for the better. This was the 29th.
The 30th was my well day of course, and I went
abroad with my gun, but did not care to travel too
far. I killed a sea-fowl or two, something like a
brand-goose, and brought them home, but was not
very forward to eat them; so I ate some more of the
turtle's eggs, which were very good. This evening
104
I renewed the medicine which I had supposed did
me good the day before, viz. the tobacco steeped in
rum, only I did not take so much as before, nor did
I chew any of the leaf, or hold my head over the
smoke; however, I was not so well the next day,
which was the first of July, as I hoped I should have
been; for I had a little of the cold fit, but it was
not much.
July 2. I renewed the medicine all the three
ways, and dosed myself with it as at first; and
doubled the quantity which I drank.
July 3. I missed the fit for good and all, though
I did not recover my full strength for soine weeks
after. While I was thus gathering strength, my
thoughts ran exceedingly upon this scripture, “I
will deliver thee;" and the impossibility of my de-
liverance lay much upon my mind in bar of my ever
expecting it. But as I was discouraging myself
with such thoughts, it occurred to my mind, that I
pored so much upon my deliverance from the main
affliction, that I disregarded the deliverance I had
received; and I was, as it were, made to ask inyself
such questions as these; viz. "Have I not been de-
livered, and wonderfully too, from sickness; from
the most distressed condition that could be, and that
was so frightful to me? and what notice had I tak-
en of it? Had I done my part? God had delivered
me; but I had not glorified him; that is to say, I
had not owned and been thankful for that as a deli-
verance, and how could I expect greater deliver-
ance!" This touched my heart very much, and
immediately I kneeled down, and gave God thanks
aloud for my recovery from my sickness.
July 4. In the morning I took the bible, and be-
105
ginning at the New Testament, I began seriously to
read it, and imposed upon myself to read awhile e-
very morning and night, not tying myself to the num-
ber of chapters, but as long as my thoughts would
engage me. It was not long after I set seriously to
this work, but I found my heart more deeply and
sincerely affected with the wickedness of my past
life; the impression of my dream revived, and the
words, "All these things have not brought thee to
repentance," ran seriously in my thoughts. I was
carnestly begging of God to give me repentance,
when it happened providentially the very day that
reading the scripture, I came to these words" He
is exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repent-
ance, and to give remission!" I threw down the
book, and with my heart as well as my hands lifted
up to heaven, in a kind of ecstacy of joy, I cried
out aloud, “Jesus, thou son of David! Jesus, thou
exalted Prince and Saviour, give me repent-
ance!"
This was the first time, that I could say, in the
true sense of the words, that I prayed in all my life:
for now I prayed with a sense of my condition, and
with a true scripture view of hope, founded on the
encouragement of the word of God; and from this
time, I may say, I began to have hope that God
would hear me.
Now I began to construe the words mentioned a-
bove, "Call on me, and I will deliver you," in a
different sense from what I had ever done before;
for then I had no notion of any thing being called a
deliverance, but my being delivered from the capti-
vity I was in; for though indeed I was at large in
the place, yet the island was certainly a prison to
106
me, and that in the worst sense in the world; but
now I learned to take it in another sense. Now I
looked back upon my past life with such horror, and
my sins appeared so dreadful, that my soul sought
nothing of God, but deliverance from the load of
guilt that bore down all my comfort.
As for my
solitary life, it was nothing; I did not so much as
pray to be delivered from it, or think of it; it was
all of no consideration in comparison to this: and
I add this part here, to hint to whoever shall read
it, that whenever they come to a true sense of things,
they will find deliverance from sin a much greater
blessing than deliverance from affliction.
But leaving this part, I return to my journal.
My condition began now to be, though not less
miserable as to my way of living, yet much easier to
my mind; and my thoughts being directed by a con-
stant reading the scripture, and praying to God, to
things of a higher nature; I had a great deal of
comfort within, which till now I knew nothing of;
my health and strength also returned, I bestirred
myself to furnish me with every thing that I
wanted, and make my way of living as regular as I
could.
From the 4th of July to the 14th, I was chiefly
employed in walking about with my gun in my hand,
a little and a little at a time, as a man that was ga-
thering up his strength after a fit of sickness; for it
is hardly to be imagined how low I was, and to what
weakness I was reduced. The application which I
made use of was perfectly new, and perhaps what
had never cured an ague before, neither can I re-
commend it to any one to practise by this expe-
riment: and though it did carry off the fit, yet it ra-
- ... 1.
107
ther contributed to weakening me: for I had fre-
quent convulsions in my nerves and limbs for some
time.
I learnt from it, also, this in particular, that be-
ing abroad in the rainy season was the most pernici-
ous thing to my health that could be, especially in
those rains which came attended with storms and
hurricanes of wind; for as the rain which came in
a dry season was always most accompanied with
such storms, so I found that rain was much more
dangerous than the rain which fell in September
and October.
I had been now in this unhappy island above ten
months, all possibility of deliverance from this con-
dition seemed to be entirely taken from me: and I
firmly believed, that no human shape had ever set
foot upon that place. Having now secured my ha-
bitation, as I thought, fully to my mind, I had
a great desire to make a more perfect discovery of
the island, and to see what other productions I
might find, which I yet knew nothing of.
It was the 5th of July that I began to take a
more particular survey of the island itself. I went
up the creek first, where I brought my rafts on
shore; I found, after I came about two miles up,
that the tide did not flow any higher, and that it was
no more than a little brook of running water, and
very fresh and good; but this being the dry season,
there was hardly any water in some parts of it, at
least not enough to run in any stream, so as it could
be perceived. On the bank of this brook I found
many pleasant savannas, or meadows, plain, smooth,
and covered with grass; and on the rising parts of
them, next to the higher grounds, where the water,
108
as it might be supposed, never overflowed, I found
a great deal of tobacco, green, and growing to a
great and very strong stalk; besides many other
plants which I knew nothing of.
I searched for the Cassava root, which the Indi-
ans in all that climate make their bread of, but I
could find none. I saw large plants of aloes, but
did not then understand them; likewise several su-
gar canes, but wild, and, for want of cultivation, im-
perfect. I contented myself with these discoveries
for this time, and came back musing with myself
what course I might take to know the virtue
and goodness of any of the fruits or plants which I
should discover, but could bring it to no conclusion;
for in short, I had made so little observation while I
was in the Brasils, that I knew little of the plants
in the field, at least very little that might serve me
to any purpose now in my distress.
The next day, the 16th, I went up the same way
again, and after going something further than I had
gone the day before, I found the brook and the sa-
vannas began to cease, and the country became
more woody than before. In this part I found dif-
ferent fruits, and particularly I found melons upon
the ground in great abundance, and grapes upon the
trees; the vines had spread indeed over the trees, and
the clusters of grapes were just now in their prime,
very ripe and rich. This was a surprising discovery,
and I was exceeding glad of them; but I was warn-
ed by my experience to eat sparingly of them; re-
membering, that when I was a-shore in Barbary, the
eating of grapes killed several of our English men
who were slaves there, by throwing them into fluxes
and fevers. But I found an excellent use for these
109
grapes, and that was to cure or dry them in the sun,
and keep them as dried grapes or raisins.
At night I took my first contrivance, and got up
into a tree, where I slept well; and the next morn-
ing proceeded upon my discovery, travelling near
four miles, as I might judge by the length of the val-
ley, keeping still due north, with a ridge of hills on
the south and north side of me. At the end of this
march I came to an opening, where the country
seemed to descend to the west, and a little spring of
fresh water, which issued out of the side of the hill
by me, ran the other way, that is due east; and the
country appeared so fresh, so green, so flourishing,
every thing being in constant verdure of spring, that
it looked like a planted garden.
I descended a little on the side of that delicious
vale, surveying it with a secret kind of pleasure,
(though mixed with my other afflictive thoughts,) to
think that this was all my own; that I was king
and lord of all this country indefeasibly, and had a
right of possession; and, if I could convey it, I might
have it in inheritance, as completely as any lord of
a manor in England.* I saw here abundance of
• We cannot deny ourselves the pleasure of adding here
the beautiful poem of the amiable Cowper.
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.
O, solitude! where are the charms
That sages have seen in thy face?
Better dwell in the midst of alarms,
Than reign in this horrible place,
K
110
cocoa trees, orange, and lemon, and citron trees
but all wild, and very few bearing any fruit, at
I am out of humanity's reach,
I must finish my journey alone,
Never hear the sweet music of speech;
I start at the sound of my own.
The beasts that roam over the plain,
My form with indifference see;
They are so unacquainted with man,
Their tameness is shocking to me.
Society, friendship, and love,
Divinely bestow'd upon man,
O, had I the wings of a dove,
How soon would I taste you again!
My sorrows I then might assuage
In the ways of religion and truth,
Might learn from the wisdom of age,
And be cheer'd by the sallies of youth.
Religion! what treasure untold
Resides in that heavenly word!
More precious than silver and gold,
Or all that this earth can afford.
But the sound of the church-going bell
These vallies and rocks never heard,
Ne'er sigh'd at the sound of a knell,
Or smil'd when a sabbath appear'd.
Ye winds, that have made me your sport,
Convey to this desolate shore
Some cordial endearing report
Of a land I shall visit no more.
My friends, do they now and then send
À wish or a thought after me?
O tell me 1 yet have a friend,
Though a friend I am never to see.
How fleet is a glance of the mind!
Compar'd with the speed of its flight,
The tempest itself lags behind,
And the swift winged arrows of light.
111
least not then. However, the green limes that I
gathered, were not only pleasant to eat, but very
wholesome; and I mixed their juice afterwards with
water, which made it very wholesome,
wholesome, and very cool
and refreshing.
I found now I had business enough to gather and
carry home; and I resolved to lay up a store, as well
of grapes, as limes and lemons, to furnish myself for
the wet season, which I knew was approaching. In
order to do this, I gathered a great heap of grapes in
one place, and a great parcel of limes and lemons in
another place; and taking a few of each with me I
travelled homeward, and resolved to come again, and
bring a bag or sack, or what I could make, to car-
ry the rest home.
Accordingly, having spent three days in this jour-
ney, I came home (so I must now call my tent and
cave;) but before I got thither, the grapes were
spoiled, the richness of the fruit and the weight of
juice having broken them, and bruised them, they
were good for little or nothing; as to the limes,
they were good, but I could bring but a few.
When I think of my own native land,
In a moment I seem to be there;
But alas! recollection at hand
Soon hurries me back to despair.
But the sea-fowl is gone to her nest,
The beast is laid down in his lair,
E'en here is a season of rest,
And I to my cabin repair.
There's mercy in every place;
And mercy, encouraging thought!
Gives even affliction a grace;
And reconciles man to his lot.
112
The next day, being the 19th, I went back, hav-
ing made me two small bags to bring home my har-
vest; but I was surprised, when coming to my heap
of grapes, which were so rich and fine when I gather-
ed them, I found them all spread about, trod to
pieces, and dragged about, some here, some there;
and abundance eaten and devoured. By this I con-
cluded, there were some wild creatures thereabouts,
which had done this, but what they were I knew
not. However, as I found that there was no laying
them up on heaps, and no carrying them away in
a sack, but that one way they would be destroyed,
and the other way they would be crushed with their
own weight, I took another course; for I gathered
a large quantity of the grapes, and hung them up
upon the out branches of the trees, that they might
cure and dry in the sun; and as for the limes and
lemons, I carried as many back as I could well
stand under.
When I came home from this journey, I contem-
plated with great pleasure the fruitfulness of that val-
ley, and the pleasantness of the situation, the secu-
rity from storms on that side the water, and the
wood; and concluded, that I had pitched upon a
place to fix my abode, which was by far the worst
part of the country. Upon the whole, I began to
consider of removing my habitation; and to look out
for a place equally safe, as where I now was situate,
if possible, in that pleasant fruitful part of the is-
land.
This thought run long in my head, and I was ex-
ceeding fond of it for some time, the pleasantness of
the place tempting me; but when I came to a near-
er view of it, and to consider that I was now by the
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113
sea-side, where it was at least possible that some-
thing might happen to my advantage, and by the
same ill fate that brought me hither, might bring
some other unhappy wretches to the same place;
and though it was scarce probable that any such
thing should ever happen, yet to enclose myself
among the hills and woods, in the centre of the
island, was to anticipate my bondage, and to render
such an affair not only improbable, but impossible.
Upon second thoughts, I resolved not to remove;
yet I built me a little kind of a bower, and surround-
ed it at a distance with a strong fence, being a dou-
ble bedge, as high as I could reach, well staked, and
filled between with brush-wood; and here I lay ve-
ry secure, sometimes two or three nights together,
always going over it with a ladder, as before; so
that I fancied now I had my country-house, and my
sea-coast house. This work took me up to the be-
ginning of August.
I had but newly finished my fence, and began to
enjoy my labour, but the rains came on, and made
me stick close to my first habitation; for though I
had made me a tent like the other, with a piece
of a sail, and spread it very well, yet I had not the
shelter of a hill to keep me from the storms, nor a
cave behind me to retreat into, when the rains were
extraordinary.
The third of August, I found the grapes I had
hung up were perfectly dried, and indeed, were ex-
cellent good raisins of the sun; so I began to take
them down from the trees, and it was very happy
that I did so; for the rains which followed would
have spoiled them, and I had lost the best part of my
K 3
114
winter food; for I had above two hundred large
bunches of them. No sooner had I taken them all
down, and carried most of them home to my cave,
but it began to rain; and from that day, which was
the 14th of August, it rained more or less every day,
till the middle of October; and sometimes so vio-
lently, that I could not stir out of my cave for seve-
ral days.
-
In this season I was much surprised with the in-
crease of my family; I had been concerned for the
loss of one of my cats, which ran away from me, or,
as I thought, had been dead; and I heard no more
tidings of her, till to my astonishment she came
home about the end of August, with three kittens.
This was the more strange to me, because, though I
had killed a wild cat, as I called it, with my gun,
yet I thought it was quite a different kind from our
European cats; yet the young cats were the same
kind of house-breed like the old one; and both my
cats being females, I thought it very strange. But
from these three cats, I afterwards came to be so
pestered with cats, that I was forced to kill them like
vermin or wild beasts, and to drive them from my
house as much as possible.
From the 14th of August to the 26th, incessant
rain, so that I could not stir, and was now very care-
ful not to be much wet. In this confinement I be-
gan to be straitened for food; but venturing out
twice, I one day killed a goat; and the last day,
which was the 26th, found a very large tortoise,
which was a treat to me. And my food was regu-
lated thus: I ate a bunch of raisins for my break-
fast; a piece of the goat's flesh, or of the turtle, for
115
*
my dinner, broiled, (for, to my great misfortune,
I had no vessel to boil or stew any thing,) and two
or three of the turtle's eggs for supper.
During this confinement in my cover, by the rain,
I worked daily two or three hours at enlarging my
cave; and, by degrees, worked it on towards one
side, till I came to the outside of the hill, and made a
door or way out, which came beyond my fence or
wall; and so I came in and out this way. But I was
not perfectly easy at lying so open; for as I had ma-
naged myself before, I was in a perfect inclosure,
whereas now I thought I lay exposed; and yet I
could not perceive that there was any living thing
to fear, the biggest creature that I had yet seen upon
the island being a goat.
September 30. I was now come to the unhappy
auniversary of my landing: I cast up the notches on
my post, and found I had been on shore three hun-
dred and sixty-five days. I kept this day as a so-
lemu fast, setting it apart to a religious exercise,
prostrating myself to the ground with the most se-
rious humiliation, confessing myself to God, ac-
knowledging his righteous judgment upon me, and
praying to him to have mercy upon me, through Je-
sus Christ; and having not tasted the least refresh-
ment for twelve hours, even till the going down of
the sun, I then ate a biscuit-cake and a bunch of
grapes, and went to bed, finishing the day as I be-
gan it.
I had all this time observed no sabbath-day; for as
at first I had no sense of religion upon my mind, I
had after some time omitted to distinguish the weeks,
by making a longer notch than ordinary for the sab-
bath-day, and so did not really know what any of
the days were; but now having cast up the days as
116
above, I found I had been there a year; so I divided
it into weeks, and set apart every seventh day for a
sabbath; though I found at the end of my account,
I had lost a day or two of my reckoning.
A little after this, my ink began to fail me, and
so I contented myself to use it more sparingly, and
to write down only the most remarkable events of my
life, without continuing a daily memorandum of
other things.
The rainy season, and the dry season, began now
to appear regular to me, and I learned to divide
them so as to provide for them accordingly. But
I bought all my experience before I had it; and
this I am going to relate, was one of the most discou-
raging experiments that I made at all. I have men-
tioned, that I had saved the few ears of barley and
rice which I had so surprisingly found spring up,
as I thought of themselves, and believe they were
about thirty stalks of rice, and about twenty of bar-
ley; and now I thought it a proper time to sow it
after the rains, the sun being in its southern position
going from me.
Accordingly, I dug up a piece of ground, as well
as I could, with my wooden spade, and dividing it
into two parts, I sowed my grain; but as I was sow-
ing, it casually occurred to my thoughts, that I
would not sow it all at first, because I did not know
when was the proper time for it; so I sowed about
two-thirds of the seeds, leaving about a handful of
each.
It was a great comfort to me afterwards that I did
so, for not one grain of that I sowed this time came
to any thing; for the dry months following, the earth
having had no rain after the seed was sown, it had
no moisture to assist its growth, and never came up
117
at all, till the wet season had come again, and then
it grew as if it had been newly sown.
Finding my first seed did not grow, which I easily
imagined was by the drought, I sought for a moister
piece of ground to make another trial in, and I dug
up a piece of ground near my new bower, and sow-
ed the rest of my seed in February, a little before
the vernal equinox; and this, having the rainy
months of March and April to water it, sprung up
very pleasantly, and yielded a very good crop; but
having part of the seed only left, and not daring to
sow all I had yet, I had but a small quantity at last,
my whole crop not amounting to above half a peck
of each kind. But by this experience I was made
master of my business, and knew exactly when the
proper season was to sow; and that I might expect
two seed-times, and two harvests, every year.
While this corn was growing, I made a little dis-
covery, which was of use to me afterwards: as soon
as the rains were over, and the weather began to set-
tle, which was about the month of November, I
made a visit up the country to my bower, where,
though I had not been some months, yet I found all
things just as I left them. The circle or double
hedge that I had made, was not only firm and entire,
but the stalks which I had cut off some trees that
grew thereabouts, were all shot out, and grown with
long branches, as much as a willow-tree usually
shoots the first year after lopping its head. I
could not tell what tree to call it, that these stakes
were cut from. I was surprised, and yet very well
pleased, to see the young trees grow; and I pruned
them, and led them up to grow as much alike as I
could; and it is scarce credible, how beautiful a
figure they grew into in three years; so that though
*
118
..
the hedge made a circle of about twenty-five yards
in diameter, yet the trees, for such I might now call
them, soon covered it: and it was a complete
shade, sufficient to lodge under all the dry sea-
sons.
This made me resolve to cut some more stakes,
and make me an edge like this in a semi-circle round
my wall, (I mean, that of my first dwelling,) which
I did; and, placing the trees or stakes in a double
row, at above eight yards distance from my first
fence, they grew presently, and were at first a fine
cover to my habitation, and afterwards served for a
defence also, as I shall observe in its order.
I found now, that the seasons of the year might
generally be divided, not into summer and winter,
as in Europe, but into the rainy seasons, and the dry
seasons, which were generally thus-
Half Feb.
Rainy, the sun being then on or
near the equinox.
Dry, the sun being then to the
north of the line.
All March
Half April
Half April
All May
June
July
Half Aug.
Half Aug.
All Sept.
Rainy, the sun being then come
back.
Half Oct.
Half Oct.
All Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Half Feb.
Dry, the sun being then to the
south of the line.
The rainy season sometimes held longer or short-
119
er, as the winds happened to blow; but this was the
general observation I made. After I had found, by
experience, the ill consequence of being abroad in
the rain, I took care to furnish myself with provisi-
ons beforehand, that I might not be obliged to go
out; and I sat within doors as much as possible du-
ring the wet months.
In this time I found much employment, (and very
suitable also to the time,) for I found great occasion
of many things which I had no way to furnish my-
self with, but by hard labour and constant applica-
tion; particularly, I tried many ways to make my-
self a basket; but all the twigs I could get for the
purpose, proved so brittle, that they would do no-
thing. It proved of excellent advantage to me now,
that when I was a boy, I used to take great delight
in standing at a basket-maker's in the town where
my father lived, to see them make their wicker-
ware; and being, as boys usually are, very officious
to help, and a great observer of the manner how
they worked those things, and sometimes lent an
hand, I had by this means so full knowledge of the
methods of it, that I wanted nothing but the mate-
rials; when it came into my mind, that the twigs of
that tree from whence I cut my stakes that grew,
might possibly be as tough as the sallows, and wil-
lows, and osiers, in England; and I resolved to
try.
Accordingly, the next day, I went to my country-
house, as I called it, and cutting some of the small-
er twigs, I found them to my purpose as much as I
could desire; whereupon I came the next time pre-
pared with a hatchet to cut down a quantity, which
I soon found, for there was great plenty of them:
120
these I set up to dry within my circle or hedge, and
when they were fit for use, I carried them to my
cave; and here, during the next season, I employ-
ed myself in making as well as I could, a great ma-
ny baskets, both to carry earth, or to carry or lay
up any thing as I had occasion; and though I did
not finish them very handsomely, yet I made them
sufficiently serviceable for my purpose; especially I
made strong deep baskets to place my corn in, in-
stead of sacks, when I should come to have any quan-
tity of it.
Having mastered this difficulty, and employed a
world of time about it, I bestirred myself to see, if
possible, how to supply two wants: I had no vessels
to hold any thing that was liquid, except two run-
lets which were almost full of rum, and some glass
bottles. I had not so much as a pot to boil any
thing, except a great kettle which I saved out of the
ship, and which was too big for such uses as I desir-
ed it for, viz. to make broth, and stew a bit of meat
by itself. The second thing I would fain have had,
was a tobacco-pipe; but it was impossible for me to
make one: however I found a contrivance for that
too at last.
I mentioned before, that I had a great mind to see
the whole island, and that I had travelled up the
brook, and so on to where I built my bower, and
where I had an opening quite to the sea on the
other side of the island. I now resolved to travel
quite across to the sea-shore on that side: so taking
my gun, a hatchet, and my dog, and a larger quan-
tity of powder and shot than usual, with two biscuit-
cakes, and a great bunch of raisins in my pouch for
my store, I began my journey. When I had passed
121
the vale where my bower stood, as before, I came
within view of the sea, to the west, and it being a
very clear day, I fairly descried land, whether an
island or a continent, I could not tell; but it lay
very high, extending from the west to the W. S. W.
at a very great distance; by my guess it could not
be less than fifteen or twenty leagues off.
I could not tell what part of the world this might
be, otherwise than that I knew that it must be part of
America; and as I concluded by all my observations,
must be near the Spanish dominious, and perhaps
was all inhabited by savages, where if I should have
landed, I had been in a worse condition than I was
now, and, therefore, I acquiesced in the dispositions,
which I began now to own, and to believe, ordered
every thing for the best.
With these considerations I walked very leisurely
forward. I found that side of the island where I
now was, much pleasanter than mine, the open fields
sweet, adorned with flowers and grass, and full of
very fine woods. I saw abundance of parrots, and
I would fain have caught one, if possible, to have
kept it to be tame, and taught it to speak to me. I
did, after some pains taking, catch a young parrot;
for I knocked it down with a stick, and having re-
covered it, I brought it home; but it was some
years before I could make him speak. However,
at last I taught him to call me by my name very
familiarly.
I was exceedingly diverted with this journey: I
found in the low grounds hares, as I thought them
to be, and foxes, but they differed greatly from all
the other kinds I had met with; nor could I satisfy
myself to eat them, though I killed several: but I
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122
had no need to be venturous, for I had no want of
food, and of that which was very good too; especi-
ally goats, pigeons, and turtle or tortoise; which,
added to my grapes, Leadenhall-market could not
have furnished a table better than I, in proportion
to the company; and though my case was deplora-
ble enough, yet I had great cause for thankfulness,
and that I was not driven to any extremities for
food; but had rather plenty, even to dainties.
I never travelled in this journey above two miles
outright in a day, or thereabouts; but I took so ma-
ny turns and returns to see what discoveries I could
make, that I came weary enough to the place where
I resolved to sit down for all night; and then I ei-
ther reposed myself in a tree, or surrounded myself
with a row of stakes set upright in the ground, either
from one tree to another, or so, as no wild creature
could come at me, without waking me.
As soon as I came to the sea-shore, I was surpris-
ed to see that I had taken up my lot on the worst
side of the island; for here indeed the shore was co-
vered with innumerable turtles, whereas on the other
side I had found but three in a year and half. Here
was also an infinite number of fowls, of many kinds,
some of which I had not seen before, and many of
them very good meat; but such as I knew not the
names of, except those called penguins.
I confess this side of the country was much plea-
santer than mine, but yet I had not the least incli-
nation to remove; for as I was fixed in my habitation,
it became natural to me, and I seemed all the while
I was here, to be as it were upon a journey, and
from home: however I travelled along the sea-shore,
towards the east, I suppose about twelve miles; and
123
then setting up a great pole upon the shore for a
mark, I concluded I would go home again; and that
the next journey I took should be on the other side.
of the island, east from my dwelling, and so round
till I came to my post again.
In this journey my dog surprised a young kid, and
seized upon it, and I, running to take hold of it,
caught it, and saved it alive from the dog: I had a
great mind to bring it home if I could; for I had
often been musing, whether it might not be possible
to get a kid or two, and so raise a breed of tame
goats, which might supply me when my powder and
shot should be all spent.
I made a collar to this little creature, and with
a string which I made of some rope-yarn which I al-
ways carried about me, I led him along, though with
some difficulty, till I came to my bower, and there
I inclosed him, and left him; for I was very impa-
tient to be at home, from whence I had been absent
above a month. I cannot express what a satisfac-
tion it was to me, to come into my old hutch, and
lie down in my hammock-bed. This little wander-
ing journey, without settled place of abode, had
been so unpleasant to me, that my own house as I
called it to myself, was a perfect settlement to me,
compared to that; and it rendered every thing about
me so comfortable, that I resolved I would never go
a great way from it again, while it should be my
lot to stay on the island.
I reposed myself here a week, to rest and regale
myself after my long journey; during which, most
of the time was taken up in the weighty affair of
making a cage for my Poll, who began now to be a
near domestic, and to be mighty well acquainted
124
'
Then I
with me.
I began to think of the poor kid,
which I had penned in within my little circle, and
resolved to go and fetch it home, or give it some
food; accordingly I went and found it where I left
it; for indeed it could not get out, but was almost
starved for want of food. I went and cut boughs of
trees, and branches of such shrubs as I could find,
and threw it over, and having fed it, I tied it as I did
before, to lead it away; but it was so tame with be-
ing hungry, that I had no need to have tied it; for
it followed me like a dog; and as I continually fed
it, the creature became so loving, so gentle, and so
fond, that it became from that time one of my do-
mestics also, and would never leave me afterwards.
The rainy season of the autumnal equinox was
now come, and I kept the 30th of September in the
same solemn manner as before, being the anniversa-
ry of my landing on the island, having now been
there two years, and no more prospect of being de-
livered than the first day I came there. I spent the
whole day in humble and thankful acknowledgments
of the many wonderful mercies which my solitary
condition was attended with, and without which it
might have been infinitely more miserable. It was
now that I began sensibly to feel how much more
happy this life I now led was, with all its miserable
circumstances, than the wicked, cursed, abominable
life I led all the past part of my days; and now I
changed both my sorrows and my joys; my very de-
sires altered, my affections changed their gusts, and
my delights were perfectly new, from what they
were at my first coming, or indeed for the two years
past. Before, as I walked about, either on my
hunting, or for viewing the country, the anguish of
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+
my soul at my condition, would break out upon me
on a sudden, and my very heart would die within
me, to think of the woods, the mountains, and the
deserts I was in; and how I was a prisoner, locked
up with the eternal bars and bolts of the ocean, in
an uninhabited wilderness, without redemption. In
the midst of the greatest composures of my mind,
this would break out upon me like a storm, and
make me wring my hands, and weep like a child.
Sometimes it would take me in the middle of my
work, and I would immediately sit down and sigh,
and look upon the ground for an hour or two toge-
ther; and this was still worse to me; for if I could
burst out into tears, or vent myself by words, it
would go off, and the grief having exhausted itself,
would abate.
But now I began to exercise myself with new
thoughts; I daily read the word of God, and applied
all the comforts of it to my present state. One
morning being very sad, I opened the bible upon
these words "I will never, never leave thee, nor
forsake thee!" Immediately it occurred, that these
words were to me, why else should they be directed
in such a manner, just at the moment when I was
mourning over my condition, as one forsaken of God
and man? Well then, said I, if God does not for-
sake me, of what ill consequence can it be, or what
matters it, though the world should all forsake me,
seeing on the other hand, if I had all the world, and
should lose the favour and blessing of God, there
would be no comparison in the loss.
I never opened the bible, or shut it, but my very
soul within me blessed God for directing my friend
in England, without any order of mine, to pack it
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126
up among my goods; and for assisting me afterwards
to save it out of the wreck of the ship.
Thus, and in this disposition of mind, I began my
third year; and though I have not given the reader
the trouble of so particular an account of my works
this year as the first, yet in general it may be ob-
served, that I was very seldom idle: but having re-
gularly divided my time, according to the several
daily employments that were before me; such as,
first, my duty to God, and the reading the scrip-
tures, which I constantly set apart some time for
thrice every day. Secondly, the going abroad with
my gun for food, which generally took me up three
hours in every morning, when it did not rain. Third-
ly, the ordering, curing, preserving, and cooking
what I had killed or catched for my supply; these
took up great part of the day: also it is to be con-
sidered, that the middle of the day, when the sun
was in the zenith, the violence of the heat was too
great to stir out; so that about four hours in the
evening was all the time I could be supposed to
work in; with this exception, that sometimes I
changed my hours of hunting and working, and
went to work in the morning, and abroad with my
gun in the afternoon. To this short time allowed
for labour, I desire may be added the exceeding la-
boriousness of my work, the many hours which for
want of tools, want of help, and want of skill, every
thing I did, took up of my time. For example, I
was full two and forty days making me a board for
a long shelf, which I wanted in my cave: whereas
two sawyers, with their tools and saw-pit, would
have cut six of them out of the same tree in half a
day.
A
!
J
127
My case was this; it was to be a large tree which
was to be cut down, because iny board was to be a
broad one. The tree I was three days in cutting
down, and two more in cutting off the boughs, and
reducing it to a log, or piece of timber. With in-
expressible hacking and hewing I reduced both the
sides of it into chips; till it began to be light enough
to move; then I turned it, and made one side of it
smooth, and flat, as a board from end to end; then
turning that side downward, cut the other side, till
I brought the plank to be about three inches thick,
and smooth on both sides. Any one may judge the
labour of my hands in such a piece of work; but
labour and patience carried me through that and
many other things. I only observe this in particu-
lar, to shew the reason why so much of my time
went away with so little work; viz. that what might
be a little to be done with help and tools, was a
vast labour, and required a prodigious time to do
alone, and by hand.
But notwithstanding this, with patience and la-
bour I went through many things, and indeed every
thing that my circumstances made necessary, to me
to do, as will appear by what follows.
I was now in the months of November and De-
cember, expecting my crop of barley and rice. The
ground I had manured or dug up for them was not
great; for, as I observed, my seed of each was not
above the quantity of half a peck; having lost one
whole crop by sowing in the dry season; but now
my crop promised very well, when on a sudden I
found I was in danger of losing it all again by ene-
mies of several sorts, which it was scarce possible to
keep from it; as first, the goats, and wild creatures
:
128
which I called hares, who tasting the sweetness of
the blade, lay in it night and day, as soon as it came
up, and ate it so close, that it could get no time to
shoot up into stalk. This I saw no remedy for, but
by making an inclosure about it with a hedge,
which I did with a great deal of toil; and the more,
because it required speed. However, as my arable
land was but small, suited to my crop, I got it all
well fenced in about three weeks' time; and shoot-
ing some of the creatures in the day time, I set my
dog to guard it in the night, tying him up to a stake at
the gate, where he would stand and bark all night
long; so in a little time the enemies forsook the
place, and the corn grew very strong and well, and
began to ripen apace.
But as the beasts ruined me before, while my corn
was in the blade, so the birds were as likely to ruin
me now, when it was in the ear; for going along by
the place to see how it throve, I saw my little crop
surrounded with fowls of I know not how many
sorts, who stood as it were watching till I should be
gone; I immediately let fly among them, (for I al-
ways had my gun with me). I had no sooner
shot but there rose up a little cloud of fowls, which
I had not seen at all, from among the corn itself.
This touched me sensibly, for I foresaw, that in a
few days they would devour all my hopes, that I
should be starved, and never be able to raise a crop
at all, and what to do I could not tell: however, I
resolved not to lose my corn, if possible, though I
should watch it night and day. In the first place,
I went among it to see what damage was already
done, and found they had spoiled a good deal of it;
but that as it was yet too green for them, the loss
129
was not so great, but that the remainder was like to
be a good crop if it could be saved.
I stayed by it to load my gun, and then coming
away I could easily see the thieves sitting upon all
the trees about me, as if they only waited till I was
gone away, and the event proved it to be so; for as I
walked off as if I was gone, I was no sooner out of
their sight, but they dropt down one by one into the
corn again. I was so provoked that I could not
have patience to stay till more came on, knowing
that every grain that they ate now, was, as it might
be said, a peck loaf to me in the consequence; but
coming up to the hedge, I fired again, and killed
three of them. This was what I wished for; so I
took them up, and served them as we serve notori-
ous thieves in England, viz. hanged them in chains
for a terror to others. It is impossible to imagine al-
most, that this should have such an effect as it
had; for the fowls would not only not come at
the corn, but in short they forsook all that part of the
island, and I could never see a bird near the place
as long as my scare-crows hung there. This I was
very glad of, you may be sure; and about the lat
ter end of December, which was our second harvest
of the year, I reaped my crop.
I was sadly put to it for a scythe or a sickle to cut
it down, and all I could do was to make one as well
as I could out of one of the broad swords or cut-
lasses, which I saved among the arms out of the
ship. However, as my first crop was but small, I
had no great difficulty to cut it down: in short, I
reaped it my way, for I cut nothing off but the ears,
and caried it away in a great basket which I had
made, and so rubbed it out with my hands; and at
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130
the end of all my harvesting, I found that out of my
half peck of seed, I had near two bushels of rice,
and above two bushels and a half of barley, that is
to say, by my guess, for I had no measure at that
time. This was a great encouragement to me: and I
foresaw that in time, it would please God to supply
me with bread. And yet here I was perplexed
again, for I neither knew how to grind or make meal
of my corn, or indeed how to clean it and part it ;
nor if made into meal, how to make bread of it; and
if how to make it, yet I knew not how to bake it.
These things being added to my desire of having a
good quantity for store, and to secure a constant
supply, I resolved not to taste any of this crop, but
to preserve it all for seed against the next season,
and in the mean time to employ all my study and
hours of working to accomplish this great work of
providing myself with corn and bread.
It might be truly said, that now I worked for my
bread. It is a little wonderful, and what I believe
few people have thought much upon, viz. the strange
multitude of little things necessary in the providing,
producing, curing, dressing, making, and finishing
this one article of bread. I that was reduced to a
mere state of nature, found this to my daily discou-
ragement, and was made more and more sensible of
it every hour, even after I had got the first handful
of seed-corn, which, as I have said, came up unex-
pectedly, and indeed to a surprise.
First, I had no plough to turn up the earth, no
spade or shovel to dig it. Well, this I conquered,
by making a wooden spade, as I observed before;
but this did my work in but a wooden manner;
and though it cost me a great many days to make
131
it, yet for want of iron it not only wore out the soon-
er, but made my work the harder, and made it be
performed much worse. This I bore with, and was
content to work it out with patience, and bear with
the badness of the performance. When the corn was
sowed, I had no harrow, but was forced to go over
it myself, and drag a great heavy bough of a tree
over it, to scratch it, as it may be called, rather than
rake or harrow it. When it was growing and grown,
I have observed already how many things I wanted,
to fence it, secure it, mow or reap it, cure and carry
it home, thrash, part it from the chaff, and save it.
Then I wanted a mill to grind it, sieves to dress it,
yeast and salt to make it into bread, and an oven
to bake it; and yet all these things I did without,
and the corn was an inestimable comfort and advan-
tage to me too. I resolved to use none of the corn
for bread till I had a greater quantity by me; I had
the next six months to apply myself wholly by la-
bour and invention to furnish myself with utensils
proper for the performing all the operations neces-
sary for the making the corn (when I had it) fit for
use.
But first, I was to prepare more land, for I had
now seed enough to sow above an acre of ground.
Before I did this, I had a week's work at least to
make me a spade, which when it was done was but
a sorry one indeed, and very heavy, and required
double labour to work with it; however I went
through that, and sowed my seed in two large flat
pieces of ground, as near my house as I could find
them to my mind, and fenced them in with a good
hedge, the stakes of which were all cut off that wood
which I had set before, and knew it would grow, so
132
that in one year's time I knew I should have a quick
or living hedge that would want but little repair.
This work took me up three months, because great
part of that time was of the wet season, when I
could not go abroad. Within doors, that is, when
it rained, and I could not go out, I found employ-
ment on the following occasions: always observing,
that all the while I was at work I diverted myself
with talking to my parrot, and teaching him to
speak; and I quickly learned him to know his own
name, and at last to speak it out pretty loud, Poll;
which was the first word I ever heard spoken in the
island by any mouth but my own. I had long stu-
died, by some means or other, to make myself some
earthen vessels, which indeed I wanted sorely, but
knew not where to come at them: however, consi-
dering the heat of the climate, I did not doubt but
if I could find out any such clay, I might botch up
some such pot, as might, being dried in the sun, be
hard enough, and strong enough to bear handling,
and to hold any thing that was dry, and required to
be kept so; and as this was necessary in the prepar-
ing corn, meal, &c. which was the thing I was up-
on, I resolved to make some as large as I could, and
fit only to stand like jars to hold what should be put
in them.
It would make the reader pity me, or rather laugh
at me, to tell how many awkward ways I took to
raise this paste, what odd misshapen ugly things I
made, how many of them fell in, and how many fell
out, the clay not being stiff enough to bear its own
weight; how many cracked by the over-violent heat
of the sun, being set out too hastily; and how many
fell in pieces with only removing, as well before as
133
after they were dried; and in a word, how, after
having laboured hard to find the clay, to dig it, to
temper it, to bring it home and work it, I could not
make above two large earthern ugly things, I cannot
call them jars, in about two months' labour. As
the sun baked these two very dry and hard; I lifted
them up, and set them down again in two great
wicker baskets, which I had made on purpose for
them, that they might not break; and as between
the pot and the basket there was a little room to
spare, I stuffed it full of the rice and barley straw,
and these two pots being to stand always dry, I
thought would hold my dry corn, and perhaps the
meal, when the corn was bruised.
Though I miscarried so much in my design for
large pots, yet I made several smaller things with
better success; such as little round pots, flat dishes,
pitchers and pipkins, and any thing my hand turned
to, and the heat of the sun baked them strangely
hard. But all this would not answer my end, which
was to get an earthen pot to hold what was liquid,
and bear the fire, which none of these could do. It
happened after some time, making a pretty large fire
for cooking my meat, when I went to put it out af-
ter I had done with it, I found a broken piece of
one of my earthenware vessels in the fire, burnt as
hard as a stone, and red as a tile. I was agreeably
surprised to see it, and said to myself, that certainly
they might be made to burn whole, if they would.
burn broken.
This set me to study how to order my fire, so as
make it burn me some pots. I had no notion of a
kiln, such as the potters burn in, or of glazing them
with lead, though I had some lead to do it with;
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134
>
1
but I placed three large pipkins, and two or three
pots in a pile one upon another, and placed my fire-
wood all round it with a great heap of embers under
them; I plied the fire with fresh fuel round the out-
side, and upon the top, till I saw the pots in the in-
side red hot quite through, and observed that they
did not crack at all; when I saw them clear red, I
let them stand in that heat about five or six hours,
till I found one of them, though it did not crack,
did melt or run, for the sand which was mixed with
the clay melted by the violence of the heat, and
would have run into glass if I had gone on; so I
slacked my fire gradually, till the pots began to
abate of the red colour, and watching them all
night, that I might not let the fire abate too fast,
in the morning I had three very good, I will not say
handsome pipkins, and two other earthen pots, as
hard burnt as could be desired; and one of them per-
fectly glazed with the running of the sand.
After this experiment, I wanted no sort of earth-
en ware for my use; but as to the shapes of them,
they were very indifferent, as any one may suppose,
when I had no way of making them, but as the chil-
dren make dirt-pies, or as a woman would make pies
that never learned to raise paste. No joy at a thing
of so mean a nature was ever equal to mine, when
I found I had made an earthen pot that would bear
the fire; and I had hardly patience to stay till they
were cold, before I set one upon the fire again, with
some water in it, to boil some meat, which it did ad-
mirably well; and with a piece of a kid I made.
some very good broth, though I wanted oatmeal, and
several other ingredients requisite to make it so good
as I would have had it been.
135
My next concern was, to get a stone mortar to
stamp or beat some corn in; for as to the mill, there
was no thought at arriving to that perfection of art,
with one pair of hands. To supply this want I was
at a great loss; for of all trades in the world I was
as perfectly unqualified for a stone-cutter, as fʊr any
whatever; neither had I any tools to go about it
with. I spent many a day to find out a great stone
big enough to cut hollow, and make fit for a mor-
tar, and could find none at all; except what was in
the solid rock, and which I had no way to dig or cut
out; nor indeed were the rocks in the island of hard-
ness sufficient, but were all of a sandy crumbling
stone, which would neither bear the weight of a hea-
vy pestle, nor would break the corn without filling
it with sand: so, after a great deal of time lost in
searching for a stone, I gave it over, and resolved to
look out for a great block of hard wood, which I
found indeed much easier; and getting one as big as
I had strength to stir, I rounded it, and formed it on
the outside with my axe and hatchet, and then, with
the help of fire and infinite labour, made a hollow
place in it, as the Indians in Brasil make their ca-
noes. After this, I made a great heavy pestle, of the
wood called the iron-wood, and this I prepared and
laid by against I had my next crop of corn, when I
proposed to myself to grind, or rather pound, my
corn into meal to make my bread. My next diffi-
culty was to make a sieve, to dress my meal, and to
part it from the bran and the husk, without which I
did not see it possible I could have any bread. This
was a most difficult thing, for I had nothing like the
necessary thing to make it; I mean fine thin canvas,
or stuff to search the meal through, And here I
136
was stopped for many months; nor did I really know
what to do: linen I had none left, but what was
mere rags; I had goat's hair, but neither knew I how
to weave it, or spin it; and had I known how, here
was no tools to work it with: all the remedy that I
found for this, was, that at last I did remember i had
among the seamen's clothes which were saved out of
the ship, some neckcloths of calico or muslin; and
with some pieces of these I made three small sieves,
proper enough for the work; and thus I made shift
for some years.
The baking part was the next thing to be consi-
dered, and how I should make bread when I came
to have corn; for first I had no yeast; but as there
was no supplying that want, so I did not concern my-
self much about it: but for an oven I was indeed in
great pain; at length I found out an experiment for
that also, which was this; I made some earthen ves-
sels very broad, but not deep; that is to say, about
two feet diameter, and not above nine inches deep;
these I burnt in the fire, as I had done the other, and
laid them by; and when I wanted to bake, I made a
great fire on my hearth, which I had paved with
some tiles of my own making and burning. When
the fire-wood was burnt pretty much into embers, or
live coals, I drew them forward upon this hearth, so
as to cover it all over, and there I let them lie, till
the hearth was very hot; then sweeping away all the
embers, I set down my loaf, or loaves, and whelm-
ing down the earthen pot upon them, drew the em-
bers all round the outside of the pot, to keep in, and
add to the heat; and thus, as well as in the best oven
in the world, I baked my barley-loaves, and became
in a little time a mere pastry-cook into the bargain;
137
for I made myself several cakes of the rice and pud-
dings; indeed I made no pies, neither had I any
thing to put into them, supposing I had, except the
flesh either of fowls or goats.
It need not be wondered at, if all these things took
me up most part of the third year of my abode here;
for it is to be observed, that in the intervals of these
things, I had my new harvest and husbandry to ma-
nage; for I reaped my corn in its season, and carri-
ed it home as well as I could, and laid it up in the
ear, in my large baskets, till I had time to rub it out;
for I had no floor to thrash it on, or instrument to
thrash it with. And now indeed my stock of corn
increasing, I really wanted to build my barns bigger;
I wanted a place to lay it up in; for the increase of
the corn now yielded me so much, that I had of the
barley about twenty bushels, and of the rice as
much, or more; insomuch, that now I resolved to
begin to use it freely; for my bread had been quite
gone a great while; and I found that the forty bush-
els of barley and rice was much more than I could
consume in a year: so I resolved to sow just the same
quantity every year that I sowed the last, in hopes that
such a quantity would fully provide me with bread,
&c.
All the while these things were doing, you may be
sure my thoughts ran many times upon the prospect
of land which I had seen from the other side of the
island, and I was not without secret wishes that I
was on shore there, fancying that seeing the main
land, and an inhabited country, I might find some
way or other to convey myself further, and perhaps
at last find some means of escape. But I made no
allowance for the dangers of such a condition, and
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138
how I might fall into the hands of savages, and per-
haps such as I might have reason to think far worse
than the lions and tigers of Africa. That if I once
came into their power, I should run a hazard more
than a thousand to one of being killed.
Now I wished for my boy Xury, and the long-
boat, with the shoulder of mutton sail, with which I
sailed above a thousand miles on the coast of Africa;
but this was in vain. Then I thought I would go
and look at our ship's boat, which, as I have said,
was blown upon the shore a great way in the storm,
when we were first cast away. She lay almost
where she did at first, and was turned by the force
of the waves and the winds, almost bottom upwards,
against a high ridge of beachy rough sand; but no
water about her. If I had had hands to have refit-
ted her, and to have launched her into the water, the
boat would have done very well, and I might have
gone back into the Brasils with her easily enough;
but I might have foreseen, that I could no more turn
her, and set her upright upon her bottom, than I
could remove the island; however, I went to the
woods and cut levers and rollers, and brought them
to the boat, resolved to try what I could do; sug-
gesting to myself, that if I could but turn her down,
I might easily repair the damage she had received,
and she would be a very good boat, and I might go
to sea in her very easily. I spared no pains indeed,
in this piece of fruitless toil, and spent, I think, three .
or four weeks about it; at last, finding it impossible
to heave it up with my little strength, I fell to dig-
ging away the sand to undermine it, and so to make
it fall down, setting pieces of wood to thrust and guide
it right in the fall. But when I had done this, I was
139
unable to stir it up again, or to get under it, much
less to move it forward towards the water; so I was
forced to gave it over; and yet, though I gave over
the hopes of the boat, my desire to venture over for
the main increased, rather than decreased, as the
means for it seemed impossible.
This at length put me upon thinking, whether it
was not possible to make myself a canoe, such as the
natives of those climates make, even without tools,
or, as I might say, without hands, viz. of the trunk
of a great tree. This I not only thought possible,
but easy, and pleased myself extremely with the
thoughts of making it, and with having much more
convenience for it than any of the Negroes or Indi-
ans; but not at all considering the particular incon-
veniences which I lay under, more than the Indians
did, viz. want of hands to move it, when it was
made, into the water; a difficulty much harder for
me to surmount, than all the consequences of want
of tools could be to them.
One would have thought, I could not have had
the least recollection upon my mind of my circum-
stances, while I was making this boat, but I should
have immediately thought how I should get it into
the sea; but my thoughts were so intent upon my
voyage over the sea in it, that I never once consider-
ed how I should get it off the land; and it was re-
ally in its own nature more easy for me to guide it
over forty-five miles of sea, than about forty-five
fathom of land, where it lay, to set it afloat in the
water.
I went to work upon this boat the most like a fool
that ever a man did, who had any of his senses
awake.
140
I pleased myself with the design, without deter-
mining whether I was ever able to undertake it; not
but that the difficulty of launching my boat came
frequently into my head; but I put a stop to my
own enquiries into it, by this foolish answer which
I gave myself, "Let me first make it, I'll warrant
I'll find some way or other to get it along, when it
is done."
This was a most preposterous method; but the
eagerness of my fancy prevailed, and to work I went.
I felled a cedar tree: I question much whether So-
lomon ever had such a one for the building of the
temple at Jerusalem. It was five feet ten inches di-
ameter at the lower part next the stump, and four
feet eleven inches diameter at the end of twen-
ty-two feet, after which it lessened for a while, and
then parted into branches: it was not without infinite
labour that I felled this tree: I was twenty days
hacking and hewing at it at the bottom. I was
fourteen more getting the branches and limbs, and
the vast spreading head of it cut off, which I hack-
ed and hewed through with axe and hatchet, and
inexpressible labour: after this, it cost me a month
to shape it, and dub it to a proportion, and to some-
thing like the bottom a boat, that it might swim up-
right as it ought to do. It cost me near three
months more to clear the inside, and work it out so
as to make an exact boat of it: this I did indeed
without fire, by mere mallet.and chissel, and by dint
of hard labour, till I had brought it to be a very
handsome periagua, and big enough to have carried
six-and-twenty men, and consequently big enough
to have carried me and all my cargo.
When I had gone through this work, I was ex-
141
tremely delighted with it.
The boat was really
much bigger than I ever saw a canoe, or periagua,
that was made of one tree, in my life. Many a
weary stroke it had cost, you may be sure; and
there remained nothing but to get it into the water;
and had I gotten it into the water, I make no ques-
tion, but that I should have begun the maddest
voyage, and the most unlikely to be performed, that
ever was undertaken. But all my devices to get
it into the water failed me, though they cost me in-
finite labour too.
It lay about one hundred yards from the water,
and not more; but the first inconvenience was, it
was up hill towards the creek: well, to take away
this discouragement, I resolved to dig into the sur-
face of the earth, and so make a declivity; this I be-
gan, and it cost me a prodigious deal of pains; but
who grudges pains that have their deliverance in
view? But when this was worked through, and this
difficulty managed, it was still much at one; for I
could no more stir the canoe, then I could the other
boat. Then I measured the distance of ground, and
resolved to cut a dock, or canal, to bring the water
up to the canoe, seeing I could not bring the canoe
down to the water: well, I began this work, and
when I began to enter into it, and calculate how
deep it was to be dug, how broad, how the stuff to
be thrown out, I found, that by the number of
hands I had, being none but my own, it must have
been ten or twelve years before I should have gone
through with it; for the shore lay high, so that at
the upper end it must have been at least twenty feet
deep; so at length, though with great reluctancy, I
gave this attempt over. This grieved me heartily,
142
and now I saw, though too late, the folly of begin-
ning a work before we calculate the cost, and be-
fore we judge rightly of our own strength to go
through with it.
In the middle of this work, I finished my fourth
year in this place, and kept my anniversary with the
same devotion, and with as much comfort as ever
before; for by a constant study, and serious appli-
cation of the word of God, and by the assistance of
his grace, I gained different knowledge from what I
had before. I entertained different notions of things.
I looked now upon the world as a thing remote,
which I had nothing to do with, no expectation
from, and indeed no desires about: in a word, I had
nothing indeed to do with it, nor was ever like to
have; so I thought it looked as we may perhaps look
upon it hereafter, viz. as a place I had lived in, but
was come out of it; "and well might I say, as father
Abraham to Dives, "Between me and thee there
is a great gulph fixed."
In the first place, I was removed from all the
wickedness of the world here: I had neither the
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, nor the pride of
life, I had nothing to covet; for I had all that I
was now capable of enjoying: I was lord of the
whole manor; or if I pleased, I might call myself
king or emperor over the whole country which I had
possession of. There were no rivals: I had no com-
petitor, none to dispute my sovereignty or command
with me. I might have raised ship loadings of corn;
but I had no use for it; so I let as little grow as I
thought enough for my occasion. I had tortoises
or turtles enough; but now and then one was as
much as I could put to any use.
I had timber
143
enough to have built a fleet of ships. I had grapes
enough to have made wine, or cured into raisins, to
have loaded that fleet when it had been built. But all
that I could make use of, was all that was valuable.
I had enough to eat, and to supply my wants, and,
what was all the rest to me? If I killed more flesh
than I could eat, the dog must eat it, or the vermin.
If I sowed more corn than I could eat, it must be
spoiled. The trees that I cut down were lying to
rot on the ground: I could make no more use of
them than for fuel, and that I had no occasion for,
but to dress my food. In a word, the nature and
experience of things dictated to me, upon just re-
flection, that all the good things of this world, are no
further good to us, than they are for our use; and
that whatever we may heap up indeed to give others,
we enjoy just as much as we can use, and no more.
The most covetous griping miser in the world would
have been cured of the vice of covetousness, if he
had been in my case; for I possessed infinitely more
than I knew what to do with. I had no room for
desire, except it was of things which I had not, and
they were but trifles, though indeed of great use to
me. I had, as I hinted before, a parcel of money,
as well gold as silver, about thirty-six pounds ster-
ling: alas! there the nasty sorry useless stuff lay; I
had no manner of business for it; and I often thought
with myself, that I would have given a handful of
it for a gross of tobacco-pipes, or for a hand-mill to
grind my corn; nay, I would have given it all for
six-pennyworth of turnip and carrot seed out of Eng-
land, or for a handful of peas and beans, and a bot-
tle of ink. As it was, I had not the least advantage
by it, or benefit from it; but there it lay in a draw-
144
er, and grew mouldy with the damp of the cave, in
the wet season: and if I had had the drawer full of
diamonds, it had been the same case; and they had
been of no manner of value to me, because of no
use.
I had now brought my state of life to be much
easier in itself than it was at first, and much easier
to my mind, as well as to my body. I frequent-
ly sat down to my meat with thankfulness, and
admired the hand of God's providence, which had
thus spread my table in the wilderness. I learn.
ed to look more upon the bright side of my con-
dition, and less upon the dark side; and to con-
sider what I enjoyed, rather than what I wanted;
and this gave me sometimes such secret comforts,
that I cannot express them; and which I take no-
tice of here, to put those discontented people in mind
of it, who cannot enjoy comfortably what God hath
given them, because they see and covet something
that he has not given them. All our discontents a-
bout what we want, appeared to me to spring from
the want of thankfulness for what we have.
Ano-
ther reflection was of great use to me, and doubtless
would be so to any one that should fall into such dis-
tress as mine was; and this was to compare my pre-
sent condition with what I at first expected it
would be; nay, with what it would certainly have
been, if the good providence of God had not won-
derfully ordered the ship to be cast up nearer the
shore, where I not only could come at her, but
could bring what I could get out of her to the
shore, for my relief and comfort; without which, I
had wanted tools to work, weapons for defence, or
gunpowder and shot for getting my food.
145
F
I spent whole hours, I may say whole days, in re-
presenting to myself in the most lively colours, how
I must have acted, if I had got nothing out of the
ship; how I could not have so much as got any
food, except fish and turtles; and that, as it was
long before I found any of them, I must have pe-
rished first; that I should have lived, if I had not
perished, like a mere savage.
These reflections
made me very sensible of the goodness of Providence
to me, and very thankful for my present condition,
with all its hardships and misfortunes; and this
part also I cannot but recommend to the reflection of
those who are apt in their misery to say, "Is any
affliction like mine!" Let them consider, how much
worse the cases of some people are, and what their
cases might have been, if Providence had thought
fit.
I had another reflection which assisted me also to
comfort my mind with hopes: and this was compar-
ing my present condition with what 1 had deserved,
and had therefore reason to expect from the hand of
Providence. I had lived a dreadful life, perfectly.
destitute of the knowledge and fear of God. I had
been well instructed by father and mother; neither
had they been wanting to me in their early endea-
vours, to infuse a religious awe of God into my mind,
a sense of my duty, and of what the nature and end
of my being required of me. But alas! falling ear-
ly into the sea-faring life, which of all lives is the
most destitute of the fear of God, though his terrors
are always before them; I say, falling early into the
sea-faring life, and into sea-faring company, all that
little sense of religion which I had entertained, was
laughed out of me by my mess-mates, by a hardened
N
146
despising of dangers, and the views of death, which
grew habitual to me, by my long absence from all
manner of opportunities to converse with any thing
but what was like myself, or to hear any thing that
was good, or tended towards it.
So void was I of every thing that was good, or of
the least sense of what I was, or was to be, that in
the greatest deliverance I enjoyed, I had never once
the word, "thank God," so much as on my mind,
or in my mouth; nor, in the greatest distress, had I
so much thought as to pray to him; or so much as
to say, “Lord have mercy upon me!” no, not to
mention the name of God, unless it was to swear by,
and blaspheme it.
I had terrible reflections upon my mind for many
months, as I have already observed, on the account
of my wicked and hardened life past; and when I
looked about me, and considered what particular
Providences had attended me since my coming into
this place, and how God had dealt bountifully with
me; had not only punished me less than my iniqui-
ty had deserved, but had so plentifully provided for
me; this gave me great hopes that my repentance
was accepted, and that God had yet mercy in store
for me.
I had now been here so long, that many things,
which I brought on shore for my help, were either
quite gone, or very much wasted and near spent.
My ink, as I observed, had been gone for some
time, all but a very little, which I eked out with wa-
ter a little and a little, till it was so pale it scarce
left any appearance of black upon the paper.
The next thing to my ink being wasted, was that
of my bread; I mean the biscuit which I brought
147
out of the ship: this I had husbanded to the last de-
gree, allowing myself but one cake of bread a day,
for above a year, and yet 1 was quite without bread
for near a year before I got any corn of my own;
and great reason I had to be thankful that I had any
at all, the getting it being, as has been already ob-
served, next to miraculous.
My clothes too began to decay mightily: as to
linen, I had none a good while, except some check-
ed shirts which I found in the chests of the other
seamen, and which I carefully preserved, because
many times I could bear no other clothes on but a
shirt; and it was a very great help to me that I had
among all the men's clothes of the ship almost three
dozen of shirts. There were also several thick
watch- coats of the sea-men, which were left behind,
but they were too hot to wear; and though it is
true, that the weather was so violently hot that there
was no need of clothes, yet I could not go quite na-
ked; no, though I had been inclined to it, which I
was not, nor could I abide the thoughts of it, though
I was all alone.
'The reason why I could not go quite naked, was,
I could not bear the heat of the sun. so well when
quite naked as with some clothes on; nay, the very
heat frequently blistered my skin; whereas with a
shirt on, the air itself made some motion, and whist-
ling under the shirt, was two-fold cooler than with-
out it: no more could I bring myself to go out in
the heat of the sun without a cap or a hat; the heat
of the sun beating with such violence as it does in
that place, would give me the head-ache present-
ly, by darting so directly on my head, without
a cap or a hat on; so that I could not bear it;
148
:
but if I put on my hat, it would presently go a-
way.
I now began to consider about putting the few
rags I had, which I called clothes, into some order:
had worn out all my waistcoats, and my business
was now to try if I could not make jackets out of
the great watch-coats which I had by me, and with
such other materials as I had; so I set to work a tai-
loring, or rather, indeed, a botching; for I made
most piteous work of it. However, I made shift to
make two or three new waistcoats, which I hoped
would serve me a great while; as for breeches or
drawers, I made but a very sorry shift indeed till
afterwards. I have mentioned, that I saved the
skins of all the four-footed creatures that I killed,
and hung them up stretched out with sticks in the
sun, by which means some of them were so dry and
hard that they were fit for little, but others were
very useful. The first thing I made of these was a
great cap for my head, with the hair on the outside
to shoot off the rain; and this I performed so well,
that after this I made a suit of clothes wholly of
those skins, that is to say, a waistcoat and breeches
open at the knees, and both loose, for they were ra-
ther wanting to keep me cool than to keep me
warm. I must not omit to acknowledge that they
were wretchedly made; for if I was a bad carpen-
ter, I was a worse tailor. However, they were
such as I made a very good shift with; and when I
was abroad, if it happened to rain, the hair of my
waistcoat and cap being outermost, I was kept.very
dry.
After this, I spent a great deal of time and pains
to make an umbrella; I was indeed in great want
149
of one, and had a great mind to make one; I had
seen them made in the Brazils, where they are very
useful in the great heats which are there: and I felt
the heats every jot as great here, and greater too,
being nearer the equinox; besides, as I was obliged
to be much abroad, it was a most useful thing to me,
as well for the rains as the heats. I took a world of
pains at it, and was a great while before I could
make any thing likely to hold; nay, after I thought
I had hit the way, I spoiled two or three before I
made one to my mind; but at last I made one that
answered indifferently well: the main difficulty I
found was to make it to let down: I could make it
to spread, but if it did not let down too, and draw
in, it was not portable for me any way but just over
my head, which would not do. However, at last,
as I said, I made one to answer, and covered it with
skins, the hair upwards, so that it cast off the rain
like a pent-house, and kept off the sun so effectual-
ly, that I could walk out in the hottest of the wea-
ther with greater advantage than I could before in
the coolest, and when I had no need of it, could
close it and carry it under my arm.
Thus I lived mighty comfortably, my mind being
entirely composed by resigning to the will of God,
and throwing myself wholly upon the disposal of his
providence. I cannot say, that after this, for five
years, any extraordinary thing happened to me; but
I lived on in the same course, in the same posture
and place, just as before.
The chief thing I was
employed in, besides my yearly labour of planting
my barley and rice, and curing my raisins, of both
which I always kept up just enough to have suffici-
ent stock for one year's provision beforehand; I say,
+
N 3
150
besides this yearly labour, and my daily labour of
going out with my gun, I had one labour to make
me a canoe, which at last I finished; so that by dig-
ging a canal to it of six feet wide, and four feet deep,
I brought it into the creek, almost half a mile. As
for the first, which was so vastly big, as I made it
without considering before hand, as I ought to do,
how I should be able to launch it; so never being
able to bring it to the water, or bring the water to it,
I was obliged to let it lie where it was, as a memo-
randum to teach me to be wiser next time: indeed,
the next time, though I could not get a tree proper
for it, and in a place where I could not get the wa-
ter to it, at any less distance than as I have said,
near half a mile; yet as I saw it practicable at last,
I never gave it over; and though I was near two
years about it, yet I never grudged my labour, in
hopes of having a boat to go off to sea at last.
However, though my little periagua was finished,
yet the size of it was not at all answerable to the de-
sign which I had in view, when I made the first; I
mean, of venturing over to the Terra Firma, where
it was above forty miles broad, accordingly, the
smallness of my boat assisted to put an end to that
design, and now I thought no more of it; but, as I
had a boat, my next design was to make a tour round
the island; for, as I had been on the other side, in
one place, crossing, as I have already described it,
over the land; so the discoveries I made in that lit-
tle journey, made me very eager to see other parts
of the coast; and now I had a boat, I thought of
nothing but sailing round the island. For this pur-
pose, that I might do every thing with discretion and
consideration; I fitted up a little mast to my boat,
;
151
and made a sail to it out of the pieces of the ship's
sail, which lay in store; and of which I had a great
stock by me.
Having fitted my mast and sail, and tried the boat,
I found she would sail very well: then I made little
lockers, or boxes, at either end of my boat, to put
provisions, necessaries, and ammunition, &c. into, to
be kept dry, either from rain, or the spray of the sea;
and a little long hollow place I cut in the inside of
the boat, where I could lay my gun, making a flap
to hang down over it to keep it dry.
I fixed my umbrella also in a step at the stern,
like a mast, to stand over my head, and keep the
heat of the sun off me like an awning; and thus I
every now and then took a little voyage upon the
sea, but never went far out, nor far from the little
creek; but at last being eager to view the circum-
ference of my little kingdom, I resolved upon my
tour, and accordingly I victualled my ship for the
voyage, putting in two dozen of my loaves (cakes I
should rather call them) of barley bread, an earth-
en pot full of parched rice, (a food I ate a great deal
of), a little bottle of rum, half a goat, and powder
aud shot for killing more, and two large watch-
coats, of those which, as I mentioned before, I had
saved out of the seamen's chests; these I took, one
to lie upon, and the other to cover me in the night.
It was the sixth of November, in the sixth year
of my reign, or my captivity, which you please,
that I set out on this voyage, and I found it much
longer than I expected; for though the island itself
was not very large, yet when I came to the east side.
of it, I found a great ledge of rocks lie out above two
leagues into the sea, some above water, some under
152
it; and beyond this, a shoal of sand, lying dry half
a league more; so that I was obliged to go a great
way out to sea to double that point. When first I
discovered them, I was going to give over my enter-
prize, and come back again, not knowing how far it
might oblige me to go out to sea; and above all,
doubting how I should get back again; so I came
to`an anchor; for I had made a kind of an anchor
with a piece of a broken graplin, which I had got
out of the ship.
Having secured my boat, I took my gun, and
went on shore, climbing upon a hill, which seemed
to overlook that point, where I saw the full extent
of it, and resolved to venture. In my viewing the
sea from that hill where I stood, I perceived a strong,
and, indeed, a most furious current, which ran to
the east, and even came close to the point; and I
took the more notice of it, because I saw there might
be some danger, that when I came into it, I might
be carried out to sea by the strength of it, and not
be able to make the island again; and indeed, had
I not gotten first upon this hill, I believe it would
have been so; for there was the same current on the
other side of the island, only that it set off at a fur-
ther distance; and I saw there was a strong eddy un-
der the shore; so that I had nothing to do but to get
in out of the first current, and I should presently be
in an eddy.
I lay here, however, two days; because the wind
blowing pretty fresh at E. S. E. and that being just
contrary to the said current, made a great breach of
the sea upon the point; so that it was not safe for
me to keep too close to the shore for the breach,
nor to go too far off because of the stream.
The
153
third day in the morning, the wind having abated
over night, the sea was calm, and I ventured; but
I am a warning-piece again to all rash and ignorant
pilots; for no sooner was I come to the point, when
even I was not my boat's length from the shore, but
I found myself in a great depth of water, and a cur-
rent like the sluice of a mill: it carried my boat a-
long with it with such violence, that all I could do,
could not keep her so much as on the edge of it;
but I found it hurried me further and further out
from the eddy, which was on my left hand. There
was no wind stirring to help me, and all I could do
with my paddles signified nothing; and now I be-
gan to give myself over for lost; for, as the current
was on both sides of the island, I knew in a few
leagues distance they must join again, and then I
was irrecoverably gone; nor did I see any possibi-
lity of avoiding it; so that I had no prospect before
me but of perishing; not by the sea, for that was
calm enough, but of starving for hunger. I had in-
deed found a tortoise on the shore, as big almost as
I could lift, and had tossed it into the boat; and I
had a great jar of fresh water, that is to say, one of
my earthen pots; but what was all this to being dri-
ven into the vast ocean, where, to be sure, there was
no shore, no main land, or island, for a thousand
leagues at least.
And now I saw how easy it was for the providence
of God to make the most miserable condition man-
kind could be in, worse. Now I looked back upon
my desolate solitary island, as the most pleasant
place in the world, and all the happiness my heart
could wish for, was to be there again. I stretched
out my hand to it with eager wishes: "O happy
154
desert!" said I, " I shall never see thee more. O
miserable creature!" said I, "whither am I going?"
Then I reproached myself with my unthankful tem-
per, and how I had repined at my solitary condition;
and now what would I give to be on shore there a-
gain? Thus we never see the true state of our con-
dition, till it is illustrated to us by its contraries; nor
know how to value what we enjoy, but by the want
of it. It is scarce possible to imagine the conster-
nation I was now in, being driven from my beloved
island (for so it appeared to me now to be) into the
wide ocean, almost two leagues, and in the utmost
despair of ever recovering it again. However, I
worked hard, till indeed my strength was almost ex-
hausted, and kept my boat as much to the north-
ward, that is, towards the side of the current which
the eddy lay on, as I possibly could, when, about
noon, as the sun passed the meridian, I thought I
felt a little breeze of wind in my face, springing up
from the S. S. E. this cheered my heart a little, and
especially, when in about half an hour more it blew a
pretty small gentle gale: by this time I was got at
a frightful distance from the island, and had the
least cloud or hazy weather intervened, I had been
undone another way too; for I had no compass on
board, and should never have known how to have
steered towards the island, if I had but once lost
sight of it; but the weather continuing clear, I ap-
plied myself to get up my mast again, spread my
sail, standing away to the north as much as possible,
to get out of the current.
Just as I had set my mast and sail, and the boat
began to stretch away, I saw, even by the clearness
of the water, some alteration of the current was near;
155
for where the current was so strong, the water was
foul; but perceiving the water clear, I found the
current abate, and presently I found to the east, at
about half a mile, a breach of the sea upon some
rocks; these rocks I found caused the current to part
again, and as the main stress of it ran away more
southerly, leaving the rocks to the N. E. so the other
returned by the repulse of the rocks, and made a
strong eddy, which ran back again to the N.W. with
a very sharp stream.
They who know what it is to have a reprieve
brought to them upon the ladder, or to be rescued
from thieves just going to murder them, or who have
been in such like extremities, may guess what my
present surprise of joy was, and how gladly I put
my boat into the stream of this eddy; and the wind
also freshening, how gladly I spread my sail to it,
running cheerfully before the wind, and with a
strong tide or eddy under foot. This eddy carried
me about a league in my way back again directly
towards the island, but about two leagues more to
the northward than the current which carried me
away at first; so that when I came near the island,
I found myself open to the northern shore of it, that
is to say, the other end of the island opposite to that
which I went out from.
When I had made something more than a league
of-way by the help of this current or eddy, I found
it was spent, and served me no further. However,
I found that being between the two great currents,
(viz.) that on the south side, which had hurried me
away, and that on the north, which lay about a
league on the other side: I say, between these two,
in the west of the island, I found the water at least
156
still and running no way; and having still a breeze
of wind fair for me, I kept on steering directly for
the island, though not making such fresh way as I
did before. About four o'clock in the evening, be-
ing then within about a league of the island, I found
the point of the rocks which occasioned this dis-
aster, stretching out, as is described before, to the
southward, and, casting off the current more south-
wardly, had, of course made another eddy to the
north, and this I found very strong, but not directly
setting the way my course lay, which was due west,
but almost full north. However, having a fresh
gale, I stretched across this eddy slanting north-west,
and in about an hour came within about a mile of
the shore, where it being smooth water, I soon got to
land.
When I was on shore I fell on my knees and gave
God thanks for my deliverance, resolving to lay aside.
all thoughts of my deliverance by my boat; and re-
freshing myself with such things as I had, I brought
my boat close to the shore in a little cove that I had
spied under some trees, and laid me down to sleep,
being quite spent with the labour and fatigue of the
voyage.
I was now at a great loss which way to get home
with my boat: I had run so much hazard, and
knew too much the case to think of attempting it by
the way I went out: and what might be at the other
side (I mean, the west side) I knew not, nor had I auy
mind to run any more ventures; so, I only resolved
in the morning to make my way westward along the
shore, and to see if there was no creek where I might
lay up my frigate in safety, so as to have her again,
if I wanted her. In about three miles, or therea-
157
}
bout, coasting the shore, I came to a very good in
let, or bay, about a mile over, which narrowed till
it came to a very little rivulet or brook, where I
found a very convenient harbour for my boat, and
where she lay as if she had been in a little dock made
on purpose for her. Here I put in, and having stow-
ed my boat very safe, I went on shore to look about
me, and see where I was.
I soon found I had but a little passed by the place
where I had been before, when I travelled on foot to
that shore; so taking nothing out of my boat, but
my gun and my umbrella, for it was exceeding hot,
I began my march. The way was comfortable
enough, after such a voyage as I had been upon,
and I reached my old bower in the evening, where I
found every thing standing as I left it; for I always
kept it in good order, being, as I said before, my
country-house.
I got over the fence, and laid me down in the
shade to rest my limbs, for I was very weary, and
fell asleep: but judge you, if you can, that read my
story, what a surprise I must be in, when I was wak-
ed out of my sleep by a voice calling me by my name
several times," Robin, Robin, Robin Crusoe! poor
Robin Crusoe! where are you, Robin Crusoe? Where
are you? Where have you been?"
I was so dead asleep at first, being fatigued with
rowing or paddling, as it is called, the first part of
the day, and with walking the latter part, that I did
not wake thoroughly; but dozing between sleeping
and waking, thought I dreamed that somebody
spoke to me: but as the voice continued to repeat,
"Robin Crusoe! Robin Crusoe!" at last I began to
wake more perfectly, and was at first most dread-
158
fully frighted, and started up in the utmost conster-
nation: but no sooner were my eyes open, but I saw
my Poll sitting on the top of the hedge, and imme-
diately knew that it was he that spoke to me; for
just in such bemoaning language I had used to talk
to him, and teach him; and he had learned it so per-
fectly, that he would sit upon my finger, and lay
his bill close to my face, and cry, "Poor Robin
Crusoe! where are you? where have you been? how
came you here?" and such things as I had taught
him. However, even though I knew it was the par-
rot, and that indeed it could be nobody else, it was
a good while before I could compose myself: first,
I was amazed how the creature got thither, and
then how he should just keep about the place,
and no where clse: but as I was well satisfied it
could be nobody but honest Poll, I got it over; and
holding out my hand, and calling him by his name,
"Poll," the sociable creature came to me, and sat
upon my thumb, as he used to do, and continued
talking to me," Poor Robin Crusoe," and how did
I come here? and where had I been? just as if he
had been overjoyed to see me again; and so I car-
ried him home along with me.
I had now had enough of rambling to sca for some
time, and had enough to do for many days to sit still,
and reflect upon the danger I had been in. I would
have been very glad to have had my boat again on
my side of the island; but I knew not how it was
practicable to get it about: as to the east side of the
island, which I had gone round, I knew well enough
there was no venturing that way; my very heart
would shrink, and my very blood run chill but to
think of it; and as to the other side of the island, I
159
did not know how it might be there; but supposing
the current ran with the same force against the shore
at the east, as it passed by it on the other, I might
run the same risk of being driven down the stream,
and carried by the island, as I had been before, of
being carried away from it; so with these thoughts
I contented myself to be without any boat, though
it had been the product of so many months' labour
to make it, and of so many more to get it into the
sea.
In this government of my temper I remained near
a year, lived a very sedate retired life, as you may
well suppose; and my thoughts being very much
composed as to my condition, and fully comforted
in resigning myself to the dispositions of Providence,
I thought I lived really very happily in all things,
except that of society.
I improved myself in this time in all the mechan-
ic exercises which my necessities put me upon ap-
plying myself to, and I believe could, upon occa-
sion, have made a very good carpenter, especially
considering how few tools I had. Besides this, I
arrived at an unexpected perfection in my earthen
ware, and contrived well enough to make them with
a wheel, which I found infinitely easier and better;
because I made things round and shapeable, which
before were filthy things indeed to look on. But I
think I was never more vain of my own performance,
or more joyful for any thing I found out, than for
my being able to make a tobacco-pipe. And though
it was a very ugly clumsy thing, when it was done,
and only burnt red like other earthen ware, yet as
it was hard and firm, and would draw the smoke, I
was exceedingly comforted with it; for I had been
160
always used to smoke, and there were pipes in the
ship, but I forgot them at first, not knowing that
there was tobacco in the island; and afterwards,
when I searched the ship again, I could not come
at any pipes at all.
In my wicker ware I also improved much, and
made abundance of necessary baskets, as well as my
invention showed me, though not very handsome,
yet they were such as were very handy and conveni-
ent for my laying things up in, or fetching things
home. For example, if I killed a goat abroad, I
could hang it up in a tree, flay it, and dress it, and cut
it in pieces, and bring it home in a basket; and the
like by a turtle, I could cut it up, take out the eggs,
and a piece or two of the flesh, which was enough
for me, and bring them home in a basket, and leave
the rest behind me. Also large deep baskets were
my receivers for my corn, which I always rubbed
out as soon as it was dry, and cured, and kept it in
great baskets.
I began now to perceive my powder abated consi-
derably; and this was a want which it was impossi-
ble for me to supply, and I began seriously to con-
sider what I must do when I should have no more
powder; that is to say, how I should do to kill any
goats. I had, as I observed in the third year of my
being here, kept a young kid, and bred her up tame;
and I was in hopes of getting an he-goat, but I could
not by any means bring it to pass, till my kid grew
an old goat; and I could never find in my heart to
kill her, till she died, at last of mere age. But be-
ing now in the eleventh year of my residence, and,
as I have said, my ammunition growing low, I set
myself to some art to trap and snare the goats, to seg
161
whether I could not catch some of them alive, and
particularly I wanted a she-goat great with young.
To this purpose I made snares to hamper them, and
I do believe they were more than once taken in
them; but my tackle was not good, for I had no
wire, and I always found them broken, and my bait
devoured.
At length I resolved to try a pit-fall, so I dug se-
veral large pits in the earth, in places where I had ob-
served the goats used to feed, and over these pits I
placed hurdles of my own making too, with a great
weight upon them, and several times I put ears of
barley and dry rice, without setting the trap, and I
could easily perceive that the goats had gone in and
eaten up the corn, for I could see the mark of their
feet. At length I set three traps in one night, and
going the next morning I found them all standing,
and yet the baits eaten and gone. This was very
discouraging: however, I altered my traps, and, not
to trouble you with particulars, going one morning
to see my traps, I found in one of them a large old
he-goat, and in one of the other three kids, a male,
and two females.
As to the old one, I knew not what to do with
him, he was so fierce I durst not go into the pit to
him; that is to say, to go about to bring him away
alive, which was what I wanted. I could have kill-
ed him, but that was not my business, nor would it
answer my end, So I e'en let him out, and he ran
away as if he had been frighted out of his wits: but
I had forgot then what I learned afterwards, that
hunger will tame a lion. If I had let him stay there
three or four days without food, and then have car-
ried him some water to drink, and then a little corn,
0 3
162
he would have been as tame as one of the kids, for
they are mighty sagacious, tractable creatures,
where they are used well. However, for the pre-
sent I let him go, knowing no better at that time;
then I went to the three kids, and taking them one
by one, I tied them with strings together, and with
some difficulty brought them all home.
It was a good while before they would feed, but
throwing them some sweet corn, it tempted them,
and they began to be tame; and now I found that if
I expected to supply myself with goat's flesh when I
had no powder or shot left, breeding some up tame
was my only way, when perhaps I might have them
about my house like a flock of sheep. But then it
presently occurred to me, that I must keep the tame
from the wild, or else they would always run wild
when they grew up; and the only way for this was
to have some inclosed piece of ground, well fenced
either with hedge or pale, to keep them in so effectu-
ally, that those within might not break out, or those
without break in.
This was a great undertaking for one pair of
hands; yet as I saw there was an absolute necessity
of doing it, my first piece of work was to find out a
proper piece of ground, viz. where there was likely
to be herbage for them to eat, water for them to
drink, and cover to keep them from the sun. Those
who understand such inclosures will think I had ve-
ry little contrivance, when I pitched upon a place
very proper for all these, being a plain open piece of
meadow land, or Savanna, (as our people call it in
the western colonies,) which had two or three little
drills of fresh water in it, and at one end was very
woody: I say, they will smile at my forecast, when
163
I shall tell them I began my inclosing this piece of
ground in such a manner, that my hedge or pale
must have been at least two miles about. Nor was
the madness of it so great as to the compass, for if it
was ten miles about, I was like to have time enough
to do it in; but I did not consider, that my goats
would be as wild in so much compass, as if they had
had the whole island, and I should have so much
room to chase them in, that I should never catch
them.
My hedge was begun and carried on, I believe,
about fifty yards, when this thought occurred to me;
so I presently stopt short, and for the first beginning
I resolved to inclose a piece of about 150 yards in
length, and 100 yards in breadth, which, as it would
maintain as many as I should have in any reasona-
able time, so, as my flock increased, I could add
more ground to my inclosure.
This was acting with some prudence, and I went
to work with courage. I was about three months
hedging in the first piece, and till I had done it I
tethered the three kids in the best part of it, and used
them to feed as near me as possible to make them fa-
miliar and very often I would
go and
and carry them
some ears of barley, or a handful of rice, and feed
them out of my hand; so that after my inclosure
was finished, and I let them loose, they would fol-
low me up and down, bleating after me for a hand-
ful of corn. This answered my end, and in about
a year
and a half I had a flock of about twelve goats,
kids and all; and in two years more I had three and
forty, besides several that I took and killed for my
food. And after that I inclosed five several pieces
of ground to feed them in, with little pens to drive
164
them into, to take them as I wanted, and gates out
of one piece of ground into another.
But this was not all, for now I not only had goat's
flesh to feed on when I pleased, but milk too; &
thing which, indeed, in my beginning, I did not so
much as think of, and which, when it came into my
thoughts, was an agreeable surprise. For now I
set up my dairy, and had sometimes a gallon or
two of milk in a day. And as nature, who gives
supplies of food to every creature, dictates even
naturally how to make use of it; so I that had ne-
ver milked a cow, much less a goat, or seen butter
or cheese made, very readily or handily, though af-
ter a great many essays and miscarriages, made
both butter and cheese at last, and never wanted it
afterwards.
How mercifully can our great Creator treat his
creatures, even in those conditions in which they
seem to be overwhelmed in destruction! how can he
sweeten the bitterest providences, and give us cause
to praise him for dungeons and prisons! what a ta-
ble was here spread for me in the wilderness, where
I saw nothing at first but to perish for hunger.
It would have made a stoic smile to have seen me
and my little family sit down to dinner; there was
my majesty, the prince and the lord of the whole is-
land; I had the lives of all my subjects at my ab-
solute command. I could hang, draw, give life
and liberty, and take it away, and had no rebels a-
mong all my subjects.
Then to see how like a king I dined too all alone,
attended by my servants; Poll, as if he had been my
favourite, was the only person permitted to talk to
me.
My dog, which was now grown very old and
165
crazy, and had found no species to multiply his
kind upon, sat always at my right hand; and two
cats, one on one side the table, and one on the other,
expecting now and then a bit from my hand, as a
mark of special favour. But these were not the
two cats which I brought on shore at first; for they
were both of them dead, and had been interred near
my habitation by my own hands; but one of them
having multiplied by I know not what kind of crea-
ture, these were two which I had preserved tame,
whereas the rest ran wild in the woods, and became
indeed troublesome to me at last; for they would
often come into my house, and plunder me too, till
at last I was obliged to shoot them, and did kill a
great many: at length they left me with this atten-
dance, and in this plentiful manner I lived; neither
could I be said to want any thing but society, and
of that, some time after this, I was like to have too
much.
I was something impatient, as I have observed, to
have the use of my boat; though very loath to run
any more hazards; and therefore, sometimes, I sat
contriving ways to get her about the island, and at
other times I sat myself down contented enough
without her. But I had a strange uneasiness in
my mind to go down to the point of the island,
where, as I have said, in my last ramble, I went up
the hill to see how the shore lay, and how the cur-
rent set, that I might see what I had to do: this in-
clination increased upon me every day, and at length
I resolved to travel thither by land; following
the edge of the shore, I did so; but had any one in
England been to meet such a man as I was, it must
either have frighted him, or raised a great deal of
1
166
laughter; and as I frequently stood still to look at
myself, I could not but smile at the notion of my
travelling through Yorkshire with such an equipage,
and in such a dress: be pleased to take a sketch of
my figure as follows-
I had a great high shapeless cap, made of goat's
skin, with a flap hanging down behind, as well to
keep the sun from me, as to shoot the rain off from
running into my neck; nothing being so hurtful in
these climates, as the rain upon the flesh under the
clothes. I had a short jacket of goat's skin, the
skirts coming down to about the middle of my
thighs; and a pair of open-kneed breeches of the same;
the breeches were made of the skin of an old he-
goat, whose hair hung down such a length on either
side, that like pantaloons it reached to the middle
of my legs; stockings and shoes I had none, but
had made me a pair of something, I scarce know
what to call them, like buskins, to flap over my legs,
and lace on either side like spatterdashes, but of a
most barbarous shape, as indeed were all the rest of
my clothes.
I had on a broad belt of a goat's skin dried, which
I drew together with two thongs of the same, instead
of buckles, and in a kind of frog on either side of
this, instead of a sword and a dagger, hung a little
saw and a hatchet, one on one side, and one on the
other. I had another belt not so broad, and fasten-
ed in the same manner, which hung over my shoul-
der; and at the end of it, under my left arm, hung
two pouches, both made of goat's skin too; in one
of which hung my powder, in the other my shot: at
my back I carried my basket, on my shoulder my
gun, and over my head a great clumsy ugly goat's
167
skin umbrella, but which, after all, was the most ne-
cessary thing I had about me, next to my gun: as
for my face, the colour of it was really not so Mu-
latto like as one might expect from a man not at all
careful of it, and living within nineteen degrees of
the Equinox. My beard I had once suffered to
grow till it was about a quarter of a yard long; but
as I had both scissors and razors sufficient, I had
cut it pretty short, except what grew on my upper
lip, which I had trimmed into a large pair of Ma-
hometan whiskers, such as I had seen worn by some
Turks, whom I saw at Sallee; for the Moors did
not wear such, though the Turks did: of these
mustachios or whiskers, I will not say they were
long enough to hang my hat upon them; but they
were of a length and shape monstrous enough, and
such as in England would have passed for frightful.
But all this is by the bye; for as to my figure, I
had so few to observe me, that it was of no manner
of consequence; so I say no more to that part. In
this kind of figure I went my new journey, and was
out five or six days. I travelled first along the sea-
shore, directly to the place where I first brought my
boat to an anchor, to get up upon the rocks; and
having no boat to take care of, I went over the land
a nearer way, to the same height that I was upon
before; when looking forward to the point of rocks
which lay out, and which I was obliged to double
with my boat, I was surprised to see the sea all
smooth and quiet, no rippling, no motion, no cur-
rent, any more there than in other places. I was
at a strange loss to understand this, and resolved to
spend some time in the observing it, to see if nothing
from the sets of the tide had occasioned it; but I
168
was presently convinced how it was, viz. that the
tide of ebb setting from the west, and joining with
the current of waters from some great rivers on
the shore, must be the occasion of this current; and
that accordingly as the wind blew more forcibly from
the west, or from the north, this current came near,
or went further from the shore; for waiting therea-
bouts till evening, I went up to the rock again, and
then the time of ebb being made, I plainly saw the
current again as before, only that it ran further off,
being near half a league from the shore; whereas in
my case, it set close upon the shore, and hurried me
and my canoe along with it, which at another time it
would not have done.
This observation convinced me, that I had no-
thing to do but to observe the ebbing and the flow-
ing of the tide, and I might very easily bring my
boat about the island again: but when I began to
think of putting it in practice, I had such a terror
upon my spirits at the remembrance of the danger I
had been in, that I could not think of it again with
any patience; but on the contrary, I took up ano-
ther resolution, which was more safe, though more
laborious; and this was, that I would build, or ra-
ther make, me another periagua or canoe; and so
have one for one side of the island, and one for the
other.
You are to understand, that now I had, as I may
call it, two plantations in the island; one my little
fortification or tent, with the wall about it under the
rock, with the cave behind me, which by this time
I had enlarged into several apartments or caves, one
within another. One of these, which was the driest,
and largest, and had a door out beyond my wall or
169
fortification; that is to say, beyond where my wall
joined to the rock, was all filled up with the large
earthen pots, of which I have given an account, and
with fourteen or fifteen great baskets, which would
hold five or six bushels each, where I laid up my
stores of provision, especially my corn, some in the
ear cut off short from the straw, and the other rub-
bed out with my hand. As for my wall made with
piles, they grew all like trees, and were by this time
grown so big, and spread so very much, that there
was not the least appearance to any one's view of any
habitation behind them.
Near this dwelling of mine, but a little further
within the land, and upon lower ground, lay my two
pieces of corn-ground,. which I kept duly cultivated
and sowed, and which duly yielded me their harvest
in their season; and whenever I had occasion for
more corn, I had more land adjoining as fit as that.
Besides this, I had my country seat, and I had now
a tolerable plantation there also; for first, I had my
little bower, as I called it, which I kept in repair;
that is to say, I kept the hedge which circled it in
constantly fitted up to its usual height, the ladder
standing always in the inside; I kept the trees, which
at first were no more than my stakes, but were now
grown very firm and tall; I kept them always so cut,
that they might spread and grow thick and wild,
and make the more agreeable shade, which they did
effectually to my mind. In the middle of this I had
my tent always standing, being a piece of a sail
spread over poles set up for that purpose, and which
never wanted any repair or renewing; and under
this I had made me a squab or couch, with the skins
of the creatures I had killed, and with other soft
P
170
things, and a blanket laid on them, such as belong-
ed to our sea-bedding, which I had saved, and a
great watch-coat to cover me; and here, whenever
I had occasion to be absent from my chief seat, I
took up my country habitation.
Adjoining to this I had my inclosures for my cat-
tle, that is to say, my goats: and as I had taken an
inconceivable deal of pains to fence and inclose this
ground, I was so uneasy to see it kept entire, lest the
goats should break through, that I never left off till,
with infinite labour, I had stuck the outside of the
hedge so full of small stakes, and so near to onc
another, that it was rather a pale than a hedge, and
there was scarce room to put a hand through between
them; which afterwards when those stakes grew, as
they all did in the next rainy season, made the in-
closure strong like a wall, indeed stronger than any
wall.
This will testify for me that I was not idle, and
that I spared no pains to bring to pass whatever ap-
peared necessary for my comfortable support; for I
considered the keeping up a breed of tame creatures
thus at my hand, would be a living magazine of
flesh, milk, butter, and cheese, for me as long as I
lived in the place, if it were to be forty years, and
that keeping them in my reach, depended entirely
upon my perfecting my inclosures to such a degree,
that I might be sure of keeping them together;
which by this method indeed I so effectually secur-
ed, that when these stakes began to grow, I had
planted them so very thick, I was forced to pull
some of them up again. In this place also I had
iny grapes growing, which I principally depended on
for my winter store of raisins, and which I never
171
failed to preserve very carefully, as the best and
most agreeable dainty of my whole diet; and indeed
they were not agreeable only, but physical, whole-
some, nourishing, and refreshing to the last de-
gree.
As this was also about half way between my other
habitation and the place where I had laid up my
boat, I generally stayed, and lay here in my way
thither; for I used frequently to visit my boat, and
I kept all things about or belonging to her in very
good order; sometimes I went out in her to divert
myself, but no more hazardous voyages would I go,
nor scarce ever above a stone's cast or two from the
shore, I was so apprehensive of my being hurried
out of my knowledge again by the currents or winds,
or any other accident: but now I come to a new
scene of my life.
It happened one day about noon going towards my
boat, I was exceedingly surprised with the print of a
man's naked foot on the shore, which was very plain
to be seen in the sand: I stood like one thunder-
struck, or as if I had seen an apparition; I listened,
I looked round me, I could hear nothing, nor see
any thing; I went up to a rising ground to look fur-
ther, I went up the shore and down the shore, but it
was all one, I could see no other impression but that
one. I went to it again to see if there were any
more, and to observe if it might not be my fancy;
but there was no room for that, for there was exact-
ly the very print of a foot, toes, heel, and every part
of a foot; how it came thither, I knew not, nor
could in the least imagine. But after innumerable
fluttering thoughts, like a man perfectly confused
and out of myself, I came home to my fortification,
172
not feeling, as we say, the ground I went on, but ter-
rified to the last degree, looking behind me at every
two or three steps, mistaking every bush and tree,
and fancying every stump at a distance to be a man;
nor is it possible to describe how many various.
shapes an affrighted imagination represented things
to me in; how many wild ideas were found every
moment in my fancy, and what strange unaccount-
able whimsies came into my thoughts by the
way.
When I came to my castle, for so I think I called
it ever after this, I fled into it like one pursued;
whether I went over by the ladder as first contrived,
or went in at the hole in the rock, which I called a
door, I cannot remember; no, nor could I remember
the next morning, for never a frighted hare fled to
cover, or fox to earth, with more terror of mind than
I to this retreat.
I slept none that night; the further I was from the
occasion of my fright, the greater my apprehensions
were; I was so embarassed with my own frightful
ideas of the thing, that I formed nothing but dismal
imaginations to myself, even though I was now a
great way off it. Yet, when I could get courage to
reason on the subject, I asked how should any thing
in human shape come into the place? where was the
vessel that brought them? what marks was there of
any other footsteps? and how was it possible a man
should come there? and abundance of such things
as these assisted to argue me out of all apprehensions,
and I presently concluded, that it must be some of
the savages of the main land over against me, who
had wandered out to sea in their canoes, and either
driven by the currents, or by contrary winds, had
173
made the island; and had been on shore, but were
gone away again to sea, being as loath, perhaps, to
have stayed in this desolate island, as I would have
been to have had them.
While these reflections were rolling upon my mind,
I was very thankful in my thoughts, that I was so
happy as not to be thereabouts at that time, or that
they did not see my boat, by which they would have
concluded that some inhabitants had been in the
place, and perhaps have searched further for me:
then terrible thoughts racked my imagination about
their having found my boat, and that there were
people here; and that if so, I should certainly have
them come again in greater numbers, and kill me;
that if it should happen so that they should not find
me, yet they would find my inclosure, destroy all
my corn, carry away all my flock of tame goats,
and I should perish at last for mere want.
Thus
my fear banished all my religious hope; all that for-
mer confidence in God, which was founded on such
wonderful experiences as I had had of his goodness,
now vanished; as if he that had fed me almost by
miracle hitherto, could not preserve by his power
the provision which he had made for me by his good-
ness.
+
How strange a chequer-work of Providence is the
life of man! and by what secret different springs are
the affections hurried about, as differing circum-
stances present! to-day we love what to-morrow we
hate; to-day we seek what to-morrow we shun; to-
day we desire what to-morrow we fear; nay, even
tremble at the apprehensions of it. This was exem-
plified in me at this time in the most lively manner
imaginable; for I, whose only affliction was, that I
P 3
174
:
seemed banished from human society, that I was
alone circumscribed by the boundless ocean, cut off
from mankind, and condemned to what I call silent
life; that I was as one whom heaven thought not
worthy to be numbered among the living, or to ap-
pear among the rest of his creatures; that to have
seen one of my own species, would have seemed to
me a raising me from death to life, and the greatest
blessing that heaven itself, next to the supreme bles-
sing of salvation, could bestow; I say, that I should
now tremble at the very apprehensions of seeing a
man, and was ready to sink into the ground at but
the shadow or silent appearance of a man's having
set his foot on the island. Such is the uneven state.
of human life; and it afforded me a great many cu-
rious speculations afterwards, when I had a little re-
covered my first surprise; I considered that this was
the station of life, the infinitely wise and good pro-
vidence of God had determined for me, that as I
could not foresee what the ends of divine wisdom
might be in all this, so I was not to dispute his so-*
vereignty; who, as I was his creature, had an un-
doubted right by creation to govern and dispose of
me absolutely as he thought fit; and who, as I was
a creature who had offended him, had likewise a ju-
dicial right to condemn me to what punishment he
thought fit; and that it was my part to submit to
bear his indignation, because I had sinned against
him. I then reflected, that God, who was not only
righteous but omnipotent, as he had thought fit thus
to punish and afflict me, so he was able to deliver
me; that if he did not think fit to do it, it was my
unquestioned duty to resign myself absolutely and
entirely to his will: and, on the other hand, it was
175
my duty also to hope in him, pray to him, and qui-
etly to attend the dictates and directions of his daily
providence.
It came into my thoughts one day, that all this
might be a mere chimera of my own; and that this
foot might be the print of my own foot, when I came
on shore from my boat: this cheered me up a little
too, and I began to persuade myself it was all a de-
lusion; that it was nothing else but my own foot;
and that if it was, I had played the part of those
fools, who strive to make stories of spectres and ap-
paritions, and then are frighted at them more than
any body else.
Now I began to take courage, and to peep abroad
again; for I had not stirred out of my castle for
three days and nights; so that I began to starve for pro-
vision; for I had little or nothing within doors, but
some barley cakes and water. Then I knew that
my goats wanted to be milked too, which was usu-
ally my evening diversion; and the poor creatures
were in great pain and inconvenience for the want
of it; and indeed, it almost spoiled some of them,
and almost dried up their milk. Heartening myself,
therefore, with the belief, that this was nothing but
the print of one of my feet, and so I might be truly
said to start at my own shadow; I began to go
abroad again, and went to my country-house, to
milk my flock; but to see with what fear I went for-
ward, how often I looked behind me, how I was
ready every now and then to lay down my basket,
and run for my life, it would have made any one
have thought I was haunted with an evil consci-
ence.
However, as I went down thus two or three days,
176
and having seen nothing, I began to be a little bold-
er; and to think there was really nothing in it but
my own imagination: but I could not persuade my-
self fully of this, till I should go down to the shore
again, and see this print of a foot, and measure it by
my own, and see if there was any similitude or fit-
ness, that I might be assured it was my own foot:
but when I came to the place, first, it appeared evi-
dently to me, that when I laid up my boat, I could
not possibly be on shore any where thereabout.
Secondly, when I came to measure the mark with
my own foot, I found my foot not so large by a great
deal; both these things filled my head with new ima-
ginations, and gave me the vapours again to the
highest degree; so that I shook with cold, like one
in an ague; and I went home again, filled with the
belief that some man or men had been on shore
there; or, in short, that the island was inhabited,
and I might be surprised before I was aware; and
what course to take for my security, I knew
not.
This confusion of my thoughts kept me waking
all night; but in the morning I fell asleep, and hav-
ing, by the amusement of my mind, been as it were
tired, and my spirits exhausted, I slept very sound-
ly, and waked much better composed than I had
ever been before; and now I began to think sedately,
that this island, which was so exceeding pleasant,
fruitful, and no further from the main land than I
had seen, was not so entirely abandoned as I might
imagine: that although there was no stated inhabi-
tants who lived on the spot, yet that there might some-
times come boats off from the shore, who, either with
design, or perhaps never but when they were driven
}
177
by cross winds, might come to this place. That I
had lived here fifteen years now, and had not met
with the shadow or figure of any people before, and.
that if at any time they should be driven here,
it was probable they went away again as soon as ever
they could, seeing they had never thought fit to fix
there upon any occasion, to this time.
Now I began sorely to repent, that I had dug my
cave so large, as to bring a door out beyond where
my fortification joined to the rock: upon maturely
considering this, therefore, I resolved to draw me a
second fortification, in the same manner of a semi-
circle, at a distance from my wal!, just where I had
planted a double row of trees, about twelve years
before, of which I made mention: these trees having
been planted so thick before, there wanted but a few
piles to be driven between them, that they should
be thicker and stronger, and my wall would be soon
finished. So that I had now a double wall, and my
outer wall was thickened with pieces of timber, old
cables, and every thing I could think of to make it
strong; having in it seven little holes, about as big
as I might put my arm out at. In the inside of
this, I thickened my wall to above ten feet thick,
with continual bringing earth out of my cave, and
laying it at the foot of the wall, and walking upon
it; and through the seven holes, I contrived to plant
the muskets, of which I took notice, that I got seven
on shore out of the ship; these, I say, I planted like
my cannon, and fitted them into frames that held
them like a carriage, so that I could fire all the se-
ven guns in two minutes' time: this wall I was ma-
ny a weary month in finishing, and yet never thought
myself safe till it was done. When this was done,
178
I stuck all the ground without my wall, for a great
way every way, as full of stakes or sticks of the o-
sier-like wood, which I found so apt to grow, as
they could well stand; insomuch, that I believe
I might set in near twenty thousand of them, leav-
ing a pretty large space between them and my wall,
that I might have room to see an enemy, and they
might have no shelter from the young trees, if they
attempted to approach my outer wall.
Thus in two years' time I had a thick grove, and
in five or six years' time I had a wood before my
dwelling, grown so monstrous thick and strong, that
it was indeed perfectly impassable; and no man, of
what kind soever, would ever imagine that there
was any thing beyond it, much less a habitation.
As for the way which I proposed to myself to go in
and out, for I left no avenue, it was by setting two
ladders; one to a part of the rock which was low,
and then broke in, and left room to place another
ladder upon that; so when the two ladders were
taken down, no man living could come down to me
without mischieving himself; and if they had come
down, they were still on the outside of my outer
wall.
While this was doing, I was not altogether care-
less of my own affairs: for I had a great concern up-
on me for my little herd of goats; they were not on-
ly a present supply to me upon every occasion, and
began to be sufficient to me, without the expence of
powder and shot; but also abated the fatigue of
hunting after the wild ones; and I was loath to lose
the advantage of them, and to have them all to
nurse up over again. Accordingly, I spent some
time to find out the most retired parts of the island
179
to move them to; and I pitched upon one which
was as private indeed as my heart could wish; for
it was a little damp piece of ground, in the middle
of the hollow and thick woods, where, as is observ-
ed, I almost lost myself once before, endeavouring
to come back that way from the eastern part of the
island: here I found a clear piece of land near three
acres, so surrounded with woods, that it was almost
an inclosure by nature, at least it did not want
near so much labour to make it so, as the other pie-
ces of ground I had worked so hard at. Having
fenced it round, I removed ten young she-goats and
two he-goats into it.
All this labour I was at the expence of, purely
from my apprehensions on the account of the print
of a man's foot which I had seen; for as yet I never
saw any human creature come near the island, and
I had now lived near two years under these uneasi-
nesses, which, indeed, made my life much less com-
fortable than it was before; as may well be imagin-
ed, by any who know what it is to live in the con-
stant snare of "the fear of man;" and this I must
observe with grief too, that the discomposure of my
mind had too great impressions also upon the reli-
gious part of my thoughts, for the dread and terror
of falling into the hands of savages, lay so upon
my spirits, that I seldom found myself in a due tem-
per for application to my Maker, at least, not with
the sedate calmness and resignation of soul, which I
was wont to do; I rather prayed to God as under
great affliction and pressure of mind, surrounded
with danger, and in expectation every night of be-
ing murdered before morning; and I must testify
from my experience, that a temper of peace,
180
thankfulness, love, and affection, is much the more
proper frame for prayer, than that of terror and dis-
composure; and that under the dread of mischief
impending, a man is no more fit for a comforting
performance of the duty of praying to God, than he
is for repentance on a sick bed: for these discom-
posures affect the mind as the others do the body;
and the discomposure of the mind must necessarily
be as great a disability as that of the body, and much
greater, praying to God being properly an act of the
mind, not of the body.
But to go on after I had thus secured one part
of my little living stock, I went about the whole is-
Jand, searching for another private place, to make
such another deposit; when wandering more to the
west point of the island than I had ever done yet,
and looking out to sea, I thought I saw a boat up-
on the sea, at a great distance; I had found a pro-
spective glass, or two, in one of the seamen's chests,
which I saved out of the ship; but I had it not a-
bout me, and this was so remote, that I could not tell
what to make of it: though I looked at it till my eyes
were not able to look any longer: whether it was a
boat or not, I do not know; but as I descended
from the hill, I could see no more of it; so I gave
it over; only I resolved to go no more out without a
prospective glass in my pocket. When I was come
down the hill, to the end of the island, where indeed
I had never been before, I was presently convinced,
that the seeing the print of a man's foot, was not such
a strange thing in the island as I imagined; and but
that it was a special providence that I was cast up-
on the side of the island where the savages never
came, I should easily have known that nothing was
181
more frequent than for the canoes from the main,
when they happened to be a little too far out to
sea, to shoot over to that side of the island for
harbour; likewise, as they often met, and fought in
their canoes, the victors having taken any prisoners,
would bring them over to this shore, where, accord-
ing to their dreadful customs, being all cannibals,
they would kill and eat them; of which hereafter.
When I was come down the hill to the shore, as I
said before, being the S. W. point of the island, I
was perfectly confounded and amazed; nor is it
possible for me to express the horror of my mind, at
seeing the shore spread with skulls, hands, feet, and
other bones of human bodies..
I was so astonished with the sight of these things,
that I entertained no notions of any danger to my-
self from it for a long while; all my apprehensions
were buried in the thoughts of such a pitch of
inhuman hellish brutality, and the horror of the
degeneracy of human nature; which though I had
heard of often, yet I never had so near a view of
before; in short, I turned away my face from the
horrid spectacle; my stomach grew sick, and I was
just at the point of fainting, when nature discharged
the disorder from my stomach; and having vomited
with an uncommon violence, I was a little relieved,
but could not bear to stay in the place a moment;
so I got me up the hill again with all the speed I
could, and walked on towards my own habitation.
When I came a little out of that part of the is-
land, I stood still awhile as amazed; and then re-
covering myself, I locked up with the utmost affec-
tion of my soul, and with à flood of tears in my eyes,
gave God thanks, that had cast my first lot in a part
K
¿
182
of the world, where I was distinguished from such
dreadful creatures as these; and that though I had
esteemed my present condition very miserable, had
yet given me so many comforts in it, that I had still
more to give thanks for than to complain of: and
this above all, that I had even in this miserable
condition been comforted with the knowledge of
himself, and the hope of his blessing, which was a
felicity more than sufficiently equivalent to all the
misery which I had suffered, or could suffer.
I entertained such an abhorrence of these savage
wretches, and of their inhuman customs, that I con-
tinued pensive and sad, and kept close within my
own circle for almost two years after this: when I
say my own circle, I mean by it my three planta-
tions, viz. my castle, my country-seat, which I
called my bower, and my inclosure in the woods; nor
did I look after this for any other use than as an in-
closure for my goats; for the aversion which nature
gave me to these wretches was such, that I was fear-
ful of seeing them, as of seeing the devil himself;
nor did I so much as go to look after my boat in all
this time, but began rather to think of making me
another; for I could not think of ever making any
more attempts to bring the other boat round the is-
land to me, lest I should meet with some of these
creatures at sea, in which, if I had happened to have
fallen into their hands, I knew what would have
been my lot.
Time, however, and the satisfaction I had, that I
was in no danger of being discovered by these
people, began to wear off my uneasiness about thein;
and I began to live just in the same composed man-
ner as before; only with this difference, that I used
183
more caution, and kept my eyes more about me
than I did before; lest I should happen to be seen
by any of them: and particularly, I was more cau-
tious of firing my gun, lest any of them being on the
island, should happen to hear it: and it was there-
fore a very good providence to me, that I had fur-
nished myself with a tame breed of goats, that I
needed not hunt any more about the woods, or shoot
at-them; and if I did catch any of them after this,
it was by traps and snares, as I had done before; so
that for two years after this, I believe I never fired
my gun once off, though I never went out without
it; and which was more, as I had saved three pistols
out of the ship, I always carried them out with me,
or at least two of them, sticking them in my goat-
skin belt; also I furbished up one of the great cut-
lasses that I had out of the ship, and made me a
belt to put it in also; so that I was now a most
formidable fellow to look at when I went abroad;
if you add to the former description of myself, the
particular of two pistols, and a great broad sword
hanging at my side in a belt, but without a scab-
bard.
Things going on thus for some time, I seemed, ex-
cepting these cautions, to be reduced to my former
calm, sedate way of living; all these things tended
to shew me more and more how far my condition
was from being miserable, compared to some others;
nay, to many other particulars of life, which it
might have pleased God to have made my lot.
I began to think that the frights I had been in
about these savage wretches, and the concern I had
been in for my own preservation, had taken off the
edge of my invention for my own conveniences;
184
and I had dropt a good design, which I had once
bent my thoughts much upon; and that was to try
if I could not make some of my barley into malt,
and then try to brew myself some beer: this was
really a whimsical thought, and I reproved myself
often for the simplicity of it; for I presently saw
there would be the want of several things necessary
to the making my beer, that it would be impossible
for me to supply; as first, casks to preserve it in,
which was a thing, that, as I have observed already,
I could never compass; no, though I spent months
in attempting it, but to no purpose. In the next
place, I had no hops to make it keep, no yeast to
make it work, no copper or kettle to make it boil;
and yet, had not these things intervened, I mean the
frights and terrors I was in about the savages, I had
undertaken it, and perhaps brought it to pass too;
for I seldom gave any thing over without accom-
plishing it, when I once had it in my head enough
to begin it.
After a great deal of debate with myself what
conduct to pursue towards those savages, when they
should land again, I resolved that neither in princi-
ples, nor in policy, I ought one way or other to con-
cern myself with them. That my business was by
all possible means to conceal myself from them, and
not to leave the least signal to them, to guess by,
that there was any human creature upon the island.-
Religion joined in with this prudential, and I was
convinced now many ways, that I was perfectly out
of my duty, when I was laying all my bloody
schemes for the destruction of innocent creatures, I
mean innocent as to me: as to the crimes they were
guilty of towards one another, I had nothing to do
185
with them; they were national, and I ought to leave
them to the justice of God, who is the governor of
nations, and knows how by national punishments to
make a just retribution for national offences; and to
bring public judgments upon those who offend in a
public manner, by such ways as best pleases him.
This appeared so clear to me now, that nothing
was a greater satisfaction to me, than that I had not
been suffered to do a thing which I now saw so
much reason to believe would have been no less a
sin, than that of wilful murder, if I had committed
it; and I gave most humble thanks on my knees to
God, that had thus delivered me from blood-guilti-
ness, beseeching him to grant me the protection of
his providence, that I might not fall into the hands
of the Barbarians; or that I might not lay my hands
upon them, unless I had a more clear call from
heaven to do it, in defence of my own life.
I went and removed my boat which I had on the
other side the island, and carried it down to the east
end of the whole island, where I ran it into a little
cove which I found under some high rocks, and
where I knew, by reason of the currents, the savages
durst not, at least would not, come with their boats,
upon any account whatsoever. With my boat I
carried away every thing that I had left there be-
longing to her, though not necessary for the bare go-
ing thither, viz. a mast and sail which I had made
for her, and a thing like an anchor, but indeed which
could not be called either anchor or grappling;
however, it was the best I could make of its kind.
All these I removed, that there might not be the
least shadow of any discovery, or any appearance
of any boat, or of any human creature upon the is-
Q 3
186
land. Besides this, I kept myself, as I said, more
retired than ever, and seldom went from my cell,
other than upon my constant employment, viz. tʊ
milk my she-goats, and manage my little flock in
the wood; which, as it was quite on the other part
of the island, was quite out of danger.
I had the care of my safety more now upon my
hands, than that of my food. I cared not to drive
a nail, or chop a stick of wood now, for fear the
noise I should make should be heard; much less
would I fire a gun for the same reason: and above
all, I was intolerably uncasy at making any fire, lest
the smoke, which is visible at a great distance in the
day, should betray me; and for this reason I remøv-
ed that part of my business which required fire, such
as burning pots and pipes, &c. into my new apart-
ments in the wood; where, after I had been some
time, I found, to my unspeakable consolation, at
mere natural cave in the earth, which went in a vast
way, and where I dare say, no savage, had he been
at the mouth of it, would be so hardy as to venture
in; nor indeed, would any man else, but one who,
like me, wanted nothing so much as a safe retreat.
The mouth of this hollow was at the bottom of a
great rock, where by mere accident (I would say, if
I did not see abundant reason to ascribe all such
things now to Providence) I was cutting down some
thick branches of trees to make charcoal; and be-
fore I go on, I must observe the reason of my mak-
ing this charcoal, which was thus:-I was afraid of
making a smoke about my habitation, as I said be-
fore; and yet I could not live there without baking
my bread, cooking my meat, &c. so I contrived to
burn some wood here, as I had seen done in Eng-
187
land, under turf, till it became chark, or dry coal;
and then putting the fire out, I preserved the coal
to carry home, and perform the other services which
fire was wanting for at home, without danger of smoke,
But this by the bye. While I was cutting down
some wood here, I perceived that behind a very thick
branch of low brushwood, or underwood, there was
a kind of low hollow place; I was curious to look
into it; and getting with difficulty into the mouth
of it, I found it was pretty large, that is to say, suffi-
cient for me to stand upright in it, and perhaps an-
other with me; but I must confess to you I made
more haste out than I did in, when looking further
into the place, and which was perfectly dark, I saw
two broad shining eyes of some creature, which
twinkled like two stars, the dim light from the cave's
mouth shining directly in, and making the reflection.
However, after some pause, I recovered myself, and
began to call myself a thousand fools, and tell myself
that I durst to belive there was nothing in this cave
that was more frightful than myself; upon this,
plucking up my courage, I took up a great fire-
brand, and in I rushed again, with the stick flaming
in my hand; I had not gone three steps in, but I was
almost as much frighted as I was before; for I heard
a very loud sigh, like that of a man in some pain,
and it was followed by a broken noise, as if of words
half expressed, and then a deep sigh again: I step-
ped back, and was, indeed, struck with such a sur-
prise, that it put me into a cold sweat; and if I had
had a hat on my head, I will not answer for it, that
my hair might not have lifted it off. But still
plucking up my spirits as well as I could, and en-
couraging myself a little, with considering that the
i
188
power and presence of God was every where, and
was able to protect me: upon this I stepped forward
again, and by the light of the firebrand, holding it
up a little over my head, I saw lying on the ground
a most monstrous frightful old he-goat, just making
his will, as we say, and gasping for life, and dying
indeed of mere old age. I stirred him a little, to see
if I could get him out, and he essayed to get up, but
was not able to raise himself; and I thought with
myself, he might even lie there; for if he had fright-
ened me so, he would certainly fright any of the
savages, if any of them should be so hardy as to come
in there, while he had any life in him. I was now
recovered from my surprise, and began to look round
me, when I found the cave was but very small, that
is to say, it might be about twelve feet over, but in
no manner of shape, either round or square, no hands
having ever been employed in making it, but those
of mere nature. I observed also, that there was a
place at the further side of it, that went in further,
but was so low, that it required me to creep upon
my hands and knees to get into it, and whither it
went I knew not; so having no candle, I gave it over
for some time; but resolved to come again the next
day provided with candles and a tinder-box, which
I had made of the lock of one of the muskets, with
some wild-fire in the pan.
Accordingly, the next day I came provided with
six large candles of my own making; for I made
very good candles now of goat's tallow; and going
into this low place, I was obliged to creep upon all-
fours almost ten yards; which by the way, I thought
was a venture bold enough, considering that I knew
not how far it might go, nor what was beyond it.
189
i
When I was got through the strait, I found the roof
rose higher up, I believe near twenty feet; but never
was such a glorious sight seen in the island, I dare
say, as it was, to look round the sides and roof of this
vault or cave; the walls reflected a hundred thou-
sand lights to me from my two candles; what it was
in the rock, whether diamonds, or any other preci-
ous stones, or gold, which I rather supposed it to be,
I knew not. The place I was in was a most delight-
ful cavity, or grotto, of its kind, as could be expect-
ed, though perfectly dark; the floor was dry and
level, and had a sort of small loose gravel upon it, so
that there was no nauseous or venomous creature to
be seen, neither was there any damp or wet upon the
sides or roof: the only difficulty in it was the en-
trance, which, however, as it was a place of security,
and such a retreat as I wanted, I thought that was a
convenience: so that I was really rejoiced at the dis-
covery, and resolved, without any delay, to bring
some of those things, which I was most anxious.
about, to this place; particularly, I resolved to
bring hither my magazine of powder, and all my
spare arms, viz. two fowling-pieces, (for I had three in
all,) and three muskets, (for of them I had eight in
all;) so I kept at my castle only five, which stood
ready mounted, like pieces of cannon, on my outmost
fence; and were ready also to take out upon any ex-
pedition. Upon this occasion of removing my am-
munition, I took occasion to open the barrel of pow-
der which I took up out of the sea, and which had
been wet; and I found that the water had penetrated
about three or four inches into the powder on every
side, which caking and growing hard, had preserved
the inside like kernel in the shell; so that I had near
}
190
sixty pounds of very good powder in the centre of
the cask, and this was an agreeable discovery to me
at that time; so I carried all away thither, never
keeping above two or three pounds of powder with
me in my castle, for fear of a surprise of any kind :
I also carried thither all the lead I had left for
bullets.
I fancied myself now like one of the ancient giants,
which were said to live in caves and holes in the
rocks, where none could come at them; for I per-
suaded myself, while I was here, if five hundred sa-
vages were to hunt me, they could never find me out;
or if they did, they would not venture to attack me
here. The old goat, whom I found expiring, died in
the mouth of the cave, the next day after I made
this discovery; and I found it much easier to dig a
great hole there, and throw him in, and cover him
with earth, than to drag him out; so I interred him
there to prevent offence to my nose.
I was now in my twenty-third year of residence in
this island, and was so naturalized to the place, and
the manner of living, that could I have but enjoyed
the certainty that no savages would come to the
place to disturb me, I could almest have been con-
tent to have capitulated for spending the rest of my
time there, even to the last moment, till I had laid
me down and died, like the old goat in the cave. I
had also arrived to some little diversions and amuse-
ments, which made the time pass more pleasantly
with me a great deal, than it did before; as first, I
had taught my poll, as I noted before, to speak, and
he did it so familiarly, and talked so articulately
and plain, that it was very pleasant to me; and he
lived with me no less than six and twenty years.
191
How long he might live afterwards, I know not;
though I know they have a notion in the Brasils that
they live a hundred years; perhaps poor poll may be
alive there still, calling after poor Robin Crusoe to
this day. I wish no Englishman the ill-luck to
come there and hear him. My dog was a very plea-
sant and loving companion to me for no less than six-
teen years of my time, and then died of mere age; as
for
my cats, I had two or three favourites, which I
kept tame; and whose young, when they had any, I
always drowned; and these were part of my family.
Besides these, I always kept two or three household
kids about me, which I taught to feed out of my
hand; and I had two more parrots which talked
pretty well, and would all call Robin Crusoe, but
none like my first; nor, indeed, did I take the pains
with any of them that I had done with him. I had
also several tame sea-fowls, whose names I knew not,
that I caught upon the shore, and cut their wings;
and the little stakes which I had planted before my
castle wall being now grown up to a good thick grove,
these fowls all lived among these low trees, and bred
there, which was very agreeable to me.
How frequently, in the course of our lives, the
evil, which in itself we seek most to shun, and
which, when we are fallen into, is the most dreadful
to us, is oftentimes the very means or door of our
deliverance, by which alone we can be raised again
from the affliction we are fallen into. I could give
many examples of this in the course of my unac-
countable life; but in nothing was it more particular-
ly remarkable, than in the circumstances of my last
years of solitary residence in this island. It was now
the month of December, and this being the southern
*
192
!
solstice, for winter I cannot call it, was the particu-
lar time of my harvest, and required my being pretty
much abroad in the fields; when going out pretty
early in the morning, even before it was thorough
daylight, I was surprised with seeing a light of some
fire upon the shore, at a distance from me, of about
two miles towards the end of the island, where I had
observed some savages had been, as before, and not
on the other side; but, to my great affliction, it was
on my side of the island. I was indeed terrible sur-
prised at the sight, and stopped short within my
grove, not daring to go out, lest I might be surpris-
ed; and yet I had no more peace within, from the
apprehensions I had that if these savages, in rambling
over the island, should find my corn standing, or cut,
or any of my works and improvements, they would
immediately conclude, that there were people in the
place, and would then never give over till they had
found me out. In this extremity, I went back direct-
ly to my castle, pulled up the ladder after me, and
made all things without look as wild and natural as
I could. Then I prepared myself within, putting my-
self in a posture of defence; I loaded all my cannon,
as I called them; that is to say, my muskets, which
were mounted upon my new fortification, and all
my pistols, and resolved to defend myself to the last
gasp, not forgetting seriously to commend myself to
the divine protection, and earnestly to pray to God
to deliver me out of the hands of the Barbarians;
and in this posture I continued about two hours,
but began to be mighty impatient for intelligence
abroad, for I had no spies to send out.
After sitting a while longer, and musing what I
should do in this case, I was not able to bear sitting
193
in ignorance any longer; so setting up my ladder to
the side of the hill, where there was a flat place, as
I observed before, and then pulling the ladder up af-
ter me, I set it up again, and mounted to the top of
the hill, and pulling out my prospective glass, which
I had taken on purpose, I laid me down flat on my
belly on the ground, and began to look for the place.
I presently found there were no less than nine naked
savages sitting round a small fire they had made.—
They had two canoes with them, which they had
hauled up upon the shore; and as it was then the
tide of ebb, they seemed to me to wait for the return
of the flood to go away again; it is not easy to ima-
gine what confusion this sight put me into, especially
seeing them come on my side the island, and so near
me too: but when I observed their coming must be
always with the current of the ebb, I began after-
wards to be more sedate in my mind, being satisfied
that I might go abroad with safety all the time of the
tide of flood, if they were not on shore before: and
having made this observation, I went abroad about
my harvest-work with the more composure.
As I expected, so it proved; for as soon as the tide
made to the westward, I saw them all take boat, and
row (or paddle as we call it) all away. I should
have observed, that for an hour or more before they
went off they went to dancing, and I could easily
discern their postures and gestures by my glasses; I
could not perceive by my nicest observation but that
they were stark naked, and had not the least covering
upon them; but whether they were men or women,
that I could not distinguish. As soon as I saw them
shipped and gone, I took two guns upon my shoul-
ders, and two pistols at my girdle, and my great
Ꭱ
194
sword by my side without a scabbard, and with ali
the speed I was able to make, I went away to the hill
where I had discovered the first appearance of all;
and as soon as I got thither, which was not in less
than two hours, (for I could not go apace being so
loaden with arms as I was,) I perceived there had been
three canoes more of savages on that place; and
looking out further, I saw they were all at sea to-
gether, making over for the main.
It seemed evident to me, that the visits which they
thus make to this island are not very frequent; for
it was above fifteen months before any more of them
came on shore there again; that is to say, I neither
saw them, nor any footsteps or signals of them, in
all that time; for as to the rainy seasons, then they
are sure not to come abroad, at least not so far; yet
all this while I lived uncomfortably, by reason of
the apprehensions I was in of their coming upon me
by surprise; from whence I observe, that the expec-
tation of evil is more bitter than the suffering, espe-
cially if there is no room to shake off that expecta-
tion, or those apprehensions.
I spent whole days now in great perplexity and
anxiety of mind, expecting that I should one day or
other fall into the hands of these merciless creatures;
and if I did at any time venture abroad, it was
not without looking round me with the greatest care
and caution imaginable; and now I found, to my
great comfort, how happy it was that I had provid-
ed a tame flock or herd of goats; for I durst not up-
on any account fire my gun, especially near that
side of the island where they usually came, lest I
should alarm the savages; and if they had fled from
me now, I was sure to have them come back again
195.
with, perhaps, two or three hundred canoes with
them in a few days, and then I knew what to expect.
However, I wore out a year and three months more,
before I ever saw any more of the savages, and then
I found them again, as I shall soon observe. It is
true, they might have been there once or twice, but
either they made no stay, or at least I did not hear
them. The perturbation of my mind, during this
fifteen or sixteen months, was very great; I slept un-
quiet, dreamed always frightful dreams, and often
started out of my sleep in the night: in the day
great troubles overwhelmed my mind, and in the
night I dreamed often of killing the savages, and of
the reasons why I might justify the doing of it. It
was in the middle of May, on the sixteenth day I
think, as well as my poor wooden calendar would
reckon; for I marked all upon the post still; that
it blew a very great storm of wind all day, with a
great deal of lightning and thunder, and a very foul
night it was after it: I know not what was the
ticular occasion of it, but as I was reading in the
bible, and taken up with very serious thoughts about
my present condition, I was surprised with the noise
of a gun, as I thought, fired at sea. This was to be
sure a surprise of a quite different nature from any
I had met with before; for the notions this put into
my thoughts were quite of another kind. I started
up in the greatest haste imaginable, and in a trice
clapt my ladder to the middle place of the rock, and
pulled it after me, and mounting it the second time,
got to the top of the hill; that very moment a flash
of fire bid me listen for a second gun, which accord-
ingly, in about half a minute, I heard, and by the
sound, knew that it was from that part of the sea
par-
:
196
where I was driven down the current in my boat.
I immediately considered that this must be some
ship in distress, and that they had some comrade or
some other ship in company, and fired these guns as
signals of distress, and to obtain help: I had this
presence of mind at that minute, as to think that
though I could not help them, it may be they might
help me; so I brought together all the dry wood I
could get at hand, and making a good handsome
pile, I set it on fire upon the hill: the wood was dry
and blazed freely, and though the wind blew very
hard, yet it burnt fairly out; that I was certain, if
there was any such thing as a ship, they must needs
see it, and no doubt they did; for as soon as ever
my fire blazed up I heard another gun, and after
that several others, all from the same quarter. I pli-
ed my fire all night long, till day broke; and when
it was broad day, and the air cleared up, I saw
something at a great distance at sea, full east of the
island, whether a sail or a hull, I could not distin-
guish, no not with my glasses, the distance was so
great, and the weather something hazy also; at least
it was so out at sea. I looked frequently at it all
that day, and soon perceived that it did not move,
so I presently concluded that it was a ship at an-
chor; and being eager, you may be sure, to be satis-
fied, I took my gun in my hand, and ran towards the
south side of the island, to the rocks where I had
been formerly carried away by the current; and get-
ting up there, the weather by this time being perfect-
ly clear, I could plainly see, to my great sorrow,
the
wreck of a ship cast away in the night, upon those
concealed rocks which I found when I was out in
my boat; and which rocks, as they checked the
197
violence of the stream, and made a kind of counter
stream or eddy, were the occasion of my recovering
from the most desperate hopeless condition that ever
I had been in in all my life.
Thus, what is one man's safety, is another man's
destruction; for it seems these men, whoever they
were, being out of their knowledge, and the rocks
being wholly under water, had been driven upon
them in the night, the wind blowing hard at E. and
E. N. E. Had they seen the island, as I suppose they
did not, they must, as 1 thought, have endeavoured
to have saved themselves on shore by the help of
their boat; but their firing of guns for help, especi-
ally when they saw, as I imagined, my fire, filled me
with many thoughts. First, I imagined, that upon
seeing my light, they might have put themselves in-
to their boat, and have endeavoured to make the
shore; but that the sea going very high, they might
have been cast away.
As these were but conjec-
tures at best, so, in the condition I was in, I could do
no more than look on upon the misery of the poor
men and pity them, which had still this good effect
upon my side, that it gave me more and more cause
to give thanks to God, who had so happily and com-
fortably provided for me in my desolate condition;
and that, of two ships' companies who were now cast
away upon this part of the world, not one life should
be spared but mine: I learned here again to ob-
serve, that it is very rare that the providence of God
casts us into any condition of life so low, or any
misery so great, but we may see something or other
to be thankful for; and may see others in worse cir-
cumstances than our own.
I cannot explain, by any possibly energy of words,
R 3
198
what a strange longing or hankering of desire I felt
in my soul upon this sight; breaking out sometimes
thus; O that there had been but one or two; nay,
or but one soul saved ut of this ship, to have escap-
ed to me that I might but have had one companion,
one fellow-creature to have spoken to me, and to
have conversed with! In all the time of my solitary
life, I never felt so earnest, so strong a desire after
the society of my fellow-creatures, or so deep a re-
gret at the want of it.
Such were these earnest wishings, that but one
man had been saved! O that it had been but one!
I believe I repeated the words, O that it had been
but one, a thousand times; and my desires were so
moved by it, that when I spoke the words, my hands
would clinch together, and my fingers press the
palms of my hands, that if I had had any soft thing
in my hand, it would have crushed it involuntarily.
I never knew, till the last year of my being on
this island, whether any were saved out of that ship
or no; and had only the affliction some days after
to see the corpse of a drowned boy come on shore,
at the end of the island which was next to the ship-
wreck he had no clothes but a seaman's waistcoat,
a pair of open-kneed linen drawers, and a blue linen
shirt; but nothing to direct me so much as to guess
what nation he was of. He had nothing in his poc-
ket but two pieces of eight and a tobacco-pipe; the
last was to me of ten times more value than the first.
It was now calm, and I had a great mind to venture
out in my boat to this wreck, not doubting but I
might find something on board that might be useful
to me; but that did not altogether press me so
much, as the possibility that there might be yet
199
some living creature on board, whose life I might
not only save but might, by saving that life, comfort
my own to the last degree; and this thought clung
so to my heart, that I could not be quiet night nor
day, but I must venture out in my boat on board
this wreck; and committing the rest to God's provi-
dence, I hastened back to my castle, prepared every
thing for my voyage, took a quantity of bread, a
great pot of fresh water, a compass to steer by, a
bottle of rum, for I had still a great quantity of
that left, and a basket full of raisins.. And thus
loading myself with every thing necessary, I went
down to my boat, got the water out of her and got
her afloat, loaded all my cargo in her, and then went
home again for more; my second cargo was a great
bag full of rice, the umbrella to set up over my head
for shade, another large pot full of fresh water, about
two dozen of my small loaves, or barley cakes, more
than before, with a bottle of goat's milk and a cheese:
all which, with great labour and sweat, I brought to
my boat; and praying to God to direct my voyage, I
put out, and rowing or paddling the canoe along
the shore, I came at last to the utmost point of the
island on that side, viz. N. E.-And now I was to
launch out into the ocean, and either to venture or
not to venture. I looked on the rapid currents
which ran constantly on both sides of the island at
a distance, and which were very terrible to me, from
the remembrance of the hazard I had been in before,
and my heart began to fail me. Presently it occur-
red to me, that I should go up to the highest piece
of ground I could find, and observe, if I could, how
the sets of the tide or current lay, when the flood
came in, that I might judge whether, if I was dri-
ད
200
ven one way out, I might not expect to be driven ano-
ther way home, with the same rapidness of the cur-
rents: this thought was no sooner in my head, but
I cast my eye upon a little hill, which sufficiently
overlooked the sea both ways, and from whence I
had a clear view of the currents or sets of the tide,
and which way I was to guide myself in my return;
here I found that as the current of the ebb set out
close by the south point of the island, so the current
of the flood set in close by the shore of the north
side, and that I had nothing to do but to keep to the
north of the island in my return, and I should do
well enough. Encouraged with this observation, I
resolved the next morning to set out with the first
of the tide; and reposing myself for that night in
the canoe, under the great watch-coat I mentioned,
I launched out: I made first a little out to sea full
north, till I began to feel the benefit of the current
which set eastward, and having a strong steerage
with my paddle, I went at a great rate directly for
the wreck, and in less than two hours I came up
to it.
It was a dismal sight to look at: the ship, which
by its building was Spanish, stuck fast, jammed in
between two rocks; all the stern and quarter of her
was beaten to pieces with the sea; and as her fore-
castle, which stuck in the rocks, had run on with
great violence, her main-mast and fore-mast were
brought by the board; that is to say, broken short
off; but her bowsprit was sound, and the head and
bow appeared firm; when I came close to her, a dog
appeared upon her, which seeing me coming, yelped
and cried; and as soon as I called him, jumped in-
to the sea to come to me, and I took him into the
201
boat, but found him almost dead for hunger and
thirst; I gave him a cake of my bread, and he ate
it like a ravenous wolf that had been starving a fort-
night in the snow. I then gave the poor creature
some fresh water, with which, if I would have let
him, he would have burst himself. After this I
went on board; but the first sight that I met with,
was two men drowned in the cock-room, or fore-
castle of the ship, with their arms fast about one
another: I concluded, as is indeed probable, that
when the ship struck, it being in a storm, the sea
broke so high and so continually over her, that the
men were not able to bear it, and were strangled
with the constant rushing in of the water, as much
as if they had been under water. Besides the dog,
there was nothing left in the ship that had life, nor
any goods that I could see, but what was spoiled by
the water. There was some casks of liquor, whe-
ther wine or brandy I knew not, which lay lower in
the hold; and which, the water being ebbed out, I
could see, but they were too big to meddle with; I
saw several chests which I believe belonged to some
of the seamen, and I got two of them into the boat,
without examining what was in them. Had the
stern of the ship been fixed, and the forepart broken
off, I am persuaded I might have made a good voy-
age, for by what I found in these two chests I had
room to suppose the ship had a great deal of wealth
on board; and if I may guess by the course she
steered, she must have been bound from the Buenos
Ayres, or the Rio de la Plata in the south part of
America beyond the Brasils, to the Havannah, in
the Gulph of Mexico, and so perhaps to Spain: she
had, no doubt, a great treasure in her, but of no use
;
202
at that time to any body; and what became of the
rest of her people, I then knew not. I found, be-
sides these chests, a little cask full of liquor, of about
twenty gallons, which I got into my boat with much
difficulty; there were several muskets in a cabin,
and a great powder-horn with about four pounds of
powder in it: as for the muskets I had no occasion
for them, so I left them, but took the powder-horn:
I took a fire-shovel and tongs, which I wanted ex-
tremely; as also two little brass kettles, a copper pot
to make chocolate, and a gridiron; and with this
cargo, and the dog, I came away, the tide beginning
to make home again; and the same evening, about
an hour within night, I reached the island again,
weary and fatigued to the last degree.
I reposed that night in the boat, and in the morn-
ing I resolved to harbour what I had gotten in my
new cave, not to carry it home to my castle. After
refreshing myself, I got all my cargo on shore, and
began to examine the particulars: the cask of liquor
I found to be a kind of rum, but not such as we had
at the Brasils, and not at all good; but when I came
to open the chests, I found in one a fine case of bot-
tles, of an extraordinary kind, and filled with cordial
waters, fine and very good; the bottles held about
three pints each, and were tipped with silver; I
found two pots of very good succades, or sweetmeats,
so fastened on the top, that the salt water had not
hurt them; and two more of the same, which the
water had spoiled: I found some very good shirts,
which were very welcome to me, and about a dozen
and a half of white linen handkerchiefs, and coloured
neckcloths; the former were also very welcome, be-
ing exceeding refreshing to wipe my face in a hot
203
1
day; besides this, when I came to the till in the
chests, 1 found there three great bags of pieces of
eight, which held about eleven hundred pieces in all;
and in one of them, wrapt up in a paper, six doub-
loons of gold, and some small bars or wedges of gold;
I suppose they might all weigh near a pound. The
other chest I found had some clothes in it, but of
little value; but, by the circumstances, it must have
belonged to the gunner's mate, though there was no
powder in it, but about two pounds of fine glazed
powder, in three small flasks, kept, I suppose, for
charging their fowling-pieces on occasion: upon the
whole, I got very little by this voyage, that was of
any use to me; for as to the money, I had no man-
ner of occasion for it; it was to me as the dirt under
my feet; and I would have given it all for three or
four pair of English shoes and stockings, which were
things I greatly wanted, but had not had on my feet
now many years: I had, indeed, gotten two pair of
shoes now, which I took off the feet of the two
drowned men, whom I saw in the wreck; and I found
two pair more in one of the chests, which were very
welcome to me; but they were not like our English
shoes, either for ease or service, being rather what
we call pumps than shoes: I found in this seaman's
chest about fifty pieces of eight in royals, but no
gold; I suppose this belonged to a poorer man than
the other, which seemed to belong to some officer.
Well, however, I lugged this money home to my cave,
and laid it up, as I had done that before which I
brought from our own ship; but it was a great pity,
as I said, that the other part of this ship had not
come to my share, for I am satisfied I might have
loaden my canoe several times over with money,
which, if I had ever escaped to England, would have
204
:
lain here safe enough till I might have come again
and fetched it.
Having now brought all my things on shore and
secured them, I went back to my boat, and rowed or
paddled her along the shore to her old harbour, where
I laid her up, and made the best of my way to my
old habitation, where I found every thing safe and
quiet; so I began to repose myself, live after my old
fashion, and take care of my family affairs. I lived
in this condition near two years more; but my un-
lucky head, that was always to let me know it was
born to make my body miserable, was all the two
years filled with projects and designs, how, if it were
possible, I might get away from this island; for
sometimes I was for making another voyage to the
wreck, though my reason told me that there was
nothing left there worth the hazard of my voyage:
sometimes for a ramble one way, sometimes another;
and I believe verily, if I had had the boat that I went
from Sallee in, I should have ventured to sea, bound
any where, I knew not whither.
It was one of the nights in the rainy season in
March, the four and twentieth year of my first set-
ting foot in this island of solitariness, I was lying in
my bed or hammock awake, very well in health, had
no pain, no distemper, no uneasiness of mind more
than ordinary, but could by no means close my eyes,
that is, so as to sleep; no, not a wink all night long,
otherwise than as follows:-It is as impossible as
needless, to set down the innumerable crowd of
thoughts that whirled through that great thoroughfare
of the brain, the memory, in this night's time: I ran
over the whole history of my life in miniature, to my
coming to this island; and also of that part of my life
since I came to this island. In my reflections upon
205
the state of my case, since I came on shore on this
island, I was comparing the happy posture of my af-
fairs in the first years of my habitation here, com-
pared to the life of anxiety, fear, and care, which I
had lived in ever since I had seen the print of a foot
in the sand; not that I did not believe the savages
had frequented the island all the while, and might
have been several hundreds of them at times on shore
there; but as I had never known it, and was incapable
of any apprehensions about it, my satisfaction was
perfect, though my danger was the same; and I was
as happy in not knowing my danger, as if I had never
really been exposed to it. This furnished my thoughts
with many very profitable reflections, and particular-
ly this one, how infinitely good that Providence is,
which has provided in its government of mankind
such narrow bounds to his sight and knowledge of
things, and though he walks in the midst of so many
thousand dangers, the sight of which, if discovered to
him, would distract his mind and sink his spirits, he
is kept serene and calm by having the events of things
hid from his eyes, and knowing nothing of the dan-
gers which surround him. After these thoughts had
for some time entertained me, I came to reflect seri-
ously upon the real danger I had been in for so many
years in this very island; and how I had walked
about in the greatest security, and with all possible.
tranquillity; even when perhaps nothing but a brow
of a hill, a great tree, or the casual approach of night,
had been between me and the worst kind of destruc-
tion, viz. that of falling into the hands of savages.
I now felt I was most sincerely thankful to my great
preserver, to whose singular protection I acknow-
ledged, with great humility, that all these unknown
S
206
deliverances were due; and without which I must
inevitably have fallen into their merciless hands. It
now occurred to me to enquire, what part of the
world these wretches lived in; how far off the coast
was from whence they came; what they ventured
over so far from home for; what kind of boats they
had; and why I might not order myself and my
business so, that I might be as able to go over thither,
as they were to come to me. I never so much as trou-
bled myself to consider what I should do with myself
when I came thither; what would become of me, if
I fell into the hands of the savages; or how I should
escape from them, if they attempted me; no, nor so
much as how it was possible for me to reach the
coast, and not be attempted by some or other of them,
without any possibility of delivering myself; and if
I should not fall into their hands, what I should do
for provision, or whither I should bend my course:
none of these thoughts, I say, so much as came in my
way; but my mind was wholly bent
mind was wholly bent upon the notion
of my passing over in my boat to the main land.
When this had agitated my thoughts for two hours
or more, with such violence, that it set my very blood
into a ferment, and my pulse beat as high as if I had
been in a fever, merely with the extraordinary fer-
vour of my mind about it, nature, as if I had been
fatigued and exhausted with the very thought of it,
threw me into a sound sleep: one would have thought
I should have dreamed of it; but I did not, nor of
any thing relating to it; but I dreamed, that as I was
going out in the morning as usual from my castle,
I
saw upon the shore two canoes, and eleven savages
coming to land, that they brought with them another
savage, whom they were going to kill; when on a
207
sudden the savage they were going to kill jumped away
and ran for his life; and I thought in my sleep, that
he came running into my thick grove before my for-
tification to hide himself; and that seeing him alone,
and not perceiving that the others sought him that
way, I shewed myself to him, and smiling upon him,
encouraged him; that he kneeled down to me, seem-
ing to pray me to assist him; upon which I shewed
him my ladder, made him go up it, and carried him
into my cave, and he became my servant; and that
as soon as I had gotten this man, I said. to myself,
Now I may certainly venture to the main land; for
this fellow will serve me as a pilot, and will tell me
what to do, and whither to go for provisions; what
places to venture into, and what to escape: I waked
with this thought, and was under such inexpressible
impressions of joy at the prospect of my escape in my
dream, that the disappointments which I felt upon
coming to myself, and finding it was no more than a
dream, were equally extravagant the other way, and
threw me into a very great dejection of spirit. Upon
this, however, I made this conclusion, that my only
way to go about an attempt for an escape, was, if pos-
sible, to get a savage into my possession; and, if pos-
sible, it should be one of their prisoners, whom they
had condemned, and should bring hither to kill; but
these thoughts still were attended with this difficulty,
that it was impossible to effect this, without attack-
ing a whole caravan of them, and killing them all;
and this was not only a very desperate attempt, and
might miscarry; but, on the other hand, I had great-
ly scrupled the lawfulness of it to me, and my heart
trembled at the thoughts of shedding so much blood,
though it was for my deliverance.
208
About a year and a half after this, I was surprised
one morning early, at seeing no less than five canoes
all on shore together on my side the island; and the
people who belonged to them all landed: seeing so
many, and knowing that they always came four or
six, or sometimes more, in a boat, I could not tell
what to think of it, or how to take my measures to
attack twenty or thirty men single handed; so I lay
still in my castle, perplexed and discomforted: how-
ever, I put myself into all the same postures for an
attack, that I had formerly provided, and was just
ready for action if any thing had presented. Having
waited a good while, listening to hear if they made
any noise; at length, being very impatient, I set my
guns at the foot of my ladder, and clambered up to
the top of the hill, by my two stages as usual; stand-
ing so, however, that my head did not appear above
the hill, so that they could not perceive me by any
means: here I observed, by the help of my pros-
pective glass, that they were no less than thirty in
number, that they had a fire kindled, and they were
all dancing in I know not how many barbarous ges-
tures and figures their own way round it. While I
was thus looking on them, I perceived by my pros-
pective, two miserable wretches dragged from the
boats, where it seems they were laid by, and were
now brought out for the slaughter. I perceived one
of them immediately fell, being knocked down, I sap-
pose with a club or wooden sword, for that was their
way, and two or three others were at work immedi-
ately cutting him open, while the other victim was
left standing by himself, till they should be ready for
him. In that very moment this poor wretch seeing
himself a little at liberty, nature inspired him with
¿
209
hopes of life, and he started away from them, and ran
with, incredible swiftness along the sands directly to-
wards me, I mean, towards that part of the coast
where my habitation was. I was dreadfully fright-
ed, (that I must acknowledge,) when I perceived him
to run my way; and especially, when as I thought
I saw him pursued by the whole body; and now I
expected that part of my dream was coming to pass,
and that he would certainly take shelter in my
grove. However, I kept my station, and my spirits
began to recover, when I found there was not above
three men that followed him; and still more was I
encouraged, when I found that he outstript them
exceedingly in running, and gained ground of them,
so that if he could but hold it for half an hour, I
saw easily he would fairly get away from them all.
There was between them and my castle the creek,
which I mentioned often at the first part of my
story, where I landed my cargoes out of the ship;
and this, I plainly saw, he must necessarily swim
over, or the poor wretch would be taken there: but
when the savage escaping came thither, he made no-
thing of it, though the tide was then up, but plung-
ing in, swam through in thirty strokes, or there-
about, landed, and ran on with exceeding strength
and swiftness; when the three persons came to the
creek, I found that two of them could swim, but
the third could not, and that he standing on the
other side, looked at them, but went no further;
and soon after went softly back again; the two who
swam, were yet more than twice as long swimming
over the creek as the fellow was that fled from them:
it came now very warmly upon my thoughts, and
indeed irresistibly, that now was my time to get me
$ 3
210
:
a servant, and perhaps a companion or assistant;
and that I was called plainly by Providence to save
this poor creature's life; I immediately ran down
the ladders with all possible expedition, fetched my
two guns, and getting up again with the same haste
to the top of the hill, I crossed towards the sea, and
having a very short cut, and all down hill, clapped
myself in the way between the pursuers and the pur-
sued; hollowing aloud to him that fled, who, look-
ing back, was at first perhaps as much frighted at
me as at them; but I beckoned with my hand to
him to come back, and in the mean time I slowly
advanced towards the two that followed; then rush-
ing at once upon the foremost, I knocked him down
with the stock of my piece: I was loath to fire, be-
cause I would not have the rest hear; though at
that distance it would not have been easily heard;
and being out of sight of the smoke too, they would
not have easily known what to make of it: having
knocked this fellow down, the other who pursued
him stopped, as if he had been frightened; and I ad-
vanced apace towards him; but, as I came nearer,
I perceived presently he had a bow and arrow, and
was fitting it to shoot at me; so I was then necessi-
tated to shoot at him first, which I did, and killed
him at the first shot; the poor savage who fled, but
had stopped, though he saw both of his enemies fal-
len, and killed, as he thought; yet was so frighted
with the fire and noise of my piece, that he stood
stock still, and neither came forward nor went back-
ward, though he seemed rather inclined to fly still,
than to come on: I hollowed again to him, and
made signs to come forward, which he easily under-
stood, and came a little way, and stopped again;

ROBINSON CRUSOE.
Robinson Crusoe rescuing Friday from his
Enemies.
211
and then a little further, and stopped again; and I
could then perceive that he stood trembling as if he
had been taken prisoner, and had just been to be kil-
led, as his two enemies were: I beckoned him again
to come to me, and gave him all the signs of encou-
ragement that I could think of, and he came nearer
and nearer, kneeling down every ten or twelve steps,
in token of acknowledgment for my saving his life:
I smiled at him, and looked pleasantly, and beckon-
ed to him to come still nearer; at length he came
close to me, and then he kneeled down again, kiss-
ed the ground, and laid his head upon the ground,
and taking me by the foot, set my foot upon his
head; this, it seems, was in token of swearing to be
my slave for ever. I took him up, and made much
of him, and and encouraged him all I could: but
there was more work to do yet, for I perceived the
savage, whom I knocked down, was not killed, but
stunned with the blow, and began to come to him-
self; so I pointed to him, and shewed him the sa-
vage, that he was not dead; upon this he spoke some
words to me, and though I could not understand
them, yet I thought they were pleasant to hear, for
they were the first sound of a man's voice that I had
heard, my own excepted, for above twenty-five years.
But there was no time for such reflections now; the
savage, who was knocked down, recovered himself so
far as to sit up upon the ground, and I perceived that
my savage began to be afraid; but when I saw that,
I presented my other piece at the man as if I would
shoot him; upon this my savage, for so I call him
now, made a motion to me to lend him my sword,
which hung naked in a belt by my side, so I did:
he no sooner had it, but he runs to his enemy, and
212
".
at one blow cut off his head so cleverly, no executi-
oner in Germany could have done it sooner or bet-
ter; which I thought very strange for one, who I
had reason to believe, never saw a sword in his life
before, except their own wooden swords; however,
it seems, as I learned afterwards, they make their
wooden swords so sharp, so heavy, and the wood is
so hard, that they will cut off heads even with them,
ay, and arms, and that at one blow too: when he
had done this, he comes laughing to me in sign of
triumph, and brought me the sword again, and with
abundance of gestures, which I did not understand,
laid it down with the head of the savage that he had
killed, just before me. But that which astonished
him most, was to know how I had killed the other
Indian so far off; so, pointing to him, he made signs
to me to let him go to him; so I bid him go as well
as I could; when he came to him, he stood like one
amazed, looking at him, turning him first on one side,
then on the other, looked at the wound the bullet
had made, which, it seems, was just in the breast,
where it had made a hole, and no great quantity of
blood had followed, but he had bled inwardly, for
he was quite dead: he took up his bow and arrows,
and came back, so I turned to go away, and beckon-
ed to him to follow me, making signs to him that
more might come after them. Upon this he signifi-
ed to me that he should bury them with sand, that
they might not be seen by the rest if they followed;
and so I made signs to him to do so; he fell to work
and in an instant he had scraped a hole in the sand
with his hands big enough to bury the first in, and
then dragged him into it and covered him, and did so
also by the other; I believe he had buried them
213
both in a quarter of an hour; then calling him away,
I carried him, not to my castle, but quite away to
my cave, on the further part of the island.
Here I
gave him bread and a bunch of raisins to eat, and a
draught of water, which I found he was indeed in
great distress for, by his running; and having re-
freshed him, I made signs for him to lie down and
sleep, pointing to a place where I had laid a great
parcel of rice straw, and a blanket upon it, which I
used to sleep upon myself sometimes; so the poor
creature lay down, and went to sleep.
He was a comely, handsome fellow, perfectly well
made, with straight, long limbs, not too large, tall
and well shaped, and, as I reckon, about twenty-six
years of age. He had a very good countenance, not
a fierce and surly aspect, but seemed to have some-
thing very manly in his face, and yet he had all the
sweetness and softness of an European in his coun-
tenance too, especially when he smiled. His hair
was long and black, not curled like wool; his fore-
head very high, and large, and a great vivacity and
sparkling sharpness in his eyes. The colour of his
skin was not quite black, but very tawny, and yet
not of an ugly yellow nauseous tawny, as the Brasi-
lians, and Virginiaus, and other natives of America
are, but of a bright kind of a dun olive colour, that
had in it something very agreeable, though not very
easy to describe. His face was round and plump,
his nose small, not flat like the negroes, a very good
mouth, thin lips, and his fine teeth, well set, and
white as ivory. After he had slumbered, rather than
slept, about half an hour, he waked again, and comes
out of the cave to me; for I had been, milking my
goats in the inclosure just by; when he espied me,
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214
he came running to me, laying himself down again
upon the ground, with all the possible signs of an
humble, thankful disposition, making a many antic
gestures to shew it: at last he lays his head flat upon
the ground close to my foot, and sets my other foot
upon his head, as he had done before; and after this,
made all signs to me of subjection, servitude, and
submission, imaginable, to let me know how much he
would serve me as long as he lived. I understood
him in many things, and let him know that I was
very well pleased with him; in a little time I began
to speak to him, and teach him to speak to me; and
first, I made him know his name should be Friday,
which was the day I had saved his life: I called him
so for the memory of the time; I likewise taught him
to say Master, and then let him know that was to be
my name; I likewise taught him to say Yes and No,
and to know the meaning of them; I gave him some
milk in an earthen pot, and let him see me drink it
before him, and sop my bread in it; and I gave him
a cake of bread to do the like, which he quickly
complied with, and made signs that it was very good
for him. I kept there with him all that night, but
as soon as it was day, I beckoned to him to come
with me, and let him know I would give him some
clothes, at which he seemed very glad, for he was stark
naked. As we went by the place where he had buri-
ed the two men, he pointed exactly to the place. I
then led him up to the top of the hill, to see if his
enemies were gone: and pulling out my glass, I look-
ed and saw plainly the place where they had been,
but no appearance of them, or of their canoes; so
that it was plain that they were gone, and had left
their two comrades behind them, without any search
215
after them. But I was not content with this disco-
very, but having now more courage, and consequent-
ly more curiosity, I took my man Friday with me,
giving him the sword in his hand, with the bow and
arrows at his back, which I found he could use very
dexterously, making him carry one gun for me, and
I two for myself, and away we marched to the place
where these creatures had been; for I had a mind
now to get some fuller intelligence of them; when I
came to the place, my very blood ran chill in my
veins, and my heart sunk within me at the horror of
the spectacle; I saw three skulls, five hands, and the
bones of three or four legs and feet, and abundance
of other parts of the bodies; and Friday, by his signs,
made me understand, that they brought over four
prisoners, and that he, pointing to himself, was the
fourth: that there had been a great battle between
them and their next king, whose subjects, it seems,
he had been one of; and that they had taken a great
number of prisoners, all which were carried to seve-
ral places by those that had taken them in the fight,
to kill them, as these wretches had done here.
I caused Friday to gather all the skulls, bones,
flesh, and whatever remained, and lay them together
on a heap, and make a great fire upon it, and burn
them all to ashes. When we had done this, we came
back to our castle, and there I fell to work for my
man Friday; and first of all, I gave him a pair of
linen drawers, which I had out of the poor gunner's
chest I mentioned, which I found in the wreck, and
which, with a little alteration, fitted him very well;
then I made him a jerkin of goat's skin, as well as my
skill would allow; and I was now grown a tolerable
good tailor; and I gave him a cap, which I had made
216
of a hare-skin very convenient, and fashionable
enough; and thus he was dressed for the present, to-
lerably well, and was mighty well pleased to see him-
self almost as well clothed as his master. It is true,
he went awkwardly in these things at first: wearing
the drawers was very awkward to him, and the sleeves
of the waistcoat galled his shoulders, and the inside
of his arms; but a little easing them where he com-
plained they hurt him, and using himself to them, at
length he took to them very well. The next day,
after I came home to my hutch with him, I began to
consider where I should lodge him; and that I might
do well for him, and yet be perfectly easy myself, I
made a little tent for him in the vacant place between
my two fortifications, in the inside of the last, and in
the outside of the first: and as there was a door or
entrance there to my cave, I made a formal framed
door-case, and a door to it of boards, and set it up in
the passage, a little within the entrance; and caus-
ing the door to open on the inside, I barred it up in
the night, taking in my ladders too; so that Friday
could no way come at me in the inside of my inner-
most wall, without making so much noise in getting
over, that it must needs waken me; for my first wall
had now a complete roof over it of long poles cover-
ing all my tent, and leaning up to the side of the hill,
which was again laid across with smaller sticks in-
steal of laths, and then thatched over a great thick-
ness with the rice straw, which was strung like reeds;
and at the hole or place which was left to go in or
out by the ladder, I had placed a kind of trap-door,
which if it had been attempted on the outside, would
not have opened at all, but would have fallen down,
and made a great noise; and as to weapons, I took
217
them all into my side every night. But I needed
none of all this precaution; for never man had a more
faithful, loving, sincere servant than Friday was to
me; without passions, sullenness, or designs, perfect-
ly obliging and engaging: his very affections were
tied to me, like those of a child to a father; and I
dare say, he would have sacrificed his life for the sa-
ving mine, upon any occasion whatsoever; the many
testimonies he gave me of this, put it out of doubt,
and soon convinced me, that I needed to use no pre-
cautions as to my safety on his account.
This frequently gave me occasion to observe, and
that with wonder, that however it had pleased God
in his providence, and in the government of the works
of his hands, to take from so great a part of the world
of his creatures, the best uses to which their facul-
ties and the powers of their souls are adapted; yet
that he has bestowed upon them the same powers, the
same reason, the same affections, the same sentiments
of kindness and obligation, the same passions and re-
sentments of wrongs, the same sense of gratitude,
sincerity, fidelity, and all the capacities of doing
good, and receiving good, that he has given to us;
and that when he pleases to offer to them occasions
of exerting these, they are as ready, nay, more ready
to apply them to the right uses for which they were
bestowed, than we are. And this made me very me-
lancholy sometimes, in reflecting, as the several occa-
sions presented, how mean a use we make of all these,
even though we have these powers enlightened by the
great lamp of instruction, the Spirit of God, and by
the knowledge of his word added to our understand-
ing; and why it has pleased God to hide the like sa◄
ving knowledge from so many millions of souls, who
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218
(if I might judge by this poor savage) would make a
much better use of it than we did. From hence I
sometimes was led too far to invade the sovereignty
of Providence, and, as it were, arraign the justice of
so arbitrary a disposition of things, that should hide
that light from some, and reveal it to others, and yet
expect a like duty from both: but I shut it up, and
checked my thoughts with this conclusion, 1st, That
we did not know by what light and law these should
be condemned; but that as God was necessarily, and,
by the nature of his being, infinitely holy and just,
so it could not be, but that if these creatures were all
sentenced to absence from himself, it was on account
of sinning against that light, which, as the scripture
says, was a law to themselves, and by such rules as
their consciences would acknowledge to be just,
though the foundation was not discovered to us.
And, 2dly, That still as we are all the clay in the
hand of the potter, no vessel could say to him, Why
hast thou formed me thus?
But to return to my new companion: I was greatly
delighted with him, and made it my business to teach
him every thing that was proper to make him useful,
handy, and helpful; but especially to make him
speak, and to understand me when I spake; and he
was the aptest scholar that ever was, and particu-
larly was so merry, so constantly diligent, and so
pleased when he could but understand me, or make
me understand him, that it was very pleasant to me
to talk to him; and now my life began to be so easy,
that I began to say to myself, that could I but have
been safe from more savages, I cared not if I was never
to remove from the place while I lived. After I had
been two or three days returned to my castle, I
219
thought that in order to bring Friday off from his
horrid way of feeding, and from the relish of a Can-
nibal's stomach, I ought to let him taste other flesh;
so I took him out with me one morning to the woods;
I went, indeed, intending to kill a kid out of my own.
flock, and bring it home and dress it: but as I was
going, I saw a she goat lying down in the shade, and
two young kids sitting by her; I catched hold of Fri-
day,- Hold," says I, "stand still;" and made signs
to him not to stir; immediately I presented my piece,
shot and killed one of the kids. The poor creature,
who had at a distance, indeed, seen me kill the sa-
vage, his enemy, but did not know, or could imagine,
how it was done, was sensibly surprised, trembled,
and shook, and looked so amazed, that I thought he
would have sunk down. He did not see the kid I
had shot at, or perceive I had killed it, but ripped up
his waistcoat to feel if he was not wounded, and as I
found presently, thought I was resolved to kill him;
for he came and kneeled down to me, and embrac-
ing my knees, said a great many things I did not un-
derstand, but I could easily see that the meaning was
to pray me not to kill him.
I soon found a way to convince him that I would
do him no harm, and taking him up by the hand,
laughed at him, and pointing to the kid which I had
killed, beckoned to him to run and fetch it, which he
did; and while he was wondering and looking to see
how the creature was killed, I loaded my gun again,
and by and by I saw a great fowl like a hawk sitting
upon a tree within shot: so, to let Friday understand
a little what I would do, I called him to me again,
pointing at the fowl, which was indeed a parrot,
though I thought it had been a hawk; I say, point-
+
220
ing to the parrot, and to my gun, and to the ground
under the parrot, to let him see I would make it fall,
I made him understand that I would shoot and kill
that bird; accordingly I fired, and bade him look, and
immediately he saw the parrot fall: he stood like one
frighted again, notwithstanding all I had said to him;
and I found he was the more amazed, because he did
not see me put any thing into the gun, but thought
that there must be some wonderful fund of death and
destruction in that thing, able to kill man, beast, bird,
or any thing near or far off; and the astonishment
this created in him, was such, as could not wear off
for a long time; and I believe, if I would have let him,
he would have worshipped me and my gun; as for
the gun itself, he would not so much as touch it for
several days after; but would speak to it, and talk
to it as if it had answered him, when he was by him-
self; which, as I afterwards learned of him, was to
desire it not to kill him.-Well; after his astonish-
ment was a little over at this, I pointed to him to run
and fetch the bird I had shot, which he did, but stay-
ed some time; for the parrot not being quite dead,
was fluttered a good way off from the place where
she fell; however, he found her, took her up, and
brought her to me; and, as I had perceived his ig
norance about the gun before, I took this advantage
to charge the gun again, and not let him see me do
it, that I might be ready for any other mark that
might present; but nothing more offered at that time;
so I brought home the kid, and the same evening took
the skin off, and cut it out as well as I could; and
having a pot for that purpose, I boiled or stewed some
of the flesh, and made some very good broth; and
after I had begun to eat some, I gave some to my man,
221
who seemed very glad of it, and liked it very well; but
that which was strangest to him was to see me cat salt
with it; he made a sign to me, that the salt was not
good to eat, and putting a little into his mouth, he
seemed to nauseate it, and would spit and sputter at
it, washing his mouth with fresh water after it; on
the other hand, I took some meat in my mouth
without salt, and I pretended to spit and sputter for
the want of salt, as fast as he had done at the salt;
but it would not do, he would never care for salt with
his meat, or in his broth; at least not a great while,
and then but a very little. Having thus fed him with
boiled meat and broth, I was resolved to feast him the
next day with roasting a piece of the kid; this I did
by hanging it before the fire in a string, as I had seen
many people in England, setting two poles up, one
on each side the fire, and one across on the top, and
tying the string to the cross-stick, letting the meat
turn continually; this Friday admired very much;
but when he came to taste the flesh, he took so many
ways to tell me how well he liked it, that I could not
but understand him; and at last he told me he would
never eat man's flesh any more, which I was very
glad to hear.
The next day I set him to work to beating some
corn out, and sifting it in the manner I used to do,
and he soon understood how to do it as well as I, es-
pecially, after he had seen what the meaning of it
was, and that it was to make bread of; for after
that I let him see me make my bread, and bake it
too, and in a little time Friday was able to do all
the work for me, as well as I could do it myself. I
began now to consider, that having two mouths to
feed instead of one, I must provide more ground
7
T 3
222
&
for my harvest, and plant a larger quantity of corn
than I used to do; so I marked out a larger piece
of land, and began the fence in the same manner as
before, in which Friday not only worked very will-
ingly and very hard, but did it very cheerfully; and
I told him what it was for, that it was for corn to
make more bread, because he was now with me, and
that I might have enough for him and myself too:
he appeared very sensible of that part, and let me
know that he thought I had much more labour
upon me on his account, than I had for myself, and
that he would work the harder for me, it I would
tell him what to do. This was the pleasantest year
of all the life I led in this place: Friday began to
talk pretty well, and understand the names of al-
most every thing I had occasion to call for, and of
every place I had to send to, and talk a great deal
to me; so that I began now to have some use for
my tongue again, which indeed I had very little oc-
casion for before; that is to say, about speech: be-
sides the pleasure of talking to him, I had a singular
satisfaction in the fellow himself; his simple un-
feigned honesty appeared to me more and more
every day, and I began really to love the creature ;
and on his side, I believe he loved me more than it
was possible for him ever to love any thing before.
I had a mind once to try if he had any bankering
inclination to his own country again: and having
learned him English so well, that he could answer
me almost any questions, I asked him whether the
nation that he belonged to never conquered in bat-
tle? At which he smiled, and said, "Yes, yes, we
always fight the better!" that is, he meant always
get the better in fight; and so we began the follow-
223
ing discourse: "You always fight the better,” said I,
How came you to be taken prisoner then, Friday?"
Friday. My nation beat much, for all that.
Master. How beat; if your nation beat them,
how came you to be taken?
Friday. They more many than my nation in the
place where me was; they take one, two, three, and
me: my nation over beat them in the yonder place,
where me no was; there my nation take one, two,
great thousand.
Master. But why did not your side recover you
from the hands of your enemies then?
Friday. They run one, two, three, and me, and
make go in the canoe; my nation have no canoe
that time.
Master. Well, Friday, and what does your nation
do with the men they take, do they carry them
away, and eat them as these did?
•
Friday. Yes.
Master. Where do they carry them?
Friday. Go to other place, where they think.
Master. Do they come hither?
Friday. Yes, yes, they come hither; come other
else place.
Master. Have you been here with them?
Friday. Yes, I been here; (points to the N. W.
side of the island, which it seems was their side.)
By this I understood, that my man Friday had for-
merly been among the savages, who used to come
on shore on the further part of the island, on the
same dreadful occasions that he was now brought
for; and some time after, when I took the courage
to carry him to that side, being the same I formerly
mentioned, he presently knew the place, and told
224
me he was there once when they destroyed twenty
men, two women, and one child: he could not tell
twenty in English; but he numbered them by lay-
ing so many stones on a row, and pointing to me to
tell them over.
After I had had this discourse with him, I asked
him, how far it was from our island to the shore, and
whether the canoes were not often lost; he told me
there was no danger, no canoes ever lost, but that
after a little way out to the sea, there was a current
and a wind, always one way in the morning, the
other in the afternoon. This I understood to be no
more than the sets of the tide, as going out, or com-
ing in; but I afterwards understood it was occasi-
oned by the great draft and reflux of the mighty
river Oroonoque; in the mouth or the gulf of which
river as I found afterwards, our island lay; and this
land, which I perceived to the W. and N. W. was
the great island of Trinidad, on the N. point of the
mouth of the river. I asked Friday a thousand
questions about the country, the inhabitants, the
sea, the coast, and what nations were near; he told
me all he knew, with the greatest openness imagina-
ble. I asked him the names of the several nations
of his sort of people, but could get no other name
than Caribs; from whence I easily understood that
these were the Caribbees, which our maps place on
that part of America which reaches from the mouth
of the river Oroonoque in Guiana, and onwards to
St. Martha: he told me that up a great way be-
yond the moon, that was beyond the setting of the
moon, which must be west from their country, there
dwelt white bearded men, like me, and pointing to
my great whiskers, which I mentioned before; and
225
that they had killed much mans, (that was his
word:) by all which I understood, he meant the
Spaniards, whose cruelties in America had been
spread over the whole countries, and were remem-
bered by all the nations from father to son.
I enquired if he could tell me how I might come
from this island, and get among those white men;
he told me, yes, yes, I might go in two canoe; I
could not understand what he meant, or make him
describe to me what he meant by two canoe; till
at last, with great difficulty, I found he meant it
must be in a large great boat, as big as two canoes.
This part of Friday's discourse began to relish with
me very well, and from this time I entertained some
hopes, that one time or other I might find opportu-
nity to make my escape from this place; and that
this poor savage might be a means to help me
to do it.
During the long time that Friday had now been
with me, and that he began to speak to me and un-
derstand me, I was not wanting to lay a foundation
of religious knowledge in his mind; particularly, I
asked him one time, who made him? The poor crea-
ture did not understand me at all, but thought I had
asked who was his father: but I took it by another
handle, and asked him who made the sea, the ground
we walked on, and the hills and the woods; he told
me it was one old Benamuckee, that lived beyond
all: he could describe nothing of this great person,
but that he was very old; much older, he said, than
the sea or the laud, than the moon or the stars: I
asked him then, if this person had made all things,
why did not all things worship him? he looked very
grave, and with a perfect look of innocence, said, All
226
things say to him: I asked him, if the people
who die in his country, went away any where? he
said, yes, they all went to Benamuckee: then I
asked him whether those they killed went thither
too? he said, yes.
From these things I began to instruct him in the
knowledge of the true God. I told him, that the
great Maker of all things lived up there, pointing up
towards heaven: that he governs the world by the
same power and providence by which he had made
it: that he was omnipotent, could do every thing
for us, give every thing to us, take every thing from us;
and thus, by degrees, I opened his eyes. He listened
with great atention, and received with pleasure the
notion of Jesus Christ being sent to redeem us, and
of the manner of making our prayers to God, and
his being able to hear us, even into heaven. He
told me one day, that if our God could hear us up
beyond the sun, he must needs be a greater God
than their Benamuckee, who lived but a little way
off, and yet could not hear, until they went up to
the great mountains where he dwelt, to speak to
him. I asked him if ever he went thither, to speak
to him! He said no, they never went that were
young men; none went thither but the old men,
whom he called their Oowokakee, that is, as I made
him explain to me, their religious or clergy, and
that they went to say O, (so he called saying
prayers,) and then came back, and told them what
Benamuckee said. By this I observed, that there is
priestcraft, even among the most blinded ignorant
pagans in the world; and the policy of making a
secret religion, in order to preserve the veneration of
the people to the clergy, is not only to be found in
227
the Roman, but perhaps among all religions in the
world, even among the most brutish and barbarous
savages.
I endeavoured to clear up this fraud to my man
Friday, and told him, that the pretence of their old
men going up to the mountains to say O to their
God Benamuckee, was a cheat, and their bringing
word from thence what he said, was much more so;
that if they met with any answer, or spoke with any
one there, it must be with an evil spirit: and then I
entered into a long discourse with him about the
devil, the original of him, his rebellion against God,
his enmity to man, the reason of it, and the many
stratagems he made use of to delude mankind to
their ruin; how he had a secret access to our passi-
ons, and to our affections, to adapt his snares so to our
inclinations, as to cause us even to be our tempters,
and to run upon our destruction by our own choice.
I found it was not so easy to imprint right noti-
ons in his mind about the devil, as it was about the
being of a God. Nature assisted all my arguments
to evidence to him even the necessity of a great first
cause, and over-ruling governing power, a secret
directing providence, and of the equity and justice of
paying homage to him that made us, and the like.
But there appeared nothing of all this in the notion
of an evil spirit, of his original, his being, his nature,
and above all, of his inclination to do evil, and to
draw us in to do so too. And the poor creature
puzzled me once in such a manner, by a question
merely natural and innocent, that I scarce knew
what to say to him. I had been talking a great
deal to him of the power of God, his omnipotence,
his dreadful aversion to sin, his being a consuming
228
fire to the workers of iniquity; how, as he made us
all, he could destroy us and all the world in a mo-
ment; and he listened with great seriousness to me
all the while.
After this, I had been telling him how the devil
was God's enemy in the hearts of men, and used all
his malice and skill to defeat the good designs of
Providence, and to ruin the kingdom of Christ, and
the like. "Well," says Friday, "but you say, God
is so strong, so great, is he not much strong, much
might as the devil?" "Yes, yes," says I, "Friday,
God is stronger than the devil, God is above the
devil, and therefore we pray to God to tread him
down under our feet, and enable us to resist his
temptations, and quench his fiery darts."" But,"
says he again, "if God much strong, much might
as the devil, why God no kill the devil, so make
him no more do wicked?”
I was strangely surprised at this question, and af-
ter all, though I was now an old man, yet I was but
a young doctor, and ill enough qualified for a
casuist, or a solver of difficulties: and, at first, I
could not tell what to say, so I pretended not to hear
him, and asked him what he said? but he was too
earnest for an answer to forget this question; so that
he repeated it in the very same broken words, as
above. By this time I had recovered myself a little,
and I said, "God will at last punish him severely;
he is reserved for the judgment, and is to be cast in-
to the bottomless pit, to dwell with everlasting
fire." This did not satisfy Friday, but he returns
upon me, repeating my words," Reserve at last,
me no understand, but, why not kill the devil now,
not kill great ago?"-"You may as well ask me,'
,"said
229
I, "why God does not kill you and I, when we do wick-
ed things here that offend him? we are preserved to
repent and be pardoned."-He muses a while at this;
"Well, well," says he, mighty affectionately, " that
well; so you, I, devil, all wicked, all preserve, re-
pent, God pardon all."-Here I was run down again
by him to the last degree, and it was a testimony to
me, how the mere notions of nature, though they
will guide reasonable creatures to the knowledge of
a God, and of a worship or homage due to the
supreme being of God, as the consequence of our
nature; yet nothing but divine revelation can form
the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and of a redemption
purchased for us, of a mediator of the new covenant,
and of an intercessor at the footstool of God's throne;
I say, nothing but a revelation from heaven, can
form these in the soul; and that therefore the gospel
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I mean the
word of God, and the Spirit of God, promised for
the guide and sanctifier of his people, are the abso-
lutely necessary instructors of the souls of men, in the
saving knowledge of God, and the means of sal-
vation.
I therefore diverted the present discourse between
me and my man, rising up hastily, as upon some
sudden occasion of going out; then sending him for
something a good way off, I seriously prayed to God
that he would enable me to instruct savingly this
poor savage, assisting by his Spirit the heart of the
poor ignorant creature, to receive the light of the
knowledge of God in Christ, reconciling him to
himself, and would guide me to speak so to him,
from the word of God, as his conscience might be
convinced, his eyes opened, and his soul saved.
U
230
When he came again to me, I entered into a long
discourse with him, upon the subject of the redemp-
tion of man by the Saviour of the world, and of the
doctrine of the gospel preached from heaven, viz. of
repentance towards God and faith in our blessed
Lord Jesus. I then explained to him, as well as I
could, why our blessed Redeemer took not on him
the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham, and
how for that reason the fallen angels had no share in
the redemption; that he came only to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel, and the like.
I had, God knows, more sincerity than know-
ledge, in all the methods I took for this poor crea-
ture's instruction, and must acknowledge, what f
believe all that act upon the same principle will
find, that in laying things open to him, I really in-
formed and instructed myself in many things, that
either I did not know or had not fully considered
before, but which occurred naturally to my mind,
upon my searching into them, for the information
of this poor savage; and I had more affection in my
enquiry after things upon this occasion, than ever I
felt before; so that whether this poor wild wretch
was the better for me, or no, I had great reason to
be thankful that ever he came to me: my grief sat
lighter upon me, my habitation grew comfortable
to me beyond measure; and when I reflected that
in this solitary life, which I had been confined to, I
had not only been moved myself to look up to
heaven, and to seek to the hand that had brought
me thither; but was now to be made an instrument
under Providence, to save the life, and, for ought I
know, the soul of a poor savage, and bring him to
the true knowledge of religion, and of the Christian
231
doctrine, that he might know Christ Jesus, to know
whom is life eternal; I say, when I reflected upon all
these things, a secret joy ran through every part of
my soul, and I frequently rejoiced that ever I was
brought to this place, which I had so often thought
the most dreadful of all afflictions that could possi-
bly have befallen me.
In this thankful frame I continued all the re-
mainder of my time, and the conversation which
employed the hours between Friday and I, was
such, as made the three years which we lived there
together perfectly and completely happy, if any
such thing as complete happiness can be formed in
a sublunary state. The savage was now a good
Christian, a much better than 1; though I have rea-
son to hope, and I bless God for it, that we were
equally penitent, and comforted, restored penitents;
we had here the Word of God to read, and were no
further off from his Spirit to instruct, than if we
had been in England.
•
I always applied myself, in reading the scripture,
to let him know, as well as I could, the meaning
of what I read; and he again, by his serious enqui-
ries and questions, made me, as I said before, a
much better scholar in the scripture knowledge.
than I should ever have been by my own private
merc reading. As to all the disputes, wranglings,
strife, and contention, which has happened in the
world about religion, whether niceties in doctrines,
or schemes of church government, they were all
perfectly useless to us, as for ought I can yet see, they
have been to all the rest in the world: we had the
sure guide to heaven, viz. the Word of God; and
we had, blessed be God, comfortable views of the
232
Spirit of God, teaching and instructing us by his
Word, leading us into all truth, and making us both
willing and obedient to the instruction of his
Word.
After Friday and I became more intimately ac-
quainted, and that he could understand almost all
I said to him, and speak fluently, though in broken
English, to me; I acquainted him with my own
story, or at least so much of it as related to my
coming into the place, how I had lived there, and
how long. I let him into the mystery, for such it
was to him, of gunpowder and bullet, and taught
him how to shoot: I gave him a knife, which he
was wonderfully delighted with, and I made him a
belt, with a frog hanging to it, such as in England
we wear hangers in; and in the frog, instead of a
hanger, I gave him a hatchet, which was not only
as good a weapon in some cases, but much more
useful upon other occasions.
I described to him the country of Europe, and
particularly England, which I came from; how we
lived, how we worshipped God, how we behaved to
one another; and how we traded in ships to all
parts of the world: I gave him an account of the
wreck which I had been on board of, and shewed him
as near as I could the place where she lay; but she
was all beaten in picces before, and gone. 1 shew-
ed him the ruins of our boat, which we lost when
we escaped, and which I could not stir with my
whole strength then, but was now fallen almost all
to pieces; upon seeing this boat, Friday stood mus-
ing a great while, and said nothing; I asked him
what it was he studied upon; at last, says he,—
“Me see such boat like come to place at my nation.”
233
I did not understand him a good while; but at last.
when I had examined further into it, I understood
by him, that a boat, such as that, had come on
shore upon the country where he lived, that is, as
he explained it, was driven thither by stress of wea-
ther: I presently imagined, that some European
ship must have been cast away upon their coast,
and the boat might get loose, and drive ashore, but
was so dull, that I never once thought of men mak-
ing escape from a wreck thither, much less whence
they might come; so I only enquired after a de-
scription of the boat. Friday described the boat to
me well enough; but brought me better to under-
stand him, when he added with some warmth,
<< We
save the white mans from drown:" then I presently
asked him if there was any white mans, as he called
them, in the boat: "Yes," he said, "the boat full
of white mans:" I asked him how many, he told
upon his fingers seventeen; I asked him then, what
became of them; he told me, they live, they
dwell at my nation.”
*C
pre-
This put new thoughts into my head; for I
sently imagined, that these might be the men be-
longing to the ship that was cast away in sight of
my island, as I now call it; and who, after the ship
was struck on the rock, and they saw her inevitably
lost, had saved themselves in their boat, and were
landed upon that wild shore, among the savages.-
Upon this I enquired of him more critically what
was become of them; he assured me they lived still
there; that they had been there about four years;
that the savages let them alone, and gave them
victuals to live on. I asked him, how it came to
pass, they did not kill them, and eat them; he said,
U 3
234
"No, they make brother with them;" that is, as I
understood him, a truce: and then he added,
They no eat mans but when they make the war
fight;" that is to say, they never eat any men, but
such as come to fight with them, and are taken in
battle.
It was after this some considerable time, that be-
ing on the top of the hill, at the east side of the island,
from whence, as I have said, I had in a clear day
discovered the main, or continent of America; Fri-
day, the weather being very serene, looks very ear-
nestly towards the main land, and in a kind of
surprise, falls a jumping and dancing, and calls out
to me, for I was at some distance from him: I
asked him what was the matter; "O joy!" says
"O glad! there see my country, there my
nation!"
he,
I observed an extraordinary sense of pleasure ap-
peared in his face, and his eyes sparkled, and bis
countenance discovered a strange eagerness, as if he
had a mind to be in his own country again; and
this observation of mine put a great many thoughts
into me, which made me at first not so easy about
my new man Friday as I was before; and I made
no doubt, but that if Friday could get back to his
own nation again, he would not only forget all his
religion, but all his obligations to me, and would
be forward enough to give his countrymen an ac-
count of me, and come back perhaps, with a
hundred or two of them, and make a feast upon me,
at which he might be as merry as he used to be
with those of his enemies, when they were taken in
But I wronged the poor honest creature
very much, for which I was very sorry afterwards.
war.
235
However, as my jealousy increased, and held me
some weeks, I was a little more circumspect, and
not so familiar and kind to him as before; in which
I was certainly in the wrong too, the honest grate-
ful creature having no thought about him, but
what consisted of the best principles, both as a reli-
gious Christian and as a grateful friend, as appear-
ed afterwards to my full satisfaction.
While my
jealousy of him lasted, you may be sure I was
every day pumping him, to see if he would discover
any of the new thoughts which I suspected were in
him; but I found every thing he said was so honest,
and so innocent, that I could find nothing to nou-
rish my suspicion: and, in spite of all my uneasi-
ness, he made me at last entirely his own again,
nor did he in the least perceive that I was uneasy,
and therefore I could not suspect him of deceit.
One day walking up the same hill, but the wea-
ther being hazy at sea, so that we could not see the
continent, I called to him, and said, "Friday, do
not you wish yourself in your own country, your
own nation?"-"Yes," he said,
"Yes," he said, "I be much O
glad to be at my own nation." "What would you
do there,” said I, “would you turn wild again, eat
men's flesh again, and be a savage as you were be-
fore?" He looked full of concern, and shaking his
head, said, "No, no, Friday tell them to live good,
tell them to pray God, tell them to eat corn-bread,
cattle-flesh, milk, no eat man again." Why then,"
said I to him, they will kill you." He looked
grave at that, and then said, "No, they no kill me,
they willing love learn." He meant by this, they
would be willing to learn. He added, they learned
much of the bearded mans that came in the boat.
236
<<
Then I asked him if he would go back to them? he
smiled at that, and told me he could not swim so
far. I told him I would make a canoe for him.
He told me, he would go if I would go with him.
"I go?" says I,
why, they will cat me if I come
there?" "No, no,” says he, "me make they no.
eat you, me make they much love you." He meant,
he would tell them how I had killed his enemies,
and saved his life, and so he would make them love
me; then he told me, as well as he could, how kind
they were to the seventeen white men, or bearded
men, as he called them, who came on shore there in
distress.
From this time, I confess, I had a mind to venture
over, and see if I could possibly join with these
bearded men, who, I made no doubt, were Spaniards
or Portuguese; not doubting but, if I could, we
might find some method to escape from thence,
being upon the continent, and a good company to-
gether, better than I could from an island forty
miles off the shore, and alone without help. So,
after some days, I took Friday to work again, by
way of discourse, and told him I would give him a
boat to go back to his own nation; and according-
ly I carried him to my frigate, which lay on the
other side of the island, and having cleared it of
water, (for I always kept it sunk in the water,)
I brought it out, shewed it him, and we both went
into it. I found he was a most dexterous fellow at
managing it, would make it go almost as swift aud
fast again as I could; so when he was in, I said to
him, "Well, now, Friday, shall we go to your
nation?" He looked very dull at any saying so,
which, it seems, was, because he thought the boat
237
too small to go so far. I told him then I had a big-
ger; so the next day I went to the place where the
first boat lay which I had made, but which I could
not get into the water: he said that was big enough;
but then, as I had taken no care of it, and it had
lain two or three and twenty years there, the sun
had split and dried it, that it was in a manner rot-
ten. Friday told me such a boat would do very
well, and would earry much enough vittle, drink,
brea; that was his way of talking.
Upon the whole, I was by this time so fixed upon
my design of going over with him to the continent,
that I told him we would go and make one as big as
that, and he should go home in it. He answered
not one word, but looked very grave and sad: I
asked him what was the matter with him; he asked
me again thus, "Why you angry mad with Friday,
what me done?" I asked him what he meant; I told
him I was not angry with him at all.
"No angry!
No angry!" says he, repeating the word several
times; " Why send Friday home away to my nati-
on?” “ Why," says I, Friday, did not you say
you wished you were there?" Yes, yes,” says he,
wish be both there, no wish Friday there, no mas-
ter there." In a word, he would not think of going
without me.
" I
I go there, Friday,” says I,
"what
shall I do there?" He turned very quick upon me
at this: "You do great deal much good," says he,
you teach wild mans be good sober tame mans;
you tell them know God, pray God, and live new
life.” "Alas, Friday," says I,
"thou knowest not
what thou sayest; I am but an ignorant man my-
self." "Yes, yes," says he, you teachee me
good, you teachee them good." No, no, Friday,"
66
!
238
(C
this?" says I to him.
he.
says I,
you shall go without me; leave me here
to live by myself, as I did before.” He looked
confused again at that word, and running to one of
the hatchets which he used to wear, he takes it up
hastily, and gives it to me. What must I do with
to him. "You take kill Friday,” says
"What must I kill you for?" said I again.
He returns very quick, "What you send Friday a-
way for? take kill Friday, no send Friday away."
This he spoke so earnestly, that I saw tears stand in
his eyes. In a word, I so plainly discovered the
utmost affection in him to me, and a firm resolution
in him, that I told him then, and often after, that I
would never send him away from me, if he was
willing to stay with me.
I still found a strong inclination to attempt my
escape; founded on the supposition that there were
seventeen bearded men there; and therefore, with-
out any more delay, I went to work with Friday to
find out a great tree proper to fell, and make a large
periagua or canoe, to undertake the voyage. There
were trees enough in the island to have built a little
fleet, not of periaguas and canoes, but even of good
large vessels.
But the main thing I looked at, was
to get one so near the water, that we might launch
it when it was made, to avoid the mistake I commit-
ed at first. At last, Friday pitched upon a tree, for
I found he knew much better than I what kind of
wood was fittest for it; nor can I tell, to this day,
what wood to call the tree we cut down, except that
it was very like the tree we call Fustic, or between
that and the Nicaragua-wood, for it was much of
the same colour and smell. Friday was for burning
the hollow or cavity of this tree out to make it into
239
a boat: but I shewed him how rather to cut it out
with tools; which, after I had shewed him how to
use, he did very handily, and in about a month's
hard labour we finished it, and made it very hand-
some, especially when with our axes, which I shew-
ed him how to handle, we cut and hewed the out-
side into the true shape of a boat; after this, how-
ever, it cost us near a fortnight's time to get her.
along, as it were, inch by inch, upon great rollers
into the water. But when she was in, she would
have carried twenty men with great ease.
When she was in the water, and though she was
so big, it amazed me to see with what dexterity and
how swift my man Friday could manage her, turn
her, and paddle her along; so I asked him if he
would, and if we might venture over in her. “Yes,”
he said, "he venter over in her very well, though
great blow wind." However, I had a further de
sign that he knew nothing of, and that was to
make a mast and sail, and to fit her with an anchor
and cable: as to a mast, that was easy enough to
get; so I pitched upon a straight young Cedar-tree,
which I found near the place, and which there was
great plenty of in the island; and I set Friday to
work to cut it down, and gave him directions how to
shape and order it.
But as to the sail, that was my
particular care; I knew I had old sails, or rather
pieces of old sails enough; but as I had had them
now twenty-six years by me, and had not been very
careful to preserve them, not imagining that I
should ever have this kind of use for them, I did not
doubt but they were all rotten, and indeed most of
them were so; however, I found two pieces which
appeared pretty good, and with these I went to
240
work, and with a great deal of pains, and awkward
tedious stitching (you may be sure) for want of
needles, I at length made a three-cornered ugly
thing, like what we call in England, a shoulder of
mutton sail, to go with a boom at bottom, and a lit-
tle short sprit at the top, such as usually our ships'
long-boats sail with, and such as I best knew how to
manage; because it was such a one as I used in the
boat in which I made my escape from Barbary, as
related in the first part of my story. I was near two
months performing this last work, viz. rigging and
fitting my masts and sails; for I finished them very
complete, making a small stay, and a sail, or foresail
to it, to assist, if we should turn to windward; and
which was more than all, I fixed a rudder to the
stern of her, to steer with; and though I was but a
bungling shipwright, yet as I knew the usefulness,
and even necessity of such a thing, I applied myself
with so much pains to do it, that at last 1 brought
it to pass, though, considering the many dull contri-
vances I had for it that failed, I think it cost me al-
most as much labour as making the boat.
After all this was done, I had my man Friday to
teach as to what belonged to the navigation of my
boat; for though he knew very well how to paddle
a canoe, he knew nothing what belonged to a sail
and a rudder, and was the most amazed when he saw
me work the boat to and again in the sea by the
rudder, and how the sail gibbed, and filled this way
or that way, as the course we sailed changed; I say,
when he saw this, he stood like one astonished and
amazed; however, with a little use, I made all these
things familiar to him; and he became an expert
sailor, except that as to the compass, I could make
241
}
him understand very little of that. On the other
hand, as there was very little cloudy weather, and
seldom or never any fogs in those parts, there was
the less occasion for a compass, seeing the stars were
always to be seen by night, and the shore by day, ex-
cept in the raining seasons, and then nobody cared
to go abroad, either by land or sea.
I was now entered on the seven and twentieth
year of my captivity in this place; though the three
last years I had this creature with me, ought rather
to be left out of the account, my habitation being
quite of another kind than in all the rest of nry time.
I kept the anniversary of my landing here with the
same thankfulness to God for his mercies, as at first;
and if I had such cause of acknowledgment at first,
I had much more so now, having such additional
testimonies of the care of Providence over me, and
the great hopes I had of being effectually and speedi-
ly delivered; for I had an invincible impression up-
on my thoughts, that my deliverance was at hand,
and that I should not be another year in this place:
however I went on with my husbandry, digging,
planting, fencing, as usual; I gathered and cured
my grapes, and did every necessary thing as before.
The rainy season was in the mean time upon me,
when I kept more within doors than at other times;
SO I had stowed our new vessel as secure as we could,
bringing her up into the creek, where, as I said in
the beginning, I landed my rafts from the ship, and
hauling her up to the shore, at high water mark, I
made my man Friday dig a little dock, just big
enough to hold her, and just deep enough to give her
water enough to float in; and then, when the tide
was out, we made a strong dam across the end of it,
X
242
to keep the water out; so she lay dry, as to the tide,
from the sea; and to keep the rain off, we laid a
great many boughs of trees, so thick, that she was as
well thatched as a house; and thus we waited for
the months of November and December, in which I
designed to make my adventure.
When the settled season began to come in, as the
thought of my design returned with the fair weather,
I was preparing daily for the voyage; and the first
thing I did, was to lay by a certain quantity of pro-
visions, being the stores for our voyage; and intend-
ed, in a week or fortnight's time, to open the dock,
and launch out our boat. I was busy one morn-
ing upon something of this kind, when I called to
Friday, and bid him go to the sea shore, and see if he
could find a turtle or tortoise, a thing which we ge-
nerally got once a week, for the sake of the eggs, as
well as the flesh. Friday had not been long gone,
when he came running back, and flew over my outer
wall, or fence, like one that felt not the ground, or
the steps he set his feet on; and before I had time to
speak to him, he cries out to me, "O master! mas-
ter! O sorrow! O bad!" "What's the matter,
Friday?" says I; "O yonder, there," says he, "one,
two, three canoe! one, two, three!" By his way of
speaking, I concluded there were six; but on enqui-
ry I found there were but three: " "Well, Friday,"
says I," do not be frighted;" so I heartened him up
as well as I could: however, I saw the poor fellow
was most terrible scared; for nothing ran in his head
but that they were come to look for him, and would
cut him in pieces, and the poor fellow trembled so,
that I scarce knew what to do with him; I comfort-
ed him as well as I could, and told him I was in as
243
much danger as he, and that they would kill me as
well as him: " but," says I, "Friday, we must re-
solve to fight them; can you fight, Friday?”
.. Me
shoot," says he, "but there come many great num-
ber," "No matter for that," said I again, “our guns
will fright them that we do not kill;" so I asked him,
whether, if I resolved to defend him, he would defend
me, and stand by me, and do just as I bid him; he
said, “Me die, when you bid die, master;" so I went
and fetched a good dram of rum, and gave him; for I
had been so good a husband of my rum, that I had a
great deal left: when he had drank it I made him take
the two fowling-pieces, which we always carried, and
load them with large swan-shot, as big as small pistol
bullets: then I took four muskets, and loaded them
with two slugs and five small bullets each; and my
two pistols I loaded with a brace of bullets each; I
hung my great sword as usual naked by my side, and
gave Friday his hatchet.
When I had thus prepared myself, I took my pro-
spective glass, and went up to the side of the hill, to
see what I could discover; and I found quickly, by
my glass, that there were one and twenty savages,
three prisoners, and three canoes. I observed also,
that they were landed not where they had done when
Friday made his escape, but nearer to my creck,
where the shore was low, and where a thick wood
came close almost down to the sea: this, with the
abhorrence of the inhuman errand these wretches
came about, filled me with such indignation that I
came down again to Friday, and told him, I was re-
solved to go down to them, and kill them all; and
asked him if he would stand by me? He had now got-
ten over his fright, and his spirits being a little rais-
H
244
ed with the dram I had given him, he was very
cheerful, and told me as before," he would die,
when I bid die." In this fit of fury, I took first and
divided the arms which I charged as before, between
us: I gave Friday one pistol to stick in his girdle,
and three guns upon his shoulder; and I took one
pistol, and the other three myself; and in this pos-
ture we marched out: I took a small bottle of rum
in my pocket, and gave Friday a large bag, with
more powder and bullet; and, as to orders, I charg-
ed him to keep close behind me, and not to stir, or
shoot, or do any thing, till I bid him; and in the
mean time, not to speak a word: in this posture I
fetched a compass to my right hand of near a mile,
as well to get over the creek, as to get into the wood;
so that I might come within shot of them before I
should be discovered, which I had seen by my glass
it was easy to do.
While I was making this march, my former
thoughts returning, I began to abate my resolution:
I do not mean, that I entertained any fear of their
number; for as they were naked, unarmed wretches,
'tis certain I was superior to them; nay, though I
had been alone; but it occurred to my thoughts,
what call? what occasion? much less, what necessi-
ty I was in to go and dip my hands in blood, to at-
tack people who had neither done, or intended me
any wrong. These things were so warmly pressed
upon my thoughts, all the way as I went, that I re-
solved I would only go and place myself near them,
that I might observe their barbarous feast, and that
I would act then as God should direct; but that un-
less something offered that was more a call to me
than yet I knew of, I would not meddle with them.
I
245
With this resolution I entered the wood, and with
all possible wariness and silence, Friday following
close at my heels, I marched till I came to the skirt
of the wood, on the side which was next to them,
only that one corner of the wood lay between me
and them; here I called softly to Friday, and shew-
ing him a great tree, which was just at the corner of
the wood, I bid him go to the tree and bring me
word if he could see there plainly what they were
doing; he did so, and came immediately back to me,
and told me they might be plainly viewed there;
that they were all about their fire, and that a prison-
er lay bound upon the sand, a little from them,
which he said they would kill, and which fired all
the very soul within me, when he told me it was not
one of their nation, but one of the bearded men, who
had come to their country in the boat. You may
be sure, that upon hearing this, my soul was ready
to sink within me; when ascending up into a tree, I
saw plainly by my glass, a white man, who lay upon
the beach of the sea, with his hands and feet tied
with flags, or things resembling rushes, being cover-
ed with clothes, and seemed to be a European." From
the tree where I took this prospect, I perceived ano-
ther tree, and a thicket beyond it, about fifty yards
nearer to them than where I was, which, by taking
a small circle round, I might come at undiscovered,
and then I should be within half a shot of these de-
vourers. And this consideration alone, to be more
perfectly revenged upon them, made me withhold
my passion, though I was enraged to the highest de-
gree imaginable, when going back about twenty
paces, I got behind some bushes, which held all the
way till I came to the other tree; and then I ascend-
x 3
246
ed a little rising ground, not above eighteen yards
distance from them, and there I had a full view of
these creatures, and I could perceive all their ac-
tions.
Such a sight did then appear as obliged me not to
lose a moment's time. There were no less than nine-
teen of these dreadful wretches set upon the ground,
close huddled together, expressing all the delight
imaginable at so barbarous an entertainment; and
they had just sent the other two to murder this poor
unhappy Christian, and bring him perhaps limb by
limb to the fire, for they were just then going to un-
tie the bands from his feet, in order for death, as fet-
ters are knocked off from the feet of malefactors be-
fore they go to the place of execution. Hereupon, im-
mediately turning to my man, "Now, Friday," said I,
"mind what I say, fail in nothing, but do exactly as
you see me do." All which he promised me he
would perform. I set down one of my muskets and
the fowling-piece upon the ground, and Friday did
the same by his; and with the other musket I took
my aim at the savages, bidding him do the like:
“Are you ready?” said I. Yes, master," said he.
Why then fire at them," said I; and at that mo-
ment I fired at them.
66
For my part, I killed one and wounded two: but
my man Friday, taking his aim much better than I,
killed two and wounded three. You may be sure
they were in a dreadful consternation at such an un-
expected disaster; and those who yet had escaped
our penetrating shot, immediately jumped upon their
feet, but were in such confusion that they knew not
which way to run or look, not knowing from whence
their destruction came. We then threw down our
247
(C
pieces and took up others, giving a second dreadful
volley; but as they were loaded only with swan shot,
or small pistol bullets, we perceived only two of
them fall; but so many were wounded, that they
ran yelling and screaming about like mad creatures.
Now, Friday, (said I,) lay down your piece and
take up the musket, and follow me.” He did so
with great courage, when shewing ourselves to the
savages, we gave a great shout, and made directly to
the poor victim, who would have been sacrificed,
had not our first fire obliged the butchers, with the
three others, to jump into a canoe. By my order,
Friday fired at them, at which shot I thought he had
killed them all, by reason of their falling to the bot-
tom of the boat; however, he killed two, and mor-
tally wounded a third. In the mean time I cut the
flags that tied the hands and feet of the poor creature,
and lifting him up, asked him in the Portuguese
tongue, what he was? He answered me in Latin,
Christianus; but so very weak and faint that he
could scarce stand or speak. Immediately I gave
him a dram and a piece of bread to cherish him, and
asked him what countryman he was? He said, Es-
paniola, and then uttered all the thankfulness ima-
ginable for his deliverance. Seignior, (said I, with
as much Spanish as I was master of,) let us talk af-
terwards, but fight now; here take this sword and
pistol, and do what you can.” And indeed he did
so with such courage and intrepidity, that he cut
two of them to pieces in an instant, (the savages not
having it in their power to fly for their lives). I or-
dered Friday to run for those pieces we had left at
the tree, which he brought to me with great swift-
ness, and then I gave him my musket, while I loaded
44
248
the rest. But now there happened a fierce encount-
er between the Spaniard and one of the savages, who
had made at him with one of their wooden swords;
and though the former was as brave as could be ex-
pected, having twice wounded his enemy in the head,
yet being faint, the Indian had thrown him upon the
ground, and was wresting my sword out of his hand,
which the Spaniard very wisely quitting, drew out
his pistol and shot him through the body before I
could come near him, though I was running to his
assistance. As to Friday, he pursued the flying
wretches with his hatchet, dispatching three; but
the rest were too nimble for him. The Spaniard
taking up one of the fowling-pieces, wounded two,
who running into the wood, Friday pursued and kil-
led one, but the other, notwithstanding his wounds,
plunged himself into the sea, and swam to those who
were left in the canoe, which, with one wounded,
were all that escaped out of 21. The account is as
follows:
>
Killed at the first shot from the tree
At the second shot
By Friday in the boat
Ditto of those first wounded
·
M OV 07 N
3
2
2.
2
Ditto in the wood
By the Spaniard
Killed or died of their wounds
1
3
4
4
Total 21
Escaped in the boat, whereof one wounded if
not slain
The savages in the canoe worked very hard to get
out of our reach, and Friday was as eager in pursu-
249
ing them; and indeed I was no less anxious about
their escape, lest, after the news had been carried to
their people, they should return in multitudes, and
destroy us. So being resolved to pursue them, I
jumped into one of their canoes, and bid Friday to
follow me; but no sooner was I in, when to my sur-
prise I found another poor creature, bound hand and
foot for the slaughter, just as the Spaniard had been,
with very little life in him. Immediately I unbound
him, and would have helped him up, but he could
neither stand nor speak, but groaned piteously,
thinking he was only unbound in order to be slain.
Hereupon I bid Friday speak to him, and tell him of
his deliverance; when pulling out my bottle, I made
the poor wretch drink a dram; which, with the joy-
ful news he had received, so revived his heart, that
he sat up in the boat. As soon as Friday began tʊ
hear him speak, and looked more fully in his face,
it would have moved any one to tears to perceive his
uncommon transports of joy; for he kissed him, em-
braced him, hugged him, cried, laughed, hallooed,
jumped about, danced, sung, then cried again, wrung
his hands, beat his face and head, then sung and
jumped about again, like a distracted creature; so
that it was a great while before I could make him
speak to me, or tell me what was the matter with
him; but when he came to the liberty of his speech,
at last he told me, it was his father.
Here indeed I was infinitely moved to see the du-
tiful and tender affection this poor savage had to his
aged parent. He would sit down by him in the boat,
open his breast, and hold his father's head close to
his bosom half an hour together, to nourish it; then
he took his arms and ankles, which were stiff and
;
250
numbed with binding, and chafed and rubbed them
with his hands; and I, perceiving what the case
was, gave him some rum, which proved of great be-
nefit to him.
While we were busy in this action, the savages had
gotten almost out of sight, and happy it was we did
not pursue them; for there arose from the north-
west, which continued all night long, such a violent
storm, that I could not suppose otherwise but that
they were all drowned. After this I called Friday
to me, and asked him if he had given his father any
bread? He shook his head, and said, "None, not one
bit, me eat a up all?" so I gave him a cake of bread
out of a little pouch I carried for this end. I like-
wise gave him a dram for himself, and two or three
bunches of raisins for his father. Both these he
carried to him, for he would make him drink the
dram to comfort him. Away he then runs out of
the boat as if he was bewitched, with such an extra-
ordinary swiftness, that he was out of sight as it were
in an instant; but at his return, I perceived him
slacken his pace, because he had something in his
hand, and this I found to be, as he approached
nearer, an earthen jug with some water for his father,
and two more cakes of bread, which he delivered in-
to my hands. Being very thirsty myself, I drank
some of the water, of which, when his father had
drank sufficiently, it more revived his spirits than all
the rum I had given him.
When his father had drank, I called to him to
know if there was any water left; he said, "Yes;"
and I bid him give it to the poor Spaniard, who
was in as much want of it as his father; and I sent
one of the cakes, that Friday brought, to the Spani-
251
ard too, who was, indeed, very weak, and was repos-
ing himself upon a green place, under the shade of
a tree, and whose limbs were also very stiff, and very
much swelled with the rude bandage he had been
tied with. When I saw that, upon Friday's coming
to him with the water, he sat up and drank, and
took the bread and began to eat, I went to him, and
gave him a handful of raisins; he looked up in my
face with all the tokens of gratitude and thankful-
ness, that could appear in any countenance; he was
so weak, notwithstanding he had so exerted himself
in the fight, that he could not stand upon his feet;
he tried to do it two or three times, but was really
not able, his ankles were so swelled and so painful to
him; so I bid him sit still, and caused Friday to rub
his ankles, and bathe them with rum, as he had done
his father's.
I observed the poor affectionate creature every
two minutes, or perhaps less, all the while he was
here, turned his head about, to see if his father was
in the same place and posture as he left him sitting;
and at last he found he was not to be seen; at which
he started up, and, without speaking a word, flew
with that swiftness to him, that one could scarce
perceive his feet to touch the ground as he went:
but when he came, he only found he had laid him-
self down to ease his limbs; so Friday came back to
me presently, and I then spoke to the Spaniard to
let Friday help him up if he could, and lead him to
the boat, and then he should carry him to our dwel-
ling, where I would take care of him. Upon which
Friday made nothing to take him upon his back,
and so carried him to the canoe, setting him close
by his father; and presently stepping out again,
252
launched the boat off, and paddled it along the shore
faster than I could walk, though the wind blew very
hard too; and having brought them safe to the creek,
away he runs to fetch the other canoe, which he
brought to the creek almost as soon as I got to it by
land; when wafting me over, he took our new
guests out of the boat. But so weak were they, that
I was forced to make a kind of hand-barrow; and
when I came to my castle, not being willing to make
an entrance into my wall, we made them a hand-
some tent, covered with old sails and boughs of
trees, making two good beds of rice straw, with
blankets to lie upon and cover them. Thus, like an
absolute king, over subjects who owed their lives to
me, I thought myself very great, especially, consi-
dering I had three religions in my kingdom, my man
Friday being a protestant, his father a pagan, and
the Spaniard a papist; but I gave liberty of consci-
ence to them all.
To get provisions for my poor weak subjects, I or-
dered Friday to kill me a yearling goat, which when
he had done it, I cut off the hinder quarters, and
chopping it into small pieces, boiled and stewed it,
putting barley and rice into the broth. This I car-
ried into their tent, set a table, dined with them my-
self, and encouraged them. Friday was my inter-
preter to his father, and indeed to the Spaniard too,
who spoke the language of the savages pretty well.
After dinner I ordered Friday to fetch home all our
arms from the field of battle, and the next day to
bury the dead bodies, which he did accordingly.
And now I made Friday enquire of his father,
whether he thought those savages had escaped the
late storm in their canoe; and if so, whether they
253
would not return with a power too great for us to re-
sist? he answered that he thought it impossible they
should outlive the storm; or if they were driven
southwardly, they would come to a land where they
would as certainly be devoured, as if they were
drowned in the sea; and suppose they had attained
their own country, the strangeness of their bloody
and fatal attack, would make them tell their people,
that the rest of them were killed by thunder and
lightning, not by the hand of man, but by two hea-
venly spirits (meaning Friday and me) who were
sent from above to destroy them; and this he said
he knew, because he heard them say the same to one
another. And indeed he was in the right of it; for
I have heard since, that these four men gave out,
that whoever went to that enchanted island, would
be destroyed by fire from the gods.
No canoes appearing some time after, as I expect-
ed, my apprehensions ceased, instead of which my
former thoughts of a voyage took place, especially
when Friday's father assured me I should have good
usage in his country. As to the Spaniard, he told
me that sixteen more of his countrymen and Portu-
guese, who had been shipwrecked, made their escape
thither; that though they were in union with the sa-
vages, yet they were very miserable for want of pro-
visions and other necessaries. When I had asked
him about the particulars of his voyage, he answer-
ed, that their ship was bound from Rio de la Plata
to the Havannah: that when the ship was lost only
five men perished in the ocean, the rest having saved
themselves in the boat, were now landed on the main
continent. "And what do they intend to do there?"
said I. He replied, they had concerted measures to
Υ
254
escape by building them a vessel, but they had nei-
ther tools nor provisions; so that all their designs
came to nothing. "Supposing," said I, "I should
make them a proposal, and invite them here, would
not they carry me prisoner to New Spain?" He an-
swered, No, for he knew them to be such honest
men, as would scorn to act such inhuman baseness
to their deliverer: That, if I pleased, he and the
old savage would go over to them, talk with them a-
bout it, and bring me an answer; that they should
all swear fidelity to me as their leader, upon the ho-
ly sacraments; and that, for his part, he would not
only do the same, but stand by me to the last drop
of his blood, should there be occasion.
These solemn assurances made me resolve to grant
them relief, and to send these two over for that pur-
pose: but when every thing was ready, the Spaniard
raised an objection, which carried a great deal of
weight in it. "You know, Sir," said he, “that
being some time with you, I cannot but be sensible
of your stock of rice and corn, sufficient perhaps for
us at present, but not for them, should they come
over presently; much less to victual a vessel for an
intended voyage. Want might be as great an occa-
sion for them to disagree and rebel as the children of
Israel did against God himself, when they wanted
bread in the wilderness; and therefore my advice is to
wait another harvest, and, in the mean time, cultivate
and improve some inore land, whereby we may have
plenty of provisions, in order to execute our design."
This advice of the Spaniard I approved of ex-
tremely; and so satisfied was I of his fidelity, that I
esteemed him ever after. And thus we all four went
to work upon some more land, and against seed-time
255
us.
we had got so much cured and trimmed up, as was
sufficient to sow twenty-two bushels of barley on,
and sixteen jars of rice, which was in short all the
seed we had to spare. As we were four in number,
and by this time all in good health, we feared not
an hundred Indians, should they venture to attack
And while the corn was growing, I pitched up-
on some trees fit to build us a large vessel, in case
the Spaniards came over; which being marked, I or-
dered Friday and his father to cut them down, ap-
pointing the Spaniard, who was now my privy coun-
sellor, to oversee and direct the work. I likewise in-
creased my flock of goats, by shooting the wild
dams, and bringing home their kids to my inclosure:
nor did I neglect the grape season, but cured them
as usual, though I had such a quantity now as
would have filled eighty barrels with raisins. And
thus all of us being employed, they in working, and
I in providing for them, till harvest came, God Al-
mighty blessed the increase of it so much, that from
twenty-two bushels of barley, we threshed out two
hundred and twenty, and the like quantity of rice,
sufficient to victual a ship, to carry me and all the
Spaniards to any part of America.
Thus the principal objection being answered by a
sufficient stock of provision, I sent my two ambas-
sadors over to the main land, with a regal authority
to administer the oaths of allegiance and fidelity,
and have an instrument signed under their hands,
though I never asked whether they had pen, ink, or
paper; when giving each of them a musket, eight
charges of powder and ball, and provisions enough
for eight days, they sailed away with a fair gale, on
a day when the moon was at the full.
256
Scarce a fortnight had passed over my head, but
impatient for their return, I laid me down to sleep
one morning, when a strange accident happened,
which was ushered in by my man's coming running
to me, and calling aloud, "Master, master, they are
come, they are come." Upon which, not dreaming
of any danger, out I jumps from my bed, puts on my
clothes, and hurries though my little grove; when
looking towards the sea, I perceived a boat about a
league and a half distant, standing in for the shore,
with the wind fair. I beheld they did not come
from the side where the land lay on, but from the
southermost end of the island: so these being none
of the people we wanted, I ordered Friday to lie still,
till such time as I came down from the mountain,
which with my ladder I now ascended, in order to
discover more fully what they were: and now, with
the help of my prospective glass, I plainly perceived
an English ship, which I concluded it to be by the
fashion of its long-boat, and which filled me with
such uncommon transports of joy, that I cannot tell
how to describe; and yet some secret doubts hung
about me, proceeding from I know not what cause,
as though I had reason to be upon my guard. And
indeed I would have no mau contemn the secret
hints and intimations of danger, which very often are
given, when he may imagine there is no possibility of
their being real; for had I not been warned by this
silent admonition, I had been in a worse situation
than before, and perhaps inevitably ruined.
Not long it was before I perceived the boat to ap-
proach the shore, as though they looked for a place
where they might conveniently land, and at last they
ran their boat on shore upon the beach, about half
257
a mile's distance, which proved so much the happier
for me; since if they had come into the creek, they
had landed just at my door, and might not only
- have forced me out of my castle, but plundered me
of all I had in the world. Now I was fully convin-
ced they were all Englishmen, three of whom were un-
armed and bound; when immediately the first four
or five leaped on shore, and took those three out of
the boat as prisoners; one of whom I could perceive
used the most passionate gestures of entreaty, afflic-
tion, and despair, while the others, in a lesser degree,
shewed abundance of concern.
Not knowing the meaning of this, I was very
much astonished, and I beckoned to Friday (who
was below) to ascend the mountain, and likewise
view this sight. "O master," says he to me,
me," you
see English mans eat prisoners, as well as savage
mans." "And do you think they will eat them,
Friday?" said I. "Yes," said Friday, "they eat
all up."
"No, no," said I, “ Friday, I am much
more concerned lest they should murder them;
as for eating them up, that I am sure they never
will."
And now I not only lamented my misfortune in
not having the Spaniard and savage with me, but
also that I could not come within shot of them un-
perceived, (they having no fire-arms among them,)
and save these three men, whom I thought they were
going to kill with their swords. But some comfort
it was to me, that I perceived they were set at liber-
ty to go where they pleased; but they sat down all
three upon the ground very pensive, and looked like
men in despair. This put me in mind of the first
time when I came on shore, and began to look about
Y 3
258
me; how I gave myself over for lost, how wildly I
looked round me, what dreadful apprehensions I had,
and how I lodged in the tree all night for fear of
being devoured by wild beasts. As I knew nothing
of the supply I was to receive by the providential
driving of the ship nearer to the land, by the storms
and tide, by which I have since been so long nourish-
ed and supported; so these three poor desolate men
knew nothing how certain of deliverance and sup-
ply they were, how near it was to them, and how
effectually and ready they were in a condition of
safety, at the same time that they thought themselves
lost, and their case desperate.
So little do we see
before us in the world, and so much reason have
we to depend cheerfully upon the great Maker of
the world, that he does not leave his creatures so ab-
solutely destitute, but that in the worst circum-
stances they have always something to be thankful for,
and sometimes are nearer their deliverance than they
imagine; nay are even brought to their deliverance
by the means by which they seem to be brought to
their destruction. The rascally seamen scattered
about as though they had a mind to see the place;
and so long did they negligently ramble, that the tide
had ebbed so low as to leave the boat a-ground. Nor
were the two men that were in her more circumspect,
for having drank a little too much liquor, they fell
fast asleep; but one of them waking before the other,
and perceiving the boat too fast a-ground for his
strength to move it, he hallooed out to the rest, who
made all possible expedition to come to him: but as
Providence ordered it, all their force was ineffectual
to launch her, when I could hear them speak to one
another, "Why let her alone, Jack, can't ye, she'll
!
259
ཐ
float next tide;" by which words I was fully con-
vinced that they were my countrymen.
All this while I lay very quiet, as being fully sen-
sible, it could be no less than ten hours before the
boat would be afloat, and then it would be so dark,
as that they could not easily perceive me, by which
means I should be at more liberty to hear their talk,
and observe all their motions; not but that I prepar-
ed for my defence; yet as I had now another sort of
enemies to combat with, I acted with more caution.
I took two fusees on my shoulder, and gave Friday
three muskets; besides, my formidable goat's-skin
coat, and monstrous cap, made me look as fierce and
terrible as Hercules of old, especially when two pis-
tols were stuck in my belt, and my naked sword
hanging by my side.
It was my design at first not to make any attempt
till it was dark, but it being now two o'clock in the
very heat of the day, the sailors were all straggling
into the woods, and undoubtedly were lain down to
sleep. The three poor distressed creatures, too anxi-
ous to get any repose, were however seated under the
shade of a great tree, about a quarter of a mile from
mc, and before I was perceived, I called aloud to
them in Spanish, "What are you, gentlemen?”
L
At these words they started up in great confusion,
and beholding the strange figure I made, they re-
turned me no answer, but seemed as if they would
fly from me. "Gentlemen," said 1, in English,
don't be afraid: perhaps you have a friend nearer
you than you expect.” "He must be from heaven,"
said one of them gravely, and pulling off his hat,
"for we are past all help in this world."
"All help
is from heaven,” said 1; "but, Sir, as I have per-
260
ceived every action between you and these brutes,
since your landing, only inform me how to assist you,
and I will do it to the utmost of my power."
"Am I talking with God or man," said he, melt-
ing with tears, are you
of human kind, or an an-
gel?” “
Sir," said I," my poor habit may tell you
I am a man, and an Englishman, willing to assist
you, having but this servant only: here are arms and
ammunition: tell freely your condition, can we save
you?" "The story," said he, "is too long to relate,
since our butchers are so near. But, Sir, I was mas-
ter of that ship; my men have mutinied, and it is a
favour they have pat my mate, this passenger, and
me, on shore, without murdering of us, though we
"Are your
expect nothing but to perish here."
enemies gone?" said I."No," replied he, pointing
to a thicket," there they lie; while my heart trem-
bles, lest having seen and heard us, they should
murder us all." "Have they fire arms?" said I.
They have but two pieces," said he, “one of
which is left in the boat:" he also told me there were
two enormous villains among them, that were the
authors of this mutiny, who, if they were killed or
seized, might induce the rest to return to obedience.
"Well, well," said I, "let us retire further under the
covering of the wood?" and there it was I made
these conditions with him:
I. That while they stayed in the island, they
should not pretend to any authority, but be entirely
conformable to my orders, and return me the arms
which I should put into their hands.
II. That, if the ship was recovered, they should
afford Friday and me our passage gratis to England.
When he had given me all the satisfaction I could
261
desire, I gave each of them a gun, with powder and
ball sufficient, advising them to fire upon them as
they lay. The captain modestly said, that he was
sorry to kill them, though, on the other hand, to let
these villains escape, who were the authors of his
misery, might be the ruin of us all, should they
bring the ship's company upon us. Well," said
he, "do as you think fit:" and so accordingly I fir-
ed, killing one of the captain's chief enemies, and
wounding the other, who eagerly called for assis-
tance; but the captain (who had reserved his piece)
coming up to him, “Sirrah,” said he, "it is too
late to call for assistance, you should rather cry to
God to pardon your villany;" so knocked him down
with the stock of his gun: Three others were also
slightly wounded, who at my approach cried out for
mercy. This the captain granted, upon condition
that they would swear to be true to him in recover-
ing the ship, which they solemnly did; however, I
obliged the captain to keep them bound. After
which, I sent Friday and the captain's mate to se-
cure the boat, and bring away the oars and sail;
when at their return, three men coming back, and
seeing their late distressed captain, now their con-
queror, submitted to be bound also. And then it
was, that having more liberty, I related the adven-
tures of my whole life, which he heard with a seri-
ous and wonderful attention. After this, I carried
him and his two men into my little fortified castle,
shewed them all my conveniences, and refreshed
them with such provisions as I could afford.
When
this was over, we began to think about regaining the
ship. He said that there were twenty-six hands on
board, who knowing their lives were forfeited by the
262
law, for conspiracy and mutiny, would grow so very
hardened, that it would be dangerous for our small
company to attack them. This was a reasonable
inference indeed: but something we did resolve on,
and immediately put in execution: for we heaved
the boat upon the beach so high, that she could not
shoot off at high-water mark, and broke a hole in
her, not easily to be stopped; and so all the signals
they gave for the boat to come on board were in
vain. This obliged them to send another boat a-
shore, with ten men armed, whose faces the captain
plainly descried, the boatswain being the chief offi-
cer; but he said there were three honest lads among
them, who were forced into the conspiracy. Here-
upon I gave him fresh courage, (for I had perceived he
was in concern,) in the mean while securing our pri-
soners, part in my castle, over whom Friday stood
sentinel; but two others we took into our service,
and then thought ourselves strong enough to adven-
ture a battle. When the sailors lauded, and beheld
their boat in that condition, they not only hallooed,
but fired for their companions, to hear, yet they re-
ceived no answer. This struck them with horror
and amazement, thinking their companions were
murdered; then they made as if they would return
to the ship. I could perceive the captain's counte-
nance change at this, till of a sudden three men were
ordered to look after the boat, while the other seven
leaped on shore, in order to search for their com-
panions: and indeed they came to the brow of the
hill, near my ancient castle, from whence they could
see a great way into the woods, and there shouting
and hallooing till tired and weary, at length seated
themselves under a spreading tree. My opinion was,
263
that nothing could be done till night, when I might
use some artifice to get them out of the boat: but
of a sudden they all started up, and made to the sea-
side: hereupon I ordered Friday and the captain's
mate to go over the creek, and halloo as loud as they
could, and so, decoying them into the woods, come
round to me again. And this indeed had its effect,
for they followed the noise, till coming westward to
the creek, they called for their boat to carry them
over, taking one of the men out of her, and leaving
two to look after her, having fastened her to the
stump of a little tree on shore. Hereupon immedi-
ately the captain and our party passing the creek out
of their sight, we surprised them both by the captain's
knocking down one, and ordering the other to surren-
der on pain of death; and who, being the honestest
of them all, sincerely joined with us. By this time
it was pretty late, when the rest returning to their
boat, which they found a-ground in the creek, the
tide out, and the men gone, they ran about wringing
their hands, crying it was an enchanted island, and
that they should be all murdered by spirits or devils.
My men would willingly have fallen upon them, but
I would not agree to hazard any of our party. But
to be more certain, Friday and the captain crawled
upon their hands and feet as near as possible: and
when the boatswain approached in sight, so eager
was the captain, that he fired and killed him upon
the spot. Friday wounded the next man, and the
third ran away. Hereupon I advanced with my
whole army, and it being dark, I ordered the man
whom we had surprised with the boat, to call them
by their names, and to parley with them. Accord-
ingly he called aloud, Tom Smith! Tom Smith!"
264
"
He answered, "Who's that? Robinson?" The other
answered, “For God's sake, Tom, surrender imme-
diately, or you are all dead men.' "Who must we
surrender to?" says Smith. "To our captain and
fifty men here, who have taken me prisoner, wound-
ed Will Fryes, and killed the boatswain."
"Shall
we have quarter then?" said he. Hereupon the
captain calls out, You, Smith, you know my
voice; surrender immediately, and you shall all have
your lives granted, except Will Atkins." Hereupon
Atkins cried out, “What have I done, captain, more
than the rest, who have been as bad as me?" But
that was a lie, for he was the person that laid hold
of him, and bound him. However, he was ordered
to submit to the governor's mercy, for such was I
called. And so, laying down their arms, we bound
them all, and seized on their boat.
After this the captain expostulated with them, tel-
ling them, that the governor was an Englishman, who
might execute them there; but he thought they
would be sent to England, except Will Atkins, who
was ordered to prepare for death next morning.
Hereupon Atkins implored the captain to intercede
for his life, and the rest begged they might not be
sent to England. Thus answered our project for seiz-
ing the ship. For sending Atkins, and two of the
worst, fast bound, to the cave, and the rest being
committed to my bower, I sent the captain to treat
with them, in the governor's name, offering them par-
don, if they would assist him in recovering the ship.
Upon which they all promised to stand by him till
the last drop of their blood; and whoever acted
treacherously should be hanged in chains upon the
beach. They were all released on these assurances;
265
and then the captain repaired the other boat, making
his passenger captain of her, with four men well arm-
ed; while his mate, himself, and five men more,
went in the other. By midnight they came within
call of the ship, when the captain ordered Robinson
to hale her, and tell them that, with great difficulty,
they had found the men at last. But while they were
discoursing, the captain, his mate, and the rest, enter-
ed, and knocking down the second mate and carpen-
ter, secured those that were upon deck, by putting
them under hatches, while the other boat's crew en-
tered and secured the forecastle; they then broke
into the round-house, where the mate, after some re-
sistance, shot the pirate captain through the head;
upon which all the rest yielded themselves prisoners.
And thus the ship being recovered, the joyful signal
was fired, which I heard with the greatest joy imagi-
nable: nor was it long before he brought the ship to
an anchor at the creek's mouth, when coming to me
unawares, There," says he, my dearest friend
and deliverer, there is your ship, and we are your
servants;" a comfort so unspeakable, as made me
swoon in his arms, while, with gratitude to heaven,
we were tenderly embracing each other. I told him,
I looked upon him as a man sent from heaven to de-
liver me, and that the whole transaction seemed to be
a chain of wonders; that such things as these were
the testimonies we had of a secret hand of Providence
governing the world, and an evidence, that the eyes
of an infinite power could search into the remotest
corner of the world, and send help to the miserable.
whenever he pleased.-I forgot not to lift up my
heart in thankfulness to heaven, and what heart could
forbear to bless him, who had not only in a miracu-
Z
،،
266
lous manner provided for one in such a wilderness,
and in such a desolate condition, but from whom
every deliverance must always be acknowledged to
proceed.
Nothing now remained but to consult what we
should do with the prisoners, whom he thought it was
not safe to take on board. Hereupon, concerting
with the captain, I dressed myself in one of his suits,
and sending for them, told them, that as I was going
to leave the island with all my people, if they would
tarry there, their lives should be spared; if not, they
should be hanged at the first port we came to. They
agreed to stay. Hereupon I told them my whole sto-
ry, charging them to be kind to the Spaniards that
were expected, gave them all my arms, and inform-
ing them of every thing necessary for their sub-
sistence, I and my man Friday went on board. But
the next morning two of the men came swimming to
the ship's side, desiring the captain to take them on
board, though he hanged them afterwards, complain-
ing mightily how barbarously the others used them.
Upon which I prevailed with the captain to take them
in, and being severely whipped and pickled, they
proved more honest for the future. And so I bid
farewell to this island, carrying along with me my
money, parrot, umbrella, and goat-skin cap, setting
sail Dec. 12, 1686, after twenty-eight years, two
months, and nineteen days' residence, that same day
and month that I escaped from Sallee, landing in
England June 11, 1687, after thirty-five years ab-
sence from my own country, which rendered me al-
together a stranger there.
Here I found my first captain's widow alive, who
had buried a second husband, but in very mean cir-
267
my account.
cumstances, and whom I made mighty easy upon
Soon after, I went down to York-
shire, where all my family were expired, except two
sisters, and as many of one of my brother's children. I
found no provision had been made for me, they con-
cluding I had been long since dead; so that I was
but in a very slender situation. Indeed the captain
did me a great kindness, by his report to the owners,
how I had delivered their ship on the desolate island;
upon which they made me a present of 2001. sterling.
I next went to Lisbon, taking my man Friday with
me, and arriving there in April, I met the Portuguese
captain, who took me on board on the African coast;
but being ancient, he had left off the sea, and resign-
ed all his business to his son, who followed the Bra-
sil trade. So altered both of us were, that we did
not know each other at first, till I discovered myself
more fully to him. After a few embraces, I began
to enquire of my concerns, and then the old gentle-
man told me, that it was nine years since he had been
at Brasil, where my partner was then living, but my
trustees were both dead; that it was his belief
I should have a good account of the product of my
plantation; that the imagination of my being lost,
had obliged my trustees to give an estimate of my
share to the procurator-fiscal, who, in case of my not
returning, had given one-third to the king, and the
rest to the monastery of St. Augustine; but if I put
in my claim, or any one for me, it would be return-
ed, except the yearly product, which was given to
the poor.
I then desired him to tell me, what im-
provement he thought had been made of my planta-
tion; and whether he imagined it was worth my
while to look after it? He answered, that he did not
268
know how much it was improved, but this he was cer-
tain of, that my partner was grown vastly rich upon
his half of it; and that he had been informed, that the
king had 200 moidores for his third part. He ad-
ded, that the survivors of my trustees were persons of
an ingenuous character; that my partner could wit-
ness my title, my name being registered in the coun-
try, by which means indisputably I should recover
considerable sums of money.- "But," answered I,
"how could my trustees dispose of my effects, when
I made you only my heir?" "This," he said, was
true, but there being no affidavit made of my death,
he could not act as an executor." However, he had
ordered his son (then at Brasil) to act by procurati-
on upon my account, and he had taken possession of
my sugar-house, having accounted himself for eight
years with my partner and trustees for the profits, of
which he would give me a very good account.
(C
(C
And indeed this he performed very faithfully in a few
days, making himself indebted to me 470 moidores
of gold, over and above what had been lost at sea, af-
ter I had left the place. And then he recounted to
me what misfortunes he had gone through which for-
ced my money out of his hands, to buy part in a new
ship: But," says he, “ you shall not want, take
this, and when my son returns, every farthing shall
be paid you." Upon which he put into my hand a
purse of 150 moidores in gold, as likewise the instru-
ment containing the title to the ship in which his son
was, and which he offered as security for the remain-
der. But really, when I saw so much goodness, ge-
nerosity, tenderness, and real honesty, I had not the
heart to accept it, for fear he should straiten himself
on my account. "It is true," said he, "it may be
269
so; but the money is yours, not mine, and you may
have the greatest occasion for it." However, I re-
turned fifty of them, promising to give him the other
hundred when I got my effects in my hands, say-
ing I designed to go myself for that purpose. But
he told me he could save me the trouble; and
so caused me to enter my name with a public
notary, as likewise my affidavit, with a procuration
affixed to it; and he advised me to send it in a letter
to one of his acquaintance, a merchant at Brasil; and
indeed nothing could be more faithfully and honour-
ably observed; for in seven months' time I had a ve-
ry faithful account of all my effects, what sums were
raised, what expended, and what remained for my
use: in a word, I found myself worth 50001. sterling,
and 10001. per annum. Nor was this all, for my
partner congratulated me upon my being alive, tell-
ing me how much my plantation was improved, what
negroes were at work, and how many Ave Marias he
had said to the Virgin Mary for my preservation, de-
siring me to accept kindly some presents he had sent
me, which I found shewed the greatest generosity.
No sooner did the ship arrive, but I rewarded my
faithful captain, by returning him the hundred moi-
dores; and not only forgiving him all he owed me, I
allowed him yearly a hundred more, and fifty to his
son, during their lives. And now being resolved to
go to England, I returned letters of thanks to the
Prior of St. Augustine, and in particular to my old
partner, with very suitable presents. By the cap-
tain's advice, I was persuaded to go by land to Ca-
lais, and there take passage for England: when, as it
happened, I got a young English gentleman, a mer-
chant's son at Lisbon, to accompany me, together
z 3
270
with two English and two Portuguese gentlemen; so
that with a Portuguese servant, an English sailor,
and my man Friday, there were nine of us in
number.
Thus armed and equipped, we set out, and came
to Madrid, when the summer decaying, we hastened
to Navarre, where we were informed that there was
scarcely any passing, by reason of the prodigious
quantity of snow; so that we were obliged to abide
near twenty days at Pampeluna, and at last to take
a guide to conduct us safe towards Thoulouse. And
now twelve other gentlemen joining with us, together
with their servants, we had a very jolly company.-
Away our guide led us by the frightful mountains,
and through so many intricate mazes and windings,
that we insensibly passed them, which, as we travel-
led along, ushered us into the prospect of the fruitful
and charming provinces of Languedoc and Gas-
coigne.
But now came on two adventures, both tragical
and comical. First, Our guide was encountered by
three wolves and a bear, who set upon him and his
horse, and wounded him in three places: upon
which, my man riding up to his assistance, shot one
of them dead, on which the others ran into the woods.
But the pleasantest adventure was, to see my man
attack the bear. This creature, if let alone, will
never meddle with you, and this my man Friday
very well knew, and so begging leave of me in broken
English, he told us, "He would make good laugh."
Why, you silly fool," said I,
"he'll eat you up at
a mouthful.”
แ me
"Eatee me up!” replied he,
eatee him, and make much good laugh." Upon
which, pulling off his boots, he claps on his pumps,

ROBINSON CRUSOE.
Friday making the Bear to dance.
271
and running after the monstrous beast, he called out
that he wanted to speak with him; and then throw-
ing stones on purpose to incense him, the beast turns
about in a fury, and with prodigious strides, shuffles
after him. But though he could not keep pace
with Friday, who made up to us, as it were for help,
yet being angry, "You dog," said I, "immediate-
ly take horse, and let us shoot the creature."
But
he cried, "Dear Master, no shoot, me make you
much laugh." And so he turned about, making
signs to follow, while the bear ran after him, till
coming to a great oak, he ascended in a minute,
leaving his gun at the bottom of it. Nor did the
bear make any difficulty of it, but, notwithstanding
his bulk, ascended like a cat. You must think I was
not a little amazed at the folly of my man, not per-
ceiving any thing to occasion our laughter, till we
rode up nearer, and beheld the beast mounted on the
oak, on the beginning of the branch to which Friday
clung at the further end, where the bear durst not
come. Hereupon Friday cried out, "Now, mas-
ter, me make much laugh, me make de bear dance."
Upon which he fell a shaking the bough, which made
the creature look behind him to see how he could
retreat. Then, as if the bear had understood his
stammering English, "Why you not come further,
Mr. Bear?" said he. Pray, Mr. Bear, come fur-
ther:” and then indeed we all burst into laughter, es-
pecially when we perceived Friday drop like a squir-
rel upon the ground, leaving the beast to make the
best of his way down the tree. And now thinking
it the most convenient time to kill him, Friday cried
out, "O dear, master, no shoot; me shoot by and
by," when taking up the gun, me not shoot yet,”
(C
66
272
said he, me make once more much laugh." And
accordingly he was as good as his word, for the crea-
ture descending backwards from the tree very leisure-
ly, before he could lay one foot on the ground, Fri-
day shot him through the car stone-dead, and look-
ing to see if we were pleased, burst out into a hearty
laugh, saying, "So we kill bear in my country, not
with gun, but much long arrow." Thus ended our
diversion, to our satisfaction, especially in a place
where the terrible howlings struck us with continual
terror. But the snows now growing very deep, par-
ticularly on the mountains, the ravenous creatures
were obliged to seek for sustenance in the villages,
where coming by surprise on the country people,
they killed several of them, besides a great number
of their sheep and horses.
Our guide told us, we had yet one more dangerous
place to pass by; and if there were any more wolves
in the country, there we should find them. This
was a small plain, encompassed with woods, to get
through a long lane, to the village where we were to
lodge. When we entered the wood the sun was
within half an hour of setting; and a little after it
was set, we came into the plain, which was not above
two furlongs over, and then we saw five great wolves
cross the road, without taking notice of us, and so
swift as though they were pursuing after their prey.
Hereupon our guide, believing there were more com-
ing, desired us to be upon our guard. Accordingly
our eyes were very circumspect, till about a league
further we saw a dead horse, and near a dozen of
wolves devouring its carcase. My man Friday fain
would have fired at them, but I would not permit
him: nor had we gone half a league over the plain,
273
till we heard dreadful howlings in a wood on our left,
when we saw an hundred come up against us, as
though they had been an experienced army. This
obliged us to form ourselves in the best manner: and
then I ordered that every other man should fire;
that those who did not might be ready for a second
volley, should they advance upon us; and then every
man make use of his pistols. But there was no ne-
cessity for this; for the enemy being terrified, stop-
ped at the noise of the fire; four of them were shot
dead, and several others being wounded, went bleed-
ing away, as we could very plainly discover by the
snow. And now remembering what had been often
told me, that such was the majesty of a man's voice,
as to strike terror even into the fiercest creatures, I
ordered all our companions to halloo as loud as pos-
sible and in this notion I was not altogether mista-
ken; for they immediately turned about upon the
first halloo, and began to retire: upon which, order-
ing a second volley in their rear, they galloped into
the woods with great precipitation.
Thus we had some small time to load our pieces
again, and then made all the haste we could on our
way: but we had not rode far before we were oblig-
ed to put ourselves in a posture of defence as before,
being alarmed with a very dreadful noise in the
same wood on our left hand, the same way as we
were to pass, only that it was at some distance from
us. By this time the darksome clouds began to
spread over the elements, and the night growing very
dusky, made it so much the more to our disadvan-
tage: but the noise still increasing we were fully as-
sured that it was the howling and yelling of those ra-
venous creatures: when presently three troops of
974
wolves, on our front, appeared to our sight, as
though a great number of them had a design to
surround us, and devour us in spite of fate. But as
they did not fall upon us immediately, we proceeded
on our journey in the swiftest manner the roads
would permit our horses, which was only a large
trot. It was in this manner we travelled, till such
time as we discovered another wood, and had the
prospect of its entrance, through which we were to
pass at the furthest side of the plain. But surely
none can express the terror we were in, when ap-
proaching the lane, we perceived a confused number
of the fiercest wolves standing, and as it were guard-
ing its entrance. Nor were we long in this amaze-
ment, before another occasion of horror presented
itself: for suddenly we heard the report of a gun at
another opening into the wood; and looking that
way, out ran a horse, bridled and saddled, Aying
with the greatest swiftness, and no less than sixteen
or seventeen wolves pursuing him, in order to devour
the poor creature: and unquestionably they did so
after they had run him down, not being able to hold
out that swiftness with which he at first escaped
them.
When we rode up to that entrance from whence
the horse came forth, there lay the carcases of two
men, and another horse, mangled and torn by these
devouring wolves; and undoubtedly one of these
men was the person who fired the gun which we had
heard, for the piece lay by him; but alas! most of
the upper part of his body and his head were en-
tombed in the bowels of these ravenous creatures.
What course to take, whether to proceed or retreat,
we could not tell; but it was not long before the
275
wolves themselves made us come to a resolution: for
such numbers surrounded us, every one of whom ex-
pected their prey, that were our bodies to be divided
among them there would not be half a mouthful a-
piece. But happy, very happy, it was for us, that
but a little way from the entrance, there lay some
very large timber trees, which I supposed had been
cut down and laid there for sale, among which I
drew my little troop, placing ourselves in a line be-
hind one long tree, which served us for a breast-
work; when desiring them to alight, we stood in a
triangle, or three fronts, inclosing our horses in the
centre, the only place where we could preserve them.
Never certainly was there a more furious charge
than what the wolves made upon us in this place;
and the sight of the horses, which was the principal
thing they aimed at, provoked their hunger, and ad-
ded to their natural fierceness. They came on us
with a most dreadful noise, that made the woods ring
again, and beginning to mount our picces of timber,
I ordered every other man to fire as before directed;
and indeed so well did they take their aim, that they
killed several of the wolves at the first volley; but
still we were obliged to keep a continual firing, by
reason they came on like devils, pushing one another
with the greatest fury. But our second volley some-
thing abated their courage; when stopping a little,
we hoped they would have made the best of their
way; however it did not prove so, for others made a
new attempt upon us: and though in four firings we
killed seventeen or eighteen of them, laming twice
as many, yet they came on several times successive-
ly, as though they valued not their lives for the sake
of their prey.
276
Unwilling was I to spend our last shot too sud-
denly: and therefore called my other servant, and
giving him a horn of powder, bid him lay a large
train quite along the timber, which he did, while
Friday was charging my fusee and his own with the
greatest dexterity. By this time the wolves coming
up the timber, I set fire to the train, by snapping a
discharged pistol close on the powder. This so
scorched and terrified them, that some fell down,
and others jumped in among us with the strength
and terror of the flame; but these we immediately
dispatched, when all the rest, frightened with the
light, which the darksome night caused to appear
more dreadful, began at length to retire; upon
which, ordering our last pistols to be fired at once,
giving at the same time a great shout, the wolves
were obliged to have recourse to their swiftness, and
turned tail; and then we sallied out upon twenty
lame ones, cutting them in pieces with our swords,
which obliged them to howl lamentably, to the ter-
ror of their fellow devourers, who resigned to us the
field as victorious conquerors. And indeed, I ques-
tion whether Alexander King of Macedon, in any of
his conquests, had more occasion for triumph than
we had; for he was but attacked by numerous ar-
mies of soldiers; whereas our little army was oblig-
ed to combat a legion of devils, as it were, worse
than cannibals, who, had they slain us, would have
sacrificed us at the same moment, to satisfy their vo-
racious appetites.
Thus ended our bloody battle with the beasts, hav-
ing killed threescore of them, and saved our lives
from their fury. We still had a league further to go,
when, as we went, our ears were saluted with their
277
most unwelcome howlings, expecting every moment
another attack. But, in an hour's time, we arrived
safe at the town where we were to lodge; and here
we found the place strictly guarded, and all in terri-
ble confusion, as well they might, for fear of the bears
and wolves breaking into the village, in order to
prey upon their cattle and people. The next morn-
ing we were obliged to take a new guide, by reason
the other fell very bad of his wounds which he had re-
ceived as before mentioned. After we had reached
Thoulouse, we came into a warm, pleasant, and
fruitful country, not infested with wolves, nor any
sort of ravenous creatures; and when we told our
story there, they blamed our guide much, for con-
ducting us through the forest at the foot of the
mountains, and in such a severe season too, when
the snow obliged them to seek for shelter in the
woods.
I think I have nothing uncommon in my passage
through France to take notice of, since other travel-
lers of greater learning and ingenuity have given a
more ample account than my pen is able to set forth.
From Thoulouse I travelled to Paris, from thence to
Calais, where I took shipping, and landed at Dover
the 14th of January, in a very cold season.
Thus come to the end of my travels, I.soon disco-
vered my new-found estate, and all the bills of ex-
change I had brought were currently paid. The good
ancient widow, my only privy counsellor, thought
no pains or care too great to procure my advantage;
nor had 1 ever occasion to blame her fidelity, which
drew from me an ample reward. I was for leaving
my effects in her hands, intending to set out for Lis-
bon, and so to the Brasils; but as in the desolate is-
A A
1
278
1
land I had some doubts about the Romish religion,
so I knew there was but little encouragement to set-
tle there, unless I would apostatise from the ortho-
dox faith, or live in continual fear of the inquisition.
Upon this account I resolved to sell my plantation,
and for that intent I wrote to my old friend at Lis-
bon, who returned me an answer to my great satis-
faction, which was, that he could readily sell it
there: however, if I thought it convenient to give
him liberty to offer it in my name to the two mer-
chants, the survivors of my trustees, residing at the
Brasils, who consequently understood its intrinsic
value, having lived just upon the spot, and who I was
sensible were very rich, and therefore might be the
more willing to purchase it; he did not in the least
doubt, but I should make 4000 or 5000 pieces of
eight more of it than I should do if I disposed of it
in any other manner whatsoever.
You may be sure I could not but agree with this
kind and ingenuous proposal; and immediately I
sent him an order to offer it unto them, which he ac-
cordingly did; so that about eight months after, the
ship being in that time returned, he gave me a satis-
factory account that they not only willingly accept-
ed the offer, but that they had also remitted thirty-
three thousand pieces of eight to a correspondent of
their own at Lisbon, in order to pay for the pur-
chase.
Hereupon, in return, I signed the instrument of
sale, according to form, which they had sent from
Lisbon, and returned it again to my old friend, he
having sent me, for my estate, bills of three hundred
twenty-eight thousand pieces of eight, reserving the
payment of one hundred moidores per annum, which
279
I had allowed him during life, as also fifty to his son
during life, according to my faithful promise, which
the plantation was to make good as rent charge.
Any one would think, that in this state of complica-
ted good fortune, I was past running any more ha-
zards; and so indeed I had been, if other circum-
stances had not concurred, but I was inured to a
wandering life, had no family, nor many relations,
nor, however rich, had I contracted many acquain-
tances; and though I had sold my estate in the Bra-
sils, yet I could not keep the country out of my
head, and had a great mind to be upon the wing
again; especially I could not resist the strong incli-
nation I had to see my island, and to know if the
poor Spaniards were in being there, and how the
rogues I had left there had used them. My true
friend, the widow, carnestly dissuaded me from it,
and so far prevailed with me, that for almost seven
years she prevented my running abroad; during
which time, I took my two nephews, the children of
one of my brothers, into my care: the eldest having
something of his own, I bred up as a gentleman,
and gave him a settlement of some addition to his es-
tate after my decease; the other I put out to a captain
of a ship; and after five years finding him a sensible,
bold, enterprising young fellow, I put him into a
good ship, and sent him to sea.
In the mean time, I in part settled myself here:
for first of all I married, and that not either to my
disadvantage or dissatisfaction, and had three chil-
dren, two sons and one daughter: but my wife dy-
ing, and my nephew coming home with good success
from a voyage to Spain, my inclination to go abroad,
and his importunity, prevailed and engaged me to go
280
in his ship, as a private trader, to the East Indies:
this was in the year 1694. In this voyage I visited
my new colony in the island, saw my successors the
Spaniards, had the whole story of their lives, and of
the villains I had left there; how, at first they insult-
ed the poor Spaniards, how they afterwards agreed,
disagreed, united, separated, and how at last the Spa-
niards were obliged to use violence with them, how
they were subjected to the Spaniards, how honestly
the Spaniards used them; a history, if it were enter-
ed into, as full of variety and wonderful accidents,
as my own part, particularly also as to their battles
with the Carribeans, who landed several times upon
the island, and as to the improvement they made up-
on the island itself, and how five of them made an at-
tempt upon the main land, and brought away eleven
men and five women prisoners, by which, at my
coming, I found about twenty young children on the
island. Here I stayed about twenty days, left them
supplies of all necessary things, and particularly of
arms, powder, shot, clothes, tools, and two workmen,
which I brought from England with me, viz. a car-
penter and a smith. Besides this, I shared the is-
land into parts with them, reserved to myself the
property of the whole, but gave them such parts re-
spectively as they agreed on; and having settled all
things with them, and engaged them not to leave the
place, I left them there. From thence I touched at
the Brasils, from whence I sent a bark, which I
bought there, with more people to the island, and in
it, besides other supplies, I sent seven women, being
such as I found proper for service, or for wives to
such as would take them. As to the Englishmen,
I promised to send them some women from England,
281
:
with a good cargo of necessaries, if they would ap-
ply themselves to planting, which I afterwards per-
formed. And the fellows proved very honest and
diligent after they were mastered, and had their pro-
perties set apart for them. I sent them also from
the Brasils five cows, three of them being big with
calf, some sheep, and some hogs, which, when I came
again, were considerably increased. When they had
all these things, three hundred Carribees came and
invaded them, and ruined their plantations, they
fought with that number twice, and were at first de-
feated, and three of them killed; but at last a storm
destroying their enemies' canoes, they famished or
destroyed almost all the rest, and renewed and re-
covered the possession of their plantation, and still
lived upon the island.

FINIS
4
*
DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER.
Frontispiece to face the Title.
Robinson Crusoe shipwrecked
Robinson Crusoe returning upon his Raft from
the Wreck.
·p.
50
57
68
Robinson Crusoe bringing Home the Goat which
he had shot
Robinson Crusoerescuing Friday from his Enemies 210
Friday making the Bear to dance..
271
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