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DZEMNIMENTULUN KOMUTANANIUGI, MUDAIWA
получила на покана на
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BIEN
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C. M. Hodge.
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NORR-CO
CRUSOE TAKING LEAVE OF HIS PARENTS.
Į

THE
LIFE AND ADVENTURES
OF
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
WITH A
Biographical Account of Defoe.
ILLUSTRATED WITH EIGHT CHARACTERISTIC ENGRAVINGS
BY ORR.
NEW EDITION, COMPLETE.
PHILADELPHIA :
G. G. EVANS, PUBLISHER,
No. 489 CHESTNUT STREET.
1860.
→
L
Hubbard
PR
3403
•AI
1860c
Sntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1880, by
H. DAYTON,
In the Clerk's office, of the District Court, for the Southern District of
New-York.
CONTENTS.
Biographical Sketch of Daniel Defoe
→
HAPTER I.
Robinson's Family, etc.-His Elopement from his Parents..
CHAPTER II.
First Adventures at Sea, and Experience of a Maritime Life-Voyage
to Guinea..
CHAPTER III.
Robinson's Captivity at Sallee-Escape with Xury-Arrival at the
Brazils..
CHAPTER IV.
He settles in the Brazils as a Planter-Makes another Voyage, and is
shipwrecked....
Page.
13
25
29
37
49
vi
CONTENTS.
Page.
Robinson finds Himself in a Desolate Island-Procures a Stock of
Articles from the Wreck-Constructs his Habitation....
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
Carries all his Riches, Provisions, etc., into his Habitation-Dreari-
ness of Solitude-Consolatory Reflections
Affliction....
CHAPTER VII.
Robinson's Mode of Reckoning Time-Difficulties arising from Want
of Tools-He arranges his IIabitation...
·
CHAPTER VIII.
Robinson's Journal-Details of his Domestic Economy and Contriv-
ances-Shock of an Earthquake..
•
CHAPTER IX.
Robinson obtains more Articles from the Wreck-His Illness and
C
CHAPTER X.
His Recovery-His Comfort in Reading the Scriptures -Makes an
Excursion into the Interior of the Island-Forms his "Bower."...
CHAPTER XI.
Robinson makes a Tour to explore his Island-Employed in Basket-
Making..
• • ·
60
70
73
78
89
95
106
CONTENTS.
vii
CHAPTER XII.
He returns to his Cave-His Agricultural Labors and Success
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV.
His Manufacture of Pottery, and Contrivance for baking Bread...... 116
Meditates his Escape from the Island-Builds a Canoe-Failure of
his Scheme Resignation to his Condition-Makes Himself a New
Dress.....
CHAPTER XV.
He makes a smaller Canoe, in which he attempts to cruise round the
Island-His Perilous Situation at Sea-He returns Home.......
CHAPTER XVI.
He rears a Flock of Goats-His Diary-His Domestic Habits and
Style of Living-Increasing Prosperity....
CHAPTER XVII.
Unexpected Alarm and Cause for Apprehension-He Fortifies his
Abode..
CHAPTER XVIII.
Precautions against Surprise-Robinson discovers that his Island has
been visited by Cannibals...
Page,
110
120
130
137
144
151
viii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIX.
Robinson discovers a Cave, which serves Him as a Retreat against
the Savages.
CHAPTER XX.
Another Visit of the Savages-Robinson sees them dancing-Per-
ceives the Wreck of a Vessel
A
CHAPTER XXI.
He visits the Wreck and obtains many Stores from it-Again thinks
of quitting the Island-Has a Remarkable Dream..
CHAPTER XXII
Robinson rescues One of their Captives from the Savages, whom He
names Friday, and makes his Servant .....
CHAPTER XXIII.
Robinson instructs and civilizes his Man Friday-Endeavors to give
Him an Idea of Christianity...
CHAPTER XXIV.
Page.
CHAPTER XXV.
159
166
171
181
189
Robinson and Friday build a Canoe to carry Them to Friday's Coun-
try-Their Scheme prevented by the Arrival of a Party of Savages. 198
Robinson releases a Spaniard-Friday discovers his Father-Ac-
commodation provided for these New Guests-Who are afterward
sent to liberate the other Spaniards—Arrival of an English Vessel. · 203
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Page.
Robinson discovers Himself to the English Captain-Assists Him in
reducing his Mutinous Crew, who submit to Him.....
CHAPTER XXVII.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Atkins entreats the Captain to spare his Life-The Latter recovers
his Vessel from the Mutineers-And Robinson leaves the Island... 229
Robinson goes to Lisbon, where he finds the Portuguese Captain, who
renders him an Account of his Property in the Brazils-Sets out
on his Return to England by Land…….
CHAPTER XXIX.
Friday's Encounter with a Bear-Robinson and his Fellow Travellers
attacked by a Flock of Wolves-His Arrangement of his Affairs,
and Marriage after his Return to England....
CHAPTER XXX.
ix.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Robinson's Ship relieves the Crew of a French Vessel that had
caught Fire..
217
He is seized with a Desire to revisit his Island-Loses his Wife-Is
Tempted to go to Sea again-Takes out a Cargo for his Colony... 258
237
247
266
1*
X
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXXII.
Page.
Relieves the Crew of a Bristol Ship, who are starving-Arrives at
his Island...
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Robinson and Friday go Ashore-The Latter meets with his Father
-Account of what passed on the Island after Robinson's quitting
It...
CHAPTER XXXIV.
The Account continued-Quarrels between the Englishmen-A Bat-
tle between two Parties of Savages who visit the Island-Fresh
Mutiny among the Settlers..
CHAPTER XXXV.
The Mutinous Englishmen are dismissed from the Island-Return
with Several Captive Savages-Take the Females as Wives-Ar-
rival of Savages...
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Several Savages killed; the Remainder leave the Island-A Fleet of
them afterward arrive-A General Battle-The Savages are over-
come, and Tranquillity restored……..
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Robinson learns from the Spaniards the Difficulties they had to en-
counter-He furnishes the People with Tools, etc.-The French
Ecclesiastic....
··
273
280
287
305
316
832
CONTENTS.
TAI
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Robinson's Discourse with the Ecclesiastic as to introducing Mar-
riages among the People-Marriages performed-Atkins converts
his Wife.
·
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Atkins relates his Conversation with his Wife-The Latter baptized
by the Priest-Account of the starving State of Those on Board the
rescued Vessel-Robinson's Departure from the Island..
CHAPTER XL.
Encounter with Savages at Sea-Friday's Death-Robinson finds his
former Partner in the Brazils-Sails for the East Indies...
CHAPTER XLI.
The Vessel touches at Madagascar-Affray with the Natives, who are
Massacred by the Crew-The Sailors afterward refuse to sail with
Robinson, who is left by his Nephew, the Captain, in Bengal..
•
CHAPTER XLII.
Meets with an English Merchant with whom he makes some Trading
Voyages-They are Mistaken for Pirates-Vanquish their Pursu-
ers-Voyage to China-Rencounter with the Cochin Chinese-
Island of Formosa-Gulf of Nanquin-Apprehensions of falling into
the Hands of the Dutch
CHAPTER XLIII.
Journey to Peking-Robinson joins a Caravan proceeding to Moscow
-Rencounters with the Tartars......
Page,
342
359
378
386
402
488
xii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XLIV.
Route through Muscovy-Robinson and a Scots Merchant destroy an
Idol-The whole Caravan in great peril from the pursuit of the Pa-
gans-Tobolski-Muscovite Exiles-Departure from Tobolski-
Encounter with a Troop of Robbers in the Desert-Robinson
reaches Archangel, and finally arrives in England..
Page
448
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
OF
"
DANIEL DEFOE.

EFOE, the author of Robinson Crusoe, would be en-
titled to a prominent place in the history of our litera-
ture even had he never given to the world that truly
admirable production; and yet we may reasonably
question whether the name of Defoe would not long
ago have sunk into oblivion, or at least have been known,
like those of most of his contemporaries, only to the
curious student, were it not attached to a work whose popularity
has been rarely equalled-never, perhaps, excelled. Even as it is,
the reputation due to the writer has been nearly altogether absorbed
in that of his hero, and in the all-engrossing interest of his adven-
tures. Thousands who have read Robinson Crusoe with delight,
and derived from it a satisfaction in no wise diminished by repeated
perusal, have never bestowed a thought on its author, or, indeed,
regarded it in the light of a literary performance. While its fascination
has been universally felt, the genius that conceived it, the talent that per-
fected it, have been generally overlooked, merely because it is so full of
nature and reality as to exhibit no invention or exertion on the part of
the author, inasmuch as he appears simply to have recorded what actually
happened and consequently only to have committed to paper plain matter
of fact, without study or embellishment. We wonder at and are struck
with admiration by the powers of Shakespeare or Cervantes; with regard
to Defoe we experieree no similar feelings; it is not the skill of the artist
that enchants us, but the perfect naturalness of the picture, which is such
that we mistake it for a mirror; so that every reader persuades himself
that he could write as well, perhaps better, were he but furnished with the
materials for an equally interesting narrative.
There are many circumstances in Defoe's own history that would rec-
ommend it to the notice of the biographer, independently of his claims as
the author of Robinson; among which are the variety and extraordinary
number of his literary performances, amounting to no fewer than two hun-
dred and nine different publications; and the no less singular fact that the
masterpiece of his genius was not only his first essay in that species of
composition, but was not produced till he was far advanced in years, he
having then arrived at a period of life when the generality of authors close
their literary career, and when the powers of imagination either lose much
of their vigor, or become altogether torpid. Nor will our surprise at De-
foe's industry, and the almost unprecedented fertility of his pen, be at all
xiv
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF
Ì
diminished by considering that he was not a recluse student or professed
scholar, but was engaged in trade and various other speculations. In one
respect, however, his mercantile occupations contributed to lay the foun-
dation to his excellence as a novel writer, since there can be little doubt
that it is to his actual experience of the sea, and his acquaintance with
other countries, we are indebted for that truth and spirit which animate the
more interesting parts of Robinson Crusoe; while the manly good sense,
unaffected earnestness, and fund of native intelligence, have placed him far
above those who presume to undervalue his literary acquirements.
According to the latest and most copious of all his biographers, Daniel
Defoe was born in 1661, two years earlier than the generally assigned date
of his birth. His father was a butcher in the parish of St. Giles, Cripple-
gate, and appears to have been a citizen in easy circumstances, although
his trade was one that confers no particular lustre on a pedigree. It is usual
to effect some degree of astonishment when we read of men whose after
fame presents a striking contrast to the humility of their origin; yet we
must recollect that it is not ancestry and splendid descent, but education
and circumstances which form the man; and in this respect the middling
classes possess a decided advantage over those either below or above them;
for if the former are precluded from cultivating their talents and abilities,
the latter generally consider themselves exempt from the necessity of doing
so, and accordingly content themselves with cultivating mere external ac-
complishments, in preference to exercising their mental energies. Those,
on the contrary, who are placed in the middle station, while they are not
debarred from the means of application, feel that stimulus to exertion
which arises from the desire of acquiring fortune or fame. The history of
such men as Ximenes, Wolsey, Alberoni, and Napoleon, may, indeed, just-
ly excite our wonder; when, too, we behold unlettered genius emerging,
in spite of every obstacle, from the obscurity to which it seemed condemned,
as in a Fergusson, a Duval, a Burns, and an Opie, we may be permitted to
express our astonishment but as regards his origin, the history of Defoe is
that of thousands who have afterward raised themselves into comparative
elevation by the display of their powers. The solicitude, therefore, so
generally displayed by biographers, on similar occasions, to trace some
consanguinity wit a more dignified branch of their families, for those whose
native obscurity seems to demand some apology, betrays a rather mistaken
policy. However this may be, it is certain that it is quite as honorable for
Defoe to have ascended from a butcher as it would have been to have dc-
scended from the Conqueror himself.
One undoubted and very great advantage, for which Defoe was indebted
to his parents, who were Nonconformists, was an education superior to
what it was then usual for persons in their station to bestow upon their
children; and they were careful also to implant in his youthful mind that
regard for religion, and that strict moral integrity, which afterward dis-
played themselves not only in his writings, but his conduct through life.
And this rectitude of principle he most unequivocally evinced when his
misfortunes put it so severely to the proof. At about the age of fourteen,
he was placed under the tuition of the Rev. Charles Morton, of Newington
Green, who was afterward vice-president of Harvard College, New England;
and from various incidental remarks in his own works, it appears that
young Defoe now entered upon an extensive course of studies, and made
considerable proficiency in languages, mathematics, philosophy, history,
and theology; although the natural liveliness of his disposition unfitted him
for that severe application which is necessary to form a profound scholar in
any one of those pursuits.
·
It was the intention of his parents that bo should embrace the clerical
DANIEL DEFOE.
XV
profession, which their religious feelings, and probably a very pardonable
ambition, induced them to select for him; yet, notwithstanding his regard
for the sacred office, he was unwilling to embrace it himself; or events, at
teast, diverted his talents into another channel. The political and religious
excitements of that period were contagious for ono of Defoe's temper; he
assumed the character of the patriot as soon as he cast off that of the boy,
and espoused the side of the popular party with all the ardor of youth;
nor was it long before he had opportunities of distinguishing himself. He
was a warm advocate for the Bill of Exclusion, passed by the Commons to
prevent the succession of the Duke of York to the throne; and regarded
with abhorrence that spirit of despotism which sentenced Sydney and so
many others to the scaffold. At the age of twenty-one he commenced.
author, which employment he continued for nearly half a century, and
that, too, almost uninterruptedly, notwithstanding his various speculations of
a different nature. It cannot be expected that in a sketch of this nature we
should attempt to give anything like a connected account of Defoe's various
literary performances, they being too numerous and multifarious for us to
advert to them separately, even if we conceived that by so doing we should
greatly interest the readers of this the most distinguished of them all.
But the truth is, the majority of them are of that class which it is rather
the province of the bibliographer than the critic to describe. We may,
however, here mention the first production of his pen, which, under the
singular title of "Speculum Crape-gownorum," was a reply to a publica-
tion of Roger L'Estrange's, a noted party writer of that day. In this work
Defoe indulged in rather intemperate language, and while vindicating the
dissenters, reflected in too hostile and indiscriminate a manner upon the
established clergy This was succeeded by a "Treatise against the Turks,"
occasioned by the war between them and the imperialists; and was penned
by Defoe for the purpose of showing his countrymen that, if it was the in-
terest of Protestantism not to increase the influence of a Catholic power, it
was infinitely more so to oppose a Mohammedan one; which, however de-
bateable it might appear to politicians, was almost too obvious a truism to
be entitled to any merit for its sagacity. It is the fate of political publica-
tions quickly to fall into oblivion after the events which call them forth have
passed away; the reputation derived from them is as transitory as the
events themselves, or if the fame of the writer occasionally descends to pos-
terity, it is more than can be affirmed of his writings.
Shortly after this, Defoe proved that he was as ready to support the doc-
trines he advocated by the sword as by the pen. He accordingly joined
the standard of the Duke of Monmouth, when the latter landed in England
with a view of expelling a Catholic prince from the throne, and seating
himself upon it as the defender of Protestantism. The issue of that ad-
venture, and the subsequent fate of the unfortunate, if not perfectly inno-
cent, Monmouth are well known. Happier than the leader of the enter-
prise, it was Defoe's better luck to escape. He returned to the metropo-
lis in safety; and, abandoning politics and warfare, was content for a
while to turn bis attention to the more humble but less stormy pursuits of
trade.
St
He now became a hosier, or rather a hose-factor, that is, a kind of agent
between the manufacturer and retailer; and, according to Mr. Chalmers,
he continued to carry on this concern from 1685 to 1695. It was about
two years after be had thus established himself, that he was admitted a
liveryman of London, on the 26th of January, 1687-'8. Business, however,
did not so entirely absorb his attention but that he found time to engage in
the various controversies that agitated the public mind, and which were
occasioned by the arbitrary measures of James, who, feeling himself secure
xvi
after the removal of so dangerous an enemy as Monmouth, began more
openly to favor the Catholics, and to dispense with the tests intended to
prevent their accepting commissions in the army. This of course excited
both the alarm and indignation of the Protestants, which were by no mean
allayed by the temporizing servility of their own clergy, who exerted their
eloquence in favor of the king's prerogative. Among those who attacked
the doctrine of the dispensing power was Defoe; nor, as may well be im-
agined, was he afterward an unconcerned spectator of the Revolution,-
whose progress he had minutely watched, and whose anniversary he con-
tinued yearly to celebrate as a day marked by the deliverance of his coun-
try from political and religious tyranny. His attachment to the new sov-
ereign was confirmed by the personal notice shown him both by that
prince and his consort; for the "butcher's son" had the honor of an early
introduction to the royal presence.
At this period Defoe resided at Tooting in Surrey, and he had now
launched out into more extensive commercial speculations, having cm-
barked in the Spanish and Portuguese trade, so that he might fairly claim
the title of merchant. The precise time of his going to Spain, whether
before or after the Revolution, cannot be ascertained; but he not only
made a voyage thither, but stayed some time in the country, and acquired
a knowledge of the language. Sincere as was his attachment to the purer
tenets of Protestantism, it did not degenerate into blind prejudice, nor pre-
vent him from doing justice to Catholics: he has accordingly, in his Rob-
inson Crusoe, represented the Spanish character under its most amiable
traits, and in a tone that may almost pass for panegyric. This voyage, as
we have already remarked, doubtlessly contributed to store his observant
mind with many materials for those descriptions of the perils and adven-
tures common to a sea-faring life, that so strongly excite the sympathy of
those who follow his hero across the trackless deep. Nor was he without
some experience of shipwreck, if not actually in his own person, by the loss
of a vessel in which he was a shareholder, and which was wrecked in a
violent storm off the coast of Biscay. It was about this period also that
he traded with Holland; probably for civet, as one of his enemies has
sneeringly styled him a "civet-cat merchant." Besides this he visited
some other parts of the continent, paaticularly Germany;. he did not, how-
ever, relinquish his hose-agency business in consequence of his other en-
gagements, But commercial enterprise did not prove for him the road
to wealth; on the contrary, his speculations involved him in such embar-
rassments, that, in 1692, he was obliged to abscond from his creditors. A
commission of bankruptcy was taken out against him, yet it was afterward
superseded, those to whom he was most in debt agreeing to accept a com-
position on his own bond; and he not only punctually discharged these
claims, but, after he had somewhat retrieved his circumstances, voluntarily
repaid the remainder. This is so much the more to his honor, since so far
from having met with many precedents of similar probity in others, his
misfortunes had been in some degree occasioned by the knavery of unprin-
cipled men, who, availing themselves of the impunity held out to them by
the supineness or the impotency of the law, were then accustomed to set
their creditors at defiance in the most barefaced manner.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF
It was Defoe himself who first called the attention of the legislature to
the intolerable abuses which arose from those sanctuaries, as they were
termed, for criminals and debtors, which then existed in the metropolis;
and to him, consequently, may we be said to be indebted for the abatement
of a nuisance as disgraceful to the national character, as it was injurious to
the industrious and honest portion of the community.
With a view of assisting him in his distress, some of his friends now
}
}
DANIEL DEFOE.
xvii
came forward and offered to settle him as a factor at Cadiz: yet, advan-
tageous as the proposal was, he declined it, preferring to endeavor to re-
trieve his finances by his pen. The country being then engaged in an
expensive war with France, Defoe proposed a scheme to assist the govern-
ment in raising "the ways and means;" and some time afterward he re-
ceived the appointment of accountant to the commissioners of the glass
duty; but it proved only a temporary one, as the duty was repealed in
August, 1699. Probably it was also about the same period that he became
secretary to the tile-works at Tilbury, in which concern he embarked some
money, and was again a sufferer. His "Essay on Projects," published in
January, 1696-7, shows him to have been, if not a very successful speculator
himself, at least a very ingenious and fertile deviser of theoretical plans,
most of which must be allowed to have the welfare of society in view; nor
have they been without influence in leading to many improvements of later
times; among those which have been practically adopted, we may men-
tion his scheme for Friendly Societies and Saving Banks. Were any testi-
mony required in favor of this work, it would be sufficient to quote that of
the celebrated Franklin, who confesses that the impressions he received
from it gave a strong bias to his own pursuits.
If not invariably employed in the active defence of public morals, Defoe's
pen was too honest to betray their interests on any occasion: it was not
always that his topics called for, or even admitted, any direct inculcations
of virtue, but whenever they did, he displayed his earnestness in its behalf.
His publication entitled "The Poor Man's Plea" is a very keen piece of
satire, with a considerable touch of humor, leveled against the vices of the
upper classes of society, in which he urges them to discountenance by their
own conduct the immorality they deem so reprehensible in the vulgar.
The stage too did not escape his castigation; and really its transgressions
were at that period so barefaced and audacious, so offensive even to com-
mon decency, that, whatever infamy there may have been in either toler-
ating or in attempting to defend such a system of lewdness, there could be
no great triumph in exposing that which did not even attempt to conceal
itself.
We have now to notice our author in a somewhat different character-
namely, as a candidate for poetical fame. His satire, entitled the "True-
born Englishman," which was written for the purpose of averting from the
king the abusive reflections cast upon him as a foreigner, haď indeed a
very great run at the time-more, however, on account of the matter than
of the manner since both that and all Defoe's other attempts of the kind
convince us, that, like the great Roman orator, he was an intolerably bad
poet, and not even a decent versifier. Yet could gratitude and enthusiastic
devotion to his prince have supplied the inspiration which the muses de-
nied him, Defoe's poetry would have been of first-rate excellence, so sincere
was his admiration of, so zealous was his devotion to, William III. The
various effusions in rhyme, and the numerous political pamphlets and
tracts which he published at this interval, we must pass by, and come
directly to an event that obtained for our author a rather unenviable species
of distinction. The reign of Anne commenced with much violence and
with cabals between the respective church parties, leading to controversies
that rather fanned than allayed the public ferment. On such an occasion,
it was not to be expected that Defoe would remain passive; assuming the
furious tone of the high-churchmen of the day against the dissenters, he
published a small pamphlet, which was in reality a satire upon the writings
which that party had issued from the press; but the irony was so fine, and
the imitation so exact, that while it was supposed by them to utter the
real sentiments of the writer, it was also interpreted by those whom it
·
xviii
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF
..
was intended to serve as coming from a violent enemy. The "Shortest
way with the Dissenters"-such was its title-created an amazing sensation;
and on its real object being exposed, the high-church party became as
fierce in their indignation, as they had before been warm in their applause.
The author was detected, a reward offered for his apprehension, and he
himself sentenced to be imprisoned in Newgate, and to stand in the pillory;
but the attendance of his friends, and the enthusiasm of the populace in
favor of the champion of religious liberty, converted an ignominious pun-
ishment into a triumph, so that his enemies had as little reason to exult in
their victory, as to be proud of the sagacity they had displayed. If, how-
ever, this event rather increased than diminished Defoe's reputation, it had
a different effect upon his pecuniary affairs; his confinement in Newgate
prevented his attending any longer to his concern at Tilbury, the conse-
quence of which was that it was obliged to be given up; aud thus Defoe
saw himself deprived at once of what had been the source of a handsome
income, for before this affair he was in such thriving circumstances as to
be able to keep his coach. According to his own statement, he lost three
thousand five hundred pounds, a far more considerable sum at that period
than it would be now. There was indeed one way of both speedily and
safely repairing his finances, namely, by accepting the overtures made
him by the ministry, who would gladly have enlisted in their own cause
that pen which had proved so powerful against them; but Defoe was too
independent of soul, and too high principled, to purchase his release upon
terms that would inflict upon him the disgrace the pillory had failed to
effect.
Although a prison is not the most congenial place for literary pursuits,
our author availed himself of the time which the loss of his liberty afforded
him, of occupying his unwelcome leisure from all other business in writing
both in verse and prose. It was here that he published his poem on the
"Reformation of Manners," a sufficiently copious theme in every age, and
afterward continued the subject in another, entitled "More Reformation;"
in which he alludes to his own situation in the following nervous lines,
describing himself as
"A modern tool,
To wit, to parties and himself a fool;
Embroiled with states to do himself no good,
And by his friends themselves misunderstood;
Misconstrued first in every word he said—
By these unpitied, and by those unpaid."
Here we may truly say facit indignatio versus for the caustic tone and an-
tithesis are not unworthy of Pope himself. The political controversial
pieces which he sent forth to the world from his " place of durance vile"
were too numerous for us to specify them; we therefore prefer speaking of
a work of more permanent interest, one in which he may be regarded as
the immediate predecessor of two of the most popular and admired of our
classic writers in the days of Anne-namely, Steele and Addison. Defoe's
"Review," which commenced Feb. 19, 1704, deserves to be considered as
the prototype of our Tatlers and Spectators; and may earn for its author
the appellation of the Father of English Essayists: since notwithstanding
that political intelligence and discussion constituted a great portion of its
contents, it touched upon a variety of other topics bearing upon literature,
manners, and morals; while it was itself hardly in any degree indebted for
this part of its plan to preceding or contemporary publications. Uniformly
assailing vice, or exposing to just ridicule the follies and foibles of society,
Defoe varied his mode of attack, at one time employing grave reasoning
१
DANIEL DEFOÉ.
xix
and serious remonstrance; at another, substituting sarcasm, numor, wit,
and pleasantry, for monitory reproof. To a modern reader, indeed, many
of the topics might seem to lack invention, and to be rather common-place,
merely because they have been so repeatedly handled by later writers, that
both the wit and argument displayed in them have lost their freshness.
This circumstance, however, does not detract from Defoe's intrinsic merit,
or from the praise due to him as an originator; on the contrary, he, in this
respect, only shares the fate common to all those who open a new path in
literature or art, inviting imitators whose number oppress, if they do not
overwhelm them; that Defoe has not since been surpassed in this species
of writing is far more than we can venture to assert; yet it should be
recollected that it is the first navigator of the Atlantic, not those who cross
it in a modern steamboat, who claims the homage of our admiration.
Those who are unacquainted with Defoe the essayist, as well as Defoe
the novelist, will not be able to appreciate the extent of our author's
powers, and the variety of his information. But we have already dwelt
upon the "Review" at greater length than is consistent with the brevity
we must perforce observe; it is time, therefore, to proceed with our nar-
rative, Mr. Harley, afterward earl of Oxford, happened, by a change in
the ministry, to come into power, after Defoe had been about two years
in confinement, and being able to appreciate his abilities-perhaps anxious
to secure them in his own support, he represented his case to the queen,
who generously sent a sum of money to his wife and family, and another to
discharge his fine and prison expenses. Immediately upon his liberation,
Defoe retired to Bury St. Edmunds. It was there that he wrote his mas-
terly treatise, entitled “ Giving Alms no Charity," in which he displays
great practical knowledge, with enlarged and sound views on the causes of
poverty, and on the employment of the poor. In the intervals of these
and other occupations, for it should be observed that he had been sent in
1705 by Harley on a secret mission to the continent, the express object of
which has not transpired-he found leisure to employ his pen on other
subjects, and anticipating his future character of a romance writer, he
intended the "true narrative" of Mrs. Veal's apparition, which was pre-
fixed to a translation of Drelincourt on Death. The supposed stranger from
the other world is made to recommend that performance; and, as such
supernatural testimony was irresistible, the whole impression, which had
before lain on the bookseller's shelves, was quickly sold, and was succeeded
by many others, the work having since passed through forty different edi-
tions. This stratagem certainly does honor to Defoe's ingenuity and pene-
tration; yet whether it be entirely justifiable, considering the tendency of
the deception, may be doubted.
Leaving for a while the account of his literary career, we must now
briefly notice a very important national subject, namely, the Union with
Scotland, in which, besides warmly advocating the measure with his pen,
Defoe was personally employed. At the recommendation of Harley and
Lord Godolphin, by whom he had been recommended to the queen, he
was sent on a mission to Edinburgh, in which city he arrived in October,
1706. Here, it should seem, he was chiefly employed in making calcula-
tions relating to trade and taxes, for the information of the committees of
parliament; he also occupied himself in collecting those documents relative
to the Union which he afterward published. Besides this, he proposed
several plans for encouraging the manufactures, and for promoting the
trade, wealth, and maritime resources of Scotland. After an absence of
about sixteen months, he returned to England in 1708, when his services
obtained for him, from the ministry, an appointment with a fixed salary;
and as it does not appear what was the nature of the office he held, we may
XX
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF
{
conclude it to have been merely a sinecure. Almost immediately after-
ward, his patron Harley was dismissed from office, through the persevering
intrigues of the duchess of Malborough, whom he had supplanted in the
queen's favor, an event that suddenly overclouded Defoe's political pros-
pect. Without compromising his principles, however, he espoused the in-
terest of the succeeding ministry; but although Godolphin treated hin
with consideration, he suffered his pension to fall into arrears, perhaps in
consequence of Defoe's long absence in Seotland, whither he was again
despatched a few months afterward, upon some secret business. In the
following year, 1709, Defoe pnblished a work which, to use the words of an
eminent living critic, "places him among the soundest historians of the
day" and which, according to the testimony of another, would have
handed down his name to posterity, even had he not immortalized himself
by Robinson Crusoe. This was his "History of the Union," which is as
interesting for the minute descriptions it gives of the actors and incidents
in that important event, as for the documents it furnishes.
Still engaged in politics, Defoe's continued and severe attacks against
the Tories and high-church party so exasperated them, that they attempted
to suppress his writings, and even threatened him with prosecutions; their
animosity, however, did not procure for him, from those whose cause he
defended, a degree of favor and support at all commensurate with his long
and able services. He had also to contend with fresh pecuniary losses in
some concern in which he was engaged (1712) with Mr. Wood, a mercer of
Coleshill in Warwickshire, and with the personal abuse with which his
character was assailed by writers who reflected upon him as being a knav-
ish bankrupt. But his political career was now drawing to its close;
having carried on his "Review" for more than nine years, he finally relin-
quished it in May, 1713, when he was again a prisoner in Newgate upon
an indictment preferred against him by his friends the Whigs, as the author
of three treasonable Jacobitical pamphlets whereas the publications in
question were of a directly opposite tendency. The queen once more be-
stowed a free pardon on him, and the malice of his numerous enemies was
defeated. From this time he employed his pen only occasionally on politi-
cal subjects. By the accession of George I. to the throne, Defoe gained
nothing, although his writings had strenuously pleaded the cause of the
House of Hanover during the late reign; and although he had superior
claims upon public gratitude for the zeal with which, during nearly thirty
years, he had not only advocated religious and political independence, but
endeavored to call attention to subjects of paramount importance to the
national prosperity. That this neglect should, in spite of all his philoso-
phy, have occasioned him considerable mortification, is not much to be
wondered at; and to the effect it had upon his health was attributed an
apoplectic attack in the year 1715, from which he continued to suffer for
six months.
T
After so serious a blow to his constitution, and at his advanced period o
life, it might have been expected that he would now lay aside his pen-at
least remit his exertions. Yet it wus subsequently to this apparently
cloudy epoch of his career that the brightest and most durable of his lite-
rary wreaths was won. Great versatility of talent is not often accompanied
by an equal degree of vigor and raciness of intellect; when, however, such
does happen to be the case, it should seem that the former is rather bene-
ficial than otherwise to its possessor, and that change of subject serves to
recruit the mental energies. Defoe at least may be quoted as an extraor-
dinary instance of rejuvenescency of mind in the decline of years. We do
not here allude to his "Family Instructor," although that performance is
one of the most valuable and useful systems of practical morality in our
DANIEL DEFOE.
xxi
language, and has, doubtless, been far more beneficial to society than many
works of even splendid celebrity. It is the series of novels which now
appear in quick succession from his pen, that have won for him an imper-
ishable reputation among the worthies of English literature; nor will his
claims upon our admiration be diminished by considering the extravagant,
unnatural system of romance-writing which had till then prevailed, where
everything was either so artificial or so shadowy, that not a glimpse of real
life was to be discerned. In Defoe's narratives, on the contrary, there is
such an air of downright matter-of-fact and unadorned truth, as to amount
to actual deception; thereby preventing us from crediting the author with
any merit on the score of imagination, contrivance, or invention. Of this
the reader will be amply convinced by the perusal of the present work, on
which it is not necessary that we should expatiate, and we shall therefore
merely advert to the circumstances connected with its origin and publica-
tion. The history of Robinson Crusoe was first published in the year
1719, and its popularity may be said to have been established immediately,
since four editions were called for in about as many months, a circumstance
at that time almost unprecedented in the annals of literature.
It rarely
happens that an author's expectations are surpassed by the success of his
work, however astonishing it may seem to others; yet perhaps even Defoe
himself did not venture to look forward to such a welcome on the part of
the public, after the repulses he had experienced on that of the booksellers;
for incredible as it now appears, the manuscript of the work had been
offered to, and rejected by, every one in the trade, in which respect its des-
tiny was not only similar to that of Paradise Lost, but two of the most cele-
brated literary productions of the present day, namely, Waverley and Childe
Harold; the former of which remained in manuscript ten years, without
any probability of ever seeing the light, although its fame has since ex-
tended itself wherever the English language is known-nay more, has even
penetrated the wilds of Siberia.
Astonishing as was the success of Defoe's romance, it did not deter the
envious from attempting to disparage it. The materials,. it was said, were
either furnished by, or surreptitiously obtained from, Alexander Selkirk, a
mariner who had resided for four years in the desert island of Juan Fernan-
dez, and returned to England in 1711. Very probably, his story, which
then excited considerable interest and attention, did suggest to Defoe the
idea of writing his romance; but all the details and incidents are entirely
his own.
Most certainly Defoe had obtained no papers or written docu-
ments from Selkirk, as the latter had none to communicate. So far, how-
ever, have others been from taxing our author with plagiarism, that they
have, on the contrary, charged him with putting on paper a heap of chime-
ras, to impose upon public credulity. Thus these two contradictory
charges reciprocally destroy each other. An attempt has also been made
to rob him entirely of the brightest jewel in his literary crown, by denying
him to have been the author of Robinson Crusoe, which has been ascribed,
by some, to Arbuthnot; by others, to Defoe's patron, the first earl of Ox-
ford. Those who have wished to gain credit for the latter opinion, assert
that it was composed by that nobleman during his imprisonment in the
Tower, in 1715, on a charge of high treason; and they have urged that the
whole tone of the work, especially of that part toward the conclusion
where an account is given of the exiled nobles of Muscovy, is what would
naturally be suggested by the solitude of a prison. Yet as far as internal
evidence is concerned, that is, indisputably, much stronger in favor of De-
foe; for he had not only been familiar with imprisonment, but was also by
his acquaintance with foreign countries, and his experience in business
and traffic much better qualified to produce a work which displays so
•
xxii
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DANIEL DEFOE.
•
much practical knowledge of things, as well as of man. Indeed, nothing
short of the most conclusive and undeniable testimony of facts to the con-
trary can at all invalidate the claims to be considered as the real author.
Had Robinson Crusoe been the only production of the kind that proceeded
from his pen, there might be better reason for doubting whether he wrote
it; but the various other novels, or rather pieces of fictitious biography,
which he produced, form an additional reason for attributing it to him.
Of these latter we must here speak far more briefly than they deserve;
the "History of Moll Flanders," which was published in 1721, is an ad-
mirably drawn picture of life, and contains an excellent moral lesson,
although many of the scenes it necessarily discloses are coarse and revolt-
ing. The "Life of Colonel Jaque" contains almost as much able delineation
of real life; and in that part of the narrative which gives account of the
hero's residence in Virginia, Defoe has humanely advocated the cause of the
negro slaves. His "Memoirs of a Cavalier," which work is supposed to
have been written about the same time, is rather history attired in the form
of an imaginary piece of biography, than a romance. Indeed, all the de-
tails are so circumstantial and accurate, that it has been mistaken for a
genuine narrative of the events of the civil wars in England and Germany;
and it was actually recommended as the very best account of them by the
great Lord Chatham, with whom it was a favorite book. In like manner
our author's "History of the Plague" imposed upon Dr. Mead, and since
upon others, who have referred to it as an authentic document, and a true
récital of that great national calamity. Here he is the rival of Thucydides
and Boccacia; and depicts the horrors of pestilence as vividly and as mas-
terly as Poussin. It may, however, be imagined by some that this is rather
suspicious praise, and that the work of fiction which can pass as true his-
tory must be cold, matter-of-fact, and tame-repulsive and dry. It is not,
however, in the formal gravity of style that these works resemble history;
but they imitate and reflect the features of the past in their most interesting,
if not their most engaging aspect.
Besides the preceding, and one or two other productions of a similar cast,
Defoe produced that very excellent and popular work entitled "Religious
Courtship," which was first published in 1722, and afterward went through
numerous editions. This and his "Family Instructor" are replete with
lessons of the soundest practical wisdom, and place their author among the
most extensively useful of our English moralists.
Here, however, we must terminate our sketch, having barely left our-
selves room to mention a few particulars relative to the close of his life.
Although the profits accruing from his publications had of late been con-
siderable, and he had been able to give a portion to his daughter Sophia,
who married Mr. Baker, the celebrated natural philosopher, in 1729, yet
he was still doomed to contend with misfortune. In addition to the affic-
tion of bodily infirmity and severe pain, be again fell into great pecuniary
difficulties, and was even arrested. He appears, however, to have recovered
his liberty within a short time; but the unnatural conduct of his son, who
refused to give up the property that had been intrusted to him, with a view
of securing a provision to his mother and two unmarried sisters, was a
heavier blow than any he had before experienced; and the mental anguish
it occasioned doubtless accelerated his death, which occurred on the 24th
of April, 1781. Since that period more than a century has elapsed; and
in that interval many names of considerable eminence in their day have
sunk into irretrievable oblivion; Defoc, also, has lost some portion of the
celebrity he enjoyed with his contemporaries; yet, after deduction, enough
remains to entitle him to a place among the worthies of English literature,
for should all his other productions be forgotten, his Robinson Crusoe must
remain imperishable.
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A

dventures of
Sho
Robinson Crusoe.
&

Chapter One.
Robinson's Family, etc.-His Elopement from his Parents.
WAS born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good
family, though not of that country, my father being a for-
eigner of Bremen, named Kreutznaer, who settled first at
Hull. He got a good estate by merchandise, and leaving off
his trade, lived afterward at York; from whence he had married
my mother, whose relations were named Robinson, a very good family
in that country, and after whom I was so called, that is to say, Rob-
inson 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 companious always called me.
I had two elder brothers, one of whom was lieutenant colonel, to
an English Regiment of foot in Flanders, formerly commanded by
the famous Colonel Lockhart, and was killed at the battle near Dun-
kirk against the Spaniards. What became of my second brother, I
never knew, any more than my father and mother did know 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 aged, had given me a competent share of learn-
ing, as far as house education and a country free school generally go,
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 entrea-
tics and persuasions of my mother and other friends, that there seemed
1
1
2
26
ADVENTURES OF
to be something fatal in that propension of nature, tend.ng directly to
the life of misery which was to befall 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
expostulated very warmly with me upon this snbject; he asked me
what reasons, more than a mere wandering inclination, I had for
leaving his house, and my native country, where I might be well in-
troduced, and had a prospect of raising my fortune, by application
and industry, with a life of ease and pleasure. He told me it was
men of desperate fortunes, on one hand, or of superior fortunes, on
the other, who went abroad upon adventures, aspiring to rise by en-
terprise, and make themselves famous in undertakings 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 what
might be called the upper station of low life, which he had found, by
long experience, was the best stato in the world, the most suited to
human happiness; not exposed to the miseries and hardships, the
labor and sufferings, of the mechanic part of mankind, and not ein-
barrassed with the pride, luxury, ambition, and envy of the upper part
of mankind; he told me, I might judge of the happiness of this state
by one thing, viz., that this was the state of life which all other people
envied; that kings have frequently lamented the miserable conse-
quences of being born to great things, and wished they had been
placed in the middle of two extremes, between the mean and the great;
that the wise man gave his testimony to this as the just standard of
true felicity, when he prayed to have "neither poverty nor riches."
He bade me observe it, and I should always find, that the calamities
of life were shared among the upper and lower part of mankind; but.
that the middle station had the fewest disasters, and was not exposed
to so many vicissitudes as the higher or lower part of mankind: nay,
they were not subjected to so many distempers and uneasinesses, either
of body or mind, as those were, who, by vicious living, luxury, and
extravagancies, on the one hand, or by hard labor, want of nccessa-
ries, and mean and insufficient diet, on the other hand, bring distem-
pers upon themselves by the natural consequences of their way of
living; that the middle station of life was calculated for all kinds of
virtues, and all kinds of enjoyments; that peace and plenty were the
handmaids of a middle fortune; that temperance, moderation, quiet-
ness, health, society, all agreeable diversions and all desirable pleas-
ures, were the blessings attending the middle station of life; that this
MIU
ܘ
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
27
way men went silently and smoothly through the world, and comfort-
ably out of it, not embarrassed with the labors of the hands or of the
head, not sold to the life of slavery for daily bread, or harassed with
perplexed circumstances, which rob the soul of peace, and the body
of rest; not enraged with the passion of envy, or secret burning lust
of ambition for great things; but, in easy circumstances, sliding gently
through the world, and sensibly tasting the sweets of living, without
the bitter; feeling that they are happy, and learning, by every day's
experience, to know it more sensibly.
After this he pressed me earnestly, and in the most affectionate
manner, not to play the young man, nor to precipitate myself into
miseries which nature and the station of life I was born in, seemed to
have provided against; that I was under no necessity of seeking my
bread; that he would do well for me, and endeavor to enter me fairly
into the station of life which he had been just recommending to me;
and that if I was not very easy and happy in the world, it must be
my mere fate or fault that must hinder it; and 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; in a word,
that, as he would do very kind things for me if I would stay and settle
at home, as he directed; so he would not have so much hand in my
misfortunes as to give me any encouragement to go away; and to close
all, he told me I had my elder brother for an example, to whom he
had used the same earnest persuasions to keep him 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 said, he would not cease to pray for me, yet he would venture to
say to me, 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.
I observed in the last part of his discourse, which was truly pro-
phetic, though, I suppose, my father did not know it to be so himself;
I say I observed the tears run down his face very plentifully, especially
when he spoke of my brother who was killed; and that, when he
spoke of my having leisure to repent, and none to assist me, he was
so moved that he broke off the discourse, and told me his heart was
so full, he could say no more to me.
I was sincerely affected with this discourse, as, indeed, who could
be otherwise? and I resolved not to think of going abroad any more,
hut to settle at home, according to my father's desire. But, alas! a
few days wore it all off; and, in short, to prevent an of my father'
28
ADVENTURES OF
+
further importunities, in a few weeks after, I resolved to run quite
away from him. However, I did not act so hastily neither, as my
first heat of resolution prompted, but I took my mother, at a time
when I thought her a little pleasanter than ordinary, and told her that
my thoughts were so entirely bent upon seeing the world that I should
never settle to anything 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; that I was sure, if I
did, I should never serve out my time, and I should certainly run
away from my master before my time was out, and go to sea; and if
she would speak to my father to let me make but one yoyage abroad,
if I came home again, and did not like it, I would go no more, and I
would promise by a double diligence, to recover the 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 a sub-
ject; that he knew too well what was my interest to give his consent
to anything so much to my hurt, and that she wondered how I could
think of any such thing, after the discourse I had had with my father,
and such kind and tender expressions as she knew my father had used
to me; and that, in short, if I would ruin myself, there was no help
for me; but I might depend I should never have their consent to it;
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 mother was willing
when my father was not.
Though my mother refused to move it to my father, yet I heard
afterward, that she reported all the discourse to him; and that my
father, after showing great concern at it, said to her, with a sigh,
"That boy might be happy if he would stay at home, but if he goes
abroad he will be the most miserable wretch that ever was born; I
can give no consent to it."
It was not till almost a year after this that I broke loose, though
in the meantime I continued obstinately deaf to all proposals of set-
tling to business, and frequently expostulating with my father and
mother about their being so positively determined against what they
knew my inclinations prompted me to. But, being one day at Hull,
whither I went casually, and without any purpose of making an
elopement at that time, and one of my companions then going to
London by sea in his father's ship, and prompting me to go with them
by the common allurement of seafaring men, viz., that it should cost
me nothing for my passage, I consulted neither father nor mothor
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
29
$
any more, nor so much as sent them word of it, but left them to hear
of it as they might; without asking God's blessing, or my father's,
without any consideration of circumstances or consequences, and in
an ill hour, God knows.
Chapter Two.
First Adventures at Sea, and Experience of a Maritime Life-Voyage to Guinea,
0
N the 1st of September, 1651, I went on board a ship bound
for London. Never any young adventurer's misfortunes, I
believe, began younger, or continued longer than mine.
The ship had no sooner got out of the Humber than the
wind began to blow, and the waves to rise in a most frightful man-
ner; and, as I had never been at sea before, I was most inexpressibly
sick in body and terrified in mind. I began now seriously to reflect
upon what I had done, and how justly I was overtaken by the judg-
ment of Heaven, for wickedly leaving my father's house. All the
good counsels of my parents, my father's tears, and my mother's en-
treaties, came now fresh into my mind, and my conscience, which
was not yet come to the pitch of hardness to which it has been since,
reproached me with the contempt of advice and the abandonment of
duty.
All this while the storm increased, and the sea, which I had never
been upon before, went very high, though nothing like what I have
seen many times since; no, nor what I saw a few days after; but,
such as it was, enough to affect me then, who was but a young sailor,
and had never known anything of the matter. I expected every wave
would have swallowed us up, and at every time the ship fell down,
as I thought, into the trough or hollow of the sea, we should never
rise more; and, in this agony of mind, I made many vows and reso-
lutions, that if it would please God to spare my life this voyage, if
ever I got my foot once on dry land, I would go directly home to my
father, and never set it into a ship again while I lived; that I would
take his advice, and never run myself into such miseries as these any
more. Now I saw plainly the goodness of his observations about the
middle station of life; how easy, how comfortable he had lived all
his days, and never had been exposed to tempests at sea or troubles
on shore, and I resolved that I would, like a true repenting prodigal
go home to my father.
2
80
ADVENTURES OF
fa
These wise and sober thoughts continued during the storm, and,
indeed, some time after; but the next day, as the wind was abated,
and the sea calmer, I began to be a little inured to it. However, I
was very grave that day, being also a little seasick still-but toward
night the weather cleared up, the wind was quite over, and a charm-
ing fine evening followed; the sun went down perfectly clear, and
rose so the next morning, and having little or no wind and a smooth
sca, the sun shining upon it, the sight was, as I thought, the most de-
lightful that I ever saw.
I had slept well in the night, and was now no more seasick but
very cheerful, looking with wonder upon the sea that was so rough
and terrible the day before, and could be so calm and pleasant in a
little time after.
And now, lest my good resolution should continue, my companion,
who had indeed enticed me away, came to me and said, "Well, Bob,"
clapping me on the shoulder, "how do you do after it? I warrant
you were frightened, wa'n't you, last night, when it blew but a cap
full of wind ?" "A cap full, do you call it ?" said I; "'twas a ter-
rible 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 nothing of such a squall of wind as that. You
are 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 sail-
ors; 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. In a word,
as the sea was returned to its smoothness of surface and settled calm-
ness by the abatement of the storm, so the hurry of my thoughts being
over, my fears and apprehensions of being swallowed up by the sea
forgotten, and the current of my former desires returned, I entirely
forgot the vows and promises I had made in my distress. I found,
indeed, some intervals of reflection, and serious thoughts did, as it
were, endeavor to return again sometimes; but I shook them off, and
roused myself from them as it were from a distemper, and applying
myself to drink and company, soon mastered the return of those fits,
for so I called them, and had, in five or six days, got as complete a
victory over conscience as any young sinner that resolved not to be
troubled with it could desire. But, as I was to have another trial for
it still, and Providence, as in such cases generally it does, resolved to
leave me entirely without excuse; for, if I would not take this for a
2
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
31
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 of.
The sixth day of our being at sea we came into Yarmouth Roads;
the wind having been contrary, and the weather calm, we had made
but little way since the storm. Here we were obliged to come to an
anchor, and here we lay, the wind continuing contrary, viz., at south-
west, for seven or eight days, during which time a great many ships
from Newcastle came into the same roads as the common harbor
where the ships might wait for a wind for the river Thames. We
had not, however, rid here so long but we should have tided up the
river, but that the wind blew too fresh, and after we had lain four
or five days, blew very hard. However, the roads being reckoned as
good as a harbor, the anchorage good, and our ground tackle very
strong, our men were unconcerned, and not in the least apprehensive
of danger, but spent the time in rest and mirth, after the manner of
the sea.
But the eighth day, in the morning, the wind increased, and
we had all hands at work to strike our topmasts, and make every-
thing snug and close, that the ship might ride as easy as possible.
By noon the sea went very high indeed, and our ship rode 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 ahead, and the cables veered out to
the better end.
By this time it blew a terrible storm, indeed; and now I began to
see terror and amazement in the faces of even the seamen themselves.
The master was vigilant in the business of preserving the ship; but, as
he went in and out of his cabin by me, I could hear him softly say to
himself several times, "Lord, be merciful to us! we shall be all lost;
we shall be all undone !" and the like. During these first hurries I was
stupid, lying still in my cabin, which was in the steerage, and cannot
describe my temper. I could ill reassume the first penitence, which I
had so trampled upon, and hardened myself against; I thought that
the bitterness of death had been past, and that this would have been
nothing too, like the first; but when the master himself came by me,
as I said just now, and said we should all be lost, I was dreadfully
frightened. I got up out of my cabin, and looked out; but such a dis-
mal 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 around us; two ships, that rid near us, we found
had cut their masts by the board, being deeply laden; and our men
32
ADVENTURES OF
14
cried out that a ship, which rid about a mile ahead of us, was found-
ered. 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.
The light ships fared the best, as not so much laboring in the sea; but
two or three of them drove, and came close to us, running away, with
only their spritsails out, before the wind. Toward evening, the mate
and boatswain of our ship begged the master to let them cut away the
foremast, which he was very loath to do; but the boatswain protesting
to him that if he did not, the ship would founder, he consented; and
when they had cut away the foremast, the mainmast stood so loose, and
shook the ship so much, that they were obliged to cut it away also, and
make a clear deck.
Any one may judge what a condition I must be in at all this, who
was but a young sailor, and who had been in such a fright before at
but a little. But if I can express, at this distance, the thoughts I had
about me at that time, I was in tenfold more horror of mind upon ac-
count of my former convictions, and the having returned from them to
the resolutions I had wickedly taken at first, than I was at death itself;
and these, added to the terror of the storm, put me into such a condi-
tion, that I can by no words describe it; but the worst was not come
yet; the storm continued with such fury, that the seamen themselves
acknowledged they had never known a worse. We had a good ship,
but she was deep laden, and so swallowed in the sea, that the seamen
every now and then cried out she would founder. It was my advan-
tage, in one respect, that I did not know what they meant by founder
till I inquired. However, the storm was so violent, that I saw what is
not often seen, the master, the boatswain, and some others more sensible
than the rest, at their prayers, and expecting every moment the ship
would go to the bottom. 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
that very word my heart, as I thought, died within me, and I fell back-
ward upon the side of my bed, where I sat in the cabin. However, the
men roused me, and told me that I, who was able to do nothing 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
master seeing some light colliers, who, not able to ride out the storm,
were obliged to slip and run away to sea, and would not come near us,
ordered us to fire a gun, as a signal of distress. I, who knew nothing
what that meant, was so surprised, that I thought the ship had broke,
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
33
or some dreadful thing had happened. In a word, I was so surprised
that I fell down in a swoon. As this was a time when everybody had
his own life to think of, no one, minded me, or what was become of me;
but another man stepped up to the pump, and thrust 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 worked on; but the water increasing in the hold, it was appa-
rent that the ship would founder; and though the storm began to abate
a little, yet it was not possible she could swim till we might run into a
port, so the master continued firing guns for help; and a light ship,
who had rid it out just ahead of us, ventured a boat out to help us. It
was with the utmost hazard that the boat came near us, but it was im-
possible 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 venturing their
lives to save ours, our men cast them a rope over the stern, with a buoy
to it, and then veered it out a great length, which they, after great labor
and hazard, took hold of, and we hauled them close under our stern,
and got all into their boat. It was to no purpose for them or us, after
we were in the boat, to think of reaching their own ship; so all agreed
to let her drive, and only to pull her toward shore as much as we
could: and our master promised them, that if the boat was staved upon
shore, he would make it good to their master; so partly rowing and
partly driving, our boat went away to the northward, sloping toward
the shore almost as far as Winterton-Ness.
We were not much more than a quarter of an hour out of our ship
when we saw her sink, and then I understood, for the first time, what
was meant by a ship's foundering in the sea. I must acknowledge, I
had hardly eyes to look up when the seamen told me she was sinking,
for from that moment 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
before me.
While we were in this condition, the men yet laboring at the oar to
bring the boat near the shore, we could see (when, our boat mounting
the waves, we were able to see the shore) a great many people running
along the strand, to assist us when we should come near; but wẹ made
slow way toward the shore, nor were we able to reach it, till, being
past the lighthouse at Winterton, the shore falls off to the westward,
toward Cromer, and so the land broke off a little the violence of tho
wind. Here we got in, and though not without much difficulty, got ali
safe on shore, and walked afterward on foot to Yarmouth, where, as
•}
2*
54
ADVENTURES OF
+
unfortunate men, we were used with great humanity, as well by the
magistrates of the town, who assigned us good quarters, as by the par-
ticular merchants and owners of ships; and had money given us suffi-
cient to carry us either to London or back to Hull, as we saw fit.
Had I now had the sense to have gone back to Hull, and have gone
home, I had been happy; and my father, an emblem of our blessed
Saviour's parable, had even killed the fatted calf for me; for, hearing
the ship I went in was cast away in Yarmouth Roads, it was a great
while before he had any assurance that I was not drowned.
But my ill fate pushed me on with an obstinacy that nothing could
resist; and though I had several times loud calls from my reason,
and my more composed judgment to go home, yet I had no power to
do it. I know not what to call this, nor will I urge that it is a
secret, overruling decree, that hurries us on to be the instruments of
our own destruction, even though it be before us, and that we rush
upon it with our eyes open. Certainly, nothing but some such decreed
anavoidable misery attending, and which it was impossible for mo
to escape, could have pushed me forward against the calm reasonings
and persuasions of my most retired thoughts, and against two such
visible instructions as I had met with in my first attempt.
**
My comrade, who had helped to harden me before, and who was
the master's son, was now less forward 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 several quarters; I say,
the first time he saw me, it appeared his tone was altered, and, looking
very melancholy and shaking his head, he asked me how I did; tell-
ing his father who I was, and how I had come this voyage only for a
trial, in order to go farther abroad. His father, turning to me, with
a grave and concerned tone: "Young man," says he, "you had never
ought 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 to expect if you persist. Perhaps this has all befallen
us on your account, like Jonah in the ship of Tarshish. Pray," con-
tinues 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," said he
"that such an unhappy wretch should have come into my ship? I
would not set my foot in the same ship with thee again for a thou-
"
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
35
sand pounds." This indeed was, as I said, an excursion of his spirits,
which were yet agitated by the sense of his loss, and was farther than
he could have authority to go. However, he afterward talked very
gravely to me; exhorted me to go back to my father, and not tempt
Providence to my ruin ; told 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 dis-
asters and disappointments, till your father's words are fulfilled upon
you."
We parted soon after, for I made him little answer, and I 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 with myself 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 motions that offered to my thoughts;
and it immediately occurred to me, how I should be laughed at among
the neighbors, and should be ashamed to see, not my father and
mother only, but even everybody else. From whence I have often
since observed how incongruous and irrational the common temper of
mankind is, especially of youth, to that reason which ought to guide
them in such cases, viz., that they are not ashamed to sin, and yet are
ashamed to repent; not ashamed of the action, for which they ought
justly to be esteemed fools; but are ashamed of the returning, which
only can make them be esteemed wise men.
In this state of life, however, I remained some time, uncertain
what measures to take, and what course of life to lead. An irresist
ible reluctance continued to going home; and as I stayed awhile, the
remembrance of the distress I had been in wore off, and as that
abated, the little motion I had in my desires to a return wore off with
it, till at last I quite laid aside the thoughts of it, and looked out for
a voyage. 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 commands of my father; I say, the same influence, whatever
it was, presented the most unfortunate of all enterprises 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 great misfortune, that in all these adventures I did not
ship myself as a sailor; whereby, though I might indeed have worked
a little harder than ordinary, yet, at that time, I had learned the duty
-
36
ADVENTURES OF
મ
and office of a foremastman, and in time might have qualified myself for
a mate or lieutenant, if not a master; but as it was always my fate to
choose for the worse, so I did here; for having money in my pocket,
and good clothes upon my back, I would always go on board in the
habit of a gentleman; and so I neither had any business in the ship,
nor learned to do any. It was my lot, first of all, to fall into pretty
good company in London; which does not always happen to such
loose and misguided 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 fell acquainted with the master of a ship, who had
been on the coast of Guinea, and who, having had very good success
there, was resolved to go again. He, taking a fancy to my conversa-
tion, which was not at all disagreeable at that time, and hearing me
say I had a mind to see the world, told me, that if I would go the voy-
age with him, I should be at no expense; I should be his messmate and
his companion; and if I could carry anything 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 disinterested honesty of my
friend the captain, I increased very considerably; for I carried about
forty pounds of such toys and trifles as the captain directed me to
buy. This forty pounds I had mustered together by the assistance
of some of my relations whom I corresponded 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 in-
tegrity and honesty of my friend the captain; under whom I also got
a competent knowledge of mathematics and the rules of navigation,
learned how to keep an account of the ship's course, take an observation,
and, in short, to understand some things that were needful to be un-
derstood by a sailor; for, as he took delight to instruct me, I took
delight to learn; and, in a word, 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 yielded me in London, at my
return, almost three hundred pounds, and this filled me with those
aspiring thoughts which have since so completed my ruin. Yet even
in this voyage I had my misfortunes, too; particularly that I was
continually sick, being thrown into a violent calenture by the exces-
sive heat of the climate; our principal trading being upon the
coast, from the latitude of fifteen degrees north, even to the Line itself.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
37
Chapter Three
Robinson's Captivity at Sallee-Escape with Xury-Arrival at the Brazils.
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 voyage that
ever man made; for though I did not carry quite a hundred pounds
of my new-gained wealth, so that I had two hundred pounds 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: and the first was this,
viz.: our ship, making her course toward the Canary Islands, or
rather between those islands and the African shore, was surprised, in
the gray of 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 gained 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, in-
stead 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, and pouring in also
his small shot from near two hundred 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 ourselves; but laying
us on board the next time upon our quarter, he entered sixty men upon
our decks, who immediately fell to cutting and hacking the sails and
rigging. We plied them with small shot, half-pikes, 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 disabled, and
three of our men killed and eight wounded, we were obliged to yield,
and were carried all prisoners into Sallee, a port belonging to the
Moors.
The usage I had there was not so dreadful as at first I apprehended;
nor was I carried up the country 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 busi-
w
J
,
38
ADVENTURES OF
*
ness.
At this surprising change of my circumstances, from a merchant
to a miserable slave, I was perfectly overwhelmed; and now looked
back upon my father's prophetic discourse to me, that I should be
miserable, and have none to relieve me; which I thought was now so
effectually brought to pass, that it could not be worse; that now the
-hand of IIeaven had overtaken me, and I was undone, without redemp-
tion. 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 patron, or master, had taken me home to his house, so I
was in hopes he would take me with him when he went to sea again,
believing that it would, some time or other, be his fate to be taken by
a Spanish or Portuguese 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 common drudgery of slaves about his house; and when he came
home again from his cruise, ho ordered me to lie in the cabin, to look
after the ship.
Here I meditated nothing but my escape, and what method I might
take to effect it, but found no way that had the least probability in it.
Nothing presented to make the supposition of it rational; for I had
nobody to communicate it to that would embark with me; no fellow-
slave, no Englishman, Irishman, or Scotchman, there but myself; so
that for two years, though I often pleased myself with the imagina-
tion, yet I never had the least encouraging prospect of putting it in
practice.
After about two years, an odd circumstance presented itself, which
put the old thought of making some attempt for my liberty again in
my head. My patron lying at home longer than usual, without fitting
out his ship, which, as I heard, was for want of money, he used con-
stantly, once or twice a week, sometimes oftener, if the weather was
fair, to take the ship's pinnacle, 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 catch-
ing 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 in a stark 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 labored all day, and all the next night, and when the morn-
ing came, we found we had pulled off to sea, instead of pulling in for
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
39
the shore, and that we were at least two leagues from the shore: how-
ever, we got well in again, though with a great deal of labor, and
some danger, for the wind began to blow pretty fresh in the morning;
but particularly we were all very hungry.
But our patron, warned by this disaster, resolved to take more care
of himself for the future; and having lying by him the longboat of our
English ship he had taken, he resolved he would not go a fishing any
more without a compass and some provision; so he ordered the car-
penter of the ship, who was an English slave, to build a little state-
room or cabin in the middle of the longboat, 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 a shoulder-of-mutton sail, and the boom jibbed 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 eat on, with some
small lockers to put in some bottles of such liquor as he thought fit to
drink, and particularly his bread, rice, and coffee.
We went frequently out with this boat a fishing, and as I was most
dexterous to catch fish for him, he never went without me.
It hap-
pened that he had appointed to go out in this boat, either for pleasure
or for fish, with two or three Moors of some distinction in that place,
and for whom he had provided extraordinarily, and had therefore sent
on board the boat, overnight, a larger store of provisions than ordinary,
and had ordered me to get ready three fusees, 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 directed, and waited the next morning
with the boat washed clean, her ensign and pendants out, and every-
thing to accommodate his guests: when, by-and-by, my patron came
on board alone, and told me his guests had put off going, upon some
business that fell out, and ordered me with a 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 to his house: all which I prepared
to do.
This moment my former notions of deliverance darted into my
thoughts, for now I found I was like to have a little ship at my com-
mand; and my master being gone, I prepared to furnish myself, not
for a fishing business, but for a voyage; though I knew not, neither did
I so much as consider, whither I should steer; for anywhere, to get
out of that place, was my way.
I
40
ADVENTURES OF
$
My first contrivance was to make a pretence to speak to this Moor,
to get something for our subsistence on board; for I told him we must
not presume to eat of our patron'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 patron'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 con-
veyed also a great lump of beeswax into the boat, which weighed about
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 afterward, es-
pecially the wax, to make candles. Another trick I tried upon him,
which he innocently came into also; his name was Ishmael, whom
they call Muley, or Moley: so I called to him; "Moley," said I,“ our
patron's guns are on board the boat, can you get a little powder and
shot? it may be we may kill some alcamies (fowls like our curlews)
for ourselves, for I know he keeps the gunner's stores in the ship
"Yes," says he, "I will bring some;" and accordingly he brought a
great leather pouch, which held about a pound and a half of powder,
or rather more, and another of shot, that had five or six pounds, with
some bullets, and put all into the boat: at the same time I found some
powder of my master's in the great cabin, with which I filled one of
the large bottles in the case, which was almost empty, pouring what
was in it into another; and thus furnished with everything 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 set
us down to fish. The wind blew from 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 last reached the bay of Cadiz: but my reso-
lutions were, blow which way it would, I would be gone from the hor-
rid place where I was, and leave the rest to fate.
>>
•
After we had fished some time and catched nothing, for when I had
fish on my book 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 farther off." He, thinking no harm, agreed;
and being at the head of the boat, set the sails; and as I had the
helm, I ran the boat near a league farther, and then brought to as if I
would fish. Then giving the boy the helm, I stepped forward to where
the Moor was, and I took him by surprise, with my arm under his
waist, and tossed him clear overboard into the sea. He rose immedi-
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
41
Y
ately, for he swam like a cork, and called to me, begged to be taken
in, and told me he would go all the world over 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 stepped into the
cabin and fetched 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 calm; make the best of your way to shore, and I
will do you no harm; but if you come near the boat, I will shoot you
through the head; for I am resolved 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 excellent 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 will make you a great
man; but if you will not stroke your face to be true to me" (that is,
swear by Mahomet and his father's beard), "I must throw you into the
sea too." The boy smiled in my face, and spoke so innocently, that I
could not mistrust him; and swore to be faithful to me, and go all
over the world with me.
While I was in view of the Moor that was swimming, I stood out di-
rectly to sea with the boat, rather stretching to windward, that they might
think me gone toward the strait's mouth (as, indeed, any one, that had
beon in their wits, must have been supposed to do); for who would have
supposed we were sailing 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 never once go on shore
but we should be devoured by savage beasts, or more merciless sava-
ges 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 to-
ward the east, that I might keep in with the shore; and having a 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
made the land, I could not be less than one hundred and fifty miles
south of Sallce, quite beyond the Emperor of Morocco's dominions, or
indeed, of any other king thereabout, 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
1
ADVENTURES OF
1
42
CC
had sailed in that manner five days; and then the wind shifing to the
southward, I concluded also that if any of our vessels were in chase
of me, they also would now give over; so I ventured to make 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 prin-
cipal 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
dreadful noises of the barking, roaring and howling of wild creatures,
of we knew not what kinds, 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 will not; 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 Xury, laughing; "make them run away." Such
English Xury spoke by conversing among us slaves. However, I was
glad to see the boy so cheerful, and I gave him a dram out of our
patron's case of bottles 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. I say still, for we slept none, for in two or three hours we
saw vast 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 themselves, for the pleasure of cooling themselves; and they
made such hideous howlings and yellings, that I never, indeed, heard
the like.
Xury was dreadfully frightened, and, indeed, so was I too; but we
were both more frightened when we heard one of these mighty crea-
tnres swimming toward 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 so for aught I know;
but poor Xury cried 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 off to
sea; they cannot follow us far." I had no sooner said so but I per-
ceived the creature, whatever it was, within two oars' length, which
something surprised me; however, I immediately stepped to the cabin
door, and taking up my gun, fired at him; upon which he immedi-
ately turned about, and swam to the shore again.
But it was impossible to describe the horrible noises and hideous
cries and howlings that were raised, as well upon the edge of the
shore as higher within the country, upon the noise or report of the
gun; a thing, I believe, those creatures had never heard before. This
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
43
हु
7
convinced me 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 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 and
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 away. "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 patron's case of bottles, which I mentioned before,
and we hauled in the boat as near the shore as we thought proper
and so waded to shore, carrying nothing but our arms and two jars
for water.
>>
(6
I did not care to go out of sight of the boat, fearing the coming of
canoes with savages down the river, 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 toward me. I thought he was pursued by some savage,
or frightened by some wild beast, and I therefore ran forward to help
him, but when I came nearer to him I saw something hanging over
his shoulders, which was a creature that he had shot, like a hare, but
different in color, and longer legs; however, we were very glad of it,
and it was very good meat. But the great joy that poor Xury came
with, was to tell me he had found good water, and seen no wild mans.
But we found, afterward, 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 flowed but a little way up; so we
filled our jars, and having a fire, feasted on the hare we had killed,
and prepared to go on our way, having seen no footsteps of any hu-
man 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 from the coast; but as I had no instruments to take an
observation, to find what latitude we were in, and did not exactly
know, or at least remember what latitude they were in, I knew not
where to look for them, or when to stand off to sea toward them,
44
ADVENTURES OF
otherwise I might now have easily found some of these islands; but
my hope was, that if I stood along this coast till I came to the part
where the English traded, I should find some of their vessels upon
their usual design of trade, that would relieve and take us in.
I
By the best of my calculation, the place where I now was, must be
that country which, lying between the Emperor of Morocco's domin-
ions and the Negroes, lies waste and uninhabited, except by wild
beasts, the Negroes having abandoned it and gone farther south, for
fear of the Moors, and the Moors not thinking it worth inhabiting, by
reason of its barrenncss; and, indeed, both forsaking it because of the
prodigious numbers of tigers, lions, leopards, and other furious crea-
tures which harbor 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—and, indeed, for near a hundred miles together upon this coast,
we saw nothing but a waste, uninhabited country, by day, and heard
nothing but howlings and roaring of wild beasts by night.
Once or twice, in the daytime, I thought I saw the Pico of Tene-
riffe, being the top of the mountain Teneriffe, in the Canaries, and
had a great mind to venture out, in hope of reaching thither, but hav-
ing tried twice, I was forced in again by contrary winds, the sea also
going too high for my little vessel, so I resolved to pursue my first
design, and keep along the shore.
Several times I was obliged to land for fresh water, after we had
left this place, and once in particular, being early in the morning, we
came to an anchor under a little point of land, which was pretty high,
and the tide beginning to flow we lay still, to go farther 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
monster, indeed, for it was a terrible great lion, that lay on the side
of the shore, under the shade of a piece of the hill, that hung, as it
were, over him.
(C
Xury," says I, "you shall go on shore and kill him." Xury looked
frightened, and said, "Me kill! he eat me at one mouth;" one mouth-
ful, he meant. However, I said no more to the boy, but bade him be
still, and I took our 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 a 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,
4
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
45
but he lay so, with his leg raised a little above his nose, that the
slugs 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 up on three legs and gave the most hideous roar that ever I heard.
I was a little surprised 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 make but little noise, but lie 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 a little
gun in one hand, swam to 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 despatched him quite.
This was game, indeed, to us, but it was no food, and I was very
sorry to lose three charges of powder and shot upon a creature that
was good for nothing 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. How-
ever, 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 value 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
both up the whole day; but at last we got off the hide of him, and
spreading it on the top of our cabin, the sun effectually dried it in
two days' time, and it afterward served me to lie upon.
After this stop we made on to the southward continually, 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; that is to say, any where about the Cape de
Verd, where I was in hopes to meet with some European ship; and
if I did not, I knew not what course I had to take, but to seek for the
islands or perish among the Negroes. I knew that all the ships from
Europe, which sailed either to the coast of Guinea or to Brazil, or to
the East Indies, made this cape or those islands; and, in a word, I
put the whole of my fortune upon this single point, either that I must
meet with some ship or must perish.
When I had pursued this resolution about ten days longer, as I
have said, I began to see that the land was inhabited; and in two or
46
ADVENTURES OF
новить
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 at a distance, but
talked to them by signs, as well as I could, and particularly made
signs for something to eat. They beckoned 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 dry flesh and some corn, such as the produce of their coun-
try, 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.
We made signs of thanks to them, for we had nothing to make them
amends; but an opportunity offered 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 toward 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, because, in the first place, those ravenous
creatures seldom appear but in the night, and in the second place, we
found the people terribly frightened, especially the women.
The man
that had the lance, or dart, did not fly from them, but the rest did;
however, as the two creatures ran directly into the water, they did
not seem to offer to fall upon any of the Negroes, but plunged them-
selves into the sea, and swam about, as if they had come for their di-
version. At last, one of them began to come nearer our boat than I at
first expected; but I lay ready for him, for I loaded my gun with all
possible expedition, and bade Xury load both the others. As soon as
he came fairly within my reach, I fired, and shot him directly in the
head;
immediately he sunk down into the water, but rose instantly,
and plunged up and down, as if he was struggling for life, and so indeed
@
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
47
he was.
He immediately made to the shore; but between the wound,
which was his mortal hurt, and the strangling of the water, he died
just before he reached the shore.
It is impossible to express the astonishment of these poor creatures,
at the noise and fire of my gun; some of them were even ready to die
for fear, and fell down as dead with the very terror; but when they
saw the creature dead, and sunk in the water, and that I made signs to
them to come to the shore, they took heart and came to the shore, 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 dragged him on shore, and found that
it was a most curious leopard, spotted, and fine to an admirable de-
grec; and the Negroes held up their hands with admiration, to think
what it was I had killed him with.
The other creature, frightened 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; nor could I, at that distance, know what it was.
I found quickly the Negroes were for eating the flesh of this creature,
so I was willing to have them take it as a favor from me; which, when
I made signs to them that they might take him, they were very thank-
ful for. Immediately they fell to work with him; and though they
had no knife, yet with a sharpened piece of wood they took off his skin
as readily, and 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 accepted. I then made signs
to them for some water, and held out one of my jars to them, turning
it bottom upward, to show 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 to me, as before, and
I sent Xury on shore with my jars, and filled them all three. The wo-
men 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 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 plainly land on the other side, to seaward; then I conclud-
:
48
ADVENTURES OF
4
*
ed, as it was most certain indeed, 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 best
to do; for if I should be taken with a gale of wind, I might neither
reach one nor the 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, “Master! master! a ship with a sail!” and the foolish boy was
frightened out of his wits, thinking it must needs be some of his mas-
ter'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 for the coast of Guinea, for Negroes. But
when I observed 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.
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, they supposed, must belong
to some ship that was lost; so they shortened sail to let me come up.
I was encouraged with this, and as I had my patron's ensign 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 Scotch 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. They then bade me come on board, and very kindly took me
in, and all my goods.
It was an inexpressible joy to me, which any one will believe, that
I was thus delivered, as I esteemed it, from such a miserable and al-
most hopeless condition as I was in; and 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 Brazils.
« For,"
#
•
49
says he, "I have saved your life on no other terms than 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 condition. Besides," said he, “when I carry
you to the Brazils, so great a way from your own country, if I should
take from you what you have, you will be starved there, and then I only
take away that life I had given. No, no, Senhor Ingles" (Mr. English-
man), says he, "I will carry you thither in charity, and these things will
help to buy your subsistence there, and your passage home again."
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
›
Chapter Foux .
He Settles in the Brazils as a Planter-Makes another Voyage, and is Ship-
wrecked.
20
S he was charitable in this proposal, so he was just in the
performance, to a tittle: for he ordered the seamen, that
none should offer to touch anything I had: then he took
everything into his own possession, and gave me back an
exact inventory of them, that I might have them, even so much as
my three earthen 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
everything, 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 hand to pay me eighty pieces of eight for it at Brazil; 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
liberty, who had assisted me so faithfully in procuring my own.
However, when I let him know my reason, he owned it to be just,
and offered me this medium, that he would give the boy an obliga-
tion to set him free in ten years, if he turned Christian; upon this,
and Xury saying he was willing to go with him, I let the captain
have him.
We had a very good voyage to the Brazils, and arrived in the Bay
de Trodos los Santos, or All Saints' Bay, in about twenty-two days
after. And now I was once more delivered from the rest miserabló
of all conditions of life; and what to do next with myself, I was now
to consider.
3
:
50
ADVENTURES OF
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 everything I had in the ship to
be punctually delivered to me; and what I was willing to sell, he
bought of me; such as the case of bottles, two of my guns, and a
piece of the lump of beeswax-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 Brazils.
I had not been long here, before I was 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, by that means, with the manner of
planting and of making sugar; and seeing how well the planters
lived, and how they got rich suddenly, I resolved, if I could get a
license to settle there, I would turn planter among them; endeavor-
ing in the meantime, to find out some way to get my money, which I
had left in London, remitted to me. To this purpose, getting a kind
of letter of naturalization, I purchased as much land that was un-
cured as my money would reach, and formed a plan for my planta-
tion and settlement; such a one as might be suitable to the stock
which I proposed to myself to receive from England.
I had a neighbor, a Portuguese of Lisbon, but born of English
parents, whose name was Wells, and in much such circumstances as
I was.
I call him my neighbor, because his plantation lay next to
mine, and we went on very sociably together. My stock was but
low, as well as his; and we rather planted for food than anything
else, for about two years. However, we began to increase, and our
land began to come in order; so that the third year we planted 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 dò wrong, that never did right, was no great
wonder. I had no remedy, but to go on; I had got into an employ-
ment quite remote to my genius, and directly contrary to the life I
delighted in, and for which I forsook my father's house, and broke
through all is good advice. Nay, I was coming into the very mid-
ole station, upper degree of low life, which my father advised me
to Lofore; and which, if I resolved to go on with, I might as well
have stayed at home, and never have fatigued myself in the world, as
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
51
I had done; and I often used to say to myself, I could have done this
as well in England, among my friends, as to have gone five thousand
miles off to do it among strangers and savages, ir 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 neigh-
bor; no work to be done, but by the labor 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 reficct, that when they compare their present
conditions 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 reflected 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 exceedingly
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
his lading, and preparing for his 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: "Senhor Ingles," says he (for
so he always called me), "if you will give me letters, and a procura-
tion here in form to me, with orders to the person who has your
money in London, to send your effects to Lisbon, to such persons 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 the same way; and, if it mis-
carry, you may have the other half to have recourse to for your sup-
ply." This was so wholesome advice, and looked so friendly, that
I could not but be convinced that it was the best course I could take;
so I accordingly prepared letters to the gentlewoman with whom I
left my money, and a procuration to the Portuguese captain, as he
desired me.
។
I wrote the English cnptain's widow a full account of all my ad-
ventures; my slavery escape, and how 1 had met with the Portu
52.
ADVENTURES OF
guese captain at sea, the humanity of his behavior, and what condi-
tion I was now in, with all other necessary directions for my supply;
and when this honest captain came to Lisbon, he found means, by
some of the English merchants there, to send over, not the order
only, but a full account of my story to a merchant at 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 wrote for, sent them directly to him at
Lisbon, and he brought them all safely to me at the Brazils; 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, for I was surprised with joy of it; and my good steward, the
captain, had laid out the five pounds which my friend had sent him
as a present for himself, to purchase and bring me over a servant,
under bond for six years' service, and would not accept of any con-
sideration 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 par-
ticularly valuable and desirable in the country, I found means to sell
them to a very great advantage; so that I might say I had more than
four times the value of my first cargo, and was now infinitely beyond
my poor neighbor, I mean in the advancement of my plantation; for
the first thing I did I bought me a negro slave, and a European ser-
vant also; I mean another besides that which the captain brought me
from Lisbon.
But as abused prosperity is oftentimes made the very means of our
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 neighbors, and these fifty rolls, being each of above one hun-
dred pounds weight, were well cured, and laid by against the return
of the fleet from Lisbon; and now, increasing in business and in
wealth, my head began to be full of projects and undertakings be-
yond my reach, such as are, indeed, often the ruin of the best heads in
business. Had I continued in the station I was now in, I had room
for all the happy things to have yet befallen me, for which my father
so earnestly recommended a quiet, retired life, and which he had so
(
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
53
sensibly described the middle station of life to be full of; but other
things attended me, and I was still to be the wilful agent of all my
own miseries; and, particularly, to increase my fault, and double the
reflections upon myself, which in my future sorrows I should have
leisure to make, all these miscarriages were procured by my apparent
obstinate adhering to my foolish inclination, of wandering about, and
pursuing that inclination in contradictior t. the clearest views of
doing myself good in a fair and plain pursuit of these prospects, and
those measures of life, which nature and Providence concurred to pre
sent me with, and to make my duty.
As I had once done thus in breaking away from my parents, so I
could not be content now, but I must go and leave the happy view I
had of being a rich and thriving man in my new plantation, only to
pursue a rash and immoderate desire of rising faster than the nature
of the thing admitted; and thus I cast myself down again into the
deepest gulf of human misery that ever man fell into, or perhaps
could be consistent with life, ani a state of health in the world.
To come then, by just degrees, to the particulars of this part of my
story. You may suppose, that having now lived almost four years in
the Brazils, and beginning to thrive and prosper very well upon my
plantation, I had not only learned the language, but had contracted an
acquaintance and friendship among my fellow-planters, as well as
among the merchants of St. Salvador, which was our port; and that,
in my discourses among them, I had frequently 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 on the coast for
trifles-such as beads, toys, knives, scissors, hatchets, bits of glass,
and the like-not only gold-dust, Guinea grains, elephants' teeth, &c.,
but negroes, for the service of the Brazils, in great numbers.
They listened always very attentively to my discourses on these
heads, but especially to that part which related to the buying negroes,
which was a trade at that time not only not far entered into, but, as
far as it was, had been carried on by the assientos, or permission of
the kings of Spain and Portugal, and engrossed from the public; so
that few negroes were bought, and those excessively dear.
It happened, 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
using very much upon what I had discoursed with them of the last
it and they came to make a secret proposal to me; and, after
j3 ning me to secrecy. they told me that they had a mind to St out
•
54
ADVENTURES OF
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a ship to go to Guinca; that they had all plantations as well as 1, and
were straitened for nothing so much as servants; that it was a trade
that could not be carried on, because they could not publicly sell the
negroos 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; and, in a word, the question was,
whether I would go their supercargo in the ship, to manage the trad-
ing part upon the coast of Guinea; and they offered me that I should
have an 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 a settlement and plantation of his own to look
after, which was in a fair way of coming to be very considerable, and
with a good stock upon it. But for me, that was thus entered and
established, and had nothing to do but go on as I 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 increasing too; for me to think of such a voyage
was the most preposterous thing that ever man, in such circumstan-
ces, 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 undertake 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 entered
into writings or covenants to do so; and I made a formal will, dis-
posing of my plantations and effects in case of my death; making the
captain of the ship that saved my life, as before, my universal heir,
but obliging him to dispose of my effects as I had directed in my
will; one half of the produce being to himself, and the other to be ship-
ped to England. In short, I took all possible caution to preserve my
effects and to keep up my plantation; had I used half as much pru-
denco to have looked into my own interest, and have made a judg-
ment of what I ought to have done, and not to have done, I had cer-
tainly never gone away from so prosperous an undertaking, leaving
all the probabie views of a thriving circumstance, and gone a voyage
to sea, attended with all its common hazards, to say nothing of th
reasons I had to expect particular misfortunes to myself.
But I was hurried on, and obeyed blindly the dictates of my far..y,
*
ન
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
55
rather than my reason; and, accordingly, the slip being fitted out,
and the cargo furnished, and all things done as by agreement by my
partners in the voyage, I went on board in an evil hour again, the
first of September, 1659, being the same day eight years that I went
from my parents at Hull, in order to act the rebel in their authority
and the fool to my own interest.
Our ship was about one hundred and twenty sons 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 looking-glasses, knives, scissors, hatchets, and the
like.
✔
The very same day I went on board we set sail, standing 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 latitude, which, it seems, was the manner of their course in
those days, we had very good weather, only excessively hot all the
way upon our own coast, till we came to the height of Cape St. Au-
gustino: from whence, keeping farther off at sea, we lost sight of
land, and steered as if we were bound for the isle Fernando de Nor-
onha, holding our court N. E. by N., and leaving those isles on the
east. In this course wo passed the Line in about twelve days' time,
and were, by our last observation, in seven degrees twenty-two min-
utes northern latitude, when violent tornado, or hurricane, took us
quite out of our knowledge: began from the southeast, came about
to the northwest, and then settled in the northeast; from whence it
blew in such a terrible manner, that for twelve days together we
could do nothing but drive, and, scudding away before it, let it carry
us whithersoever fate and the fury of the winds directed; and during
these twelve days, I need not say that I expected every day to be
swallowed up, nor, indeed, did any in the ship expect to save their lives.
In this distress we had, besides the terror of the storm, cre of our
men died of the calenture, and one man and a boy washed ove board.
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 difference west from Cape St. Augustino; so that he found
39 was got upon the coast of Guiana, or the north part of Brazil, be-
›nd the river Amazon, toward that of the river Oronoco, commonly
cailed the Great River; and began to consult with me what course he
should take, for the ship was leaky and very much disabled, and he
was for ging directly back to the coast of Brazil
→
56
ADVENTURES OF
I was positively against that, and looking over the charts of the
seacoasts 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 Carribee islands, and therefore resolved to stand away for Barba-
does; which, by keeping off to sea, to avoid the indraft of the bay or
gulf 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 assistance, both to our ship and our-
selves.
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 second storm came
upon us, which carried us away with the same impetuosity westward,
and drove us so out of the very 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 returning to our own coun-
try.
In this distress, the wind still blowing very hard, one of our men,
early in the morning, cried out, "Land!" and we had no rooner run
out of the cabin to look out, in hopes of seeing whereabouts in the
world we were, than the ship struck upon a sand, and in a moment,
her motion being so stopped, the sea broke over her in such a man-
ner, that we expected we should all have perished immediately; and
we were immediately driven into our close quarters, to shelter us from
the very foam and spray of the sea.
It is not easy for any one who has not been in the like condition to
describe or conceive the consternation of men in such circumstances:
we knew nothing where we were, or upon what land it was we were
driven, whether an island or the main, whether inhabited or not in-
habited; 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 wind, by a kind
of miracle, should immediately turn about. In a word, we sat look-
ing upon one 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 expectation, the ship did not break yet, and that the master said
the wind began to abate.
Now, though we thought that the win1 did a little abate, yet the
1
+
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
57
ship having thus strr upon the sand, and sticking too fast for us to
expect her getting off, we were in a dreadful condition indeed, and
had nothing to do bat to think of saving our lives as well as we could.
We had a boat at our stern just before 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 courtful thing; however, there was no
room to debate, for wo fancied the ship would break in pieces every
minute, and some told us she was actually broken already.
In this distress, the mate of our vessel laid hold of the boat, and
with the help of the rest of the men, they got her flung over the ship's
ide; and getting all into her, we let her go, and committed our-
selves, being eleven in number, to God's mercy, and the wild
seu;
for
though the storm was abated considerably, yet the sea went dread-
fully 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, that 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 anything with it; so we worked at the
oar toward the land, though with heavy hearts, like men going to
execution; for we all knew that when the boat came nearer to the
shore, she would be dashed in a thousand pieces by the breach of the
sea. Ilowever, we committed our souls to God in the most earnest
manner; and the wind driving us toward the shore, we hastened our
destruction with our own hands, pulling as well as we could toward
land.
Stad
•
What the shore was- whether rock or sand, whether steep or
sa al we knew not; the only hope that could rationally give us the
least shador of expectation, was, if we might happen into some bay
or gulf, or the mouth of sorae river, where by great chance we might
have run our boat in, or got under the lee of the land, and perhaps
made smooth water. But nothing of this appeared; and as we made
nearer and nearer the shore, the land looked more frightful than the sea.
After we had rowed, or rather driven, about a league and a half, as
wo reckoned it, a raging wavo, mountain-like, came rolling astern of
us, and plainly bade us expect the coup de grace. In a word, it took
as with such fury, that it overset the boat at once; and separating us,
as well from the boat as from one another, gave us not time hardly to
say, " O God !” for ws were all swallow? 1 up in a moment.
-
3*
58
ADVENTURES OF
Nothing can describe the confusion of thought which I felt, when 1
sunk into the water; for though I swam very well, yet I could not de-
liver myself from the waves so as to draw my breath, till that wave
having driven me, or rather carried me a vast way on toward the
shore, and having spent itself, went 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 endeavored to
make on toward the land as fast as I could, before another wayo
should return and take me up again; but I soon found it was impos-
sible 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 cr strengsh to
contend with; my business was to hold my breath, and raise myselt
upon the water, if I could, and so, by swimming, to preserve my
breathing, and pilot myself toward the shore, if possible--my grea!-
est concern now being that the wave, as it would carry me a greas
way toward the shore when it came on, might not carry me bark
again with it when it gave back toward the sea.
The wave that came upon me again buried me at once twenty or
thirty feet deep in its own body; and I could feel myself carried with
mighty force and swiftness toward the shore, a very great way; but
I held my breath, and assisted myself to swim still forward with all
my might. I was ready to burst with holding my breath, when, as I
felt myself rising up, so, to my immediate relief, I found 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 covered again with
water a good while, but not so long but I held it out; and finding the
water had spent itself, and began to return, I struck forward again;
the return of the waves, and felt ground again with my feet. I stood
still a few moments to recover reath, and till the water went from
me, and then took to my heels, and ran with what strength 1 had
farther toward the shore. But neither would this deliver me from
the fury of the sea, which came pouring in after me again, and twice
more I was lifted up by the waves and carried forward as before, tho
shore being very flat.
The last time of these two had well nigh been fatal to me, for the
sea having hurried me along as before, lauded me, or rather dashed
me against a piece of a rock, and that with such force that it left me
senseless, and indeed helpless, as to my own deliverance, for the blow,
taking my side and breast, beat the breath, as it were, quite out of my

CRUSOE SHIPWRECKED.
ہے
NORR.CO
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
50
←
.body, and had it returned again immediately, I must have been stran-
gled in the water; but I recovered a little before the return of the
waves, and seeing I should again be covered with the water, I re-
solved to hold fast by a piece of the rock, and so to hold my breath,
if possible, till the wave went back. Now, as the waves were not so
high as the first, being nearer land, I held my hold till the wave aba-
ted and then fetched another run, which brought me so near the
shore that the next wave, though it went over me, yet did not so swal-
low 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 me 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 wherein there was, some
minutes before, scarcely any room to hope. I believe it is impossible
to express, to the life, what the ecstasies and transports of the soul
are, when it is so saved, as I may say, out of the grave; and I did
not now wonder at the 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 to him, 1 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 surprise may not drive the animal spirits from the
heart and 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 the contemplation of my deliver-
ance, making a thousand gestures and motions which I cannot de-
scribe; reflecting upon my comrades that were drowned, and that
there should not be one soul saved but myself-for, as for them, I
never saw them afterward, 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 con
sidered-Lord! how was it possible I could get on shore?
After I had solaced my mind with the comfortable part of my con-
dition, I began to look around me to see what kind of a place I was
in, and what was next to be done, and I soon found my comforts
abate, and that, in a word, I had a dreadful deliverance; for I was
wet, had no clothes to shift me, nor anything either to eat or drink
to comfort me; neither did I see any prospect before me but that of
60
ADVENTURES OF
perishing with hunger or being devoured by wild beasts; and that
which was particularly afflicting to me was, that I had no weapon
either to hunt and kill any creature for my sustenance, or to defend
myself against any other creature that might desire to kill me for
theirs. In a word, I had nothing about me but a knife, a tobacco
pipe, and a little tobacco in a box. This was all my provision; and
this threw me into such terrible agonies of mind, 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 raven
ous beasts in that country, seeing 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 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 prospect of life. 1
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 into my mouth to prevent hunger, I went to the
tree, and getting up into it, endeavored to place myself so that if I
should fall asleep I might not fall, and having cut me a short stick,
like a truncheon, for my defence, I took up my lodging; 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 occa-
sion.
Chapter Five.
Robinson finds himself in a Desolate Island-Procures a Stock of Articles from the
Wreck--Constructs his Habitation,

Hu
HEN 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 almost as far as the
rock which I at first mentioned, where I had been so bruised by the
wave dashing mo against it. This being within about a mile from
the shore where I was, and the ship seeming to stand upright still, I
wished myself on board, that at least I might save some necessary
things for my use.
ROBINSON CRUSCE.
61
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 sea had tossed her up upon the land, about two miles on my
right hand. I walked as far as I could upon the shore to have got to
her, but found a neck 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 milo 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 relief in this,
I resolved, if possible, to get to the ship; so I pulled off my clothes,
for the weather was hot to extremity, 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 aground, 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 rope, which I wondered
I did not see at first, hang down by the fore chains, so low as that with
great difficulty I got hold of it, and by the help of that rope got into
the forecastle of the ship. Here I found the ship was bulged, and had
a great deal of water in her hold, but that she lay so on the side of a
bank of hard sand, or rather earth, that her stern lay lifted up upon
the bank, and her head low, almost to the water; by this means all
her quarter was free, and all that was in 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 ship's provisions
were dry and untouched by the water, and being very well disposed
to eat, I went to the tread-room and filled my pockets with biscuit,
and ate it as I went about 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 enough of, to spirit me for what was be-
fore me. Now I wanted nothing but a boat to furnish myself with
many things which I foresaw would be very necessary to me.
It was in vain to sit still and wish for what was not to be had, and
this extremity roused my application; we had several spare yards,
and two or three large spars of wood, and a spare topmast or two in
the ship: 1 resolved to fall to work with these, and flung as many
62
ADVENTURES OF
overboard as I could manage for their weight, tying every one with a
rope, that they might not drive away. When this was done, I went
down to 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, crosswise, 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 topmast into three lengths,
and added them to my raft, with a great deal of labor and pains. Bu
the hope of furnishing myself with necessaries encouraged me to go
beyond what I should have been able to do on another occasion.
My raft was now strong enough to bear any reasonable weight.
My next care was what to load it with. and how to preserve what I
laid upon it from the surf of the sea; but I was not long considering
this. I first laid all the planks or boards upon it that I could get,
and having considered well what I most wanted, I got three of the
seamen's chests, which I hal broken open and emptied, and lowered
them down upon my raft; 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 European corn, which
had been laid by for some fowls which we had brought to sea with
us, but the fowls were killed. There had been some barley and
wheat together, but, to my great disappointment, I found afterward
that the rats had eaten or spoiled it all. As for liquors, I found sev-
eral cases of bottles belonging to our skipper. in which were some
cordial waters; and, in all, about five or six gallons of rack. These
I stowed by themselves, there being no need to put them into the
chests, 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 way; as for my breeches, which were only linen, and
opcn-kneed, I swam on board in them and my stockings. However,
this put me upon rummaging for clothes, of which I found enough,
but took no more than I wanted for 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 the carpenter's chest,
which was indeed a very useful prize to me, and much more valuable
than a ship-lading of gold would have been at that time. I got it
down to my raft, even whole as it was, 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
:
:

But when
W
INT
CRUSOE ON HIS RAFT.
ORR-CO.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
63
very good fowling-pieces in the great cabin, and two pistols; these 1
secured first, with some powder-horns and a small bag of shot, and
two old rusty swords. I knew there were three barrels of powder in
the ship, but knew not where our gunner had stowed them; but with
much search I found them, two of them dry and good, the third had
taken water. Those two I got to my raft, with the arms.
And now
I thought myself pretty well freighted, and began to think how I
should get to shore with them, having neither sail, oar, nor rudder;
and the least capful of wind would have oversct all my navigation.
I had three encouragements: 1st, A smooth calm sea; 2dly, The
tide rising and setting in to the shore; 3dly, What little wind there
was blew me toward the land. And thus, 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 in-
draft of the water, and consequently 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.
As I imagined so it was; there appeared before me a little opening
of the land, and I found a strong current of the tide set into it; so I
guided my raft, as well as I could, to get into the middle of the stream.
But here I had like to have suffered a second shipwreck, which, if I
had, I think it verily would have broken my heart; for, knowing
nothing of the coast, my raft ran aground at one end of it upon a
shoal, and not being aground at the other end, it wanted but a little
that all my cargo had slipped off toward that end that was afloat,
and so fallen into the water. I did my utmost by setting 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 pos-
ture 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 rising of the water
brought me a little more upon a level; and a little after, the water
still rising, my raft floated again, and I thrust her off, with the oar I
had, into the channel, and then driving up higher, I at length found
myself in the mouth of a little river, with land on both sides, and a
strong current or tide running up. I looked on both sides for a proper
place to get to shore, for I was not willing to be driven too high up
the rivor; hoping, in time, to see some ship at sea, and therefore re-
solved to place myself as near the coast as I could.
鼍
​!
64
ADVENTURES OF
At length I spied a little cove on the right shore of the creek, to
which, with great pain and difficulty, I guided my raft, and at last
got so near, as that reaching ground with mp oar, I could thrust her
directly in; but here I had like to have dipped all my cargo into the
sea again; for that shore lying pretty steep, that is to say, sloping,
there was no place to land but where one end of my float, if it ran on
shore, would lie so high, and the other sink lower, as before, that it
would endanger my cargo again. All that I could do was to wait till
the tide was at the highest, keeping the raft with my oar like an an-
chor to hold the side of it fast to the shore, near a flat piece of ground
which I expected the water would flow over; and so it did. As soon
as I found water enough, for my raft drew about a foot of water, I
thrust her upon that flat piece of ground, and there fastened or moored
her, by sticking my two broken oars into 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 bed away, and left my raft and all my cargo
safe on 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 happen. 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 overtop some other hills, which lay as in a ridge from it, nor th-
ward. I took out one of the fowling-pieces and one of the pistols,
and a horn of powder, and, thus armed, I travelled for discovery up to
the top of that hill; where, after I had, with great labor and difficulty,
got up to the top, I saw my fato, to my great affliction, viz.: that I
was on an island, environed every way with the sea, no land to be
seen, except some rocks, which lay a great way off, and two small is-
lands, 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 whom, how-
ever, 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 coming 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 usual note but not
L
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
65
1
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 color 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 beast might devour me though. as I afterward found, there
was really no need for those fear... 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 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, ruL out of the wood where I
shot the fowl.
1
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 land,
and I resolved to make another voyage on board the vessel, if possi
ble. 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 everything out of the ship that I could get. Then I called a
courcil, that is to say, in my thoughts, whether I should take back
the raft, but this appeared impracticable, so I resolved to go as be-
fore, when the tide was down; and I did so, only that I stripped be-
fore I went into 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 as before, and nrorared a second raft; and
having had experience of the first, I reither made this so unwieldy,
por loaded it so hard, but yet 1 brought away several things very use.
l to me—as, first, in the carpenter's stores, I found two or three bags
ef nails and spikes, a great screw-jack, a dozen or two of hatchets,
and, above all, that most useful thing called a grindstone. All these
I secured, together with several things belonging to the gunner, par-
cularly two or three iron crows, and two barreis of musket bullets,
seven muskets, and another fowling-piece, with some small quantity of
powder more, a large bag full of small shot, and a great roll of sheet-
lead; but this last was so heavy, I could not hoist it up to get it over
the ship's side. Besides these things, I took all the men's clothes that
ï could find, and a spare fore-topsail, a hammock, and some bedding,
and with this I loaded my second raft, and brought them all safe on
shore, to my very great comfort.
L
66
ADVENTURES OF
I was under some apprehensions lest, during my absence from the
land, my provisions might be devoured on shore; but when I came
back, I found no sign of any visiter, only there sat a creature like a
wild cat upon one of the chests, which, when I came toward it, ran
away a little distance, and theu stood still. She sat very composed
and unconcerned, and looked full in my face, as if she had a mind to
be acquainted with me. I presented my gun to her, but, as she did
not understand it, she was perfectly unconcerned at it, nor did she
offer to sti 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; how-
ever, I spared her a bit, I say, and she went to it, smelled of it, and
ate it, and looked (as pleased) for more; but I thanked her, and could
spare no more, so she marched off
Having got 'cond carg. 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 purposo, and into
this tent I brought everything that I knew would spoil either with
rain or sun; and I piled all the empty chests and casks up in a circlo
round the tent, to fortify it from any sudden attempt either from man
or beast.
When I had done this, I blocked up the door of the tent with some
boards within, and an empty chest set up on end without, and, spread-
ing 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, for I was very weary and
heavy; for the night before I had slept little, and had labored 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 ur,
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 everything 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 gunpowder. In a word, I brought away all the sails first ani
last, only that I was fain to cut them in pieces, and bring as much at
a time as I could, for they were no more useful to be sails, but as
mere canvas only.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
67
But that which comforted me still more was, that, last of all, after
I had made five or six such voyages as these, and though I had noth
ing more to expect from the ship that was worth my meddling with,
I say, after all this, I found a great hogshead of bread, and three
large runlets of rum or spirits, and a box of sugar, and a barrel of fine
flour; this was surprising 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 wrapped it up, parcel by
parcel, in pieces of the sails, which I cut out-and, in a word, I got
all this safe on shore also.
The next day I made another voyage, and now having plundered
the ship of what was portable and fit to hand out, 1 began with the
cables, and cutting the great cable into pieces such as I could move
I got two cables and a hawset on shore, with all the iron work I
could get, and having cut down the spritsail-yard, and the mizen-
yard, and everything I could, to make large raft, I loaded it with
all those heavy goods, and came away; but my good luck began now
to leave me, for this raft was so unwieldy, and so overladen, that after
I was 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 cargo into the water; as for my-
self, it was no great harm, for I was near the shore; but as to my
cargo, it was a great part of it lost, especially the iron, which I ex-
pected would have been of great use to me; however, when the tide
was out, I got most of the pieces of cable ashore, and some of the
iron, though with infinite labor, for I was fain to dip for it into the
water, a work which fatigued me very much. After this I went
every day on board, und brought away what I could get.
I had now been thirteen days ashore, and had been eleven times on
hoard 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 pice, but preparing the twelfth time, to go on
board, I found the wind began to rise. However, at low water, I
went on board; and though I thought I had rummaged the cabin so
effectually as that nothing could be found, yet I discovered a locker
with drawers in it, in one of which I found two or three razors, and
one pair of large scissors, with some ten or a dozen of good knives
and forks; in another I found about thirty-six pounds in money,
some European coin, some Brazil, som3 pieces of eight, some gold,
and some silver.
$
68
ADVENTURES OF
S
I smiled to myself at the sight of this money. "O drug!" I ex·
claimed, "what art thou good for? Thou art not worth to me, no, not
the taking off the ground; one of those knives is worth all this heap.
I have no manner of use for thee; e'en remain where thou art, and
go to the bottom, as a creature whose life is not worth saving." Ilow.
ever, upon second thoughts, I took it away; and wrapping all this-ir
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 or flood began, or otherwise I might not be
able to reach the shore, at ull. Accordingly I let myself down into
the water, and swam across the channel which lay between the ship
and the sands, and even that wita 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 hastily, and before it was quite high
water it blew a storm.
But I was 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 time, or abated no
diligence, to get everything out of her, that would be useful to me,
und that, indeed, there was little left in her that I was able to bring
away, if I had more time.
I now gave over any more thoughts of the ship, or of anything out
of her, except what might drive on shore from her wreck; as indeed,
divers pieces of her afterward did; but those things were of small
use to me.
My thoughts were now wholly employed about securing mys.lt
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
a cave in the earth, or a tent upor the earth; and, in sh rt, I resolved
on both; the manner and description of which, it may not be in-
proper to give an account of.
I soon found the place I was in was not for my settlement, par
ticularly because it was upon a low, moorish ground, near the sea,
and I believed it would not be wholesome; and more particularly
because there was no fresh water near it: so I resolved to find a
more healthy and more convenient spot of ground.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
69
25.
Į
I consulted several things in my situation, which I found would be
proper for me: first, air and fresh water, I just now mentioned;
secondly, shelter from the heat of the sun; thirdly, security from
ravenous creatures, whether men or beasts; fourthly, a view to the
sea, that if God sent any ship in sight, I might not lose any ad-
vantage for my deliverance, of which I was not willing to banish all
my expectation yet.
In search of a place proper for this, I found a little plain on the
side of a rising hill, whose front toward this little plain was as 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 place, 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.
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 my door; and,
at the end of it, descended irregularly every way down into the low
ground by the sea-side. It was on the N. N. W. side of the hill; so
that it 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 before the hollow
place, which took in about ten yards in its semi-diameter 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 inches from one
another.
Then I took the pieces of cable which I 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, lean-
ing 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 labor,
especially to cut the piles in the woods, 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 I was completely fenced in and fortified, as I
70
ADVENTURES OF
thought, from all the world, and consequently slept secure in the
night, which otherwise I could not have done; though, as it appeared
afterward, there was no need of all this caution against the enemies
that I apprehended danger from.
Chapter Six.
Carries all his Riches, Provisions, etc., into his Habitation-Dreariness of Soli-
tude-Consolatory Reflections.
NTO this fence, or fortress, with infinite labor, I carried all
my riches, all my provisions, ammunition, and stores, of
which you have the account above; and I made a large tent,
which, to preserve me from the rains, that in one part of the
year are very violent there, I made double, viz., one smaller tent
within, and one larger tent above it, and covered the uppermost with
a large tarpaulin, which I had saved among the sails.
And now I lay no more for a while in the bed which I had brought
on shore, but in a hammock, which was indeed a very good one, and
belonged to the mate of the ship.
Into this tent I brought all my provisions and everything that would
spoil by the wet, and having thus enclosed all my goods I made up
the entrance, which till now I had left open, and so passed and re-
passed, as I said, by a short ladder.
When I had done this, I began to work my way into the rock, and
bringing all the earth and stones that I dug down out through my
tent, I 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 me a cave just behind my tent, which served me like a cellar to
my house. It cost me much labor and many days before all theso
things were brought to perfection, and therefore I must go back to
some other things which took up some of my thoughts. At the same
time it happened, after I had laid my scheme for the setting up my
tent, and making the cave, that a storm of rain falling from a thick,
dark cloud, a sudden flash of lightning happened, and after that a
great clap of thunder, as is naturally the effect of it. 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-0, my powder!
My very heart sank within me when I thought that, at one blast, all
my powder might be destroyed! On which, not my defence only, but
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
71
the providing me food, as I thought, entirely depended. I was nothing
near so anxions about my own danger, though, had the powder taken
fire, I should never have known what had hurt me.
Such impression did this make upon me, that after the storm was
over I laid aside all my works, my building and fortifying, and ap-
plied myself to make bags and boxes, to separate the powder, and to
keep it a little and a little in a parcel, in hope 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 in all was
about two hundred and forty pounds weight, was divided into not less
than a hundred parcels. 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 kitchen, and the rest I hid
and
down in holes among the rocks, so that no wet might come to it,
marking very carefully where I laid it.
up
In the interval of time while this was doing, I went out at least
once every day with my gun, as well to divert myself as to see if I
could kill anything 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 upon the island, which
was a great satisfaction to me; but then it was attended with this
misfortune to me, viz., that they were so shy, so subtle, and so swift
of foot, that it was the most difficult thing in the world to 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 observed,
if they saw me in the valleys, though they were upon the rocks they
would run away as in a terrible fright; but if they were feeding in
the valleys, and I was upon the rocks, they took no notice of me, from
whence I concluded that, by the position of their optics, their sight
was so directed downward that they did not readily see objects that
were above them, so afterward I took this method-I always climbed
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 little kid by her, which she gave suck to, which
grieved me heartily; but when the old one fell the kid stood stock
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 mẹ
quite to my enclosure; upon which I laid down the dam and took the
kid in my arms and carried it over my pale, in hopes to have bred it
72
ADVENTURES OF
up tame, but it would not eat, so I was forced to kill it and eat it my-
self. These two supplied me with flesh a great while, for I eat spa-
ringly, and preserved my provisions (my bread especially) as much as
I possibly could.
Ilaving now fixed my habitation, I found it absolutely necessary to
provide a place to make a fire in, and fuel to burn; and what I did
for that, as also how I enlarged my cave and what conveniences I
made, I shall give a full account of in its proper place, but I must
first give some little account of myself, and of my thoughts about liv-
ing, which it may well be supposed were not few.
I had a dismal prospect of my condition, for as I was not cast away
upon that island without being driven, as is said, by a violent storm,
quite out of the course of our intended voyage, and a great way, viz.,
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 IIeav-
on 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 my-
self why Providence should thus completely ruin its creatures, and
render them so absolutely miserable, so abandoned without help, 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 theso
thoughts and to reprove me; and particularly one day, walking with
my gun in my hand by the seaside, I was very pensive upon the sub-
ject of my present condition, when reason, as it were, expostulated
with me the other way, thus: "Well, you are in a desolate condition,
it is truc, but pray remember, where are the rest of you? Did not you
come, eleven of you, into the boat? Where are the ten?
they not saved and you lost? Why were you singled out
ter to be here or there ?" And then I pointed to the sea. All evils
are to be considered with the good that is in them, and with what
worse attends them.
Why were
?
Is it bet-
Then it occurred to me again, how well I was furnished for my sub-
sistence, and what would have been my case if it had not happened
(which was a hundred thousand to one) that the ship floated from tho
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 fires
came on shore, without necessaries of life, or necessaries to supply and
procure them? Particularly, said I aloud (though to myself), what
!
ROBINSON CRUSOE
73
should I have done without a gun, without ammunition, without any
tools to make anything, or to work with, without clothes, bedding, a
tent, or any manner 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, so
that I had a tolerable view of subsisting, without any want, as long as
I lived; for I considered, from the beginning, how would provido
for the accidents that might happen, and for the time that was to
come, not only after my ammunition should be spot, but even after
my health or strength should decay.
I confess I had not entertained any notion of my ammunition being
destroyed at one blast-I mean my powder being blown up by light-
ring—and this made the thoughts of it so surprising to me when it
lightened and thundered, as I observed just now.
And now being to enter into a melancholy relation of a scene of
silent life, such perhaps as was never 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, in the manner as above
sail, I frst set foot upon this horril island; when the sun, being to us
in its autumnal equinox, was almost just over my head; for I reckoned
myself, by observation, to be in the latitude of nine degrees twenty-
two minules 1orth of the line.
Chapter Seson.
| 10
Ebicson's mode of Reckoning Time-Difficulties arising x Want of Tools-
He Arranges his Habitation.
FTER 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 pro
vent 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 or the shore where I first
1
landed, viz.: "I came on shore hore 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 calendar, or weekly, monthly, and yearly reckoning of
time.
}
4
74
ADVENTURES OF
But it happened, that, among the many things which I brought out
of the ship, in the several voyages, which, as above mentioned, I
made to it, I got several things of less value, but not at all less useful
to me, which I found some time after, in rummaging the chests; as,
in particular, pens, ink, and paper; several parcels in the captain's,
mate's, gunner's, and carpenter's keeping; three or four compasses,
some mathematical instruments, dials, perspectives, charts, and books
of navigation; all of which I huddled together, whether I might
want them or uo; 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 care-
fully secured. And I must not forget that we had in the ship a dog
and two cats, of whose eminent history I may have occasion to say
something in its place; for I carried both the cats with me ; and as
for the dog he jumped out of the ship himself, and swam on shore to
me the day after I went on ehore with my first cargo, and was a trus'y
servant to me for 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. As I observed before,
I found pens, ink, and paper, and I husbanded them to the utmost;
and I shall show that while my ink lasted, I kept things very exact,
but after that was gone, I could not; for I could not make any ink by
any means that I could devise.
And this put me in mind that I wanted many things notwithstand-
ing all that I had amassed together; and of these, this of ink was one;
as also a spade, rickaxe, 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 my habitation. 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, bethought myself of one of the
iron crows, which, however, though I found it answer, made driving
these posts or piles very laborious and tedious work. But what need
I have been concerned at the tediousness of anything I had to do;
seeing I had time enough to do it in; nor had I ary other employ-
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
75
mmt, if that had been over, at least that I could foresee, except the
:anging the island to seek for food; which I did, more or less, every
day.
C$
I now began to consider, seriously, my condition, and the circum-
stance I was reduced to; and I drew up the state of affairs in
writing not so much to leave them to any that were to come after me
(for 1 was like to have but few heirs), as to deliver my thoughts from
daily poring upon them and afflicting my mind; and as my reason
Legar to master my despondency, I began to comfort myself as well
as conid, and to set the good against the evil, that I might have
something to distinguish my case from worse; and I stated very im-
partially, like debtor and creditor, the comforts I enjoyed against the
miseries I suffered, thus:
EVIL.
I am cast upon a horrible deso
late island, võid of all hope of re-
covery.
I am singled out and separated,
as it were, from all the world, to
be miserable.
I am divided from mankind, a
solitaire; one banished from hu-
man society.
I have no clothes to cover me.
I am without any defence, of
means to resist any ri:lence of
man or beast.
I have no soul to speak to or
relieve me.
GOOD.
But I am alive; and not drown-
ed, 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 IIe, that miracu-
lously saved me from death, can
deliver me from this condition.
But I am not starvei. and per-
ishing in a barren place, affording
no susterance.
But I am in a hot climate, where
if I had clothes, I could hardly
wear them.
+
t
But I am cast on an island
where I see no wild beasts to hurt
me, as I saw on the coast of Af-
rica; and what if I had been ship-
wrecked there ?
But God wonderfully sent the
ship in near enough to the shore,
that I have got out so many neces-
sary things, as will either supply
my wants, or enable me to supply
myself, even as long as I live.
76
ADVENTURES OF
Upon the whole, here was an unbounded testimony, that there was
scarce any condition in the world so miserable, but there was some.
thing negative, or 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 ourselves 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 given
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 aud cables;
but I might now rather call it a wall, for I raised a kind of wall against
it of turfs, about two feet thick on the outside; and after some time
(I think it was a year and a 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 have already observed how I brought all my goods into this pale,
and into the cave which I had made behind me. But I must observe,
too, that at first this was a confused heap of goods, which, us they lay
in no order, so they took up all my place; I had no room to turn my-
self; so I set myself to enlargo my cave and work further into the
earth; for it was a loose sandy rock which yielded casily to the labor
I bestowed on it; and when I found I was pretty safe as to the beasts
of prey,
I worked sidewise, to the right haud, into the rock, and then
turning to the right again, worked quite out. and made me a door to
come out in the outside of my pale or fortification.
This gave me not only egress and regress, as it were, a back way
to my tent, and to my storehouse, but gave me room to stow my
goods.
And now I began to apply myself to make such necessary things
as I found I most wanted, particularly a chair and a table, for with-
out these I was not able to enjoy the fow comforts I had in the world;
I could not write, or eat, or do several things with so much pleasure,
without a table, so I went to work. And here I must needs observe,
that as reason is the substance and original of the mathematics, so by
stating and squaring everything by reason, and by making the most
rational judgment of things, every man may be, in time, master of
every mechanic art. I had never handled a tool in my life; and yet,
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
77
in time, by labor, application, and contrivance, I found at last that I
wanted nothing but I could have made, especially if I had had tools.
However, I made abundance of things, even without tools; and some
with no more tools than an adze and a hatchet, which perhaps were
never made that way before, and that with infinite labor. For ex-
ample, 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 of a whole tree, but this I had no remedy for but patience,
any more than I had for a prodigious deal of time and labor which it
took me up to make a plank or board; but my time or labor was
little worth, and so it was as well employed one way as another.
However, I made me a table and a chair, as I observed above, in
the first place. and this I did out of the short pieces of boards that I
brought on my raft from the ship. But when I wrought out some
poards, as above, I made large shelves, of the breadth of a foot and a
nalf, one over another, all along one side of my cave, to lay all my
tools, nails, and iron work on-and, in a word, to separate everything
at large in their places, that I might easily come at them. I knocked
pieces into the wall of the rock to hang my guns, and all things that
would hang up, so that had my cave been seen, it looked like a gen-
eral magazine of all necessary things; and I had everything 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.
E
And now it was that I began to keep a journal of every day's em-
ployment; for, indeed, at first, I was in too much hurry, and not only
as to labor, but in much discomposure of mind-and my journal
would, too, have been full of many dull things; for example, I must
have said thus-" Sept. 30th. After I had got to shore, and had es-
caped drowning, instead of being thankful to God for my deliverance,
having first vomited, with a great quantity of salt water which was
gotten into my stomach, and recovering myself a little, I ran about
the shore, wringing my hands, and beating my head and face, exclaim-
ing at my misery, and crying out I was undone-undone! till, tired and
faint, I was forced to lie down on the ground to repose, but durst not
sleep, for fear of being devoured."
tr
Some days after this, and after I had been on board the ship, and
got all that I could out of her, I could not forbear getting up to the
top of a little mountain, and looking out to sea, in hopes of seeing a
'8
ADVENTURES OF
L
ship; then fancy that, at a vast distance, I spied a sail, please myself
with the hopes of it, and, after looking steadily, till I was almost
blind, lose it quite, and sit down and weep like a child, and thus in
crease my misery by my folly.
But, having gotten over these things in some measure, and having
settled my household stuff and habitation, made me a table and a
chair, and all as handsome stuff about me as I could, I began to keep
my journal, of which I shall here give you the copy (though in it will
bo told all these particulars over again) as long as it lasted; for hav-
ing no more ink, I was forced to leave it off.
Chapter Eight.
Robinson's Journal-Details of his Domestic Economy and Con rica ces---
Shock of an Earthquake.
Ca
1
THE JOURNAL.
EPTEMBER, 30th, 1659, I, poor miserable Robinson Crusoe
being shipwrecked, during a dreadful storm, in the offing,
came on shore on this dismal unfortunate island, which I
called the ISLAND OF DESPAIR; all the rest of the ship's
company being drowned, and myself almost dead.
All the rest of that day I spent in afflicting myself 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 nothing but death before me that I should either 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; which, as it was some comfort on one hand (for
seeing her sit upright, and not broken in pieces, I hoped, if the wind
abated, I might get on board, and get some food and necessaries out
of her for my relief), so, on the other hand, it renewed my grief at
the loss of my comrades, who, I imagined, if we had all stayed on
board, might have saved the ship, or, at least, that they would not
have been all drowned, as they were; and that, had the men been
saved we might perhaps have built us a boat, out of the ruins of the
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
79
ship, to have carried us to some other part of the world. I spent
great part of this day in perplexing myself on these things; but, at
length, seeing the ship almost dry, I 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 weather, 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,
Juring 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 se-
curing the goods which I had saved, that the rain might not spoil
them.
Oct. 26. I walked about the shore almost all day, to find out a place
to fix my habitation, greatly concerned to secure myself from any
attack in the night, either from wild beasts or men. Toward night I
fixed upon a proper place, under a rock, and marked out a semicircle
for my encampment, which I resolved to strengthen with a work,
wall, or fortification, made of double piles lined within with cables,
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
exceedingly hard.
The 31st, in the morning, I went out into the island with my gun to
seek for some food, and discover the country, when I killed a she-goat
and her kid followed me home, which I afterward 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.
Nov. 2. I set up all my chests and boards, and the pieces of timber
which made my rafts, and with them formed a fence round me, a little
within the place I had marked out for my fortification.
Nov. 3. I went out with my gun and killed two fowls like ducks,
which were very good food. In the afternoon I went to work to make
me a table
:
80
ADVENTURES OF
Nov. 4. This 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. The working part of this day and the next was wholly
employed in making my table, for I was yet but a very sorry work-
man, though time and necessity made me a complete natural mechanic
soon after, as I believe they would any one else.
Nov. 5. This day went abroad with my gun and dog and killed a
wild cat; her skin pretty soft, but her flesh good for nothing. Of
every creature that I killed I took off the skins and preserved them.
Coming back by the seashore I saw many sorts of sea fowl, which I
did not understand, but was surprised and almost frightened with two
or three soals, which, while I was gazing at them (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, according to
my reckoning), I took wholly up to make me a chair, and with much
ado brought it to a tolerable shape, but never to please me, and even
in the making I pulled it to pieces several times.
NOTE. I soon neglected my keeping Sundays, for, omitting my
mark for them on my post, I forgot which was which.
Nov. 13. This day it rained, which refreshed me exceedingly—
cooled the earth-but it was accompanied with terrible thunder and
lightning, which frightened 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 powder; and so, putting the powder in, I stowed it in places as secure
and as remote from one another as possible. On one of these 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, i
make room for my further convenience.
NOTE. Three things I wanted exceedingly for this work, viz., a
pickaxe, a shovel, and a wheelbarrow or basket, so I desisted from my
:
+
81
work, and began to consider how to supply these wants, and make ne
some tools. As for a pickaxe 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.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
Nov. 18. The next day, in searching the woods, I found a tree of
that wood, or like it, which in the Brazils they call the iron tree, from
its exceeding hardness; of this, with great labor, 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
my 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, having no iron shod upon it at bottom, it would not last
me so long; however, it served well enough for the uses which I had
occasion to put it to, but never was a shovel, I believe, made after that
fashion, or so long in making.
I was still deficient, for I wanted a basket or a wheelbarrow. 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 the wheelbarrow, I fancied I could make all but the wheel, but
that I had no notion of, neither did I know how to get about it; be-
sides, I had no possible way to make iron gudgeons for the spindle or
axis of the wheel to run in, so I gave it over; and, for carrying away
the earth which I dug out of the cave, I made me a thing like a hod,
which the laborers carry mortar in for the bricklayers. This was not
o difficult for me as the making the shovel; and yet this and the
sbovel, and the attempt which I made in vain to make a wheelbarrow,
took me up no less than four days; I mean always exccpting my morn-
ing walk with my gun, which I seldom omitted, and very seldom failed,
also, bringing 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 a lodging, I kept the
tert, except that sometimes in the wet season of the year it rained so
K
4*
82
ADVENTURES OF
hard that I could not keep myself dry, which caused me afterward tc
cover all my place within my pale with long poles, and 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, wher
on a sudden (it seems I had made it too large) a great quantity of eartb
fell dowa from the top and on one side, so much that in short it fright-
ened me, and not without reason, too, for if I had been under it I
should never have wanted a grave-digger. 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 ceiling to
prop up, so that I might be sure no more would come down.
Dec. 11. This day I went to work with it accordingly, and got two
shores or posts pitched upright to the top, with two pieces of board
across over each post; this I finished the next day, and setting more
posts up with boards, in about a week more I had the roof secured;
and the posts standing in rows, served me for partitions to part off my
house.
Dec. 17. From this day to the 30th I placed shelves, and knocked
up nails on the posts, to hang everything up that could be hung up
and now I began to be in some order within doors.
Dec. 20. I carried everything 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. Much rain all night and all day; no stirring out.
Dec. 25. Rain all day.
Dec. 20.
santer.
No rain, and the earth much cooler than before, and plea.
Dec. 27. Killed a young goat; and lamed another, 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 I might have food when my powder and shot was
all spent.
Dec. 28, 29, 30, 31. Great heats, and no breeze: so that there was
no stirring abroad, except in the evening, for food; this time I spent
in putting all my things in order within doors.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
83
January 1. Very hot still; but I went abroad early and late
with my gun, and lay still in the middle of the day. This evening
going farther into the valleys which lay toward the centre of the
island, I found there was plenty of goats, though exceeding shy, and
hard to come at; however, I resolved to try if I could not bring my
dog to hunt them down. 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 on 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 resolved 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 3d of January to the 14th of April, working,
finishing, and perfecting this wall; though it was no more than about
twenty-five yards in length, being a half circle, from one place in the
rock to another place, about twelve yards from it, the door of the
ouve being in the centre, behind it.
All this time I worked very hard; the rains hindering me many
days, nay, sometimes weeks together; but I thought I should never
be perfectly secure till this wall was finished; and it is scarce credi-
ble what inexpressible labor everything was done with, especially the
bringing of piles out of the woods, and driving them into the ground;
for I made them much bigger than I needed to have done.
When this wall was finished, and the outside double fenced, with a
turf wall raised up close to it, I persuaded myself that if any people
were to come on shore there they would not perceive anything like a
habitation; and it was very well I did so, as may be observed here-
after, upon a very remarkable occasion.
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 something or other to my advantage; particularly, I
found a kind of wild pigeons, who build, not as wood-pigeons, in a
tree, but rather as house-pigeons, in the holes of the rocks; and, tak-
ing some young ones, I endeavored to bring them up tame, and did
so; but when they grew older, they flew all away; which, perhaps,
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 very good meat. And now, in the management of my
household affairs, I found myself wanting in many things, which 1
·
•
A
84
ADVENTURES OF
thought at first it was impossible for me to make; as indeed, as to
some of them, it was: for instance, I could never make a cask to be
hooped. I had a small runlet or two, as I observed before; but I
could never arrive at the capacity of making one by them, though I
spent many weeks about it. I could neither put in the heads, nor
join the staves so true to one another as to make them hold water; so I
gave that also over. In the next place, I was at a great loss for a
candle; so that as soon as it was dark, which was generally by sev
o'clock, I was obliged to go to bed. I remember the lump of beçª.
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 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 labors, it happened that in 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 Lisbor.
What little remainder of corn had been in the bag was all dɔ-
voured by the rats, and I saw nothing in the bag but husks and dust
and being willing to have 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 forti-
fication, under the rock.
>
It was a little before the great rain just now mentioned, that I
threw this stuff away; taking no notice of anything, and not so much
as remembering that I had thrown anything there: when, about a
month after, I saw some few stalks of something green, shooting out
of the ground, which I fancied might be some plant I had not seen ;
but I was surprised, and perfectly astonished, when, after a little
longer time, I saw about ten or twelve ears come 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 things that had befallen
me, otherwise than as chance, or, as we lightly say, what pleases God:
without so much as inquiring 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 climate which I knew was not proper for
ROBINSON CRUSOE,
85
1
corn, and especially as I knew not how it came there, it startled 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 purely 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 upon my account: and this was the more strange to me, be-
cause I saw near it still, 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 ashore,
there.
I not only thought these the pure productions of Providence for
my support, but not doubting that there was more in the place, I went
over all that part of the island where I had been before, searching
in every corner, and under every rock, for more of it; but I could
not find any. At last it occurred to my thoughts, that I had shook
out a bag of chicken's-meat in that place, and then the wonder began
to cease ; and I must confess, my religious thankfulness to God's
providence began to abate too, upon the discovering of 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 that ten or twelve grains of corn should re-
main unspoiled, when the rats had destroyed all the rest, as if it had
been dropped from heaven; as also, that I should throw it out in
that particular place, where, it being in the shade of a high rock, it
sprang up immediately; whereas, if I had thrown it anywhere else
at that time, it would have been burned up and destroyed.
&
I carefully saved the ears of this corn, you may be sure, in their
season, which was about the end of June; and, laying up every corn,
Ï resolved to sow them all again, hoping, in time, to have some
quantity sufficient to supply me with bread. But it was not till the
fourth year that I could allow myself the least grain of corn to eat,
and even then but sparingly, as I shall show afterward in its order;
for I lost all that I sowed the first season, by not observing the
proper time; as I sowed just before the dry season, so that it never
came up at all, at least not as it would have done; of which in its
place.
Besides this barley, there were, as above, twenty or thirty stalks of
rice, which I preserved with the same care, and whose use was of the
same biod, or to the same purpose, viz.: to make me bread, or rather
86
OF
ADVENTURES 7
food; for I found ways to cook it without baking, though I did that
also for some time. But to return to my journal.
I worked excessively hard these three or four months, to get my
wall done; and the 14th of April I closed it up, contriving to get 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 with the ladder to the
top, and then pulled it after me, and let it down in the inside; this
was a complete enclosure to me, for within I had room enough, and
nothing could come at me from without, unless it could first mount my
wall.
The very next day after this wall was finished, I had almost all my
labor overthrown at once, and myself killed; the case was thuʊ:-As 1
was busy in the inside of it behind my tent, just at the entrance into
my cave, I was terribly frightened with the most dreadful surprising
Ι
thing indeed; for, all on a sudden, I found the earth come crumbling
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 heartily scared, but thought nothing of what
really was the cause, only thinking that the top of my cave was fall-
ing 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 had no sooner stepped down
upon the firm grouud, than I plainly saw it was a terrible earthquake;
for the ground I stood on shook three times at about eight minutes'
distance, with three such shocks as would have overturned the
strongest building that could be supposed to have stood on 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 terrible noise as I nevoz
heard in all my life. I perceived also that the very sea was put into
a violent motion by it; and I believe the shocks were stronger under
the water than on the island.
I was so much amazed with the thing itself (having never felt the
like, nor discoursed with any one that had) that I was like one dead
or stupified; and the motion of the earth made my stomach nick, 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 horror, and I thought of nothing but the hill
falling upon my tent and my household goods, and burying all at
once; this sunk my very soul within me a second time.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
87
A
After the third shock was over, and I felt no more for some time, I
began to take courage; yet I had not heart enough to go 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 common Lord, have mercy upon me! and when it was over, that
went away too.
While I sat thus, I found the air overcast, and grow cloudy, as if it
would rain; and soon after the wind rose by a little and little, so that
in less than half an hour, it blew a most dreadful hurricane; the sea
was, all on a sudden, covered with foam and froth; the shore was cov-
ored with a breach of the water; the trees were torn up by the roots
and a terrible storm it was. This held about three hours, and then
began to abate; and in two hours more it was quite cabra, 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 thouglits
that these winds and rain being the consequence of the earthquake,
the earthquake itself was spent and over, and I might venture into my
cave again. With this thought my spirits began to revive, and the
Jain 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 get 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 the water go out, which would else
Lave drowned my cave. After I had been in my cave for some time,
end found no more shocks of the carthquake follow, I bɩgan to be
nore composed. And now, to support my spirits, which indeed
wanted it very much, I went to my little store, and took a small cup
cf rum; which, however, I did then, and always, very sparingly,
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 best 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 building me some little hut in an open place, which
I might surround with a wall, as I had done here, and so make my-
self secure from wild beasts or men; for if I stayed where I was, I
should certainly, one time or other, be buried alive.
With these thoughts, I resolved to remove my tent from the place
where it now stood, being just under the hanging precipice of the
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ADVENTURES OF
hill, and which, if it should be shaken again, would certainly fall upon
my tent. 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 alive affected me so, 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 everything
was put in order, how pleasantly I was concealed, and how safe from
danger, it made me very loath to remove. In the meantime, it oc-
curred to me that it would require a vast deal of time for me to do
this, and that I must be contented to run the risk where I was, till I
had formed a convenient camp, and secured it so as to remove it.
With this conclusion I composed 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 up my tent in it when it was
finished; but that I would venture to stay where I was till it was
ready, and fit to remove to. This was the 21st.
April 22. The next morning I began to consider of means to put
this measure into execution, but I was at a great loss about the tools.
I had three large axes, and abundance of hatchets (for we carried the
hatchets 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 grindstone, I could not turn it and grind my tools
too. This caused me as much thought as a statesman would have be-
stowed 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 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 common there-besides that, my grindstone was very large and
heavy. This machine cost me a full week's work to bring it to per-
fection.
April 28, 29. Those two whole days I took up in grinding my tools,
my machine for turning my grindstone performing very well.
April 30. Having perceived that my bread had been low a great
while, I now took a survey of it, and reduced myself to one biscuit-
cake a day, which made my heart very heavv.
P
*
!
89
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
1
Chapter Nine.
Robinson obtains more Articles from the Wreck-His Illness and Affliction
AY 1. In the morning, looking toward the seaside, the tide
being low, I saw something lie on the shore bigger than
ordinary, and it looked like a cask; when I came to it, I
found a small barrel, and two or three picces of the wreck of the
ship, which had been driven on shore by the late hurricane; and
looking toward the wreck itself, I thought it seemed to lie higher
out of the water than it used to do. I examined the barrel that was
driven on shore, and soon fonnd 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 farther on the shore for the present, and went on
upon the sands, as near as I could to the wreck of the ship to look
for more.
When I came down to the ship, I found it strangely removed. The
forecastle, which lay before buried in the sand, was hcaved 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
of her) was tossed as it were, up, and cast on one side; and the sand
was thrown so high on that side next her stern, that I could now walk
quite up to her when the tide was out; whereas there was a great
piece of water before, so that I could not come within a quarter of a
mile of the wreck without swimming. I was surprised with this at
first, but soon concluded it must be done by the earthquake; and as
by this violence the ship was more broken open than formerly, so
many things came daily on shore, which the sea had loosened, and
which the winds and water rolled by degrees to the land.
This wholly diverted my thoughts from the design of removing my
habitation; and I busied myself mightily, that day especially, in
searching whether I could make any way into the ship; but I found
nothing was to be expected of that kind, for all the inside of the ship
was choked up with sand. However, as I had learned not to despair
of anything, I resolved to pull everything to pieces that I could out
of the ship, concluding that everything I could get from her would
be of some use or other to me.
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
90
ADVENTURES OF
❤
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 dolphin. I had made me a long line of some ropc-
yarn, but I had no hooks; yet I frequently caught fish enough, as
much as I cared to eat; all of which I dried in the sun, and ate them
dry.
May 5. Worked on the wreck: cut another beam asunder, and
brought three great fir planks off from the decks, which I tied togeth-
cr, and made swim on shore when the tide of flood came on.
May 6. Worked on the wreck: got several iron bolts out of her,
and other pieces of iron work: worked very hard, and came home
very much tired, and had thoughts of giving it over.
May 7. Went to the wreck again, but not with an intent to work;
but found the weight of the wreck had broke itself down, the beams
being cut that several pieces of the ship seemed to lie loose; and
the inside of the hold lay so open that I could see into it; but almost
full of water and sand.
4
May 8. Went to the wreck, and carried an iron crow, to wrench
up the deck, which lay now quite clear of the water and sand. I
wrenched up two planks, and brought them on shore also with the
tide. I left the iron crow in the wreck for next day.
May 9. Went to the wreck, and with the crow made my way into
the body of the wreck, and felt several casks, and loosened them
with the crow, but could not break them up. I felt also a roll of
English lead, and could not stir it; but it was too heavy to remove.
May 10 to 14. Went every day to the wreck, and got a great
many pieces of timber, and boards, or plank, and two or three hun-
dred 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 blown hard in the night, and the wreck appeared
more broken by the force of the water; but I stayed so long in the
woods, to get pigeons for food, that the tide prevented my going to
tho wreck that day.
May 17. I saw some pieces of the wreck blown on shore, at a
great distance, two miles off me, but resolved to see what they were.
and found it was a piece of the head. but too heavy for me to bring
away.
ROBINSON ČRUSOL.
91
Į
May 2x.
Ly lay, to this day, i worked on the wreck; and with
hard labor I loosened scme 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, nothing came to land
hat day, but pieces of timber, and a hogshead which had some Brazil
pork in it; but the salt water and the sand had spoiled it. I contin-
ued this work every day to the 15th of June, except the time neces-
sary to get food; which I always appointed, during this part of my
employment, to be when the tide is 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 I also got, at several times, and in several places, near one hun-
dred weight of sheet lead.
+
June 16. Going down to the seaside, 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 afterward; but perhaps had paid dear
enough for them.
June 17. I spent in cooking the turtle. I found in her three score
eggs; and her flesh was to me, at that time, the most savory 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 that day, and I stayed within. I thought, at
at this time, the rain felt cold, and I was somewhat chilly; which I
knew was not unusual in that latitude.
June 19. Very ill and shivering, as if the weather had been cold.
June 20. No rest all night; violent pains in my head and feverish.
June 21. Very ill; frightened almost to death with the apprehen-
sions 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 apprehension of sick-
ness.
June 23. Very bad again; cold and shivering, and then a violent
headache.
June 24. Much better.
June 25. An ague very violent; the fit held me seven hours-cold
fit, and hot, with faint sweats after it.
June 26. Better; and having no victuais to eat, took my gun, but
found myself very weak; however, I killed a she-goat, and with much
+
2
92
ADVENTURES OF
22
difficulty got it home, and broiled some of it, and at….. I, ould fain
have stewed it, and made some broth, but had no pot.
June 27. The ague again so violent that I lay a-bed all day, and
neither ate nor drank. I was ready to perish for thirst; but so weak,
I had not strength to stand up, or to get myself any water te drink.
Prayed to God again, but was light-headed; and when I was not,
was so ignorant that I knew not what to say: only lay and cried,
"Lord, look upon me! Lord, pity me! Lord, have mercy upon me!"
suppose I did nothing else for two or three hours; till the fit wearing
off, I fell asleep, and did not wake till far in the night. When I
awoke, I found myself much refreshed, but weak, and exceeding
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 descend from a great
black cloud, in a bright flame of fire, and light upon the ground; be
was all over as bright as a flume, so that I could but just bear to look
toward him: his countenance was inexpressibly 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 before in the
earthquake; and all the air looked, to my apprehension, as if it had
been filled with flashes of fire. He had no sooner landed upon the
earth, but he moved forward toward 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 ie
impossible to express the terror of it; all that I can say I understood
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.
..
No one that shall ever read this account, will expect that I should
be able to describe the horrors of my soul at this terrible vision; I
mean, that even while it was a dream, I even dreamed of those hor-
rors; nor is it any more possible to describe the impression that re-
mained upon my mind when I awaked, and found it was but a dream.
I had, alas! no divine knowledge; what I had received by the
good instruction of my father was then worn out, by an uninterrupted
series, for eight years, of seafaring wickedness, and a constant conver-
sation with none but such as wero, like myself, 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 upward toward God,
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
93
or inward toward a reflection upon my own ways; but a certain stu-
pidity of soul, without desire of good, or consciousness of evil, had en-
tirely overwhelmed me; and I was all that the most hardened, un-
thinking; wicked creature among our common sailors, can be sup-
posed to be; not having the least sense, either of the fear of God, in
danger, or of thankfulness to him, in deliverances.
In the relating what is already a part of my story, this will be the
more easily believed, when I shall add, that through all the variety of
miseries that had to this day befallen me, I never had so much as one
thought of its being the hand of God, or that it was a just punishment
for my sin; either my rebellious behavior against my father, or my
present sins, which were great; or even as punishment for the gen-
eral course of my wicked life. When I was on the desperate expedi-
tion on the desert shores of Africa, I never had so much as one
thought of what would become of me; or one wish to God to direct
ine, whither I should go, or to keep me from the danger which ap-
parently surrounded me, as well from voracious creatures as cruel
savages; but I was quite thoughtless of a God or a Providence; acted
like a mere brute, from the principles of nature, and by the dictates
of common sense only; and indeed hardly that. When was de-
livered and taken up at sea by the Portuguese captain, well used, and
dealt with justly, and honorably, as well as charitably, I had not the
least thankfulness in my thoughts. When, again, I was shipwrecked,
ruined, and in danger of drowning, on this island, I was far from re-
morse, or looking on it as a judgment; I only said to myself often,
that I was an unfortunate dog, and born to be always miserable.
It is true, when I first got on shore here, and found all my ship's
crew drowned, and myself spared, I was surprised with a kind of ec-
stacy, and some transports of soul, which, had the grace of God as-
sisted, might have come up to true thankfulness; but it ended where
It began, in a mere common flight of joy; or, as I may say, being glad
I was alive, without the least reflection upon the distinguished good-
ness of the hand which had preserved me, and had singled me out to
be preserved when all the rest were destroyed, or any inquiry why
Providence had been thus merciful to me; just the same common
sort of joy which seamen generally have, after they are got safe
ashore from a shipwreck; which they drown all in the next bowl of
punch, and forget almost as soon as it is over—and all the rest of my
life was like it. Even when I was, afterward, on due consideration,
made sensible of my condition-how I was cast on this dreadful
place, out of the reach of human kind, ut of all hope of reliéf, or
A
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ADVENTURES OF
prospect of redemption--as soon as I saw but a prospect of living, and
that I should not starve and perish for hunger, all the sense of my
affliction wore off, and I began to be very easy, applied myself to the
works proper for my preservation and supply, and was far enough
from being afflicted at my condition, as a judgment from Heaven, or
as the hand of God against me; these were thoughts which very
seldom entered into my head.
The growing up of the corn, as is hinted in my Journal, ha‍l, at
first, some little influence upon me, and began to affect me with
seriousness, as long as I thought it had something miraculous in it;
but as soon as that part of the thought was removed, all the impres.
sion which was raised from it wore off also, as I have noted already.
Even the earthquake, though nothing could be more terrible in its
nature, or more immediately directing to the invisible Power, which
alone directs such things, yet no sooner was the fright over, but the
impression it made went off also. I had no more sense of God, or his
judgments, much less of the present affliction of my circumstances
being from his hand, than if I had been in the most prosperous con-
dition of life. But now, when I began to be sick, and a leisure view
of the miseries of death came to place itself before me; when my
spirits began to sink under the burden of a strong distemper, and na-
ture was exhausted with the violence of the fever; conscience, that
had slept so long, began to awake; and I reproached myself with my
past life, in which I had so evidently, by uncommon wickedness, prò-
voked the justice of God to lay me under uncommon strokes, and to
deal with me in so vindictive a manner. 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 from me some words like praying to God; though I cannot
say it was a prayer attended either with desires or with hopes; it
was rather the voice of mere fright and distress. My thoughts were
confused; the convictions great upon my mind; and the horror on
dying in such a miserable condition, raised vapors in my head with
the mere apprehension; and, in these hurries of my soul, I knew not
what my tongue might express; but it was rather exclamation, such
as, “Lord, what a miserable croature 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 be-
ginning of this story, viz.: that if I did take this foolish step, God
}
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
95
would not bless me; and I should 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 Providence, which had mer-
cifully put me in a station of life wherein I might have been happy
and easy; but I would neither see it myself, nor learn from my pa-
rents to know the blessing of it. 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 pushed me in the world,
and would have made everything easy to me; and now I have diffi-
culties to struggle with, too great for even nature itself to support;
and no assistance, no comfort, no advice." Then I cried out, "Lord,
be my help, for I am in great dist.ess." This was the first prayer, if
I may so call it, that I had made for nany years. But I return to my
journal.

Chapter Tex.
His Recovery-H's Comfort in Reading the Scriptures-Makes an Excursion into
the Interior of the Island-Forms his "Bower."
I
UNE 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 con·
sidered 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. The first thing I did was to fill a large
square case bottle with water, and set it upon my table, in reach of
my bread, and to take off the chill or agueish disposition of the water,
I put about a quarter of a pint of rum into it, and mixed them to-
gether. Then I got me a piece of the goat's flesh, and broiled it on
the coals, but could eat very little. I walked about but was very
weak, and withal very sad and heavy-hearted in the sense of my mise-
rable 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 atc, as we call it, in the shell; and this was
the first bit of meat I had ever asked God's blessing to, as I could re-
member, in my whole life. After I had eaten I tried to walk, but
found myself so weak that I could hardly carry the gun (for I never

96
ADVENTURES OF
VA
C
Joge
went out without that), so I went but a little way and sat down upon
the ground, locking out 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?
Surely we are all made by some secret power, who formed the earth
and sea, the air and sky; and who is that? Then it followed most
naturally, it is God that has made all. Well, but then, it came on, if
God has made all these things, he guides and governs them all and all
things that concern them; for the power that could make all things
Lust certainly have power to guide and direct them; if so, nothing
can happen in the great circuit of his works, either without his know-
ledge 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 with-
out his appointment, he has appointed all this to befall me. Nothing
occurred to my thought to contradict any of these conclusions, and
therefore it rested upon me with the greatest 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 everything that happens 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
inquiry, as if I had blasphemed, and methought it spoke to me like a
voice: "Wretch! dost thou ask what thou hast done? Look back upon
a dreadful, misspent life, and ask thyself what thou hast not done?
Ask why is it thou wert not long ago destroyed? Why wert thou
not drowned in Yarmouth Roads; killed in the fight when the ship
was taken by the Sallee inan-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 thou hast done?" I was struck dumb
with these reflections, as one astonished, and had not a word to say—
no, not to answer to myself-and rising up, pensive and sad, walked
back to my retreat, and went over my wall as if I had been going to
bed; but my thoughts were sadly disturbed, and I had no inclination
to sleep, so I sat down in the 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 thought that the Brazilians
take no physic but their tobacco for almost all distempers, 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.
B
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
97
I went, directed by Heaven, no doubt, for in this chest I found a
cure for both soul and body. I opened 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 mentioned before, and
which, to this time,I had not found leisure or so much as inclination
to look into. 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, nor whether it was good for it or not, 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 the leaf and chewed it in my mouth,
which indeed, at first, almost stupified my brain, the tobacco being
green and strong, and such as I had not been much used to. Then I
took some and steeped 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 almost for suffocation. In the
interval of this operation I took up the bible and began to read, but
my head was too much disturbed by the tobacco to bear reading, at
least at 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 deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." These
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
afterward; for, as for being delivered, the word had no sound, as I may
say, to me; the thing was so remote, so impossible in my apprehen-
sion of things, that, as the children of Israel said, when they were
promised flesh to eat, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness ?”
so I began to say, "Can even God himself deliver me from this
place?" And as it was not for many years that any hopes appeared,
this prevailed very often upon my thoughts; but, however, the words
made a great impression upon me, and I mused upon them very often.
It now grew 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 want anything in the night, and went to bed; but, be-
fore I lay down, I did what I never had done in all my life, I kneeled
down and prayed to God to fulfil the promise to me. After my bro-
ken 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, the rum flew up into my head violently, but
I fell into a sound sleep and waked no more till, by the sun, it must
5
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ADVENTURES OF
necessarily be near 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 know 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 re-crossing the line, I should have lost more than one
day; but certainly I lost a day in my account, and never knew which
way. Be that, however, one way or the other, when I awaked I found
myself exceedingly refreshed, 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 altered 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 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; how-
ever, I was not so well the next day, which was the 1st 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 some weeks after. While I was thus gathering
strength, my thoughts ran exceedingly upon this Scripture, "I will
deliver thee;" and the impossibility of my deliverance 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
myself such questions as these, viz., Have I not been delivered, and
wonderfully, too, from sickness; from the most distressed condition
that could be and that was so frightful to me? and what notice have
I taken of it? Ilave I done my part? God has delivered me, but I
have not glorified him; that is to say, I have not owned and been
thankful for that as a deliverance and how can I expect a greater
deliverance? This touched my heart very much; and immediately I
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
99
knelt down, and gave God thanks aloud for my recovery from my
sickness.
me.
July 4. In the morning I took the Bible: and beginning at the
New Testament, I began seriously to read it; and imposed upon my-
self to read awhile every morning and every night; not binding myself
to the number of chapters, but as long as my thoughts should engage
It was not long after I set seriously to this work, that 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 earnestly begging of God to give me repent-
ance, when it happened providentially, the very same day, that, read-
ing the Scripture, I came to these words, "He is exalted a Prince
and a Saviour, to give repentance 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 in all my life I could say, in the true
sense of the words, that I prayed; 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 above, “Call on
me, and I will deliver thee," in a different sense from what I had
ever done before; for then I had no notion of anything being called
deliverance, but my being delivered from the captivity I was in; for
though I was at large in the place, yet the island was certainly a
prison to 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 with 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.
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 constantly reading the Scripture and praying to God, to
things of a higher nature, I had a great deal of comfort within.
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ADVENTURES OF
which, till now, I knew nothing of; also, as my health and strength
returned, I bestirred me to furnish myself with everything 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 walk-
ing about with my gun in my hand, a little and a little at a time, as
a man that was gathering 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 recommend it to any one to practise, by this experiment; and
though it did carry off the fit, yet it rather contributed to weaken
me; for I had frequent convulsions in my nerves and limbs for some
time. I learned from it also this, in particular; that being abroad in
the rainy season was the most pernicious 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 the dry season
was almost always accompanied with such storms, so I found that this
rain was much more dangerous than the rain which fell in September
and October.
I had now been in this unhappy island above ten months. All
possibility of deliverance from this condition seemed to be entirely
taken from me; and I firmly believed that no human shape had ever
set foot upon that place. Having secured my habitation, as I thought,
fully to my mind, I had a great desire to make a more perfect dis-
covery of the island, and to see what other productions I might find
which I yet knew nothing of.
It was on the 15th of July that I began to take a more particular
survey of the island itself. I went up the creek first, where, as I
hinted, 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, very fresh and good; but this
being the dry season, there was hardly any water in some parts of it;
at least, not any stream. On the banks of this brook I found many
pleasant savannahs or meadows, plain, smooth, and covered with
grass; and on the rising parts of them, next to the higher grounds
(where the water, as it might be supposed, never overflowed), I found a
great deal of tobacco, green, and growing to a very great and strong
stalk: and there were divers other plants, which I had no knowledge
of, or understanding about, and that might, perhaps, have virtues of
their own, which I could not find out. I searched for the cassava
root, which the Indians, in all that climate, make their bread of; but
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
101
!
I could find none. I saw large plants of aloes, but did not understand
them. I saw several sugar-canes, but wild; and, for want of cultiva-
tion, imperfect. 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 made so little observation while I was in the Brazils, 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 savannahs begin to cease, and the country became more
woody than before. In this part I found different fruits; and partic-
ularly I found melons upon the ground in great abundance, and grapes
upon the trees; the vines, indeed, had spread over the trees, and the
clusters of grapes were now just in their prime, very ripe and rich.
This was a surprising discovery, and I was exceedingly glad of them;
but I was warned by my experience to eat sparingly of them; remem-
bering, that when I was ashore in Barbary, the eating of grapes killed
several of our Englishmen, who were slaves there, by throwing them
into fluxes and fevers. I found, however, an excellent use for these
grapes; and that was to cure or dry them in the sun, and keep them
as dried grapes or raisins are kept; which I thought would be (as in-
deed they were) as wholesome and as agreeable to eat, when no grapes
were to be had.
I spent all that evening there, and went not back to my habitation;
which, by the way, was the first night, as I might say, I had lain from
home. At night, I took my first contrivance, and got up into a tree,
where I slept well; and the next morning proceeded on 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 sides 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, everything being in a constant verdure, or
flourish 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 other afflicting 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
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ADVENTURES OF
it, I might have it in inheritance as completely as any lord of a man-
or in England. I saw here abundance of cocoa trees, and orange and
lemon, and citron trees, but all wild, and very few bearing any fruit;
at least not then. However, the green limes that I gathered were not
only pleasant to eat, but very wholesome; and I mixed their juice
afterward with water, which made it very 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 know-
was approaching. In order to this, I gathered a great heap of grapes
in one place, a lesser heap in another 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 carry the rest home. Accor-
dingly, having spent three days in this journey, I came home (so I
must now call my tent and my cave); but before I got thither, the
grapes were spoiled; the richness of the fruits, and the weight of the
juice, having broken and bruised them, they were good for little or
nothing: as to the limes, they were good, but I could bring only a
few.
The next day being the 19th, I went back, having made me two
small bags to bring home my harvest; but I was surprised, when
coming to my heap of grapes, which were so rich and fine when I
gathered them, I found them all spread about, trod to pieces, and
dragged about, some here, some there, and abundance eaten and de-
voured. By this I concluded there were some wild creatures there-
abouts which had done this, but what they were I knew not. How-
ever, as I found there was no laying them up in heaps, and no carry-
ing 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: I then gathered a large quantity of the grapes
and hung them 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 contemplated with great
pleasure the fruitfulness of that valley, and the pleasantness of the
situation; the security from storms on that side; the water and the
wood; and concluded that I had pitched upon a place to fix
my abode
in, 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
F
24
place equally safe as where I was now situate; if possible in that
pleasant fruitful part of the island.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
103
"
This thought ran long in my head; and I was exceeding fond of it
for some time, the pleasantness of the place tempting me; but when
I came to a nearer view of it, I considered that I was now by the sea-
side, where it was at least possible that something 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; and that therefore I ought not by any
means to remove. However, I was so enamored of this place, that I
spent much of my time there for the whole remaining part of the
month of July; and though, upon second thoughts, I resolved, as
above stated, not to remove, yet I built me a little kind of a bower,
and surrounded it at a distance with a strong fence, being a double
hedge, as high as I could reach, well staked, and filled between with
brushwood. Here I lay very 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 and my seacoast house. This work
took me up till the beginning of August.
I had but newly finished my fence, and began to enjoy my labor,
when the rains came on, and made me stick close to my first habita-
tion; for though I had made a tent like the other, with a piece of sail,
and spread it very well, yet I had not the shelter of a hill to keep me
from storms, nor a cave behind me to retreat into when the rains
were extraordinary.
About the beginning of August, as I said, I had finished my bower,
and began to enjoy myself. The 3d of August, I found the grapes I
had hung up were perfectly dried, and indeed were excellent good
raisins of the sun; so I began to take them down from the trees; and
it was very happy that I did so, as the rains which followed would
have spoiled them, and I should have lost the best part of my winter
food; for I had above two hundred large bunches of them. No soon-
er had I taken them all down, and carried most of them home to my
cave, but it began to rain; and from hence, which was the 14th of
August, it rained, more or less, every day till the middle of October;
and sometimes so violently that I could not stir out of my cave 'for
several days.
In this season I was much surprised with the increase of my family.
I had been concerned for the loss of one of my cats, who ran away
from me, or, as I thought, had been dead, and I heard no more of her
1
104
ADVENTURES OF
}
←
till, to my astonishment, she came home with three kittens. This was
the more strange to me, because, about the end of August, 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 as the old one, and both of
my cats being females, I thought it very strange. But from these three
I afterward 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 careful not to be much wet. In this con-
finement I began to be straitened for food, but venturing out twice,?
one day killed a goat, and the last day, which was the 24th, found a
very large tortoise, which was a treat to me. My food was now regu-
lated thus: I ate a bunch of raisins for my breakfast, a piece of the
goat's flesh or of the turtle, broiled, for my dinner (for, to my great
misfortune, I had no vessel to boil or stew anything), and two or three
of the turtle's eggs for my supper.
During this confinement in my cover from the rain, I worked daily
two or three hours at enlarging my cave, and by degrees worked it
on toward 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 managed myself before, I was in a perfect enclo-
sure, whereas now I thought I lay exposed; and yet I could not per-
ceive that there was any living thing to fear, the biggest creature
that I had as yet seen upon the island being a goat.
September 30. I was now come to the unhappy anniversary of my
landing: I cast up the notches of my post, and found I had been on
shore three hundred and sixty-five days. I kept this day as a solemn
fast, setting it apart for religious exercise, prostrating myself on the
ground with the most serious humiliation, confessing my sins to God,
acknowledging his righteous judgments upon me, and praying to him
to have mercy on me, through Jesus Christ; and, having not tasted-
the least refreshment for twelve hours, even till the going down of
the sun, I then ate a biscuit and a bunch of grapes and went to bed,
finishing the day as I began it. I had all this time observed no Sab-
bath 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 Sabbath day, and so did not really
know what any of the days were; but now, having cast up the days
}

SUMUONANN
CRUSOE IN HIS CAVE.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
105
as 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 in my reckoning. A
little after this, my ink beginning to fail me, 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 accord-
ingly; but I bought all my experience before I had it, and what I am
going to relate was one of the most discouraging experiments that I
had made at all.
I have mentioned that I had saved a few ears of barley and rice,
which I had so surprisingly found sprung up, as I thought, of them-
selves. I believe there were about thirty stalks of rice, and about
twenty of barley, and now I thought it a proper time to sow it after
the rains, the sun being in its southern position, going from me; ac-
cordingly, I dug 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
sowing, 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 seed, leaving about a handful of
each; and it was a great comfort for me, afterward, that I did so, for
not one grain of what I sowed this time came to anything, for the dry
month following, and the earth having thus had no rain after the seed
was sown, it had no moisture to assist its growth, and never came up
at all till the wet season had come again, and then it grew as if it had
been but newly sown. Finding my first seed did not grow, which I
easily imagined was from 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 sowed the rest of my seed in February, a
little before the vernal equinox. This, having the rainy months of
March and April to water it, sprung up very pleasantly, and yielded
a very good crop; but, having only a part of the seed left, and not
daring to sow all that I had, I got but a small quantity at last, my
whole crop not amounting to above half a peck of each kind. But
by this experiment I was made master of my business, and knew
exactly when was the proper time to sow, and that I might expect
two seed-times and two harvests every year.
-
While this corn was growing I made a little discovery, which was
of use to me afterward. As soon as the rains were over, and the wea
5*
106
ADVENTURES OF
ther began to settle, which was about the month of November, I made
a visit up the country to my bower, where, though I had not been for
some months, yet I found all things just as I had left them. The
circle or double hedge that I had made was not only firm and entire,
but the stakes which I had cut out of some trees that grew thereabout
were all shot out and grown with long branches, as much as a willow
tree usually shoots the first year after lopping its head, but 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 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 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 season. This made me resolve to cut some more stakes, and
make me a hedge like this, in a semicircle, rouud my wall (I mean
that of my first dwelling), which I did, and placing the trees or stakes
in a double row, at about eight yards' distance from my first fence,
they grew presently, and were at first a fine cover to my habitation,
and afterward served for a defence, also, as I shall observe in its
order.
Chapter Eleven.
Robinson makes a Tour to explore his Island-Employed in Basket Making.
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: From the middle of February to the middle of April,
rainy, the sun being then on or near the equinox. From the middle
of April till the middle of August, dry, the sun being then north of
the line. From the middle of August till the middle of October,
rainy, the sun being then come back to the line. From the middle of
October to the middle of February, dry, the sun being then to the
south of the line.
G
The rainy season held sometimes longer and sometimes shorter, as
the winds happened to blow; but this was the general observation I
made. After I had found, by experience, the ill consequences of
being abroad in the rain, I took care to furnish myself with provis-
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
107
ions before hand, that I might not be obliged to go out; and I sat
within doors as much as possible during the wet months. This time
I found much employment, and very suitable also to the time; for I
found great occasion for many things which I had no way to furnish
myself with but by hard labor and constant application; particularly,
I tried many ways to make myself a basket; but all the twigs I
could get for the purpose proved so brittle that they would do
nothing. It proved an 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 lending a hand, I had by these means full knowledge
of the methods of it, so that I wanted nothing but the materials;
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,
willows, 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 smaller twigs, I found them to my purpose as much as I
could desire; whereupon I came the next time prepared with a
hatchet to cut down a quantity, which I soon found, for there was
plenty of them. 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 employed myself in making, as well as I
could, several baskets; both to carry earth, or to carry or lay up any-
thing as I had occasion for. Though I did not finish them very hand-
somely, yet I made them sufficiently serviceable for my purpose; and
thus, afterward, I took care never to be without them; and as my
wicker-ware decayed, I made more; especially strong deep baskets,
to place my corn in, instead of sacks, when I should come to have
any quantity 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 other
wants. I had no vessel to hold anything that was liquid, except two
runlets, which were almost full of rum; and some glass bottles, some
of the common size, and others (which were case bottles) square, for.
the holding of waters, spirits, &c. I had not so much as a pot to boil
anything, except a great kettle which I saved out of the ship, which
was too big for such use as I desired it, 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,
108
ADVENTURES OF
1¿
فا
I found a contrivance for that too at last. I employed myself in
planting my second row of stakes or piles, and also in this wicker-
working all the summer or dry season; when another business took
me up more time than it could be imagined I could spare.
J
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 had 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 sca-
shore, on that side; so taking my gun, a hatchet and my dog, and a
larger quantity 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 the vale where my bower stood, as
above, 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 continent
I could not tell; but it lay very high, extending from W. to 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 it must be part of America; and, as I concluded, by
all my observations, must be near the Spanish dominions; and per-
haps was all inhabited by savages, where, if I should have landed, I
had been in a worse condition than I was now. I therefore acqui-
esced in the dispositions of Providence, which I began now to own
and to believe ordered everything for the best; I say, I quieted my
mind with this, and left off afflicting myself with fruitless wishes of
being there. Besides, after some pause upon this affair, I considered
that if this land was the Spanish coast, I should certainly, one time
or other, see some vessel pass or repass one way or other; but if not
then it was the savage coast between the Spanish country and the
Brazils, whose inhabitants are indeed the worst of savages: for they
are cannibale, or man-eaters, and fail not to murder and devour all
human beings that fall into their hands.
With these considerations, walking very leisurely forward, I found
this side of the island, where I now was, much pleasanter than mine;
the open or savannah fields sweetly adorned with flowers and grass,
and full of very fine woods. I saw abundance of parrots; and fain
would have caught one, if possible, to have kept it to be tame, and
taught it to speak to me. I did, after taking some pains, 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
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
109
name very familiarly. But the accident that followed, though it be
a trifle, will be very diverting in its place.
I was exceedingly amused 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 had no need to be
venturous, for I had no want of food, and of that which was very
good too, especially with three sorts, viz.: goats, pigeons, and turtle,
or tortoise. With these, 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 deplorable enough, yet I had
great cause for thankfulness; as I was not driven to any extremities
for food, but had rather plenty, even to dainties.
I never travelled on this journey above two miles outright in a day,
or thereabout; but I took so many turns and returns to see what dis-
coveries I could make, that I came weary enough to the place where
I resolved to sit down for the night; and then I either 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 seashore, I was surprised to see that I had
taken up my lot on the worst side of the island; for here indeed the
shore was covered with innumerable turtles; whereas, on the other
side, I had found but three in a year and a half. Here was also an
infinite number of fowls of many kinds; some of which I had seen,
and 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 could have shot as many as I pleased, but was very sparing of my
powder and shot; and therefore had more mind to kill a she-goat, if I
could, which I could better feed on. But, though there were many
goats here, more than on my side of the island, yet it was with much
more difficulty that I could come near them; the country being flat
and even, and they saw me much sooner than when I was upon a
hill.
I confess this side of the country was much pleasanter than mine;
yet I had not the least inclination 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. How-
ever, I travelled along the seashore toward the east, I suppose about
twelve miles; and then setting up a great pole upon the shore for a
110
ADVENTURES OF
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 dwell-
ing, and so round till I came to my post again: of which in its place.
I took another way to come back than that I went, thinking I could
easily keep so much of the island in my view, that I could not miss
my first dwelling by viewing the country: but I found myself mis-
taken; for being come about two or three miles, I found myself
descended into a very large valley, but so surrounded with hills, and
those hills covered with wood, that I could not see which was my
way by any direction but that of the sun, nor even then, unless I
knew very well the position of the sun at that time of the day. And
it happened to my farther misfortune, that the weather proved hazy
for three or four days while I was in this valley; and not being able
to see the sun, I wandered about very uncomfortable, and at last was
obliged to find out the seaside, look for my post, and come back the
same way I went; and then by easy journeys I turned homeward, the
weather being exceeding hot, and my gun, ammunition, hatchet, and
other things, very heavy.
Chapter Twelve.
He Returns to his Cave-His Agricultural Labors and Success.
N this journey, my dog surprised a young kid, and seized upon
it: and running to take hold of it, I 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 would be all spent.
I made a collar for this little creature, with a string which I had
made of some rope-yarn, which I always carried about me; I led him
along, though with some difficulty, till I came to my bower, and there
I enclosed him and left him; for I was very impatient to be at home,
from whence I had been absent above a month.
I cannot express what a satisfaction it was to me to come into my
old hutch, and lie down in my hammock bed. This little wandering
journey, without a settled place of abode, had been so unpleasant to
me, that my own house, as I called it to myself, was a perfect settle-
ment to me, compared to that; and it rendered everything about me
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
111
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 now began to be
more domestic, and to be mighty well acquainted with me. Then I
began to think of the poor kid which I had penned within my little
circle, and resolved to 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 being hungry, that I had no need to have tied it, for
it followed me like a dog; and as I coutinually fed it, the creature
became so loving, so gentle, and so fond, that it was from that time
one of my domestics also, and would never leave me afterward.
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 anniversary of my landing on the island; having now been
there two years, and no more prospect of being delivered than the
first day I came there. I spent the whole day in humble and thank-
ful acknowledgments for the many wonderful mercies which my
solitary condition was attended with, and without which it might
have been infinitely more miserable. I gave humble and hearty
thanks to God for having been pleased to discover to me, that it was
possible I might be more happy even in this solitary condition, than
I should have been in the enjoyment of society, and in all the
pleasures of the world; that he could fully make up to me the de-
ficiencies of my solitary state, and the want of human society, by his
presence, and the communications of his grace to my soul: support-
ing, comforting, and encouraging me to depend upon his providence
here, and to hope for his eternal presence hereafter.
It was now that I began sensibly to feel how much more happy
the 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 desires
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 my soul at my condition
would break out upon me on a sudden, and my very heart would
2
112
ADVENTURES OF
*
die within me, to think of the woods, the mountains, 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 set down and sigh, and look upon
the ground for an hour or two together: this was still worse to me;
but if I could burst into tears, or give vent to my feelings by words,
it would go off; and my grief being exhausted, 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 leave thee, nor forsake thee." Im-
mediately 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 by God and man?
“Well, then,” said I, “if God does not forsake me, of what ill con-
sequence can it be, or what matters it, though the world should for-
sake me; seeing on the other hand, if I had all the world, and should
lose the favor and blessing of God, there would be no comparison in
the loss ?"
From this moment I began to conclude in my mind that it was
possible for me to be more happy in this forsaken, solitary condition,
than it was probable I should ever have been in any other particular
state of the world; and with this thought I was going to give thanks
to God for bringing me to this place. I know not what it was, but
something shocked my mind at that thought, and I durst not speak
the words. "How canst thou be such a hypocrite," said I, even
audibly, "to pretend to be thankful for a condition, which, however
thou mayest endeavor to be contented with, thou wouldst rather pray
heartily to be delivered from ?" Here I stopped; but though I
could not say I thanked God for being here, yet I sincerely gave
thanks to God for opening my eyes, by whatever afflicting provi-
dences, to see the former condition of my life, and to mourn for my
wickedness, and repent. 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 up among my goods; and for
assisting me afterward 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
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
113
account of my works this year as the first, yet in general it may be
observed that I was very seldom idle; but having regularly divided
my time, according to the several daily employments that were before
me, such as, first, my duty to God, and the reading of the Scriptures,
which I constantly set apart some time for thrice every day; second-
ly, going abroad with my gun for food, which generally took me up
three hours every morning, when it did not rain; thirdly, 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 in 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 labor I desire may be added the ex-
ceeding laboriousness of my work, the many hours which, for want of
tools, want of help, and want of skill, everything I did took up out 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 saw-
yers, with their tools and a saw-pit, would have cut six of them out
of the same tree in half a day.
My case was this: it was a large tree that was to be cut down, be-
cause my board was to be a broad one. This tree I was three days
cutting down, and two more in cutting off the boughs and reducing it
to a log, or piece of timber. With inexpressible hacking and hewing
I reduced both the sides of it into chips till it was 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 labor of my hands in
such a piece of work, but labor and patience carried me through that
and many other things; I only observe this, in particular, to show 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
labor, and required a prodigious time to do alone, and by hand. Not-
withstanding this, with patience and labor I went through many
things, and, indeed, everything that my circumstances made neces-
sary for me to do, as will appear by what follows.
I was now in the months of November and December, expecting
my crop of barley and rice. The ground I had manured or dug up
2. then
>
عمرو
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ADVENTURES OF
for them was not great, for, as I observed, may seed of each was not
above the quantity of half a peck, having lost one whole crop by sow-
ing 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 enemies of
several sorts, which it was scarce possible to keep from it; as, first,
the goats, and wild creatures 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.
I saw no remedy for this but by making an enclosure 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 tolerably well fenced in about three weeks' time;
and, shooting some of the creatures in the daytime, 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, I know not of how many sorts, who stood, as
it were, watching till I should be gone. I immediately let fly among
them (for I always 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.
और
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 dam-
age 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 was not so great
but that the remainder was likely 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 gone, I was no sooner out of their sight than they
dropped 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 they ate now was, as it might be said, a peck loaf to
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
115
me in the consequence, so 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 notorious thieves in England, viz., hanged
them in chains, for terror to others. It is impossible to imagine that
this should have such an effect as it had, for the fowls not only never
canie to 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 scarecrows
hung there. This I was very glad of, you may be sure, and about the
latter end of December, which was our second harvest of the year,
reaped my corn.
I
+
I was sadly put to it for a scythe or 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 cutlasses, 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 off nothing but
the ears, and carried it away in a great basket which I had made, and
so rubbed it out with my hands; and at 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.
However, this was 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 nor 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 meantime, to employ all my study and hours
of working to accomplish this great work of providing myself with
corn and broad.
It might be truly said, 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 discouragement, and was made more sensible of it every
hour, even after I had got the first handful of seed-corn, which, as I
have said, came up unexpectedly, 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 ob-
241
A


116
ADVENTURES OF
served before; but this did my work in but a wooden manner; and
though it cost me a great many days to make it, yet, for want of iron,
it not only wore out sooner, but made my work the harder, and per-
formed it much worse. However, this I bore with, and was content
to work it out with patience, and bear with the badness of the per-
formance. When the corn was sown, I had no harrow, but was
forced to go over it myself, and drag a great heavy bow 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, as
shall be observed; and the corn was an inestimable comfort and ad-
vantage to me; all this, as I said, made everything laborious and
tedious to me, but that there was no help for; neither was my time
so much loss to me, because, as I had divided it, a certain part of it
was every day appointed to these works; and as 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 labor and invention,
to furnish myself with utensils proper for the performing all the
operations necessary for making corn fit for my use.
Chapter Thirteen.
His Manufacture of Pottery, and Contrivance for Baking Bread,
B
UT now I was to prepare more land, for I had 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 labor 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 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 full three months, because a
great part of the time was in the wet season, when I could not go

ROBINSON CRUSOE.
117
1
abroad.
Within doors, that is, when it rained, and I could not go out,
I found employment on the following occasions: always observing
that while I was at work, I diverted myself with talking to my par-
rot, and teaching him to speak; and I quickly taught 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. This, therefore, was not my work, but an assistant to
my work; for now, as I said, I had a great employment upon my
hands, as follows: I had long studied, by some means or other, to
make myself some earthen vessels, which indeed I wanted much, but
knew not where to come at them; however, considering the heat of
the climate, I did not doubt but if I could find out any clay, I might
botch up some such pot as might, being dried in the sun, be hard and
strong enough to bear handling, and to hold anything that was dry,
and required to be kept so; and as this was necessary in the prepa-
ring corn, meal, &c., which was the thing I was upon, I resolved to
make some as large as I could, and fit only to stand like jars, to hold
what should be put into them.
It would make the reader pity me, or rather laugh at me, to tell
how awkward ways I took to raise this pastil; what odd, misshapen,
ugly things 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 be-
fore as after they were dried; and, in a word, how, after having la-
bored 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 earthen ugly things
(I cannot call them jars) in about two months' labor.
However, as the sun baked these two very dry and hard, I lifted
them very gently 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, and pipkins, and anything my hand turned to; and
the heat of the sun baked them very hard.
But all this would not answer my end, which was to get an earthen
pot to hold liquids, and bear the fire, which none of these could do
118.
ADVENTURES OF
It happened some time after, making a pretty large fire for cooking
my meat, when I went to put it out after 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 to make it burn
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; but
I placed three large pipkins and two or three pots in a pile, one upon
another, and placed my fire-wood all around 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 inside ret 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 slaked
my fire gradually, till the pots began to abate of the red color; 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, pip-
kins, and two other earthen pots, as hard burnt as could be desired;
and one of them perfectly glazed with the running of the sand.
After this experiment, I need not say that I wanted no sort of earth-
enware for my use; but I must needs say, as to the shapes of them,
they were very indifferent, as any one may suppose, as I had no way
of making them but as the children 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 on the fire again, with
some water in it, to boil me some meat, which it did admirably 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.
My next concern was to get a stone mortar to stamp or beat some
corn in it; for as to the mill, there was no thought of 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 perfectly unqual-
ified for a stone cutter as for any whatever; neither had I
neither had I any tools
to go about it with. I spent many a day to find out a great stone big
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
119
enough to cut hollow, and make it fit for a mortar; but 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 suf-
ficient hardness, as they were all of a sandy crumbling stone, which
would neither bear the weight of a heavy 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 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 the
fire, and infinite labor, made a hollow place in it, as the Indians in
Brazil make their canoes. After this, I made a great heavy pestle, or
beater, of the wood, called 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 difficulty was to make a sieve, or search, 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, even but to think on; for I had nothing like the necessary thing
to make it; I mean fine thin canvas or stuff, to search the meal
through. Here I was at a full stop 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 how to weave it nor spin it; and
had I known how, here were no tools to work with; all the remedy I
found for this was, at last recollecting I had, among the seamen's
clothes, which were saved out of the ship, some neckcloths of calico or
muslin; with some pieces of these I made three small sieves, proper
enough for the work; and thus I made shift for some years; how I
did afterward, I shall show in its place.
•
The baking part was the next thing to be considered, and how I
should make bread when I came to have corn; for, first, I had no
yeast; as to that part, there was no supplying the want, so I did not
concern myself much about it; but for an oven I was indeed puzzled.
At length I found out an expedient for that also; which was this; I
made some earthen vessels, very broad, but not deep, that is to say,
about two feet diameter, and not above nine inches deep; these 1
burned in the fire, as I had done the other, and laid them by; and
when I wanted to bake, I made a great fire upon my hearth, which I
had paved with some square tiles of my own making and burning
also; but I should not call them square. When the firewood was
burned into embers, or live coals, I drew them forward upon the
•
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ADVENTURES OF
hearth, so as to cover it all over, and there let them lie till the hearth
was very hot; then sweeping away all the embers, I set down my
loaf, or loaves, and covering them with the earthen pot, drew the
embers all around 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 good pastry-cook into the
bargain; for I made myself several cakes and puddings of the rice:
but made no pies, as I had nothing to put into them except the flesh
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, in the
intervals of these things, I had my new harvest and husbandry to
manage; I reaped my corn in its season, and carried 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.
Sy
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 in-
crease of the corn now yielded me so much, that I had of the barley
about twenty bushels, and of 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; I resolved, also to see what quantity would be
sufficient for me a whole year, and to sow but once a year.
Upon the whole, I found that the forty bushels of barley and rice
were 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.
Chapter Fourteen.
Meditates his Escape from the Island-Builds a Canoe-Failure of his Scheme-
Resignation to his Condition-Makes himself a New Dress.
LL the while these things were doing, you may be sure
my thoughts ran many times on the prospect of land which
I had seen from the other side of the island; and I was
not without some 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 farther, and perhaps at last
find some means of escape.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
121
But all this while I made no allowance for the dangers of such a
condition, and that 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 of more than a thousand to one of being killed, and per-
haps of being eaten; for I had heard that the people of the Carribe-
an coast were cannibals, or man-eaters; and I knew, by the latitude,
that I could not be far off from that shore; then supposing they were
not cannibals, yet that they might kill me, as they had many Europe-
ans who had fallen into their hands, even when they have been ten or
twenty together; much more I, who was but one, and could make little
or no defence: all these things, I say, which I ought to have consid-
ered well of, and did cast up in my thoughts afterward, took up none
of my apprehensions at first; yet my head ran mightily upon the
thought of getting over to the shore.
?
Now I wished for my boy Xury, and the long-boat with the shoul-
der-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 up upon the
shore a great way, in the storm, when we were first cast away. She
lay nearly where she did at first, but not quite; having turned, by the
force of the waves and the winds, almost bottom upward, against a
high ridge of beachy rough sand; but no water about her, as before.
If I had had hands to have refitted her, and to have launched her into
the water, the boat would have done very well, and I might have
gone back into the Brazils 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, resolving to
try what I could do; suggesting to myself, that if I could but turn
her down, and repair the damage she had received, she would be a
very good boat, and I might venture to sea in her.
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 impossiblo to
heave her up with my little strength, I fell to digging away the sand,
to undermine her, and so as to make her fall down, setting pieces of
wood to thrust and guide her right in the fall. But when I had
done this, I was unable to stir her up again, or to get under her,
much less to move her forward toward the water; so I was forced
to give it over: and yet, though I gave over the hope of the boat, my
desire to venture over the main increased, rather than diminished, as
the means for it seemed impossible.
**
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ADVENTURES OF
At length I began to think whether it was not possible to make
myself a canoe, or periagua, such as the natives of these climates
mako, even without tools, or, as I might say, without hands, of the
trunk of a great tree. This I not only thought possible, but easy, and
pleased myself extremely with the idea of making it, and with my
having much more convenience for it than any of the Negroes or
Indians; but not at all considering the particular inconveniences
which I lay under more than the Indians did, viz., the want of hands
to move it into the water when it was made, a difficulty much harder
for me to surmount than all the consequences of want of tools could
be to them for what could it all avail me, if, after I had chosen my
tree, and with much trouble cut it down, and might be able with my
tools to hew and dub the outside into the proper shape of a boat, and
burn or cut the inside to make it hollow, so as to make a boat of it--
if, after all this, I must leave it just where I found it, and was not
able to launch it into the water?
One would imagine, if I had the least reflection upon my mind of
my circumstances while I was making this boat, I should have im-
mediately thought how I was to get it into the sea; but my thoughts
were so intent upon my voyage in it, that I never once considered
how I should get it off the land; and it was really, in its own nature,
more easy for me to guide it over forty-five miles of sea, than the
forty-five fathoms 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 man
did, who had any of his senses awake. I pleased myself with the
design, without determining whether I was able to undertake it; not
but that the difficulty of launching my boat came often in my head;
but I put a stop to my own inquiries into it, by this foolish answer:
"Let us first make it; I warrant I will 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, and I
question much whether Solomon ever had such a one for the building
of the Temple at Jerusalem; it was five feet ten inches diameter at
the lower part next the stump, and four feet eleven inches diameter
at the end of twenty-two feet, where it lessened and then parted into
branches. It was not without infinite labor that I felled this tree: I
was twenty days hacking and howing at the bottom, and fourteen
more getting the branches and limbs, and the vast spreading head of
it, cut off: after this, it cost me a month to shape it and dub it to a
proportion, and to something like the bottom of a boat, that it might
↑
,
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ROBINSON CRUSOE.
123
swim upright 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 chisel, and by
the dint of hard labor, 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 extremely delighted
with it. The boat was really much bigger than ever I saw a canoe
or a 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; which, had I accomplished, I make no
question but 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 inexpressible labor too. It lay about one hundred yards
from the water, and not more; but the first inconvenience was, it was
up hill toward the creek. Well, to take away this discouragement,
I resolved to dig into the surface of the earth, and so make a de-
clivity; this I began, and it cost me a prodigious deal of pains (but
who grudge pains that have their deliverance in view?) When this
was worked through, and this difficulty managed, it was still much
the same, for I could no more stir the canoe than 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 upon, and calculate how deep it was to be
dug, how broad, how the stuff was to be thrown out, I found by
the number of hands I had, having none but my own, that it must
have been ten or twelve years before I could have gone through
with it; for the shore lay so high, that at the upper end it must have
been at least twenty feet deep; this attempt, though with great re-
luctancy, I was at length obliged to give over also.
This grieved me heartily; and now I saw, though too late, the
folly of beginning a work before we count the cost, and before 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 before; for, by a constant study and serious application
to the word of God, and by the assistance of his grace, I gained a
different knowledge from what I had before; I entertained different
notions of things; I looked upon the world as a thing remote, which
}
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124
ADVENTURES OF
I had nothing to do with, no expectation from, and, indeed, no desires.
about; in a word, I had nothing to do with it, nor was ever likely to
have; 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 is
a great gulf fixed.”
In the first place, I was here removed from all the wickedness of
the world; 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 competitor,
none to dispute 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 tortoise or turtle
enough, but now and then one was as much as I could put to any
use. I had timber enough to have built a fleet of ships; and I had
grapes enough to have made wine, or to have cured into raisins, to
have loaded that fleet when it had been built.
But all I could make use of was all that was valuable; I had enough
to eat and supply my wants, and what was the rest to me? If I killed
more flesh than I could eat the dog must eat it, or 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 use of them
than for fuel, and that I had no other occasion for but to dress my
food.
In a word, the nature and experience of things dictated to me, upon
just reflection, that all the good things of this world are of no further
good to us than for our use, and that whatever we may heap up to
give others, we enjoy only 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 in-
finitely more than I knew what to do with.
knew what to do with. I had no room for de-
sire, except it was for things which I had not, and they were compar-
atively 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 sterling. Alas! there the nasty, sorry, useless stuff lay; I
had no manner of business for it, and I often thought within 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 a sixpenny worth of turnip and carrot seed from England, or for
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ROBINSON CRUSOE.
125
a handful of peas and beans and a bottle of ink. As it was, I had
not the least advantage by it, or benefit from it, but there it lay in a
drawer, and grew mouldy with the damp of the cave in the wet sea-
sons; and if I had had the drawer full of diamonds, it had been the
same casc; they would have been of no manner of value to me, be-
cause of no use.
I had now brought my state of life to be much more comfortable in
itself than it was at first, and much easier to my mind as well as to
my body. I frequently sat down to meat with thankfulness, and ad-
mired the hand of God's providence, which had thus spread my table
in the wilderness; I learned to look more upon the bright side of my
condition, and less upon the dark side, and to consider 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 notice of here,
to put these discontented people in mind of it who cannot enjoy com-
fortably what God has given them, because they see and covet some-
thing that he has not given them. All our discontents about what we
want appeared to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what
we have.
Another reflection was of great use to me, and doubtless would be
so to any one that should fall into such distress as mine was; and this
was, to compare my present 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 wonderfully ordered the ship to be cast up
near the shore, where I not only could come at her, but could bring
what I got out of her to the shore, for my relief and comfort; without
which, I wanted for tools to work, weapons for defence, and gunpow-
der and shot for getting my food.
I spent whole hours, I may say whole days, in representing to my-
self, in the most lively colors, how I must have acted if I had got
nothing out of the ship. 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 perished; that I should have lived, if I had not
perished, like a mere savage; that if I had killed a goat or a fowl, by
any contrivance, I had no way to flay or open it, or part the flesh from
the skin and the bowels, or to cut it up, but must gnaw it with my
teeth and pull it with my claws, like a beast.
-
These reflections made me very sensible of the goodness of Provi-
dence to me, and very thankful for my present condition, with all its
hardships and misfortunes. And this part, also, I cannot but recom-
mend to the reflection of those who are apt, in their misery, to say,
da
} = \**\
126
ADVENTURES OF
"Is any affliction like mine?" Let them consider how much worse
the cases of some people are, and their case might have been, if Provi-
dence had thought fit.
I had another reflection, which assisted me also to comfort my mind
with hopes, and this was, comparing my present condition with what
I 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 my father
and mother; neither had they been wanting to me in their endeavors
to infuse an early religious awe of God into my mind, a sense of my
duty, and what the nature and end of my being required of me. But,
alas! falling early into the seafaring 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 seafaring life, and into seafaring
company, all that little sense of religion which I had entertained was
laughed out of me by my messmates, by a hardened despising of dan-
gers, and the views of death, which grew habitual to me; by my long
absence from all manner of opportunities to converse with anything
but what was like myself, or to hear anything that was good, or tend-
ing toward it.
So void was I of everything that was good, or of the least sense of
what I was, or was to be, that in the greatest deliverances I enjoyed
(such as my escape from Sallee, my being taken up by the Portuguese
master of a ship, my being planted so well in the Brazils, my receiv-
ing the cargo from England, and the like), I never had once the words
"thank God!" so much as on my mind or in my mouth; nor in the
greatest distress had I so much as a thought to pray to him, or so
much as to say "Lord, have mercy upon me!" No, nor 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 account of my wicked and hardened life past,
and when I looked about me and considered what particular provi-
dences 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 iniquity had deserved, but had so plentifully provided for
me; this gave me great hopes that my repentance was accepted, and
that God had yet mercies in store for me.
With these reflections I worked my mind up, not only to a resigna-
tion to the will of God in the present disposition of my circumstances,
but even to a sincere thankfulness for my condition, and that I, who
was yet a living man, ought not to complain, seeing I had not the due
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
127
punishment of my siLs; that I enjoyed so many mercies which I had
no reason to have expected in that place, that I ought never more to
repine at my condition, but to rejoice, and to give daily thanks for
that daily bread which nothing but a crowd of wonders could have
brought; that I ought to consider I had been fed by a miracle, even
as great as that of feeding Elijah by ravens; nay, by a long series of
miracles, and that I could hardly have named a place in the unin-
habitable part of the world where I could have been cast more to my
advantage; a place where, as I had no society, which was my afflic-
tion on one hand, so I found no ravenous beasts, no furious wolves or
tigers to threaten my life; no venomous or poisonous creatures, which
I might feed on to my hurt; no savages to murder and devour me. In
a word, as my life was a life of sorrow one way, so it was a life of
mercy another, and I wanted nothing to make it a life of comfort but
to make myself sensible of God's goodness to me, and care over me in
this condition; and after I did make a just improvement of these
things I went away, and was no more sad.
1
I had now been here so long that many things which I brought on
shore for my help were cither 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 water, a little and a little, till it was so
pale it scarce left any appearance of black upon the paper. As long
as it lasted I made use of it to minute down the days of the month on
which any romarkable thing happened to me; and, first, by casting
up times past, I remember that there was a strange concurrence of
days in the various providences which befell me, and which, if I had
been superstitiously inclined to observe days as fatal or fortunate, I
might have had reason to have looked upon with a great deal of cu-
riosity.
First, I had observed that the same day that I broke away from my
father and my friends, and ran away to Hull, in order to go to sea, the
same day afterward I was taken by the Sallee man-of-war and made a
slave; the same day of the year that I escaped out of the wreck of
the ship in Yarmouth Roads, that same day, years afterward, I made
my escape from Sallee in the boat; and the same day of the year I was
born on, viz., the 30th of September, that same day I had my life so
miraculously saved, twenty-six years after, when I was cast on shore
in this island-so that my wicked life and my solitary life began both
on one day.
The next thing to my ink being wasted, was that of my bread, 1
&
እ
1.28
ADVENTURES OF
mean the biscuit which I brought out of the ship; this I had bus-
banded to the last degree, allowing myself but one cake of bread a
day for above a year; and yet I 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 al-
ready observed, next to miraculous.
My clothes, too, began, to decay mightily; as to linen, I had none
for a great while, except some checkered shirts which I found in the
chests of the other seamen, and which I carefully preserved, because
many times I could bear no 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, indeed, several thick
watchcoats of the seamen's which were left, 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 naked-no,
though I had been inclined to it, which I was not, nor could I abide
the thought 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 fre-
quently blistered my skin; whereas, with a shirt on, the air itself
made some motion, and whistling under the shirt, was two-fold cooler
than without it. No more could I ever bring myself to go out in the
heat of the sun without a cap or hat; the heat of the sun beating
with such violence as it does in that place, would give me the head-
ache presently, by darting so directly upon my head, without a cap or
a hat on, so that I could not bear it; whereas, if I put on my hat, it
would presently go away.
Upon these views, I began to consider about putting the few rags
I had, which I called clothes, into some order. I had worn out all
the waistcoats I had, and my business was now to try if I could not
make jackets out of the great watchcoats that I had by me, and with
such other materials as I had; so I set to work a tailoring, 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 afterward.
H
I have mentioned that I saved the skins of all the creatures that I
killed, I mean four-footed ones; and I had 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 I found very useful.
The first thing I made of these was a great cap for my head, with the

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CRUSOE IN HIS ISLAND DRESS,
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ROBINSON CRUSOE.
129
hair on the outside, to shoot off the rain; and this I performed so well,
that after this I made me a suit of clothes wholly of the skins, that is
to say, a waistcoat, and breeches, open at the knees, and both loose;
for they were rather wanting to keep me cool than warm. I must
not omit to acknowledge that they were wretchedly made; for if I
was a bad carpenter, I was a worse tailor. However, they were such
as I made very good shift with; and when I was abroad, if it hap-
pened to rain, the hair of my waistcoat and cap being uppermost, I
was kept very dry.
After this, I spent a great deal of time and pains to make me an
umbrella; I was indeed in great want of one, and had a great mind
to make one; I had seen them made in the Brazils, where they were
very useful in the great heats which are there; and I felt the heat
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 anything 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 made one that answered
indifferently well; the main difficulty I found was to make it to let
down; I could make it 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 upward, so that it cast off the rain
like a pent-house, and kept off the sun so effectually, that I could`
walk out in the hottest of the weather 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. This made my life better than sociable;
for when I began to regret the want of conversation, I would ask my-
self, whether thus conversing mutually with my own thoughts, and, as
I hope I may say, with even God himself, by ejaculations, was not
better than the utmost enjoyment of human society in the world ?
6*
F
130
ADVENTURES OF
1
Chapter Fifteen:
He makes a Smaller Canoe, in which he attempts to cruise round the Island-
His Perilous Situation at Sea-He returns Home.
V
J
CANNOT say that after this, for five years, any extraordin-
ary thing happened to me, but I lived on in the same
course, in the same posture and place, just as before; the
chief things I was employed in, besides my yearly labor of
planting my barley and rice, and curing my raisins, of both which I
always kept up just enough to have sufficient stock of one year's pro-
vision beforehand; I say, besides this yearly labor, and my daily pur-
suit of going out with my gun, I had one labor, to make me a canoe,
which at last I finished; so that by digging 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 beforehand, as I ought to do, how I should be able to
launch it, so, never being able to bring it into the water, or bring the
water to it, I was obliged to let it lie where it was, as a memorandum
to teach me to be wiser the next time; indeed, the next time, though
I could not get a tree proper for it, and was in a place where I could
not get the water to it at any less distance than, as I have said, near
half a mile, yet as I saw it was practicable at last, I never gave it
over; and though I was near two years about it, yet I never grudged
my labor, 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 design 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. As I had a boat, my next design was to make a cruise 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 little 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 purpose, that I might do everything with discretion and
consideration, I fitted up a little mast in my boat, and made a sail to
it out of some of the pieces of the ship's sails which lay in store, and
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
131
ރ
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 each end of my boat, to put provisions, ne-
cessaries, 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 every now and then took a little voyage upon the sea, but
never went far out, nor far from the little creek. At last, being eager
to view the circumference of my little kingdom, I resolved upon my
cruise; and accordingly, I victualed my ship for the voyage, putting
in two dozen of loaves (cakes I should rather call them) of barley
bread, an earthen pot full of parched rice (a food I ate a great deal
of), a little bottle of rum, half a goat, and powder and shot for kill-
ing more, and two large watchcoats, of those which, as I mentiened
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 largo, yet when I came to the east side of it, I found a great
ledge of rocks lie about two leagues into the sea, some above water,
some under it; and beyond that 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 the point.
When first I discovered them, I was going to give over my enterprise,
and come back again, not knowing how far it might oblige me to put
out to sea, and above all, doubting how I should get back again; so
I came to an anchor; for I had made me a kind of anchor with a
piece of a broken grappling which I got out of the ship.
Having secured my boat, I took my gun and went on shore, climb-
ing up on 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 bill 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, be-
cause 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 got first upon this hill,
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ADVENTURES OF
*
哈
​1
I believe it would have been so; for there was the same current on
the other side the island, only that it set off at a further distance, and
I saw there was a strong eddy under the shore; so I had nothing to
do but get 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 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 I was not even my boat's length from the shore, but I found my-
self in a great depth of water, and a current like the sluice of a mill;
it carried my boat along 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 began 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 possibility 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, indeed,
found a tortoise on the shore, as big, almost, as I could lift, and had toss-
ed 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 driven into
the vast ocean, where, to be sure, there was no shore, no main land or
island, for a thousand leagues at least?
tr
And now I saw how easy it was for the providence of God to make
even the most miserable condition of mankind 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 hands to it, with eager wishes: “O
happy desert!" said I, "I shall never see thee more. O miserable
creature! whither am I going!" Then I reproached myself with my
unthankful temper, and how I had repined at my solitary condition ;
and now what would I give to be on shore there again! Thus we
never see the true state of our condition till it is illustrated to us by
its contraries, nor know how to value what we enjoy, but by the want
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
133
of it. It is scarce possible to imagine the consternation 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 exhausted, and kept my boat as much to the
northward, that is, toward the side of the current which the eddy
lay on, as possibly I 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 S. S. E. This cheered my heart a little, and especially when
in about half an hour more, it blew a pretty gentle gale. By this
time I got a frightful distance from the island, and had the least
cloudy 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 toward the island, if I had but once lost sight
of it; but the weather continuing clear, I applied myself to get up
my mast again, and 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; 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 northeast, so the other returned by the repulse
of the rocks, and made a strong eddy, which ran back again to the
northwest, 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 pres-
ent 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, di-
rectly toward the island, but about two leagues more to the north-
ward 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
=
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ADVENTURES OF
help of this current or eddy, I found it was spent, and served me no
further. However, I found that being between 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 wake of the island, I found the water at least still
and running no way; and having still a breeze of wind fair to 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, being then within a league of
the island, I found the point of the rocks which occasioned this disas-
ter stretching out, as is described before, to the southward, and cast-
ing off the current more southerly, 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
northwest; and, in about an hour, came within about a mile of the
shore, where, it being smooth, 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 refreshing myself with such things as I had, I
brought my boat close to the shore, in a little cove that I had spied
under somie trees, and laid me down to sleep, being quite spent with
the labor 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 of 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 any mind to run any
more ventures; so I only resolved in the morning to make my way
westward along the shore, and 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 thereabout, coasting the shore, I came
to a very good inlet or bay, about a mile over, which narrowed till it
came to a very little rivulet or brook, where I found a very con-
venient harbor 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
stowed 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 umbrella, for it was exceeding hot, I
began my march. The way was comfortable enough after such a
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
135
voyage as I had been upon, and I reached my old bower in the even-
ing, where I found everything standing as I had 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 awaked
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 pad-
dling, 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 awake more perfectly, and was at first dreadfully
frightened, and started up in the utmost consternation; but no sooner
were my eyes open, but I saw my Poll sitting on the top of the hedge,
and immediately 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 perfectly, 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 a parrot, and that indeed it
could be nobody else, it was a good while before I could compose my-
self. First, I was amazed how the creature got thither; and then how
he should just keep about the place, and nowhere else; but as I was
well satisfied it could be nobody but honest Poll, I got over it; 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 carried him home along with me.
I now had enough of rambling to sea for some time, and had enough
to do for many days to sit still, and to 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 did not know how it might be
i
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ADVENTURES OF
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' labor 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 happily in all things except that of society.
I improved myself in this time in all the mechanic exercises which
my necessities put me upon applying myself to; and I believe I
could upon occasion, 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 upon. But
I think I was never more vain of my own performance, or more joyful
for anything 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 burned red, like other earthenware, yet as it was hard and
firm, and would draw the smoke, I was exceedingly comforted with
it, for I had been always used to smoke; and there were pipes in the
ship, but I forgot them at first, not thinking that there was tobacco in
the island; and afterward, when I searched the ship again, I could
not come at any pipes at all.
In my wicker ware also I 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 con-
venient for my laying things up in, or fetching things home. For ex-
ample, if I killed a goat abroad, I could hang it up in a tree, flay it,
dress it, and cut it in pieces, and bring it home in a basket; and 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 for
the receivers of my corn, which I always rubbed out as soon as it was
dry, and cured, and kept it in great baskets.
began now to perceive my powder abated considerably; this was
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
137
Qu
a want which it was impossible for me to supply, and I began seri
ously to consider what I must do when I should have no more pow-
der-that is to say, how I should do to kill any goats. I had, as is
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 a he-goat; but I
could not by any means bring it to pass, till my kid grew an old goat;
and as I could never find it in my heart to kill her, she died at last
of mere age.
1
Chapter Sixteen.
He rears a Flock of Goats-His Dairy-His Domestic Habits and Style of
Living-Increasing Prosperity.

EING now in the eleventh year of my residence, and as I
have said, my ammunition growing low, I set myself to
study some art to trap and snare the goats, to see whether
I could not catch some of them alive; and particularly, I
wanted a she-goat great with young. For 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 pitfall: so I dag several large pits in the earth, in places where
I had observed the goats used to feed, and over those 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 marks 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 bait eaten and gone. This was very dis-
couraging: 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 others 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
killed him, but that was not my business, nor would it answer my
end; so I even let him out, and he ran away, as if he had been
frightened out of his wits. But I had forgot then, what I had learned
r
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ADVENTURES OF
N
afterward, that hunger will tame a lion. If I had let him stay there
three or four days without food, and then have carried him some water
to drink, and then a little corn, he would have been as tame as one
of the kids; for they are a mighty sagacious, tractable creature,
where they are well used. However, for the present 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 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 enclosed piece
of ground, well fenced, either with hedge or pale, to keep them in so
effectually, 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 for doing it, my first work was to find
out a proper piece of ground, 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 enclosures will think I had very little
contrivance, when I pitched upon a place very proper for all these
(being a plain open piece of meadow land or savannah, as our people
call it in the western colonies), which had two or three little rills
of fresh water in it, and at one end was very woody; I say, they will
smile at my forecast, when I shall tell them, I began my enclosing
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 likely 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 stopped short, and,
for the first beginning, I resolved to enclose a piece of about one
hundred and fifty yards in length, and one hundred yards in breadth
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
139
which, as it would maintain as many as I should have in any reason-
able time, so, as my stock increased, I could add more ground to my
enclosure.
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 familiar; and very
often I would go and carry them some ears of barley, or a handful
of rice, and feed them out of my hand; so that after my enclosure
was finished, and I let them loose, they would follow me up and
down, bleating after me for a handful 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. After that I enclosed five several pieces of ground to feed
them in, with little pens to drive them in, 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; a thing which, indeed, in the begin-
ning, I did not so much as think of, and which, when it came into my
thoughts, was really 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 never milked a cow,
much less a goat, or seen butter or cheese made, only when I was a
boy, after a great many essays and miscarriages, made me both but-
ter and cheese at last, and also salt (though I found it partly made to
my hand by the heat of the sun upon some of the rocks of the sea),
and never wanted it afterward. How mercifully can our Creator
treat his creatures, even in those conditions in which they seemed 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 table was here spread for me in a 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
lord of the whole island; I had the lives of all of
I had the lives of all of my subjects at my
absolute command; I could hang, draw, give liberty, and take it
away; and no rebels among all my subjects.
Then to see how like a king I dined, too, all alone, attended by my
scrvants: Poll, as if he had been my favorite, was the only person
140
ADVENTURES OF
1
permitted to talk to me. My dog, who was now grown very old and
crazy, and had found no species to multiply his kind upon, sat always
at my right hand; and two cats, one on one side of the table, and
one on the other, expecting now and then a bit from my hand, as a
mark of special favor.
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 hand; but one of them having multiplied by
I know not what kind of creature, these were two which I 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 attendance,
and in this plentiful manner, I lived. Neither could I be said to
want anything but society; and of that, some time after this, I was
likely 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 current sot, that I might see what
I had to do; this inclination 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 frightened him or raised a great
deal of 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 a 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 the 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 somethings, I scarce know what to call
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
141
rem, like buskins, to flap over my legs and lace on either side, like
spatlerdashes, but of a most barbarous shape, as indeed were all the
rest of my clothes.
I had on a broad belt of 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 dagger, hung a little saw
and hatchet, one on one side and one on the other. I had another
belt, not so broad, and fastened in the same manner, which hung over
my shoulder; 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 pow-
der, in the other my shot. At my back I carried my basket, and on my
shoulder my gun, and over my head a great clumsy goat's skin um-
brella, but which, after all, was the most necessary thing I had about
me, next to my gun. As for my face, the color of it was really not so
mulatto-like as one might expect from a man not at all careful of it,
and living within nine or ten 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 Mahometan whiskers, such as I had seen worn by some
Turks at Sallee, for the Moors did not wear such, though the Turks
did. Of these mustaches 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-by; for, as to my figure, I had so few to ob-
serve 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 seashore directly to
the place where I first brought my boat to an anchor, to get upon the
rocks, and having no boat now to take care of I went over the land,
a nearer way, to the same height that I was upon before, when, look-
ing forward to the point of the rocks which lay out, and which I was
obliged to double with my boat, as is said above, I was surprised to
see the sea all smooth and quiet-no rippling, no motion, no current,
any more than in any other places. I was at a strange loss to under-
stand this, and resolved to spend some time in observing it, to see if
nothing from the sets of the tide had occasioned it; but I was pres-
ently convinced how it was, viz., that the tide of ebb setting from the
west, and joining with the current of waters from some great river on
the shore, must be the occasion of this current, and that according
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ADVENTURES OF
}
t
I
as the wind blew more forcibly from the west or from the north, this
current came nearer or went further from the shore; for, waiting
thereabout till evening, I went up the rock again, and then the tide
of ebb being made, I plainly saw the current again as before, only
that it ran farther off, being near half a league from the chore;
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 nothing to do but to ob-
serve the ebbing and the flowing 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 re-
membrance 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 another reso-
lution, which was more safe though more laborious, and this was that
I would build or rather 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 planta-
tions 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 be-
yond my wall or fortification, that is to say, beyond where my wall
joined to the rock, was all filled up with 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 store
of provision, especially my corn, some in the ear, cut off short from
the straw, and the other rubbed out with my hand.
As for my wall, made, as before, with long stakes or piles, those
piles 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 land, which I kept duly
cultivated and sowed, and which duly yielded me their harvest in its
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 plan-
tation 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 encircled it
in constantly fitted up to its usual height, the ladder standing always
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143
:
in the inside. I kept the trees, which at first were no more than my
stakes, but were now grown very firm and tall, always cut, so 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 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
things, and a blanket laid on them, such as belonged to our sea bed-
ding, 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 enclosures for my cattle, that is to say,
my goats; and as I had taken an inconceivable deal of pains to fence
and enclose this ground, I was so anxious to see it kept entire, lest the
goats should break through, that I never left off, till, with infinite
labor, I had stuck the outside of the hedge so full of small stakes and
so near to one another, that it was rather a pale than a hedge, and
there was scarce room to put a hand through between them; which
afterward, when those stakes grew, as they all did the next rainy
season, made the enclosure strong like a wall-indeed, stronger than
any wall.
I
This will testify for me that I was not idle, and that I spared no
pains to bring to pass whatever appeared necessary for my comfort-
able support; for I considered the keeping up a breed of tame crea-
tures thus at my hand would be a living magazine of flesh, milk, but-
ter, 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 enclosures to such a degree, that I might be
sure of keeping them together; which, by this method, indeed, I so
effectually secured, that when these little stakes began to grow, I had
planted them so very thick, that I was forced to pull some of them up
again.
In this place also I had my grapes growing, which I principally de-
pended on for my winter store of raisins, and which I never failed to
preserve very carefully, as the best and most agreeable dainty of my
whole diet; and, indeed, they were not only agreeable, but medicinal,
wholesome, nourishing, and refreshing to the last degree.
As this was also about half way between my other habitation and the
płace where I 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
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ADVENTURES OF
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 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.
Chapter Seventeen.
Unexpected Alarm and Cause for Apprehension-He fortifies his Abode.
CIJE
T happened one day, about noon, going toward 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 thunderstruck, or as if I had seen an
apparition; I listened, I looked round me, but I could hear nothing,
nor see anything; I went up to a rising ground, to look farther; 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 exactly the print of a foot,
toes, heel, and every part of a foot; how came it thither, I knew not,
nor could I in the least imagine; but, after innumerable fluttering
thoughts, like a man perfectly confused and out of myself, I came
home to my fortification, not feeling, as we say, the ground I went on,
but terrified 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 my affrighted imagination represented things to me in,
how many wild ideas were found every moment in my fancy, and
what strange unaccountable whims 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; whither I went over by the ladder, as
first contrived, or went in at the hole in the rock, which I had called
a door, I cannot remember-no, nor could I remember the next morn-
ing; for never frightened hare filed to cover, or fox to earth, with
more terror of mind than I to this retreat.
I slept none that night; the farther I was from the occasion of my
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
145
1
fright, the greater my apprehensions were; which is something con-
trary to the nature of such things, and especially to the usual prac-
tice of all creatures in fear; but I was so embarrassed with my own
frightful ideas of the thing, that I formed nothing but dismal imagin-
ations to myself, even though I was now a great way off it. Some-
times I fancied it must be the Devil, and reason joined in with me
upon this supposition; for how should any other thing in human
shape come into the place? Where was the vessel that brought
them? What marks were there of any other footsteps? And how
was it possible a man should come there? But then to think that
Satan should take human shape upon him in such a place, where
there could be no manner of occasion for it, but to leave the print of
his foot behind him, and that even for no purpose, too, for he could
not be sure I should see it-this was an amusement the other way.
I considered that the Devil might have found out abundance of other
ways to have terrified me than this of a single print of a foot; that as
I lived quite on the other side of the island, he would never have
been so simple as to leave a mark in a place where it was ten thou-
sand to one whether I should ever see it or not, and in the sand too,
which the first surge of the sea, upon a high wind, would have de-
faced entirely; all this seemed inconsistent with the thing itself, and
with all the notions we usually entertain of the subtlety of the Devil.
Abundance of such things as these assisted to argue me out of
all apprehensions of its being the Devil; and I presently concluded,
then, that it must be some more dangerous creature, viz.: 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 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 per-
haps have searched farther 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 devour me; that if it should happen so that
they should not find me, yet they would find my enclosure, destroy all
my corn, and carry away all my flock of tame goats, and I should
perish at last for mere want.
7
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ADVENTURES OF
Thus my fear banished all my religious hope, all that former cou-
fidence in God, which was founded upon such wonderful experience
as I had had of his goodness, as if he that had fed me by miracle
hitherto could not preserve, by his power, the provision which he
had made for me by his goodness. I reproached myself with my
laziness, that would not sow any more corn one year than would just
serve me till the next season, as if no accident would intervene to
prevent my enjoying the crop that was upon the ground; and this I
thought was so just a reproof, that I resolved for the future to have
two or three years' corn beforehand, so that, whatever might come, I
might not perish for want of bread.
How strange a checkerwork of Providence is the life of man! and
by what secret different springs are the affections hurried about, as
different circumstances 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;
this was exemplified in me, at this time, in the most lively manner
imaginable; for I, whose only affliction was that I seemed banished
from human society, that I was alone, circumscribed by the boundless
´ocean, out off from mankind, and condemned to what I called silent
life; that I was as one whom Heaven thought not worthy to be num-
bered among the living, or to appear 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 blessing 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 ap-
pearance of a man's having set his foot in the island.
Such is the uneven state of human life: and it afforded me a great
many curious speculations afterward, when I had a little recovered
my first surprise. I considered that this was the station of life the
infinitely wise and good providence 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 tc dispute his sovereignty, who, as I was his
creature, had an undoubted right, by creation, to govern and dispose
of me absolutely as he thought fit; and who, as I was a creature that
had offended him, had likewise a judicial 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 re-
flected, that as God, who was not only righteous, but omnipotent, ha.
thought fit thus to punish and afflict me, so he was able to deliver me
t
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
147
that, if he did not think fit to do so, it was my unquestionable duty to
resign myself absolutely and entirely to his will; and on the other
hand, it was my duty also to hope in him, pray to him, and quietly to
attend the dictates and directions of his daily providence.
These thoughts took me up many hours, days, nay, I may say, weeks
-and months; and one particular effect of my cogitations on this ecca-
sion I cannot omit. One morning, early, lying in my bed, and filled
with thoughts about my danger from appearances of savages, I found
it discomposed me very much; upon which these words of the Scrip-
ture came into my thoughts: "Call upon me in the day of trouble,
and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." Upon this, rising
cheerfully out of my bed, my heart was not only comforted, but I was
guided and encouraged to pray earnestly to God for deliverance:
when I had done praying, I took up my Bible and opening it to
read, the first words that presented to me were, "Wait on the Lord,
and be of good cheer, and he shall strengthen thy heart; wait, I say,
on the Lord." It is impossible to express the comfort this gave me.
In answer, I thankfully laid down the book, and was no more sad, at
least on that occasion.
In the middle of these cogitations, apprehensions, and reflections, 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 delusion; that it was nothing
else but my own foot; and why might 1 not come that way from the
boat, as well as I was going that way to the boat? Again, I consid-
ered also, that I could by no means tell, for certain, where I had trod,
and where I had not; and that if, at last, this was only the print of
my own foot, I had played the part of those fools, who try to make
storics of spectres and apparitions, and then are frightened at them
more than anybody.
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 provisions; 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 usually was my evening diversion; and the poor
creatures were in great pain and inconvenience for want of it; and,
indeed, it almost spoiled some of them, and almost dried up their
milk. Encouraging myself, therefore, with the belief that this was
nothing but the print of one of my own feet, and that I might be
truly said to start at my own shadow, I began to go abroad again
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ADVENTURES OF
and went to my country house to milk my flock; but to see with what
fear I went forward, 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 think I was haunted with an evil conscience,
ɔ that I bad been lately most terribly frightened; and so, indeed, I
had. However, as I went down thus two or three days, and having
een nothing, I began to be a little bolder, and to think there was
really nothing in it but my own imagination; but I could not per.
suade myself 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 fitness, that I might be assured it was my
owr foot; but when I came to the place, first, it appeared evidently
to me, that when I laid up my boat, I could not possibly be on shore
anywhere thereabout: secondly, when I came to measure the mark
with my own foot, I found my foot not so large by a great deal. Botb
these things filled my head with new imaginations, and gave me the
vapors 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.
Oh, what ridiculous resolutions men take when possessed with fear!
It deprives them of the use of those means which reason offers for
their relief. The first thing I 101 osed to myself was, to throw down
my enclosures, and turn all my same cattle wild into the woods, lest
the enemy should find them, and then frequent the island in prospect
of the same or the like booty; then to the simple thing of digging
up my two cornfields, lest they should find such a grain there, and
still be prompted to frequent the island; then to demolish my bowor
and tent, that they might not see any vestiges of habitation, and
be prompted to look further, in order to find out the persons inhab-
iting.
These were the subject of the first night's cogitations after I was
come home again, while the apprehensions which had so verrun my
mind were fresh upon me, and my head was full of vapors, as above,
Thus fear of danger is ten thousand times more terrifying than dan.
ger itself when apparent to the eyes; and we find the burden of anx-
iety greater, by much, than the evil which we are anxious about; and
which was worse than all this, I had not that relief in this trouble
from the resignation I used to practise, that I hoped to have. I
looked, I thought, like Saul, who complained not only that the Phi
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149
listines were upon him, but that God had forsaken him; for I did not
now take due ways to compose my mind, by crying to God in my dis-
tress, and resting upon his providence, as I had done before, for my
defence and deliverance; which, if I had done, I had at least been
more cheerfully supported under this new surprise, and perhaps car-
ried through it with more resolution.
This confusion of my thoughts kept me awake all night; but in
the morning I fell asleep; and having, by the amusement of my
mind, been, as it were, tired, and my spirits exhausted, I slept very
soundly, and waked much better composed than I had ever been be-
fore. And now I began to think sedately; and upon the utmost de-
bate with myself, I concluded that this island, which was so exceeding
pleasant, fruitful, and no farther from the main land than as I had
seen, was not so entirely abandoned as I might imagine; that although
there were no stated inhabitants who lived on the spot, yet that there
might sometimes come boats off from the shore, who either with de-
sign, or perhaps never but when they were driven by cross winds,
might come to this place; that I had lived here fifteen years now,
and had not met with the least shadow or figure of any people yet;
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 here upon any occasion; that the most I could
suggest any danger from, was from any casual accidental landing of
straggling people from the main, who, as it was likely, if they were
driven hither, were here against their wills, so they made no stay
here, but wont off again with all possible speed; seldom staying one
night on shore, lest they should not have the help of the tides and
daylight back again; and that, therefore, I had nothing to do but to
consider of some safe retreat, in case I should see any savages land
upon the spot.
Now I began sorely to repent that I had dug my cave so large as
to bring a door through again, which door, as I said, came out be-
yond where my fortifications joined to the rock: upon maturely con-
sidering this, therefore, I resolved to draw me a second fortification,
in the same manner of a semicircle, at a distance from my wall, 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, they wanted but few piles to be driven between them, that
they might 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 everything I could
150
ADVENTURES OF
1.
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 about ten feet thick, with continually 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 had got seven on shore out of the ship:
these I planted like my cannon, and fitted them into frames, that held
them like a carriage, so that I could fire all the seven guns in two
minutes' time. This wall I was many a weary month in finishing,
and yet never thought myself safe till it was done.
When this was done, I stuck all the ground without my wall, for a
great length every way, as full with stakes, or sticks, of the osier-like
wood, which I found so apt to grow, as they could well stand; inso-
much, that I believe I might set in near twenty thousand of them,
leaving 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, growing so monstrous
thick and strong, that it was indeed perfectly impassable; and no
men, 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
that when the two ladders were taken down, no man living could
come down to me without doing himself mischief; and if they had
come down, they were still on the outside of my outer wall.
Thus I took all the measures human prudence could suggest for my
own preservation; and it will be seen, at length, that they were not
altogether without just reason, though I foresaw nothing at that time
more than my mere fear suggested to me.
While this was doing, I was not altogether careless of my other
affairs for I had a great concern upon me for my little herd of
goats; they were not only a ready supply to me on every occasion,
and began to be sufficient for me, without the expense of powder and
shot, but also without the fatigue of hunting after the wild ones; and
I was loath to lose the advantages of them, and to have them all to
nurse up over again.
For this purpose, after long consideration, I could think of but
two ways to preserve them: one was, to find another convenient placo
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
151
to dig a cave under ground, and to drive them into it every night;
and the other was, to enclose two or three little bits of land, remote
from one another, and as much concealed as I could, where I might
keep about half a dozen young goats in each place; so that if any
disaster happened to the flock in general, I might be able to raise
them again with little trouble and time; and this, though it would
require a great deal of time and labor, I thought was the nost ra-
tional design.
Accordingly, I spent some time to find out the most retired parts
of the island; 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 I observed, I almost
lost myself once before, endeavoring 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 en-
closure by nature; at least, it did not want near so much labor to
make it so as the other pieces of ground I had worked so hard at.
Chapter Eighteen.
Precautions against Surprise-Robinson discovers that his Island has been
visited by Cannibals.
J
IMMEDIATELY went to work with this piece of ground,
and in less than a month's time I had so fenced it round, that
my flock, or herd, call it which you please, who were not so
wild now as at first they might be supposed to be, were well
enough secured in it; so, without any further delay, I removed ten
young she-goats and two he-goats to this piece; and when they were
there, I continued to perfect the fence, till I had made it as secure as
the other, which, however, I did at more leisure, and it took me up
more time by a great deal. All this labor I was at the expense 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 two years under this uneasi-
ness, which, indeed, made my life much less comfortable than it was
before, as may be well imagined by any who knows what it is to live
in the constant snare of the fear of maa. And this I must observe,
with grief, too, that the discomposure of my mind had too great im-
RES
152
ADVENTURES OF
pressions also upon the religious part of my thoughts; for the dread
and terror of falling into the hands of savages and cannibals lay so
upon my spirits, that I seldom found myself in a due temper for ap.
plication 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 being murdered and de-
voured before morning; and I must testify from my experience, that
a temper of peace, thankfulness, love and affection, is much the more
proper frame for prayer than that of terror and discomposure; 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 a repentance on a sick bed; for these discomposures 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 island searching for another private
place to make 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 upon the sea, at a great distance. I had found
a perspective glass or two in one of the seamen's chests, which I
saved out of our ship, but I had it not about me, and this was so re-
mote that I could not tell what to make of it, though I looked at it
till my eyes were not able to hold 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 perspective glass in my pocket. When I was come down
the hill to the end of the island, where, indeed, I had never been be-
fore, 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 upon the side of
the island where the savages never came, I should easily have known
that nothing was more frequent than for the canoes from the main,
when they happened to be a little too far out to sea, to shoot ovor to
that side of the island for harbor; likewise, as they often met and
fought in their canoes, the victors, having taken any prisoners, would
bring them over to this shore, where, according to their dreadful cus-
tom, being cannibals, they would kill and eat them-of which here-
after.
*
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
153
When I was come down the hill to the shore, as I said above, being
the southwest 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; aud, particularly, I observed a place where there had
Leen a fire made, and a circle dug in the earth, like a cockpit, where
supposed the savage wretches had sat down to their inhuman feast-
ings upon the bodies of their fellow-creatures.
I was so astonished at the sight of these things that I entertained
në notion of any danger myself from it for a long while; all my
apprehensions were buried in the thought of such a pitch of inhuman,
hellish brutality, and the horror of the degeneracy of human nature,
which, though I had heard of it 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 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 toward my own habitation.
Wher I came a little out of that part of the island I stood still
awhile, as amazed, and then recovering myself, I looked up with the
utmost affection of my soul, and, with a flood of tears in my eyes, gave
God thanks, that had cast my first lot in a part 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
niserable condition, been comforted with the knowledge of himself,
and the hope of his blessing, which was a felicity more than suffi-
ciently equivalent to all the misery which I had suffered or could
suffer.
In this frame of thankfulness I went home to my castle, and began
to be much easier now, as to the safety of my circumstances, than
ever I was before, for I observed that these wretches never came to
this island in search of what they could get, perhaps not seeking, not
wanting, or not expecting anything here, and having often, no doubt,
been up in the covered woody part of it without finding anything to
their purpose. i knew I had been here now almost eighteen years,
and never saw the least footstep of human creature there before, and
I might be eighteen years more as entirely concealed as I was now, if
I did not discover myself to them, which 1 had no manner of occasion
7*
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ADVENTURES OF
to do, it being my only business to keep myself entirely concealed
where I was, unless I found a better sort of creatures than cannibals
to make myself known to. Yet I entertained such an abhorrence of
the savage wretches that I have been speaking of, and of the wretch-
ed, inhuman custom of their devouring and eating one another up,
that I continued 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 plantations, viz., my castle, my country seat, which I
called my bower, and my enclosure in the woods; nor did I look after
this for any other use than as an enclosure for my goats; for the
aversion which nature gave me to these hellish wretches was such,
that I was as fearful of seeing them as of seeing the devil himself. I
did not so much as go to look after my boat 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 island
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 know 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 them, and I began to live just in the same composed manner as
before, only with this difference, that I used 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 cautious of firing
my gun, lest any of them being on the island should happen to hear
it. It was, therefore, a very good providence to me that I had fur-
nished myself with a tame breed of goats, and that I had no need t-›
hunt any more about the woods, or shoot at them; and if I did catco
any more 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
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's-skin belt. I
also furbished up one of the great cutlasses that I had out of the ship,
and made me a belt to hang it on, also, so that I was now a most for-
midable fellow to look at when I went abroad, if you add to the for-
mer description of myself the particular of two pistols, and a great
broadsword hanging at my side in a belt, but without a scabbard.
Things going on thus, as I have said, for some time, I seemed, ex-
cepting these cautions, to be reduced to my former calm, sedato way
of living. All these things tended to show me, more and more, how
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
155
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. It put me upon reflecting how little re-
pining there would be among mankind at any condition of life, if
people would rather compare their condition with those that were
worse, in order to be thankful, than to be always comparing them
with those which are better, to assist their murmurings and com-
plainings.
As in my present condition there were not really many things
which I wanted, so indeed, I thought 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; and I had dropped a good design, which I had once
bent my thoughts too 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 had observed already, I could never
compass; no, though I spent not only many days, but weeks, nay
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 with all these things wanting, I verily
believe, had not the frights and terrors I was in about the savages
intervened, I had undertaken it, and perhaps brought it to pass too;
for I seldom gave anything over without accomplishing it, when once
had it in my head to begin it. But my invention ran now quite
another way; for, night and day, I could think of nothing but how I
might destroy some of these monsters in their cruel, bloody enter-
tainment, and, if possible, save the victim they should bring hither to
destroy. It would take up a larger volume than this whole work is
intended to be, to set down all the contrivances I hatched, or rather
brooded upon, in my thoughts, for the destroying these creatures, or
at least frightening them so as to prevent their coming hither any
more; but all this was abortive; nothing could be possible to take
effect, unless I was to be there to do it myself; and what could one
man do among them, when perhaps there might be twenty or thirty
of them together, with their darts, or their bows and arrows, with
which they could shoot as true to a mark as I could with my gun?
Sometimes I thought of digging a hole under the place where they
156
ADVENTURES OF
made their fire, and putting in five or six pounds of gunpowder, which,
when they kindled their fire, would consequently take fire, and blow
all up that was near it; but as, in the first place, I should be unwill-
ing to waste so much powder upon them, my store being now within
the quantity of one barrel, so neither could I be sure of s going off
at any certain time, when it might surprise them; and, at best, that it
would do little more than just blow the fire about their ears and
fright them, but not sufficient to make them forsake the place; so I
laid it aside, and then proposed that I would place myself in ambush
in some convenient place, with my three guns all double-loaded, and,
in the middle of their bloody ceremony, let fly at them, when I should
be sure to kill or wound perhaps two or three at every shot; and then
falling in upon them with my three pistols, and my sword, I made no
doubt but that if there were twenty I should kill them all. This
fancy pleased my thoughts for some weeks; and I was so full of it,
that I often dreamed of it, and sometimes that I was just going to let
fly at them in my sleep. I went so far with it in my imagination,
that I employed myself several days to find out proper places to put
myself in ambuscade, as I said, to watch for them; and I went fre-
quently to the place itself, which was now grown more familirr to
me; but while my mind was thus filled with thoughts of revenge,
and a bloody putting twenty or thirty of them to the sword, as I may
call it, the horror I had at the place, and at the signals of the barbar-
ous wretches devouring one another, abetted my malice. Well, at
length, I found a place in the side of the hill, where I was satisfied I
might securely wait till I saw any of their boats coming; and might
then, even before they would be ready to come on shoro, convey my-
self unseen, into some thicket of trees, in one of which thero was a
hollow large enough to conceal me entirely; and there I might sit
and observe all their bloody doings, and take my full aim at their
heads, when they were so close together, that it would be next to im-
possible that I should miss my shot, or that I could fail wounding
three or four of them at the first shot. In this place, then, I resolved
to fix my design; and, accordingly, I prepared two muskets and my
crdinary fowling-piece. The two muskets I loaded with a brace of
slugs each, and four or five smaller bullets, about the size of pistol-
bullets; and the fowling piece I loaded with near a handful of swan-
shot, of the largest size; I also loaded my pistols with about four
bullets each; and in this posture, well provided with ammunition for
a second and third charge, I prepared myself for my expedition.
After I had thus laid the scheme of my design, and, in my imagin
$/
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
157
ation, put it in practice, I continually made my tour every morning
up to the top of the hill, which was from my castle, as I called it,
about three miles or more, to see if I could observe any boats upon
tho sea, coming near the island, or standing over toward it; but I
began to tire of this hard duty, after I had, for two or three months,
constantly kept my watch, but came always back without any dis-
covery; there having not in all that time, been the least appearance,
not only on and near the shore, but on the whole ocean, so far as my
eyes or glasses could reach every way.
As long as I kept my daily tour to the hill to look out, so long
also I kept up the vigor of my design, and my spirits seemed to be all
the while in a suitable form for so outrageous an execution as the
killing twenty or thirty naked savages, for an offence which I had not
at all entered into a discussion of in my thoughts, any further than
my passions were at first fired by the horror I conceived at the un-
natural custom of the people of that country, who, it seems, had been
suffered by Providence, in his wise disposition of the world, to have
no other guide than that of their own abominable and vitiated pas-
sions; and, consequently, were left, and perhaps had been so for
some ages, to act such horrid things, and receive such dreadful cus-
toms, as nothing but nature, entirely abandoned by Heaven, and ac-
tuated by some hellish degeneracy, could have run them into. But
now, when, as I have said, I began to be weary of the fruitless excur-
sion, which I had made so long and so far every morning in vain, so
my opinion of the action itself I began to alter; and began, with
cooler and calmer thoughts, to consider what I was going to engage
in; what authority or call I had to pretend to be judge and execu-
tioner upon these men as criminals, whom Heaven had thought fit, for
so many ages, to suffer, unpunished, to go on, and to be, as it wore,
the executioners of his judgments one upon another. How far these
people were offenders against me, and what right had 1 to engage in
the quarrel of that blood which they shed promiscuously one upon
another, I debated this very often with myself, thus: "How do I know
what God himself judges in this particular case? It is certain these
persons do not commit this as a crime; it is not against their own
consciences reproving, or their light reproaching them; they do not
know it to be an offence, and then commit in defiance of divine justice,
as we do in almost all the sins we commit. They think it no more
a crime to kill a captive taken in war, than we do to kill an ox; nor
to eat human flesh, than we do to eat mutton."
When I considered this a little, it followed necessarily that I was
158
ADVENTURES OF
5.
certainly in the wrong in it; that these people were not murderers
in the sense that I had before condemned them in my thoughts. any
more than those Christians were murderers who often put to death
the prisoners taken in battle; or more frequently, upon many occa-
sions put whole troops of men to the sword, without giving quarter,
though they threw down their arms and submitted. In the next
place, it occurred to me, that although the usage they gave one
another was thus brutish and inhuman, yet it was really nothing to
me; these people had done me no injury; that if they attempted me,
or I saw it necessary, for my immediate preservation, to fall upon
them, something might be said for it; but that I was yet out of their
power, and they really had no knowledge of me, and consequently no
design upon me; and therefore it could not be just for me to fall
upon them; that this would justify the conduct of the Spaniards in
all their barbarities practised in America, where they destroyed mill-
ions of these people; who, however they were idolaters and barba-
rians, and had several bloody and barbarous rites in their customs,
such as sacrificing human bodies to their idols, were yet, as to the
Spaniards, very innocent people; and that the rooting them out of
the country is spoken of with the utmost abhorrence and detestation
by even the Spaniards themselves at this time, and by all other
Christian nations in Europe, as a mere butchery, a bloody and unnat-
ural piece of cruelty, unjustifiable either to God or man, and for
which the very name of a Spaniard is reckoned to be frightful and
terrible to all people of humanity, or of Christian compassion-as if
the kingdom of Spain were particularly eminent for the produce of a
race of men who were without principles of tenderness, or the common
bowels of pity to the miserable, which is reckoned to be a mark of
generous temper in the mind.
These considerations really put me to a pause, and to a kind of a full
stop; and I began, by little and little, to be off my design, and to con-
clude I had taken wrong measures in my resolutions to attack the sav-
ages; and that it was not my business. to meddle with them, unless
they first attacked me; and that it was my business, if possible, to pre-
vent; but, that if I were discovered and attacked by them, I knew my
duty. On the other hand, I argued with myself, that this really was
the way not to deliver myself, but entirely to ruin and destroy myself;
for unless I was sure to kill every one that, not only, should be on
shore at that time, but that should ever come on shore afterward, if
but one of them escaped to tell their country-people what had hap-
pened, they would come over again, by thousands to revenge the death
2
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
159
of their fellows, and I should only bring upon myself a certain de-
struction, which, at present, I had no occasion for. Upon the whole,
I concluded that neither in principle nor in policy I ought, one way
or other, to concern myself in this affair; that my business was, by
all possible means, to conceal myself from them, and not leave the
least signal to them to guess by that that there were any living crea-
tures upon the island, I mean of human shape. Religion joined in
with this prudential resolution, 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 toward one another, I
had nothing to do 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 please him. This appeared so
clear to me now, that nothing was a greater satisfaction to me than
that I had 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-guiltiness; beseeching
him to grant me the protection of his providence, that I might not
fall into the hands of 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.
Chapter Nineteen.
Robinson discovers a Cave which serves him as a Retreat against the Savages.
J'
N this disposition I continued for near a year after this; and
so far was I from desiring an occasion for falling upon these
wretches, that in all that time I never once went up the hill to
see whether there were any of them in sight, or to know
whether any of them had been on shore there or not, that I might not
be tempted to renew any of my contrivances against them, or be pro-
voked, by any advantage which might present itself, to fall upon
them; only this I did, I went and removed my boat, which I had on
the other side of my island, and carried it down to the east end of the
yo
160
ADVENTURES OF
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 whatever. With my boat I carried away everything that I
had left there belonging to her, though not necessary for the bare
going thither, viz., a mast and sail which I had made for her, and a
thing like an anchor, but which, indeed, could not be called either an-
chor or grapnel; 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 habitation
upon the island. 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., to 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; for certain it is, that these savage people, who
sometimes haunted this island, never came with any thoughts of find-
ing anything here, and consequently never wandered off from the
coast; and I doubt not but they might have been several times on
sbore after my apprehensions of them had made me cautious, as well
as before. Indeed, I looked back with some horror upon the thoughts
of what my condition would have been if I had popped upon them
and been discovered before that, when, naked and unarmed, except with
one gun, and that loaded often only with small shot, I walked every-
where, peeping and peering about the island to see what I could get;
what a surprise should I have been in, if, when I discovered the print
of a man's foot, I had, instead of that, seen fifteen or twenty savages,
and found them pursuing me, and by the swiftness of their running no
possibility of my escaping them? The thoughts of this sometimes sunk
my very soul within me, and distressed my mind so much, that I could
not soon recover it, to think what I should have done, and how I should
not only have been unable to resist them, but even should not have
had presence of mind enough to do what I might have done, much
less what now, after so much consideration and preparation, I might
be able to do. Indeed, after serious thinkiug on these things, I would
be very melancholy, and sometimes it would last a great while but
I resolved it all, at last, into thankfulness to that Providence which
had delivered me from so many unseen dangers, and had kept me
from those mischiefs which I could have no way been the agent in
delivering myself from, because I had not the least notion of any such
thing depending, or the least supposition of its being possible. This
renewed a contemplation which often had come to my thoughts in
19
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
161
former time, when first I began to see the merciful dispositions of
Heaven, in the dangers we run through in this life; how wonderfully
we are delivered when we know nothing of it; how, when we are in
(a quandary as we call it) doubt or hesitation, whether to go this way
or that way, a secret hint shall direct us this way, when we intended
to go that way; nay, when sense, our own inclination, and perhaps
business, has called to go the other way, yet a strange impression
upon the mind, from we know not what springs, and by we know not
what power, shall overrule us to go this way; and it shall afterward
appear, that had we gone that way which we should have gone, and
even to our imagination ought to have gone, we should have been ru-
ined and lost. Upon these, and many like reflections, I afterward,
made it a certain rule with me, that whenever I found those secret
hints or pressings of mind, to doing or not doing anything that present-
ed, or going this way or that way, I never failed to obey the secret
dictate; though I knew no other reason for it than that such a pres-
sure, or such a hint hung upon my mind. I could give many exam-
ples of the success of this conduct in the course of my life, but more
especially in the latter part of my inhabiting this unhappy island;
besides many occasions which it is very likely I might have taken notice
of, if I had seen with the same eyes then that I see with now. But
it is never too late to be wise; and I cannot but advise all considering
men, whose lives are attended with such extraordinary incidents as
mine, or even though not so extraordinary, not to slight such secret
intimations of Providence, let them come from what invisible intelli-
gence they will. That I shall not discuss, and perhaps cannot account
for;
but certainly they are proof of the converse of spirits, and a
secret communication between those embodied and those unembodied,
and such a proof as can never be withstood; of which I shall have
occasion to give some remarkable instances in the remainder of his
solitary residence in this dismal place.
I believe the reader of this will not think it strange if I confess
that these anxieties, these constant dangers I lived in, and the con-
cern that was upon me, put an end to all invention, and to all the con-
trivances that I had laid for my future accommodations aud conveni-
ences. 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 might make should be heard; much less
would I fire a gun, for the same reason; and, above all, I was intol-
erably uneasy at making any fire, lest the smoke, which is visible at a
great distance in the day, should betray me. For this reason I re-
*
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ADVENTURES OF
moved that part of my business which required fire, such as burning
of pots and pipes, &c., into my new apartment in the woods; where,
after I had been some time, I found to my unspeakable consolation, a
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, before I go on, I
must observe the reason of my making this charcoal, which was this:
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, cook-
ing my meat, &c., so I contrived to burn some wood here, as I had
seen done in England, 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 for which fire was wanting, without dan-
ger of smoke. But this is by-the-by. While I was cutting down some
wood here, I perceived that behind a very thick branch of low brush-
wood, or underwood, there was a kind of hollow place; I was curious
to look in it, and getting with difficulty into the mouth of it, I found
it was pretty large, that is to say, sufficient for me to stand upright in
it, and perhaps another with me; but I must confess to you that I
made more haste out than I did in, when, looking further into the
place, which was perfectly dark, I saw two broad shining eyes of
sone creature, whether devil or man I knew not, 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 my-
self, and began to call myself a thousand fools, and to think that he
that was afraid to see the devil was not fit to live twenty years in an
island all alone, and that I might well think there was nothing in this
cave that was more frightful than myself. Upon this, plucking up
my courage, I took up a firebrand and in I rushed again, with stick
flaming in my hand; I had not gone three steps in but I was almost
as much frightened 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
of words half expressed, and then a deep sigh again. I stepped back,
and was indeed struck with such a surprise 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
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
163
spirits as well as I could, and encouraging myself a little with con-
sidering that the power and presence of God were everywhere, and
were 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 ma-
king 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 frightened
nie, 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 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, neither round
Lor square, no hands having ever been eraployed in making it but
those of mere nature. I observed, also, that there was a place at the
farther side of it that went in further, but it was so low that it re-
quired me to creep upon my hands and knees to go into it, and
whither it went I knew not. so, having no candle, I gave it over for
that 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
inuskets, with some wild-fire in the pan.
Accordingly, the next day 1 came provided with six large candles
of my own making (for I made very good candles now of goat's tal-
low, but was hard set for candle-wick, using sometimes rags or rope-
varn, and sometimes the dried rind of a weed like nettles), and going
ino this low place I was obliged to creep upon all fours, as I have
said, 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. When I got through the strait I found the roof
rose higher up, I believe near twenty feet, but never was such a glo-
rious sight seen in the island, I dare say, as it was, to look round the
sides and roof of this yault or cave; the wall reflected a hundred thou-
sand lights to me from my two candles. What it was in the rock,
whether diamonds or any other precious stones, or gold, which I
rather supposed it to be, I knew not. The place I was in was a most
delightful cavity 1 grotto of its kind as could be expected, though
perfectly dark; the floor was dry and level, and had a sort of a small
loose gravel upon it, so that there was no nauseous or venomous crea-
ture to be seen, neither was there any damp or wet on the sides or
roof; the only difficulty in it was the entrance, which, however, as it
है
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ADVENTURES OF
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 discovery,
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 expedition. Upon this occasion of remov-
ing my ammunition I happened to open the barrel of powder which I
took up out of the sea, and which had been wet, and I found 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 a kernel in the shell, so that I had near sixty pounds of very good
powder in the centre of the cask. This was a very agreeable dis-
covery to me at that time, so I carried all away thither, novor keep-
ing 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 persuaded myself, while I was here, that if five hundred
savages 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 the twenty-third year of my 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 have been content to have capîtu-
lated 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 iu the cave. I had
also arrived to some little diversions and amusements, which made
the time pass a great deal more pleasantly with me than it did be-
fore; as, first, I had taught my Poll, as noted before, to speak, and he
did it so familiarly, and talked so articulately and plain, that it was
very pleasant to me, for I believe no bird ever spoke plainer, and ho
lived with me no less than six-and-twenty years; how long he might
have lived afterward I know not, though I know they have a notion
RCBINSON CRUSOE.
165
in the Brazils that they live a hundred years. My dog was a very
pleasant and loving companion to me for no less than sixteen years
of my time, and then died of mere old age. As to my cats, they mul-
tiplied, as I have observed, to that degree that I was obliged to shoot
several of them at first, to keep them from devouring me and all I
had; but at length, when the two old ones I brought with me were
gipe, and after some time continually driving them from me, and let-
ting them have no provision with me, they all ran wild into the woods,
except two or three favorites, which I kept tame, and whose young,
when they had any, 1 always drowned-and these were a part of my
family. Besides these, I always kept two or three household kids
about me, whom 1 taught to feed out of my hand; and I had two more
parrots, which talked pretty well, and would all call "Robin Cru-
soe, 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 agree-
able to me, so that as I said above, I began to be very well contented
with the life I led, if I could have been secured from the dread of the
savages. But it was otherwise directed; and it may not be amiss for
all people who shall meet with my story, to make this just observa-
tion from it, viz., 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 tho
affliction we are fallen into." I could give many examples of this in
the course of my unaccountable life, but in nothing was it more par-
ticularly remarkable than in the circumstances of my last years of
solitary residence on this island.
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ADVENTURES OF
Chapter Twenty.
Another Visit of the Savages-Robinson sees them Dancing-Perceives the
Wreck of a Vessel.
J
T was now the month of December, as I said above, in my
twenty-third year; and this being the southern solstice (for
winter I cannot call it), was the particular 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, toward
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 terribly surprised at the sight, and stopped short
within my grove, not daring to go out, lest I might be surprised; 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 directly 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 myself 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. i
continued in this posture about two hours; and began to be mighty
impatient for intelligence abroad, for I had no spies to send out
After sitting awhile longer, and musing what I should do in this,
I was not able to bear sitting 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 after me, I set it up
again, and mounted to the top of the hill; and pulling out my
perspective glass, which I had takon on purpose, I laid me down flat
on my belly on the ground, and began to look for the place. I
presently found there was no less than nine naked savages, sitting
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
167
round a small fire they had made, not to warm them, for they had no
need of that, the weather being extremely hot, but, as I supposed, to
dress some of their barbarous diet of human flesh, which they had
brought with them, whether alive or dead I could not teli.
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 was not easy to
imagine what confusion this sight put me into, especially seeing them
come on my side of the island, and so near me, too; but when I con-
sidered their coming must be always with the current of the ebb, I
began, afterward, 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) away. I should have observed, that for an hour or more before
they went off, they went a dancing; and I could easily discern their
postures and gestures by my glass. 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 I
could not distinguish.
As soon as I saw them shipped and gone, I took two guns upon my
shoulders, and two pistols in my girdle; and my great sword by my
side, without a scabbard, and with all the speed I was able to make,
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 laden with arms as I was),
I perceived there had been three canoes more of savages at that
place; and looking out farther, I saw they were all at sea together,
making over for the main. This was a dreadful sight to me, espe-
cially as, going down to the shore, I could see the marks of horror,
which the dismal work they had been about had left behind it, viz.,
the blood, the bones, and part of the flesh, of human bodies, eaten
and devoured by those wretches with merriment and sport. I was so
filled with indignation at the sight, that I now began to premeditate
the destruction of the next that I saw there, let them be whom or how
many soever. It seemed evident to me that the visits which they
made thus to this island were not very frequent, for it was above fif-
teen 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
7
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ADVENTURES OF
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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 uncom-
fortably, by reason of the constant apprehensions of their coming
upon me by surprise: from whence I observe, that the expectation of
evil is more bitter than the suffering, especially if there is no room
to shake off that expectation, or those apprehensions.
During all this time I was in the murdering humor, and took up
most of my hours, which should have been better employed, in con-
triving how to circumvent and fall upon them, the very next time I
should see them; especially if they should be divided, as they were
the last time, into two parties: nor did I consider at all, that if I
killed one party, suppose ten or a dozen, I was still the next day, or
week, or month, to kill another, and so another, even ad infinitum, till
I should be at length no less a murderer than they were in being
man-eaters, and perhaps much more so. I spent my 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 around
me with the greatest care and caution imaginable. And now I found
to my great comfort, how happy it was that I provided for a tame
flock or herd of goats: for I durst not, upon 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 again, with perhaps two or three hun-
dred 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 see them: but in the
month of May, as near as I could calculate, and in my four-and-
twentieth year, I had a very strange encounter with them; of which
in its place.
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The perturbation of my mind, during this fifteen or sixteen months'
interval, was very great; I slept unquiet, dreamed always frightful
dreams, and often started out of my sleep in the night: in the day,
great froubles 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. But to waive all this for a while. 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 tho post still
I say, it was on the sixteeeth of May that it blew a very great storm
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
169
of wind all day, with a great deal of lightning and thunder, and a
very fcul night it was after it. I knew not what was the particular
occasion of it, but as 1 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
s, a surprise quite of a 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, clapped 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 the very moment that a flash of fire bid me listen for a second
gun, which accordingly, in about half a minute, I heard; and, by the
sound, knew it was from that part of the sea where I was driven down
the current in my boat. I immediately considered that this must be
somo ship in distress, and that they had some comrade, or some other
ship in company, and fired these guns for signals of distress, and
to obtain help. 1 had the presence of mind, at that minute, to
think that though 1 could not help them, it might 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: so 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 plied my fire all
night long, till daybreak; 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 distinguish, no, not
with my glass; the distance was so great, and the weather still some-
thing hazy also; at loast 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 anchor; and
being eager, you may be sure, to be satisfied, I took my gun in my
hand, and ran toward the south side of the island, to the rocks where
I had formerly been carried away with the current; and getting up
there, the weather by this time being perfectly clear, I could plainly
sce, 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 violence of the stream, and
made a kind of counter-stream, or eddy, were the occasion of my re-
covering from the most desperate, hopeless condition that ever I had
4
170
ADVENTURES OF
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. N.
E. Had they seen the island, as I must necessarily suppose they did
not, they must, as I thought, have endeavored to have saved them.
selves on shore by the help of their boats; but their firing off guns
for help, especially 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 into their boat, and endeavored to
make the shore; but that the sea going very high, they might have
been cast away; other times I imagined that they might have lost
their boat before, as might be the case many ways-as particularly,
by the breaking of the sea upon their ship, which many times obliges
men to stave, or take in pieces, their boat, and sometimes to throw it
overboard with their own hands; other times I imagined they had
some other ship or ships in company, who, upon the signals of distress.
they had made, had taken them up and carried them off; other times
I fancied they were all gone off to sea in their boat, and being hur-
ried away by the current that I had been formerly in, were carried
out into the great ocean, where there was nothing but misery and
- perishing; and that, perhaps, they might by this time be starving,
and in a condition to think of eating one another.
As all these were but conjectures at best, so, in the condition I was
in, I could do no more than look on upon the misery of the poor meu,
and pity them; which had still the good effect on my side, that it
gave me more and more cause to give thanks to God, who had so
happily and comfortably provided for me in my desolate condition;
and that of two ship's 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 observe, 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 circumstances than our own. Such certainly was the case
of these men, of whom I could not so much as see room to supposo
any of them were saved; nothing could make it rational so much as
to wish or expect that they did not all perish there, except the possi-
bility only of their being taken up by another ship in company; and
this was but mere possibility, indeed, for I saw not the least sign or
appearance of such thing. I cannot explain, by any possible energy
of words, what a strange longing or hankering of desires I felt in my
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
171
soul upon this sight, breaking out sometimes thus: "Oh, that there
had been but one or two, nay, or but one soul saved out of this ship,
to have escaped 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 regret at
the want of it.
C
Chapter Twenty-One.
He Visits the Wreck and Obtains many Stores from it-Again thinks of
Quitting the Island-Has a Remarkable Dream.
HERE are some secret moving springs in the affections,
which, when they are set a going by some object in view,
or, though not in view, yet rendered present to the mind by
the power of imagination, that motion carries out the soul,
by its impetuosity, to such violent, eager embracings of the object,
that the absence of it is insupportable. Such were these earnest
wishings that but one man had been saved. I believe I repeated the
words: "O that it had been but one!" a thousand times; and my de-
sires were so moved by it, that when I spoke the words my hands
would clinch together, and my fingers would press the palms of my
hands so, that if I had any soft thing in my hand it would have
crushed it involuntarily; and the teeth in my head would strike to-
gether, and set against one another so strong, that for some time I
could not part them again. Let the naturalists explain these things,
and the reason and manner of them; all that I can say to them is, to
describe the fact, which was even surprising to me, when I found it,
though I knew not from whence it proceeded; it was doubtless the
effect of ardent wishes, and of strong ideas formed in my mind, reali-
zing the comfort which the conversation of one of my fellow-
Christians would have been to me. But it was not to be; either their
fate or mine, or both, forbade it; for, till the last year of my being
on this island, I never knew 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 the shipwreck. He had no clothes on but a seaman's waistcoat,
a pair of open-kneed linen drawers, and a blue linen shirt, but nothing
172
ADVENTURES OF
to direct me so mnch as to guess what nation he was of; he had
nothing in his pockets but two pieces-of-eight and a tobacco-pipe;
the last was to me of ten times mere value than the first.
It was now calm, and I had a great mind to venture out in my boat
to the 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 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 or day, but I must venture
out in my boat on board this wreck; and committing the rest to God's
providence, I thought the impression was so strong upon my mind
that it could not be resisted, that it must come from some invisible
direction, and that I should be wanting to myself if I did not go.
Under the power of this impression, I hastened back to my castle,
prepared everything 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 deal of that left), and a basket of raisins; and thus load-
ing myself with everything necessary, I went down to my boat, got
the water out of her, put her afloat, loaded all my cargo in her, and
then went home again for more. My second cargo was a great bag
of rice, the umbrella to set over my head for a shade, another large
pot of fresh water, and about two dozen of my small loaves, or barley-
cakes, more than before, with a bottle of goat's milk and a checso;
all which, with great labor and sweat, I carried to my boat; and
praying to God to direct my voyage, I put out: and rowing, or pad-
dling, the canoe along the shore, came at last to the utmost point of
the island on the northeast side. 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 dis-
tance, and which were very terrible to me, from the remembrance of
the hazard I had been in boforc, and my heart began to fail me; for
I foresaw that if I was driven into either of those currents, I should
be carried a great way out to sea, and perhaps out of my reach, or
sight of the island again; and that, then, as my boat was but small, if
any little gale of wind should rise, I should be inevitably lost.
These thoughts so oppressed my mind, that I began to give over my
enterprise; and having hauled my boat into a little creek on the
shore, I stepped out, and sat me down upon a rising bit of ground,
very pensive and anxious, between fear and desire, about my voyago ;
when, as I was musing, I could perceive that the tido was turned, and
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the flood came on; upon which my going was impracticable for so
many hours. Upon this, presently, it occurred to me that I should
go up to the highest piece of ground I could find, and observe, if Ì
could, how the sets of the tide, or currents, lay when the flood came
in, that I might judge whether, if I was driven one way out, I might
not expect to be driven another way home, with the same rapidness
of the currents. This thought was no sooner in my head than 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 side
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 the night in
my canoe, under the great watchcoat I mentioned, I launched out. I
first made a little out to sea, full north, till I began to feel the benefit
of the current, which set eastward, and which carried me at a great
rate, and yet did not so hurry me as the current on the south side
had done before, so as to take from me all government of the boat; but
having a strong steerage with my paddle, I went at a great rate di-
rectly 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 were beaten to pieces with the sea; and as her fore-
castle, which stuck in the rocks, had run on with great violence, her
mainmast and foremast 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,
who, seeing me coming, yelped and cried; and as soon as I called
him, jumped into the sea to come to me. I took him into the boat,
but fonnd him almost dead with hunger and thirst. I gave him a
cake of my bread, and he devoured it like a ravenous wolf that had
been starving a fortnight 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 I met
with was two men drowned in the cook room, or forecastle of the
ship, with their arms fast about one another. I concluded, as 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
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ADVENTURES OF
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 were spoiled by the water. There were some
casks of liquor, whether 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
believed 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 voyage; 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 from the course she steered, she must have been
bound from Buenos Ayres, or the Rio de la Plata, in the south part
of America, beyond the Brazils, to the Havana, in the Gulf of Mex-
ico, and so perhaps to Spain. She had, no doubt, a great treasure in
her, but of no use, at that time, to anybody; and what became of her
crew, I then knew not.
I found, besides 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 the cabin, and a great powder-horn, with
about four pounds of powder in it; as for the muskets, I had no occa-
sion for them, so I left them, but took the powder-horn. I took a fire-
shovel and tongs, which I wanted extremely; 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 morning I resolved to harbor what
I had got in my new cave, and not 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 Brazils, and in a word, not at all good; but
when I came to open the chests, I found several things of great use to
me; for example, I found in one a fine case of bottles, of an extraor-
dinary 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 also
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
+
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
175
white linen handkerchiefs and colored neckcloths; the former were
also very welcome, being exceeding refreshing to wipe my face in a
hot day. Besides this, when I came to the till in the chest, I fouud
three great bags of pieces-of-eight, which held about eleven hundred
pieces in all; and in one of them, wrapped 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. In the other chests were some clothes,
but of little value; but by the circumstances, it must have belonged
to the gunner's mate; though there was fo powder in it, except 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 manner 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 none on my feet for many years. I had, indeed, got two pairs
of shoes now, which I took off the feet of the two drowned men whom
I saw in the wreck, and I found two pairs 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 rials, 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 loaded my canoe several times over
with money; and thought I, "If I ever escape to England, it might
lie here safe enough till I may come again to fetch 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 harbor, where I laid her up, and made the best of my way to
my old habitation, where I found everything safe and quiet. I began
now to repose myself, live after my old fashion, and take care of my
family affairs; and for awhile, I lived casy enough, only that I was
more vigilant than I used to be, looked out oftener, and did not go
abroad so much; and if, at any time, I did stir with any freedom, it
was always to the east part of the island, where I was pretty well
satisfied the savages never came, and where I could go without so
many precautions, and such a load of arms and ammunition as I always
carried with me if I went the other way. I lived in this condition
22,
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ADVENTURES OF
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near two years more; but my unlucky head, that was always to lot
me know it was born to make my body miserable, was all these 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 to Sallee in, I should have ventured to sea, bound
anywhere, I know not whither. I have been, in all my circumstances,
a memento to those who are touched with the general plague of man-
kind, whence, for aught I know, one half of their miseries flow; I
mean that of not being satisfied with the station wherein God and na-
ture hath placed them; for, not to look back upon my primitive con-
dition, and the excellent advice of my father, the opposition to which
was, as I may call it, my original sin, my subsequent mistakes of the
same kind had been the means of my coming into this miserable con-
dition; for had that Providence, which had so happily seated me at
the Brazils as a planter, blessed me with confined desires, and I could
have been contented to have gone on gradually, I might have been,
by this time, I mean in the time of my being in this island, one of the
most considerable planters in the Brazils; nay, I am persuaded, that
by the improvements I had made in that little time, I lived thero,
and the increase I should probably have made if I remained, I might
have been worth a hundred thousand moidores. And what business
had I to leave a settled fortune, a well-stocked plantation, improving
and increasing, to turn supercargo to Guinea, to fetch negroes, when
patience and time would have so increased our stock at home, that we
could have bought them at our own door from those whose business
it was to fetch them; and though it had cost us something more, yet
the difference of that price was by no means worth saving at so great
a hazard? But as this is usually the fate of young heads, so reflec-
tion upon the folly of it is as commonly the exercise of more years,
or of the dear-bought experience of time; so it was with me now;
and yet so deep had the mistake taken root in my temper, that I could
not satisfy myself in my station, but was continually poring upon the
means and possibility of my escape from this place. and that I may,
with the greater pleasure to the rcader, bring on the remaining part
of my story, it may not be improper to give some account of my first
conceptions on the subject of this foolish scheme for my escape, and
how, and upon what foundation, I acted.
I am now to be supposed retired into my castle, after my late voyage
C
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
177
1
to the wreck, my frigate laid up and secured under water, as usual, and
my condition restored to what it was before; I had more wealth, indeed,
than I had before, but was not at all the richer; for I had no more usc
for it than the Indians of Peru had before the Spaniards came there.
It was one of the nights in the rainy season, in March, the four-
and-twentieth year of my first setting foot in this island of solitude, I
was lying in my bed, or hammock, awake; very well in health, had
no pain or distemper, no uneasiness of body, nor any 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
impossible to set down the innumerable crowd of thoughts that whirl-
ed 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,
or by abridgment, as I may call it, to my coming to this island, and
also that part of my life since I came to this island. In my reflections
upon the state of my case since I came on shore on this island, I was
comparing the happy posture of my affairs in the first years of my
habitation here, compared 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 even
all the while, and might have been several hundreds of them at times
on shore there; but I had never known it, and was incapable of any
apprehensions about it; my satisfaction was perfect, though my dan-
ger 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 particularly this one: How
infinitely good that Providence is, which has provided, in its govern-
ment of mankind, such narrow bounds to his sight and knowledge of
things; and though he walks in the midst of so many thousand dan-
gers, 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 dangers
which surround him.
After these thoughts had for some time entertained me, I came to
reflect seriously 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 secu-
rity, and with all possible tranquillity, even when perhaps nothing
but the brow of a hill, a great tree, or the casual approach of night,
had been between me and the worst kind of destruction, viz., that of
falling into the hands of cannibals and savages, who would have seized
on me with the same view as I would on a goat or a turtle, and have
الم
8*
178
ADVENTURES OF
thought it no more a crime to kill and devour me than I did a pigeon
or a curlew. I would unjustly slander myself if I should say I was
not sincerely thankful to my Great Preserver, to whose singular pro-
tection I acknowledged, with great humility, all these unknown de-
liverances were due, and without which I must inevitably have fallen
into their merciless hands.
When these thoughts were over, my head was for some time taken
up in considering the nature of these wretched creatures (I mean the
savages), and how it came to pass in the world that the wise Governor
of all things should give up any of his creatures to such inhumanity,
nay, to something so much below even brutality itself, as to devour
its own kind; but as this ended in some (at that time) fruitless specu-
lations, it occurred to me to inquire what part of the world these
wretches lived in; how far off the coast was 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 troubled myself to consider what I should do
with myself when I went thither, what would become of me if I fell
into the hands of the savages, or how I should escape from them if
they attacked me; no, nor so much as how it was possible for me to
reach the coast, and not be attacked by some or other of them, with-
out any possibility of delivering myself; and if I should not fall into
their hands, what I should do for provisions, 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 upon the notion of my passing
over in my boat to the main land. I looked upon my present con-
dition as the most miserable that could possibly be; that I was not
able to throw myself into anything but death that could be called
worse; and if I reached the shore of the main, I might perhaps meet
with relief, or I might coast along, as I did on the African shore, till
I came to some inhabited country, and where I might find some relief;
and after all, perhaps I might fall in with some Christian ship that might
take me in; and, if the worst came to the worst, I could but die,
which would put an end to all these miseries at once. Pray note, all
this was the fruit of a disturbed mind, an impatient temper, made
desperate, as it were, by the long continuance of my troubles, and the
disappointments I had met in the wreck I had been on board of, and
where I had been so near obtaining what I so earnestly longed for,
viz., somebody to speak to, and to learn some knowledge from them
of the place where I was, and of the probable means of my deliver-
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
179
ance. I was agitated wholly by these thoughts; all my calm of mind,
in my resignation to Providence, and waiting the issue in the dispo-
sitions of Heaven, seemed to be suspended, and I had, as it were, no
power to turn my thoughts to anything but to the project of a voyage
to the main, which came upon me with such force, and such an im-
petuosity of desire, that it was not to be resisted.
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 if I had been in a fever, merely with the extraordinary fervor
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, and that they brought with them
another savage, whom they were going to kill, in order to eat him,
when, on a sudden, the savage that they were going to kill jumped
away and ran for his life; and I thought, in my sleep, that he came
running into my little thick grove before my fortification to hidə
himself, and that I, seeing him alone, and not perceiving that the
others sought him in that way, showed myself to him, and smiling
upon him encouraged him; that he kneeled down to me, seeming to
pray me to assist him; upon which I showed him my ladder, made
him go up, and carried him into my cave, and he became my servant;
and that, as soon as I had got 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,
and whither not to go, for fear of being devoured-what places to
venture in, and what to shun." I waked with this thought, and was
under such inexpressible impressions of joy at the prospect of my
escape, in my dream, that the disappointment which I felt upon com-
ing to myself, and finding that it was no more than a dream, were
equally extravagant the other way, and threw me into a very great
dejection of spirits.
Upon this, however, I made this conclusion: that my only way to
go about to attempt an escape was, if possible, to get a savage into
my possession-and, if possible, it should be one of their prisoners,
whom they had condemned to be eaten, and should bring hither to
kill. But these thoughts still were attended with this difficulty, that
it was impossible to effect this without attacking a whole caravan of
them and killing them all; and this was not only a very desperate
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ADVENTURES OF
attempt, and might miscarry, but, on the other hand, I had greatly
scrupled the lawfulness of it to myself, and my heart trembled at the
thought of shedding so much blood, though it was for my deliverance.
I need not repeat the arguments which occurred to me against this,
they being the same mentioned before; but, though I had other rea-
sons to offer now, viz., that those men were enemies to my life, and
would devour me if they could; that it was self-preservation in the
highest degree to deliver myself from this death of a life, and was
acting in my own defence as much as if they were actually assaulting
me, and the like. I say, though these things argued for it, yet the
thought of shedding human blood for my deliverance was very ter-
rible to me, and such as I could by no means reconcile myself to for
a great while. However, at last, after many secret disputes with my-
self, and after great perplexities about it (for all these arguments, one
way and another, struggled in my head a long time), the eager, pre
vailing desire of deliverance at length mastered all the rest, and I re-
solved, if possible, to get one of those savages into my hands, cost
what it would. My next thing was to contrive how to do it, and this,
indeed, was very difficult to resolve on; but, as I could pitch upon no
probable means for it, so I resolved to put myself upon the watch, to
see them when they came on hore, and leave the rest to the event
taking such measures as the opportunity should present, let what
would be.
With these resolutions in my thoughts I set myself upon the scout
as often as possible, and indeed so often that I was heartily tired of it,
for it was above a year and a half that I waited, and for great part of
that time went out to the west end, and to the southwest corner of
the island, almost every day, to look for canoes, but none appeared.
This was very discouraging, and began to trouble me much, though I
cannot say that it did in this case (as it had done some time before)
wear off the edge of my desire to the thing, but the longer it seemed
to be delayed the more cager I was for it. In a word, I was not at
first so careful to shun the sight of these savages, and avoid being
seen by them, as I was now eager to be upon them. Besides, I fan-
cied myself able to manage one, nay, two or three savages, if I had
them, so as to make them entirely slaves to me, to do whatever I
should direct them, and to prevent their being able at any time to do
me any hurt. It was a great while that I pleased myself with this
affair, but nothing still presented; all my fancies and schemes came
to nothing, for no more savages came near me for a great while.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
181
Chapter Twenty-Two.
Robinson rescues one of their Captives from the Savages, who he names
Friday, and makes his Servant,
BOUT a year and a half after I entertained these notions
(and by long nursing had, as it were, resolved them all into
nothing, for want of an occasion to put them into execu-
tion), I was surprised one morning early, with seeing no
less than five canoes all on shore together on my side the island, and
the people who belonged to them all landed, and out of my sight.
The number of them broke all my measures; for 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 any measures,
to attack twenty or thirty men single-handed; so I lay still in my
castle, perplexed and discomforted; however, I put myself into all
the same postures for an attack that I had formerly provided, and was
just ready for action, if anything 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; standing 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 perspective glass, that they were no less than thirty in num-
ber; that they had a fire kindled, and that they had meat dressed.
How they had cooked it I knew not, or what it was; but they were all
dancing, in I know not how many barbarous gestures and figures,
their own way, round the fire.
While I was thus looking on them, I perceived by my perspective,
two miserable wretches dragged from the boats, where it seems they
were laid by, and were now brought out for the slaughter. I per-
ceived one of them immediately fall, being knocked down, I suppose,
with a club or wooden sword, for that was their way, and two or three
others were at work immediately, cutting him open for their cookery,
while the other victim was left standing by himself, till they should
be ready for him. In that very moment, this poor wretch, sceing
himself a little at liberty, and unbound, nature inspired him with hopes
of life, and he started away from them, and ran with incredible swift-
ness along the sands, directly toward me, I mean toward that part of
the coast where my habitation was. I was dreadfully frightened, I
ht
1
182
ADVENTURES OF
must acknowledge, when I perceived him 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; but I could not depend,
by any means, upon my dream for the rest of it, viz., that the other
savages would not pursue him thither, and find him there. However,
I kept my station, and my spirits began to recover, when I found that
there was not above three men that followed him; and still more
was I encouraged when I found that he outstripped 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.
ness.
There was between them and my castle the creek, which I men-
tioned often in the first part of my story, where I landed my cargoes
out of the ship; and this I saw plainly he must necessarily swim
over, or the poor wretch would be taken there; but when the savages
escaping came thither, he made nothing of it, though the tide was
then up; but plunging in, swam through in about thirty strokes, or
thereabouts, landed, and ran on with exceeding strength and swift-
When the three persons came to the creek, I found that two of
them could swim, but the third could not, and that, standing on the
other side, he looked at the others, but went no farther, and soon after
went softly back again; which, as it happened, was very well for him
in the end. I observed, that the two who swam were yet more than
twice as long swimming over the creek as the fellow that was fed
from them. It came now very warmly upon my thoughts, and indeed
irresistibly, that now was the time to get me a servant, and perhaps
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, for they were both
at the foot of the ladders, as I observed above, and getting up again,
with the same haste, to the top of the hill, I crossed toward the sea,
and having a very short cut, and all down hill, placed myself in tho
way between the pursuers and the pursued, hallooing aloud to him
that fled, who, looking back, was at first, perhaps, as much frightened
at me as at them; but I beckoned with my hand to him to come back;
and, in the meantime, I slowly advanced toward the two that fol-
lowed: then rushing at once upon the foremost, I knocked him down
with the stock of my piece. I was loath to fire, because 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
*

C
Wir
CRUSOE FIRST SELS FRIDAY.
----
N. TRA—IV. 1
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
183
have easily known what to make of it. Having knocked this fellow
down, the other who pursued him stopped, as if he had been fright-
ened, and I advanced apace toward 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 necessitated to shoot at him first, which I
did, and killed him at the first shot. The poor savage who filed but
had stopped, though he saw both his enemies fallen and killed, as he
thought, yet was so frightened with the fire and noise of my piece,
that he stood stock still, and neither went forward nor went back-
ward, though he seemed rather inclined still to fly than to come on.
I hallooed again to him, and made signs to come forward, which he
easily understood, and came a little way; then stopped again, and
then a little farther, 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 killed, as his two enemies were. I beckoned to him again
to come to me, and gave him all the signs of encouragement that I
could think of; and he came nearer and nearer, kneeling down every
ten or twelve steps, in token of acknowledgment for saving his life.
I smiled at him, and looked pleasantly, and beckoned to him to come
still nearer; at length he came close to me; and then he kneeled
down again, kissed 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 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 himself; so I pointed to him, and showed him the savage, 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 re-
covered 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 called him now, made a motfon to me to lend him
my sword which hung naked in a belt by my side, which I did. He
no sooner had it, but he runs to his enemy, and, at one blow, cut off
his head so cleverly, no executioner in Germany could have done it
sooner or better; which I thought very strange for one who, I had
reason to believe, never saw a sword in his life before, except their
184
ADVENTURES OF
own wooden swords: however, it seems, as I learned afterward, 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 aonished him most was to know how I killed the other Indian
10 far out: so pointing to him, he made signs to me to let him go to
nira; so I bade him go, as well as I could. When he came to him, he
stod like one amazed, looking at him, turning him first on one side,
then on the other, looking at the wound the bullet had made, which it
seems, was just in his 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 beckoned him to follow mo, making signs to
him that more might come after them. Upon this he made signs 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 again 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 by the other also; I believe he
had buried them 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 farther part of the island; so I did not let my dream come to
pass in that part, viz., that he came into my grove for shelter. IIere
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 run-
ning; and having refreshed him, I made signs for him to go and lie
down to sleep, showing him a place where I had laid some 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, strong limbs, not too large, tall, and well shaped, and as [
reckon, ahout twenty-six years of age. He had a very good counte-
nance, not a fierce and surly aspect, but seemed to have something
very manly in his face; and yet he had all the sweetness and softness
of a European in his countenance, too, especially when he smiled.
His hair was long and black, not curled like wool, his forehead very
high and large, and a great vivacity and sparkling sharpness in his
eyes. The color of his skin was not quite black but very tawny, and
ROBINSON CRUSOF
185
yet not an ugly yellow, nauseous tawny, as the Brazilians and Vir-
ginians, and other natives of America, are, but of a bright kind of a
dun olive color, that had in it something very agreeable, though not
very easy to describo. Ilis 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 as white as ivory.
After he had slumbered rather than slept about half an hour he
awoke again, and came out of the cave to me, for I had been milking
my goats, which I had in the enclosure just by. When he espied me
he came running to me, laying himself down upon the ground, with all
the possible signs of an humbie, thankful disposition, making a great
many antic gestures to show it. At last he lays his head flat upon
the ground, close to my foot, aud sets my foot upon his head, as he
had done before, and after this made all the signs to me of subjection,
servitude, and submission, imaginable, to let me know he would serve
me as long as he lived. I understood him in many things, and let
him know I was very well pleased with him. In a little time I be-
gan to speak to him, and teach him to speak to me; and, first, I let
him know his name should be FRIDAY, which was the day I 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 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 1 beckoned to him to come
with me, and let him know that 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 buried the two men, he pointed exactly to the
place, and showed me the marks that he had made to find them again,
making signs to me that we should dig them up again and cat them.
At this I appeared very angry, expressed my abhorrence of it, made
as if I would vomit at the thought of it, and beckoned with my hand
to him to come away, which he did immediately, with great submis-
sion. I then led him up to the top of the hill, to see if his enemies
were gone, and pulling out my glass I looked, and saw plainly the
place where they had been, but no appearance of them or their ca-
noes, so that it was plain that they were gone, and had left their two
comrades behind them, without any search after them.
But i was not content with this discovery; but having now more
186
ADVENTURES OF
courage, and consequently more curiosity, I took my manriday 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, und away we marched to
the place where these creatures had been, for I had a mind now to
got 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; indeed it was a dreadful sight-at least it
was so to me, though Friday made nothing of it. The place was
covered with human bones, the grounl dyed with their blood, and
great pieces of flesh left here and there, half eaten, mangled, and
scorched, and, in short, all the tokens of the triumphant feast they
had been making there, after a victory over their enemies. 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 to feast
upon, that three of them were eaten up, and that he, pointing to him-
self, 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
they had taken a great number of prisoners, all of which were carried
to several places by those who had taken them in the fight, in order to
feast upon them, as was done here by these wretches upon those they
brought hither.
4
I caused Friday to gather up all the skulls, bones, flesh, and what-
ever remained, and lay them together in a heap, and make a great
fire upon it, and burn them all to ashes. I found Friday had still a
hankering stomach after some of the flesh, and was still a cannibal in
his nature; but I discovered so much abhorrence at the very thought
of it, and at the least appearance of it, that he durst not discover it--
for I had, by some means, let him know that I would kill him if he
offered it.
HE
When he 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 men-
tioned which I found in the wreck, and which, with a little altera-
tion, fitted him very well, and then I made him a jerkin of goat's
skin, as well as my skill would allow (for I was now grown a toler-
able good tailor), and I gave him a cap, which I made of hare's skin,
very convenient, and fashionable enough; and thus was clothed
for the present tolerably well, and was mighty well pleased to see
himself almost as well clothed as his master. It is true, he went
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
187
-
awkwardly in those clothes at first; wearing the drawers was very
awkward to him, and the sleeves of the waistcoat galled his shoul-
ders and the inside of his arms, but after a little easing them where
he complained they hurt him, and using himself to them, he took to
them at length 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, 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. As there was a door or entrance there
into my cave, I made a formal framed doorcase, and a door to it of
boards, and set it up in the passage, a little within the entrance; and
causing the door to open in 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 innermost 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, covering all my tent, and leaning
up to the side of the hill; which was again laid across with smaller
sticks, instead of laths, and then thatched over a great thickness with
the rice straw, which was strong, 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; as to weapons, I took them all into my side every night. But
I needed none of all this precaution; for never man had a more faith-
ful, loving, sincere servant than Friday was to me; without passions,
sullenness, or designs, perfectly obliged and engaged-his very affec-
tions were tied to me, like those of a child to a father; and, I dare
say, he would have sacrificed his life for the saving of 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 precau-
tions, 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 govern-
ment 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 faculties 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 sen-
timents of kindness and obligation, the same passions and resentments
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;
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ADVENTURES OF
W
and that when he pleases to offer 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. This made me very
melancholy sometimes, in reflecting, as the several occasions present-
ed, 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 understanding;
and why it has pleased God to hide the like saving knowledge from
so many millions of souls, who, 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: first, 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 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, secondly, that still, as we all are 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 everything that was prop,
er to make him useful, handy, and helpful; but especially to make
him speak, and understand me when I spoke; and he was the aptest
scholar that ever was; and particularly was so merry, so constantly
diligent, and so pleased when he could but understand me, or make
mo understand him, that it was very pleasant to me to talk to him.
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 where I lived.
4
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
189
Chapter Twenty-Three.
Robinson instructs and civilizes his Man Friday-Endeavors to give Him an
Idea of Christianity.
FTER I had been two or three days returned to my castle,
thought that in order to bring Friday off from his horrid
way of feeding, and from the relish of a cannibal'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 Friday-"Hold," said 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 savage, his enemy, but did not know
nor could imagine how it was done, was sensibly surprised, trembled
and shook, and looked so amazed, that I thought he would have sunk
down. IIe did not see the kid I shot at, or perceive I had killed it,
but ripped up his waistcoat to feel whether 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 embraced my knees, said a great many
things I did not understand; but I could casily see the meaning was,
to pray me not to kill him.
23
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. By-and-by, I saw a great fowl, like a
hawk, sitting upon a tree, within shot; so, to let Friday understand a lit-
tle what I would do, I called to him again, pointed at the fowl, which
was indeed a parrot, though I thought it had been a hawk; I say, point-
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 frightened
again, notwithstanding all I had said to him: and I found he was the
more amazed, because ho did not see me put anything into the gun,
but thought that there must be some wonderful fund of deathr and de-
struction in that thing, able to kill man, beast or bird, or anything
190
ADVENTURES OF
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 he would
speak to it, and talk to it, as if it had answered him, when he was by
himself; which, as I afterward learned of him, was to desire it not to
kill him. Well, after his astonishment was a little over at this, I point-
ed 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, had fluttered away
a good distance from the place where she fell; however he found her,
took her up, and brought her to me, and as I had perceived his ignor-
ance about the gun before, I took this advantage to charge the gun again,
and not to 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 I took the skin off, and
cut it off as well as I could; and having a pot fit for that purpose, I
boiled or stewed some of the flesh, and made some very good broth.
After I had begun to eat some, I gave some to my man, who seemed
very glad of it, and liked it very well; but that which was strangest
to him, was to see me eat 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 seem-
ed 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 into
my mouth without salt, and I pretended to spit and sputter for 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 for a
great while, and then but very little.
Having thus fed him with broiled 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 on a string, as I had seen many people
do in England, setting two poles up, one on each side of 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 understand him; and at last he told
me, as well as he could, he would never eat man's flesh any more,
which I was very glad to hear.
The next day I set him to work beating some corn out, and sifting
it in the manner I used to do, as I observed before; and he soon un-
derstood how to do it as well as I, especially after he had seen what
the meaning of it was, and that it was to make bread of it; for after
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
191
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 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 worked not only very willingly 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 labor upon
me on his account than I had for myself; and that he would work the
harder for me, if 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 almost
everything I had occasion to call for, and of every place I had to
send him to, and talked a great deal to me; so that, in short, I now
began to have some use for my tongue again, which, indeed, I had
very little occasion for before, that is to say, about speech. Besides
the pleasure of talking to him, I had a singular satisfaction in the
fellow himself; his simple, unfeigned 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 anything before.
I had a mind once to try if he had any hankering inclination to his
own country again; and having taught him English so well that he could
answer me almost any question, I asked him whether the nation that
he belonged to, never conquered in battle? At which he smiled, and
said, "Yes, yes, we always fight the better" that is, he meant, al-
ways get the better in fight; and so we began the following dis-
course:-
Master. You always fight the better? 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 overbeat them in
the yonder place, where me no was; there my nation take one, two,
great thousand.
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ADVENTURES OF
¡
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, my nation eat mans too; eat all up.
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; some other else place.
Master. Have you been here with them?
Friday. Yes, I have 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 formerly been
among the savages who used to come on shore on the farther part of
the island, on the same man-eating occasions 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 me he was there once when they eat up twenty men,
two women, and one child; he could not tell twenty in English, but
he numbered them, by laying so many stones in a row, and pointing
to me to tell them over.
I have told this passage, because it introduces what follows; that
after I 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.
IIe told me there was no danger, no canoes ever lost; but that, after
a little way out to sea, there was a current and wind, always one way
in the morning, the other in the afternoon. This I understood to bo
no more than the sets of the tide, as going out or coming in; but I
afterward understood it was occasioned by the great draft and reflux
of the mighty river Oroonoko, in the mouth or gulf of which river, as
I found afterward, our island lay; and that this land which I per-
ceived to the W. and N. W. was the great island of Trinidad, on the
north 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 imaginable. I asked him the names of the several nations
of his sort of people, but get no other name than Caribs; from whence
he understood, that these were the Carribees, which our maps place
on the part of America which reaches from the mouth of the river
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
193
Oroonoko to Guiana, and onward to St. Martha. He told me that
up a great way beyond 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 pointed to my great whiskers, which I
mentioned before; and 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 country, and
were remembered by all the nations, from father to son.
I inquired if he could tell me how I might go from this island and
get among those white men; he told me, Yes, yes, you may 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 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 an opportunity to make my escape from this place,
and that this poor savage might be a means to help me.
Chapter Twenty-four.
Robinson and Friday build a Canoe to carry Them to Friday's Country-Their
Scheme prevented by the Arrival of a Party of Savages,
FTER Friday and I became more intimately acquainted, and
that he could understand almost all I said to him, and speak
pretty fluently, though in broken English, to me, I acquaint-
ed him with my own history, or at least so much of it as re-
lated to my coming to this place, how I had lived here, 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 oc-
casions
I described to him the country of Europe, 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
Ե
9
194
ADVENTURES OF
tr
board of, and showed him, as near as I could, the place where she
lay, but she was all beaten in pieces before and gone. I showed 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 musing a great
while and said nothing. I asked him what it was he studied upon?
At last, says he, “Mo see such boat like come to place at my nation.”-
I did not understand him a good while, but at last, when I had ex-
amined farther into it, I understood by him that a boat, such as that
had been, came on shore upon the country where he lived; that is, as
he explained it, was driven thither by stress of weather. 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 making their escape from a
wreck thither, much less whence they might come, so I only inquired
after a description of the boat.
(
Friday described the boat to me well enough, but brought me bet-
ter to understand him when he added, with some warmth, "We save
the white mans from drown." Then I presently asked him if there
were any white mans, as he called them, in the boat. "Yes," ho
said, "the boat full of white mans." I asked him "How many ?" Ho
told upon his fingers seventeen. I asked him then, "What became of
them ?" He told me "They live; they dwell at my nation "
This put new thoughts into my head, for I presently imagined that
these might be the men belonging to the ship that was cast away in
the sight of my island, as I now called it, and who, after the ship was
struck on the rock, and they saw her inevitably lost, had saved them-
selves in their boat, and were landed upon that wild shore among the
savages. Upon this I inquired of him more critically what was be-
come of them. He assured me they still lived 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. IIe said, "No, they make brother
with them;" that is, as I understood him, a truce; and then he add-
ed, "They no eat mans but when 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, being upon the top
of the hill, at the east side of the island, whence, as I have said I had,
in a clear day, discovered the main, or continent of America, Friday,
the weather being very serene, looks very earnestly toward the main
›ROBINSON CRUSOE.
195
ཊྛ、、‛.,-.
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 he; "O glad! there, see my coun-
try, there my nation!" I observed an extraordinary sense of pleasure
appeared in his face, and his eyes sparkled, and his countenance dis-
covered a strange eagerness, as if he had a mind to be in his own
country again. This observation of mine put a great many thoughts
into me, which made me at first not so easy about my new man, Fri-
day, 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 re-
ligion but all his obligation to me, and would be forward enough to
give his countrymen an account 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 war. But I wronged the poor honest creature
very much, for which I was very sorry afterward. However, as my
jealousy increased, and held me some weeks, I was a little more cir-
cumspect, and not so familiar and kind to him as before; in which I
was certainly in the wrong, too, the honest grateful creature having
no thought about it but what consisted with the best principles, both
as a religious Christian and as a grateful friend, as appeared after-
ward 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 everything he said was
so honost and so innocent, that I could find nothing to nourish my
suspicion, and in spite of all my uneasiness, he made me at last en-
tirely 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 weather 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 na-
tion-?" "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 before ?" 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, no, they no kill
me, they willing love learn." He meant by this they would he will-
ing to learn. He added, "They learned much of the bearded mans
T
17.
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ADVENTURES OF
Է.
that came in the boat." 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 eat me,
if I come there." "No, no," says he; "me make them no eat you;
me make them 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 seventeen white men, or bearded men, as he called them, who
came ashore there in distress.
From this time I confess I had a mind to venture over and see if I
could possibly join with those bearded men, who, I made no doubt,
were Spaniards and Portuguese, not doubting but if I could we might
find some method to escape thence, being upon the continent, and in a
good company together, 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 accordingly I carried
him to my frigate, which lay on the other side of the island, and hav-
ing cleared it of water (for I always kept it sunk in water) I brought
it out, showed it him, and we both went into it. I found he was a
most dexterous fellow at managing it, and would make it go almost as
swift 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
my saying so; which, it seems, was because he thought the boat too
small to go so far; I then told him I had a bigger; so the next day
I went to the place where the first boat lay which I had mado, 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 rotten. Friday told me such a boat would do very well, and
"would carry much enough vittle, drink, bread;" 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 an-
swered not one word, but looked very grave and sad. I asked him
what was the matter with him. He asked me again, "Why you
angry mad with Friday? What me done ?" I asked him what he
I told him I was not angry with him at all. "No angry
says he, repeating the words several times. "Why send Friday home
meant.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
197
away to my nation ?”
nation?" "Why," says I, Friday, "did you not say you
wished you were there?" "Yes, yes," says he, "wish be both thore;
no wish Friday there, no master there." In a word, he would not
think of going there withont me. "I go there, Friday ?" says I;
"what shall I do there?" He returned 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 knowost not what thou
sayest; I am but an ignorant man myself.” Yes, yes," says he,
"you teachee me good, you teachee them good." "No, no, Friday,”
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 this ?" says I to him.
“You take kill Friday," says he. "What must I kill you for ?" said
I again. He returns very quick: "What you send Friday away 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.
Upon the whole, as I found, by all discourse, a settled affection to
me, and that nothing should part him from me, so I found all the
foundation of his desire to go to his own country was laid in his
ardent affection to the people, and his hopes of my doing them good;
a thing, which as I had no notion of myself, so I had not the least
thought, or intention, or desire of undertaking. But still I found a
strong inclination to my attempting an escape, as above, founded on
the supposition gathered from the discourse, viz., that there were
seventeen bearded men there; and, therefore, without 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, or 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 committed 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 color and smell. Friday was for
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ADVENTURES OF
burning the hollow or cavity of this tree out, to make it for a boat,
but I showed him how to cut it with tools; which, after I had showed
him how to use, he did very handily and in about a month's hard
labor, we finished it, and made it very handsome; especially when,
with our axes, which I showed him how to handle, we cut and hewed
the outside into the true shape of a boat. After this, however, 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 would
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; "we
venture over in her very well, though great blow wind." However,
I had a further design, that he kaew nothing of, and that was to make
a mast and a 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 were a
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 six-and-twenty
years by me, and not been very careful to preserve them, not imagin-
ing that I should ever have this kind of use for them, I did not doubt
but that 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 work, and with a great deal of pains and awkward
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 little short sprit at
the top, such as usually our ship's long-boats sail with, and such as I
best knew how to manage; as it was such a one I had to 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 mast 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. 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 I brought it to pass; though
D
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My mind — —
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CRUSOE AND FRIDAY MAKING A BOAT.
•
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
199
considering the many dull contrivances I had for it that failed, I think
it cost me almost as much labor 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 jibed, 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 be-
came an expert sailor, except that, as to the compass, I could make
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, except in the rainy
seasons, and then nobody cared to stir 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 that 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 the time. I kept the anui-
versary 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 speedily delivered; for I had an invincible impres-
sion upon my thoughts that my deliverance was at hand and that I
should not be another year in this place. I went on, however, with
my husbandry, digging, planting, and fencing, as usual. I gathered
and cured my grapes, and did every necessary thing as before.
The rainy season was, in the meantime, upon me, when I kept more
within doors than at other times. We had stowed our own 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, to keep the water out; and
so she lay dry, as to the tide, from the sca; 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 Novem-
ber and December, in which I designed to make my adventure.
200
ADVENTURES OF
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
provisions, being the stores for our voyage; and intended, in a week
or fortnight's time, to open the dock, and launch out our boat. I was
busy one morning upon something of this kind, when I called to Fri-
day, and bid him go to the seashore, and see if he could find a turtle,
or tortoise, a thing which we generally 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! O
master! O sorrow! O bad!" "What's the matter, Friday ?" says I.
Oh, yonder there," says he, "one, two, three, canoe; one, two, three!"
By this way of speaking, I concluded there were six; but on inquiry,
I found it was but three. "Well, Friday," says I, "do not be fright-
ened!" So I heartened him up as well as I could; however, I saw the
poor fellow was most terribly scared; for nothing ran in his head but
that they were come to look for him, and would cut him in pieces,
and cat him; and the poor fellow trembled so, that I scarce knew
what to do with him. I comforted him as well as I could, and told
him I was in as much danger as he, and that they would cat me as
well as him. But, says I, "Friday, we must resolve to fight them.
Can you fight, Friday ?" "Me shoot," says he; "but there come many
great number." "No matter for that," said I, again; “our guns will
fright them that we do not kill." So I asked him whether, if I resol-
ved 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
drank it, I made him take the two fowling-pieces, which we always
carried, and loaded 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 my-
self, I took my perspective 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,
and that their whole business seemed to be tho triumphant banquet
these three human bodies; a barbarous feast, indeed! but noth-
upon
•
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
201
1
备
​ing more than, as I had observed, was usual with them. I observed,
also, that they were landed, not where they had done when Friday
made his escape, but nearer to my creek; where the shore was low,
and where a thick wood came almost close 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 resolved to go down to them and kill them all;
and asked him if he would stand by me. He had now got over his
fright, and his spirits being a little raised 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 and divided the arms which I had 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 guns myself; and in this posture we marched out. I took
a small bottle of rum in my pocket, and gave Friday a large bag
with more powder and bullets; and as to orders, I charged him to
keep close behind me, and not to stir or shoot, or do anything, till I
bid him; and in the meantime, 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, it
was 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 necessity I was in, to go and dip my hands in blood, to attack
people who had neither done nor intended me any wrong; .who, as
to me, were innocent, and whose barbarous customs were their own
disaster; being in them, a token indeed of God's having left them,
with the other nations of that part of the world, to such stupidity,
and to such inhuman courses, but did not call me to take upon me to
be a judge of their actions, much less an executioner of his justice ;
that whenever he thought fit, he would take the cause into his own
hands, and, by national vengeance, punish them, as a people, for na-
tional crimes; but that, in the meantime, it was none of my business;
that it was true, Friday might justify it, because he was a declared
enemy, and in a state of war with those very particular people, and it
was lawful for him to attack them; but I could not say the same with
Q*
202
ADVENTURES OF
respect to myself. These things were so warmly pressed upon my
thoughts all the way as I went, that I resolved I would 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 unless something
offered that was more a call to me than yet I knew of, I would not
meddle with them.
With this resolution I entered the wood; and, with all possible
wariness and silence, Friday followed 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 showing him a great tree, which
was just at the corner of the wood, I bade 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 that they
might be plainly viewed there; that they were all about their fire,
eating the flesh of one of their prisoners, and that another lay bound
upon the sand, a little from them, which, he said, they would kill next,
and which fired all the very soul within me. He told me it was not
one of their nation, but one of the bearded men he had told me of,
that came to their country in the boat. I was filled with horror at
the very naming the white bearded man; and going to the 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 like rushes, and that
he was a European, and had clothes on.
There was another tree, and a little thicket beyond it, about fifty
yards nearer to them than the place where I was, which, by going a
little way about, I saw I might come at undiscovered, and that then
I should be within half a shot of them; so I withheld my passion,
though I was indeed enraged to the highest degree; and going back
about twenty paces, I got behind some bushes, which held all the
way till I came to the other tree; and then came to a little rising
ground, which gave me a full view of them, at the distance of about
eighty yards.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
203
Chapter Twenty-Five.
Robinson releases a Spaniard-Friday Discovers his Father - Accommodation
provided for these New Guests - Who are afterward sent to liberate the
other Spaniards-Arrival of an English Vessel.
HAD now not a moment to lose, for nineteen of the dreadful
wretches sat upon the ground, all closely huddled together
and had just sent the other two to butcher the poor Christian,
and bring him, perhaps limb by limb, to their fire; and they
were stooping down to untie the bands at his feet. I turned to Fri-
day—“Now, Friday," said I, "do as I bid thee." Friday said he
would. Then, Friday," says I, do exactly as you see me do; fail
in nothing." So I set down one of the muskets and the fowling-piece
upon the ground, and Friday did the like by his; and with my other
musket I took my aim at the savages, bidding him to do the like;
then asking him if he was ready, he said "Yes.” “Then fire at
them,” said I; and the same moment I fired also.
Friday took his aim so much better than I, that on the side that he
shot, he killed two of them, and wounded three more; and on my
side, I killed one, and wounded two. They were, you may be sure,
in a dreadful consternation; and all of them who were not hurt
jumped upon their feet, but did not immediately know which way to
run, or which way to look, for they knew not from whence their de-
struction came. Friday kept his eyes close upon me, that, as I had
bid him, he might observe what I did; so, as soon as the first shot
was made, I threw down the piece, and took up the fowling-piece,
and Friday did the like; he saw me cock and present; he did the
same again. "Are you ready, Friday ?" said I. "Yes," says he.
"Let fly, then," says I, "in the name of God!" And with that, I
fired again among the amazed wretches, and so did Friday; and as
our pieces were now loaded with what I call swan-shot, or small pis-
tol bullets, we found only two drop, but so many were wounded, that
they ran about yelling and screaming like mad creatures, all bloody,
and most miserably wounded, whereof three more fell quickly after,
though not quite dead.
>
"Now, Friday," says I, laying down the discharged pieces, and
taking up the musket which was yet loaded, "follow me," which he
did, with a great deal of courage; upon which I rushed out of the
204
ADVENTURES OF
م
wood, and showed myself, and Friday close at my foot. As soon as I
perceived they saw me, I shouted as loud as I could, and bade Friday
do so too; and running as fast as I could, which, by the way, was
not very fast, being loaded with arms as I was, I made directly
toward the poor victim, who was, as I said, lying upon the beach, or
shore, between the place they sat and the sea. The two butchers,
who were just going to work with him, had left him at the surprise
of our first fire, and fled at a terrible fright to the sea-side, and
jumped into a canoe, and three more of the rest made the same way.
I turned to Friday, and bade him step forward, and fire at them; he
understood me immediately, and running about forty yards, to be
nearer them, he shot at them, and I thought he had killed them all,
for I saw them all fall of a heap into the boat, though I saw two of
them up again quickly; however, he killed two of them, and wounded
the third, so that he lay down in the bottom of the boat as if he had
been dead.
was.
(6
While my man Friday fired at them, I pulled out my knife, and cut
the flags that bound the poor victim; and loosing his hands and feet,
I lifted him up, and asked him in the Portugueso tongue, what he
He answered in Latin, "Christianus;" but was so weak and
faint that he could scarce stand or speak. I took my bottle out of my
pocket, and gave it him, making signs that he should drink, which bo
did; and I gave him a piece of bread, which he ate. Then I asked
him what countryman he was; and he said, Espagniole; and being a
little recovered, let me know, by all the signs he could possibly make,
how much he was in my debt for his deliverance. "Signor," said I,
with as much Spanish as I could make up, we will talk afterward,
but we must fight now; if you have any strength loft, take this pistol
and sword, and lay about you. He took them very thankfully; and
no sooner had he the arms in his hands, but, as if they had put new
vigor into him, he flew upon his murderers like a fury, and had cut
two of them in pieces in an instant; for the truth is, as the whole
was a surprise to them, so the poor creatures were so much frightened
with the noise of our pieces, that they fell down for mere amazement
and fear, and had no more power to attempt their own escape, than
their flesh had to resist our shot; and that was the case of those five
that Friday shot at in the boat; for as three of them fell with the
hurt they received, so the other two fell with the fright.
I kept my piece in my hand still without firing, being willing to
keep my charge ready, because I had given the Spaniard my pistol
and sword; so I called to Friday, and bade him run up to the tree
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
205
from whence we first fired, and fetch the arms which lay there
that had been discharged, which he did with great swiftness; and
then giving him my musket, I sat down myself to load all the rest
again, and bade them come to me when they wanted. While I was
loading these picces, there happened a fierce engagement between the
Spaniard and one of the savages, who made at him with one of their
great wooden swords, the same-like weapon that was to have killed
him before, if I had not prevented it. The Spaniard, who was as bold
and brave as could be imagined, though weak, had fought this Indian
a good while, and had cut him two good wounds on his head; but the
savage being a stout, lusty fellow, closing in with him, had thrown
him down, being faint, and was wringing my sword out of his hand;
when the Spaniard, though undermost, wisely quitting the sword,
drew the pistol from his girdle, shot the savage through the body,
and killed him upon the spot, before I, who was running to help him,
could come near him.
Friday being now left to his liberty, pursued the flying wretches,
with no weapon in his hand but his hatchet; and with that he dis-
patched those three, who, as I said before, were wounded at first, and
fallen, and all the rest he could come up with; and the Spaniard
coming to me for a gun, I gave him one of the fowling pieces, with
which he pursued two of the savages, and wounded them both; but,
as he was not able to run, they both got from him into the wood,
where Friday pursued them, and killed one of them, but the other
was too nimble for him; and though he was wounded, yet he plunged
himself into the sea, and swam, with all his might, off to those two
who were left in the canoe, which three in the canoe, with one
wounded, that we knew not whether he died or no, were all that es-
caped our hands of one-and-twenty. The account of the whole is as
follows: three killed at our first shot from the tree; two killed at the
next shot; two killed by Friday in the boat: two killed by Friday of
those at first wounded; one killed by Friday in the wood; three
killed by the Spaniard; four killed, being found dropped here and
there of their wounds, or killed by Friday in his chase of them; four
escaped in the boat, whereof one wounded, if not dead. Twenty-one
in all.
Those that were in the canoe worked hard to get out of gunshot,
and though Friday made two or three shots at them I did not find
that he hit any of them. Friday would fain have had me take one of
their canoes and pursue them; and, indeed, I was very anxious about
their escape, lest, carrying the news home to their people, they should
206
ADVENTURES OF
come back, perhaps with two or three hundred of the canoes, and dc-
vour us by mere multitude, so I consented to pursue them by sea, and
running to one of the canoes I jumped in, and bade Friday follow me,
but when I was in the canoe I was surprised to find another poor
creature lie there, bound hand and foot, as the Spaniard was, for the
slaughter, and almost dead with fear, not knowing what was the mat-
ter, for he had not been able to look over the side of the boat; he was
tied so hard neck and heels, and had been tied so long, that he had
really but little life in him.
I immediately cut the twisted flags or rushes which they had bound
him with, and would have helped him up, but he could not stand or
speak, but groaned most piteously, believing, it seems still, that he
was only unbound in order to be killed. When Friday came to him
I bade him speak to him and tell him of his deliverance, and pulling
out my bottle, made him give the poor wretch a dram; which, with
the news of his being delivered, revived him, and he sat up in the
boat. But when Friday came to hear him speak, and look in his face,
it would have moved any one into tears to have seen how Friday
kissed him, embraced him, hugged him, cried, laughed, hallooed,
jumped about, danced, sung, then cried again, wrung his hands, beat
his own face and head, and then sung and jumped about again, like a
distracted creature. It was a good while before I could make him
speak to me or tell me what was the matter, but when he came a
little to himself he told me that it was his father.
It is not easy for me to express how it moved me to see what
ecstasy and filial affection had worked in this poor savage at the sight
of his father, and on his being delivered from death; nor, indeed, can
I describe half the extravagances of his affection after this, for he
went into the boat and out of the boat a great many times. When he
went into him he would sit down by him, open his breast, and hold
his father's head close to his bosom for many minutes together, to
nourish it; then he took his arms and ankles, which were numbed
and stiff with the binding, and chafed and rubbed them with his
hands, and I, perceiving what the case was, gave him some rum out
of my bottle to rub them with, which did them a great deal of good.
This affair put an end to our pursuit of the canoe with the other
savages, who were got now almost out of sight; and it was happy for
us that we did not, for it blew so hard, within two hours after, and
before they could be got a quarter of their way, and continued blow-
ing so hard all night, and that from the northwest, which was against
them, that I could not suppose their boat could live, or that they ever
reached their own coast.
$
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
207
But, to return to Friday; he was so busy about his father that I
could not find in my heart to take him off for some time, but after I
thought he could leave him a little I called him to me, and he came
jumping and laughing, and pleased to the highest extreme; then I
asked him if he had given his father any bread. He shook his head
and said, “None; ugly dog eat all up self." I then gave him a cake
of bread out of a little pouch I carried on purpose; I also gave him
a dram for himself, but he would not taste it, but carried it to his
father. I had in my pocket two or three bunches of raisins, so I gave
him a handful of them for his father. He had no sooner given his
father these raisins but I saw him come out of the boat and run away,
as if he had been bewitched, he ran at such a rate, for he was the
swiftest fellow on his feet that ever I saw. I say, he ran at such a
rate that he was out of sight, as it were, in an instant, and though I
called, and hallooed out, too, after him, it was all one way, away he
went; and, in a quarter of an hour I saw him come back again,
though not so fast as he went, and as he came nearer I found his pace
slacker, because he had something in his hand. When he came up
to me I found he had been quite home for an earthen jug or pot, to
bring his father some fresh water, and that he had two more cakes or
loaves of bread; the bread he gave me, but the water he carried to
his father; however, as I was very thirsty, too, I took a little sup of
it. The water revived his father more than all the rum or spirits I
had given him, for he was just fainting with thirst.
When his father had drunk I called to him to know if there was
any water left; he said "Yes," and I bade 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 Spaniard, too, who was
indeed very weak, and was reposing 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 thankfulness that could appear in any coun-
tenance, but 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 bade 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
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ADVENTURES OF
perhaps less, all the while he was here, turn 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 himself down to ease his
limbs, so Friday came back to me presently; and then I 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 dwelling, where I would
take care of him; but Friday, a lusty, strong fellow, took the Span-
iard quite upon his back, and carried him away to the boat, and set
him down softly upon the side or gunnel of the canoe, with his feet
in the inside of it, and then lifting him quite in, he set himself close
to his father, and presently stepping out again launched the boat off,
and paddled it along the shore faster than I could walk, though the
wind blew pretty hard, too; so he brought them both safe into our
creek, and leaving them in the boat, ran away to fetch the other
canoe. As he passed me I spoke to him, and asked him whither ho
went. IIe told
IIe told me, “Go fetch more boat;" so away he went like tho
wind, for sure never man or horse ran like him, and he had the other
canoe in the creek almost as soon as I got to it by land; so he wafted
me over, and then went to help our new guests out of the boat, which
he did, but they were neither of them able to walk, so that poor Fri-
day knew not what to do.
To remedy this I went to work in my thoughts, and calling to Fri-
day to bid them sit down on the bank while he came to me, I soon
made a kind of a hand-barrow to lay them on, and Friday and I car-
ried them both up together upon it, between us.
But when we got
them to the outside of our wall or fortification, we were at a worse
loss than before, for it was impossible to get them over, and I was re-
solved not to break it down. So I set to work again, and Friday and
I, in about two hours' time, made a very handsome tent, covered with
old sails, and above that with boughs of trees, being in the space
without our outward fence, and between that and the grove of young
wood which I had planted; and here we made them two beds of such
things as I had, viz., of good rice straw, with blankets laid upon it to
lie on, and another to cover them, on each bed.
My island was now peopled, and I thought myself rich in subjects;
and it was a merry reflection, which I frequently made, how like a
king I looked. First of all, the whole country was my own mere
property, so that I had an undoubted right of dominion. Secondly,
**
}
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
209
my people were perfectly subjected; I was absolutely lord and law-
giver; they all owed their lives to me, and were ready to lay down.
their lives, if there had been occasion for it, for me. Is was remark-
able, too, I had but three subjects, and they were of three different
religions; my man Friday was a Protestant; his father was a Pagan
and a cannibal, and the Spaniard was a Papist; however, I allowed
liberty of conscience throughout my dominions. But this is by the
•
J
H
way.
As soon as I had secured my two weak rescued prisoners, and given
them shelter, and a place to rest them upon, I began to think of
making some provision for them; and the first thing I did, I ordered
Friday to take a yearling goat, betwixt a kid and a goat, out of my
particular flock, to be killed; when I cut off the hinder quarter, and
chopping it into small pieces, I set Friday to work to boiling and
stewing, and made them a very good dish, I assure you, of flesh and
broth, having put some barley and rice also into the broth; and as I
cooked it without doors, for I made no fire within my inner wall, so I
carried it all into the new tent, and having set a table there for them,
I sat down, and ate my dinner also with them, and, as well as I
could, cheered them, and encouraged them. Friday was my inter-
preter, especially to his father, and, indeed, to the Spaniard, too; for
the Spaniard spoke the language of the savages pretty well.
+
After we had dined, or rather supped, I ordered Friday to take one
of the canoes, and go fetch our muskets and other firearms, which, för
want of time, we had left upon the place of battle; and, the next day,
I ordered him to go and bury the dead bodies of the savages, which
lay open to the sun, and would presently be offensive. I also order-
ed him to bury the horrid remains of their barbarous feast, which
I knew were pretty much, and which I could not think of doing my-
self; nay, I could not bear to see them, if I went that way; all which
he punctually performed, and effaced the very appearance of the
savages being there; so that when I went again, I could scarce know
where it was, otherwise than by the corner of the wood pointing to
the place.
I then began to enter into a little conversation with my two new
subjects; and, first, I set Friday to inquire of his father what ho
thought of the escape of the savages in that canoe, and whether we
might expect a return of them, with a power too great for us to re-
sist. His first opinion was, that the savages in the boat could never
live out the storm which blew that night they went off, but must of
necessity be drowned, or driven south to those other shores, where
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ADVENTURES OF
they were as sure to be devoured as they were to be drowned, if they
were cast away; but, as to what they would do, if they came safe on
shore, he said he knew not; but it was his opinion, that they were so
dreadfully frightened with the manner of their being attacked, the
noise, and the fire, that he believed they would tell the people they
were all killed by thunder and lightning, not by the hand of man;
and that the two which appeared, viz., Friday and I, were two heav-
enly spirits, or furies, come down to destroy them, and not men with
weapons. This, he said, he knew; because he heard them all cry out
so, in their language one to another; for it was impossible for them
to conceive that a man could dart fire, and speak thunder, and kill at
a distance, without lifting up the hand, as was done now; and this old
savage was in the right; for, as I understood since, by other hands,
the savages never attempted to go over to the island afterward, they
were so terrified with the accounts given by those four men (for, it
seems, they did escape the sea), that they believed whoever went to
that enchanted island would be destroyed by fire from the gods. This,
however, I knew not; and therefore was under continual apprchen-
sions for a good while, and kept always upon my guard, with all my
army; for, as there were now four of us, I would have ventured upon
a hundred of them, fairly in the open field, at any time.
In a little time, however, no more canoes appearing, the fear of
their coming wore off; and I began to take my former thoughts of a
voyage to the main into consideration; being likewise assured, by
Friday's father, that I might depend upon good usage from their
nation, on his account, if I would go. But my thoughts were a little
suspended when I had a serious discourse with the Spaniard, and
when I understood that there were sixteen more of his countrymen
and Portuguese, who, having been cast away, and made their escape to
that side, lived there at peace, indeed, with the savages, but were very
sore put to it for necessaries, and indeed for life. I asked him all tho
particulars of their voyage, and found they were a Spanish ship,
bound from the Rio de la Plata, to the Havana, being directed to leavo
their loading there, which was chiefly hides and silver, and to bring
back what European goods they could meet with there; that they had
five Portuguese seamen on board, whom they took out of another
wreck; that five of their own men were drowned, when first the ship
was lost, and that these escaped through infinite dangers and hazards,
and arrived, almost starved, on the cannibal coast, where they ex-
pected to have been devoured every moment. He told me they had
some arms with them, but they were perfectly useless, for that they
↑
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
211
17
had neither powder nor ball, the washing of the sea having spoiled
all their powder, but a little, which they used at their first landing, to
provide themselves some food.
I asked him what he thought would become of them there, and if
they had formed no design of making any escape. He said they had
many consultations about it, but that having neither vessel, nor tools
to build one, nor provisions of any kind, their councils always ended
in tears and despair. I asked him how he thought they would re-
ceive a proposal from me, which might tend toward an escape;
and
whether, if they were all here, it might not be done. I told him with
freedom, I feared mostly their treachery and ill usage of me, if I put
my life in their hands, for that gratitude was no inherent virtue in the
nature of man, nor did men always square their dealings by the obli-
gations they had received, so much as they did by the advantages they
expected. I told him it would be very hard that I should be the in-
strument of their deliverance, and that they should afterward make
me their prisoner in New Spain, where an Englishman was certain to
be made a sacrifice, what necessity, or what accident soever brought
him thither; and that I had rather be delivered up to savages, and be
devoured alive, than fall into the merciless claws of the priests, and
be carried into the Inquisition. I added, that otherwise I was per-
suaded, if they were all here, we might, with so many hands, build
a bark large enough to carry us all away, either to the Brazils,
southward, or to the islands, or Spanish coast, northward; but that if,
in requital, they should, when I had put weapons into their hands,
carry me by force among their own people, I might be ill used for my
kindness to them, and make my case worse than it was before.
He answered with a great deal of candor and ingenuousness, that
their condition was so miserable, and they were so sensible of it, that
he believed they would abhor the thought of using any man unkindly
that should contribute to their deliverance; and that, if I pleased, ho
would go to them with the old man, and discourse with them about
it, and return again, and bring me their answer; that he would make
conditions with them upon their solemn oath, that they should be ab-
solutely under my leading, as their commander and captain; and that
they should swear upon the holy sacraments and gospel, to be truc to
me, and go to such Christian country as I should agree to, and no
other, and to be directed wholly and absolutely by my orders, till
they were landed safely in such country as I intended; and that he
would bring a contract from them, under their hands, for that pur-
pose. Then he told me he would first swear to me himself, that he
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ADVENTURES OF
7
would never stir from me as long as he lived, till I gave him orders,
and that he would take my side to the last drop of his blood, if there
should happen the least breach of faith among his countrymen. Ho
told me they were all very civil, honest men, and they were under the
greatest distress imaginable, having neither weapons, nor clothes, nor
any food, but at the mercy and discretion of the savages; out of all
hopes of ever returning to their own country; and that he was sure,
if I would undertake their relief, they would live and die by me.
Upon these assurances, I resolved to venture to relieve them if pos-
sible, and to send the old savage and this Spaniard over to them to
treat. But when we got all things in readiness to go, the Spaniard
himself, started an objection, which had so much prudence in it, on
one hand, and so much sincerity, on the other hand, that I could not
be very well satisfied in it; and, by his advice, put off the deliverance
of his comrades for at least half a year. The case was thus: He had
been with us now about a month, during which time, I had let him sec
in what manner I had provided, with the assistance of Providence, for
my support; and he saw evidently what stock of corn and rice I had
laid up; which, though it was more than sufficient for myself, yet it
was not sufficient, without good husbandry, for my family, now it was
increased to four; but much less would it be sufficient if his country-
men, who were, as he said, sixteen, still alive, should come over; and
least of all would it be sufficient to victual our vessel, if we should
build one, for a voyage to any of the Christian colonies of America ;
so he told me he thought it would be more advisable to let him and
the other two dig and cultivate more land, as much as I could sparo
seed to sow, and that we should wait another harvest, that we should
have a supply of corn for his countrymen, when they should come ;
for want might be a temptation to them to disagree, or not to think
themselves delivered, otherwise than out of one difficulty into another.
"You know," says he, "the children of Israel, though they rejoiced
first for being delivered out of Egypt, yet rebelled even against God
himself, that delivered them, when they came to want bread in the
wilderness."
His caution was so seasonable, and his voice so good, that I could
not but be very well pleased with his proposal, as well as I was satis-
fied with his fidelity; so we fell to digging, all four of us, as well as
the wooden tools permitted; and in about a month's time, by the end
of which it was seed-time, we had got as much land cured and trim-
med up as we sowed two-and-twenty bushels of barley on, and sixteen
jars of rice; which was, in short, all the seed we had to spare; nor,
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
213
indeed, did we leave ourselves barley sufficient for our food, for the
six months that we had to expect our crop; that is to say, reckoning
from the time we set our seed aside for sowing; for it is not to be
supposed it is six months in the ground in that country.
Having now society enough, and our number being sufficient to put
us out of the fear of the savages if they had come, unless their num-
ber had been very great, we went freely all over the island, whenever
we found occasion; and as here we had our escape or deliverance upon
our thoughts, it was impossible, at least for me, to have the means of
it out of mine. For this purpose, I marked out several trees which I
thought fit for our work, and I set Friday and his father to cutting
them down; and then I caused the Spaniard, to whom I imparted
my thought on that affair, to oversee and direct their work. I showed
them with what indefatigable pains I had hewed a large tree into sin-
gle planks, and caused them to do the like, till they had made about
a dozen large planks of good oak, near two feet broad, thirty-five feet
long, and from two inches to four inches thick; what prodigious labor
it took up, any one may imagine.
At the same time, I contrived to increase my little flock of tame
goats as much as I could; and for this purpose, I made Friday and
the Spaniard go out one day, and myself with Friday the next day
(for we took our turns), and by this means we got about twenty young
kids to breed up with the rest: for whenever we shot the dam, we
saved the kids, and added them to our flock. But, above all, the sea-
son for curing the grapes coming on, I caused such a prodigious
quantity to be hung up in the sun, that, I believe, had we been at
Alicant, where the raisins of the sun are cured, we could have filled
sixty or eighty barrels; and these, with our bread, was a great part
of our food, and was a very good living, too, I assure you, for it is
exceedingly nourishing.
A
It was now harvest, and our crop in good order; it was not the most
plentiful increase I had seen in the island, but however, it was enough to
answer our end; for from twenty-two bushels of barley we brought in
and thrashed out above two hundred and twenty bushels, and the like
proportion of the rice; which was store enough for our food to the next
harvest, though all the sixteen Spaniards had been on shore with me; or
if we had been ready for a voyage, it would very plentifully have victual-
led our ship to have carried us to any part of the world, that is to say
any part of America. When we had thus housed and secured our mag-
azine of corn, we fell to work to make more wickerware, viz., great baskets
in which we kept it; and the Spaniard was very handy and dexterous
+
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ADVENTURES OF
at this part, and often blamed me that I did not make some things for
defence of this kind of work; but I saw no need of it.
And now, having a full supply of food for all the guests I expected,
I gave the Spaniard leave to go over to the main, to see what he could
do with those he had left behind him there. I gave him a strict
charge not to bring any man with him who would not first swear in
the presence of himself and the old savage, that he would no way in-
jure, fight with, or attack the person he should find in the island, who
was so kind as to send for them in order to their deliverance; but
that they would stand by him, and defend him against all such at-
tempts, and wherever they went, would be entirely under and subject-
ed to his command; and that this should be put in writing, and signed
with their hands. How they were to have done this, when I knew
they had neither pen nor ink, was a question which we never asked.
Under these instructions, the Spaniard and the old savago, the father
of Friday, went away in one of the canoes which they might be said
to come in, or rather were brought in, when they came as prisoners to
be devoured by the savages. I gave each of them a musket, with a
firelock on it, and about eight charges of powder and ball, charging
them to be very good husbands of both, and not to use either of them
but upon urgent occasions.
This was a cheerful work, being the first measures used by me, in
view of my deliverance, for now twenty-seven years and some days.
I gave them provisions of bread, and of dried grapes, sufficient for
themselves for many days, and sufficient for all the Spaniards for
about eight days' time; and wishing them a good voyago, I saw them
go; agreeing with them about a signal that they should hang out at
their return, by which I should know them again, when they came
back, at a distance, before they came on shore. They went away with
a fair gale, on the day that the moon was full, by my account in the
month of October; but as for an exact reckoning of days after I had
once lost it, 1 could never recover it again; nor had I kept even the
number of years so punctually as to be sure I was right; though, as
it proved, when I afterward examined my account, I found I had
kept a true reckoning of years.
It was no less than eight days I had waited for them, when a
strange and unforeseen accident intervened, of which the like has
not perhaps been heard of in history. I was fast asleep in my hutch,
one morning, when my man Friday came running in to me, and called
aloud, “Master, master, they are come, they are come!" I jumped
up, and, regardless of danger, I went out as soon as I could get my
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
215
clothes on, through my little grove, which by the way, was by this
time grown to be a very thick wood; I say, regardless of danger, I
went without my arms, which it was not my custom to do; but I was
surprised, when turning my eyes to the sea, I presently saw a boat
about a league and a half distant, standing in for the shore, with a
shoulder-of-mutton sail, as they call it, and the wind blowing pretty
fair to bring them in; also I observed presently, that they did not
come from that side which the shore lay on, but from the southern-
most end of the island. Upon this, I called Friday in, and bade him lie
close, for these were not the people we looked for, and that we might
not know yet whether they were friends or enemies. In the next
place, I went in to fetch my perspective glass, to see what I could
make of them; and having taken the ladder out, I climbed to the
top of the hill, as I used to do when I was apprehensive of anything,
and to take my view the plainer without being discovered. I had
scarce set my foot upon the hill, when my eye plainly discovered a
ship lying at anchor, at about two leagues and a half distance from
me, S. S. E., but not above a league and a half from the shore. By
my observation, it appeared plainly to be an English ship, and the
boat appeared to be an English long-boat.
I cannot express the confusion I was in; though the joy of seeing
a ship, and one that I had reason to believe was manned by my own
countrymen, and, consequently, friends, was such as I cannot de-
scribe but yet I had some secret doubts hang about me-I cannot
tell from whence they came, bidding me to keep upon my guard. In
the first place it occurred to me to consider what business an English
ship could have in that part of the world, since it was not the way to
or from any part of the world where the English had any traffic; and
I knew there had been no storms to drive them in there, as in dis-
tress; aud that if they were really English, it was most probablo
that they were here upon no good design; and that I had better con-
tinue as I was, than fall into the hands of thieves and murderers.
4
Let no man despise the secret hints and notices of danger, which
sometimes are given him when he may think there is no possibility of
its being real. That such hints and notices are given us, I believe
few that have made any observation of things can deny; that they
arc certain discoveries of an invisible world, and a converse of spirits,
we cannot doubt; and if the tendency of them scems to be to warn us
of danger, why should we not suppose they are from some friendly agent
(whether supreme or inferior and subordinate, is not the question),
and that they are given for our good.
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ADVENTURES OF
The present question abundantly confirms me in the justice of this
reasoning; for had I not been made cautious by this secret admoni-
tion, come it from whence it will, I had been undone inevitably, and
iu a far worse condition than before, as you will see presently. I had
not kept myself long in this posture, but I saw the boat draw near the
shore, as if they looked for a creek to thrust in at, for the convenience
of landing; however, as they did not come quite far enough, they did
not see the little inlet where I formerly landed my rafts, but run
their boat on shore upon the beach, at about half a mile from me,
which was very happy for me; for otherwise they would have landed
just at my door, as I may say, and would soon have beaten me out
of my castle, and perhaps have plundered me of all I had. When
they were on shore, I was fully satisfied they were Englishmen, at least
most of them; one or two I thought were Dutch, but it did not prove
so; they were in all eleven men, whereof three of them I found were
unarmed, and as I thought, bound; and when tho first four or five of
them were jumped on shore, they took those three out of the boat as
prisoners; one of the three I could perceive using the most passionate
gestures of entreaty, affliction, and despair, oven to a kind of ex-
travagance; the other two I could perceive lifted up their hands
sometimes, and appeared concerned, indeed, but not to such a degree
as the first. I was perfectly confounded at the sight, and knew not
what the meaning of it should be. Friday called out to me in Eng-
lish, as well as he could, "O master! you see English mans cat
prisoners as well as savage mans.” Why, Friday," says I, “do you
think they are going to eat them, then ?" Yes," says Friday, "they
will eat them." "No, no," says I; "Friday, I am afraid they will
murder them, indeed, but you may be sure they will not eat them."
(6
All this while I had no thought of what the matter really was, but
stood trembling with horror of the sight, expecting every moment
when the three prisoners should be killed; nay, once I saw one of the
villains lift up his arm with a great cutlass, as the seamen call it, or
sword, to strike one of the poor men; and I expected to see him fall
every moment; at which all the blood in my body seemed to run
chill in my veins. I wished heartily now for my Spaniard, and the
savage that was gone with him, or that I had any way to have come
undiscovered within shot of them, that I might have rescued the
three men, for I saw no firearms they had among them; but it fell
out to my mind another way. After I had observed the outrageous
usage of the three men by the insolent scamen, I observed tho fellows
run scattering about the island, as it they wanted to see the country.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
217
I observed that the three other men had liberty to go also 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 me: how I
gave
myself over for lost: how wildly I looked around 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 that night of
the supply I was to receive by the providential driving of the ship
nearer the land by the storms and tide, by which I have since been
so long nourished and supported; so these three poor desolate
men knew nothing how certain of deliverance and supply they were,
how near it was to them, and how effectually and really 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 circumstances, they have
always something to be thankful for, and sometimes are nearer their
deliverance than they imagine; nay, are even brought to their de
liverance by the means by which they seem to be brought to th
destruction.
Chapter Twenty-Six.
Robinson discovers Himself to the English Captain-Assists Him in reducing
his Mutinous Crew, who submit to Him.
T was just at the top of high water when these people came
on shore; and partly while they rambled about to see what
kind of a place they were in, they had carelessly stayed till
the tide was spent, and the water was ebbed considerably
away, leaving their boat aground. They had left two men in the
boat, who, as I found afterward, having drunk a little too much
brandy, fell asleep; however, one of them waking a little sooner than
the other, and finding the boat too fast aground for him to stir it,
hallooed out to the rest, who were straggling about; upon which
they all soon came to the boat; but it was past all their strength to
launch her, the boat being very heavy, and the shore on that side be-
ing a soft oozy sand, almost like a quicksand. In this condition, liko
RES
10
218
ADVENTURES OF
true scamen, who are perhaps the least of all mankind given to fore-
thought, they gave it over, and away they strolled about the country
again; and I heard one of them say aloud to another, calling them
off from the boat, "Why, let her alone, Jack, can't you? she'll flout
next tide" by which I was fully confirmed in the main inquiry of
what countrymen they were. All this while I kept myself very close,
not once daring to stir out of my castle, any further than to my place
of observation, near the top of the hill; and very glad I was to think
how well it was fortified. I knew it was no less than ten hours be-
fore the boat could float again, and by that time it would be dark,
and I might be more at liberty to see their motions, and to hear their
discourse, if they had any. In the meantime, I fitted myself up for
a battle, as before, though with more caution, knowing I had to do
with another kind of an enemy than I had at first. 1 ordered Friday
also, whom I had made an excellent marksman with his gun, to load
himself with arms. I took myself two fowling-pieces, and I gavo
him three muskets. My figure, indeed, was very fierce; I had my
formidable goat's skin coat on, with the great cap I have mentioned,
a naked sword by my side, two pistols in my belt, and a gun upon
each shoulder.
It was my design, as I said above, not to have made any attempt
till it was dark, but about two o'clock, being the heat of the day, I
found that, in short, they were all gone straggling into the woods,
and as I thought, laid down to sleep. The three poor distressed men,
too anxious for their condition to get any sleep, were, however, sat
down under the shelter of a great tree, at about a quarter of a mile
from me, and, as I thought, out of sight of any of the rest. Upon this
I resolved to discover myself to them, and learn something of their
condition; immediately I marched in the figure as above, my man
Friday at a good distance behind me, as formidable for his arms as I,
but not making quite so staring a spectre-like figure as I did. I came
as near them undiscovered as I could, and then, before any of them
saw me,
I called aloud to them in Spanish, "What are ye, gentle-
men ?" They started up at the noise, but were ten times more con-
founded when they saw me and the uncouth figure that I made; they
made me no answer at all, but I thought I perceived them just going
to fly from me, when I spoke to them in English: "Gentlemen," said
I, "do not be surprised at me, perhaps you may have a friend near
when you do not expect it." "He must be sent directly from Heav-
en, then,” said one them very gravely to me, and pulling off his hat
at the same time to me, "for our condition is past the help of man."
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
219
"All help is from Heaven, sir," said I; "but can you put a stranger
in the way how to help you, for you seem to be in some great dis-
tress? I saw you when you landed, and when you seemed to make
supplication to the brutes that came with you, I saw one of them lift
his sword to kill you."
up
The poor man, with tears running down his face, and trembling,
looking like one astonished, returned, "Am I talking to God or man?
Is it a real man or an angel ?" "Be in no fear about that, sir," said
I; "if God had sent an angel to relieve you he would have come bet-
ter clothed, and armed after another manner than you see me; pray
lay aside your fears; I am a man, an Englishman, and disposed to
assist you; you see I have one servant only, we have arms and am-
munition, tell us freely, can we serve you? What is your case ?"
"Our case," said he, sir, "is too long to tell you while our murderers
are so near us, but in short, sir, I was commander of that ship, my
men have mutinied against me; they have been hardly prevailed on
not to murder me, and at last have set me on shore in this desolato
place, with these two men with me-one my mate, the other a pas-
senger-where we expected to perish, believing the place to be unin-
habited, and know not yet what to think of it.” "Where are theso
brutes, your enemies ?" said I; "do you know where they are gone?”
"There they lie, sir," said he, pointing to a thicket of trees; "my heart
trembles for fear they have scen us and heard you speak; if they have,
they will certainly murder us all.” "Have they any firearms ?" said
I. IIe answered they had only two pieces, one of which they left in
the boat. "Well, then," said I, "leave the rest to me; I see they are
all asleep; it is an easy thing to kill them all, but shall we rather
take them prisoners ?" He told me there were two desperate villains
among them, that it was scarce safe to show any mercy to, but if they
were secured, he believed all the rest would return to their duty." I
asked him which they were. He told me he could not at that dis-
tanco distinguish them, but he would obey my orders in anything I
would direct. "Well," says I, "let us retreat out of their view or
hearing, lest they awake, and we will resolve further." So they wil
lingly went back with me till the woods covered us from them.
"Look you, sir,” said I, "if I venture upon your deliverance aro
you willing to make two conditions with me ?" He anticipated my
proposals, by telling me that both he and the ship, if recovered, should
be wholly directed and commanded by me in everything; and, if the
ship was not recovered, he would live and die with me in what part
of the world soever I would send him, and the two other men said
220
ADVENTURES OF
the same.
"Well," says I, "my conditions are but two: first, that
while you stay in this island with me you will not pretend to any
authority here, and if I put arms into your hands, you will, upon all
occasions, give them up to me, and do no prejudice to me or mine
upon this island, and, in the meantime, be governed by my orders;
secondly, that if the ship is, or may be recovered, you will carry me
and my man to England, passage free.
He gave me all the assurances that the invention or faith of man
could devise that he would comply with these most reasonable de-
mands, and, besides, would owe his life to me, and acknowledge it
upon all occasions as long as he lived. "Well, then,” said I, “here
are three muskets for you, with powder and ball; tell me next what
you think proper to be done." He showed me all the testimonics of
his gratitude that he was able, but offered to be wholly guided by
me. I told him I thought it was hard venturing anything, but the
best method I could think of was to fire upon them at once, as they
lay, and if any were not killed at the first volley, and offered to sub-
mit, we might save them, and so put it wholly upon God's providence
to direct the shot. He said, very modestly, that he was loath to kill
them, if he could help it, but that those two were incorrigible villains,
and had been the authors of all the mutiny in the ship, and if they
escaped we should be undone still, for they would go on board and
bring the whole ship's company, and destroy us all. "Well, then,"
says I, "necessity legitimates my advice, for it is the only way to
save our lives." However, seeing him still cautious of shedding
blood, I told him they should go themselves and manage as they
found convenient.
In the middle of this discourse we heard some of them awake, and
soon after we saw two of them on their feet. I asked him if either
of them were the heads of the mutiny. He said "No." "Well, then,”
said I, "you may let them escape, and Providence seems to have
awakened them on purpose to save themselves. Now," says I, "if the
rest escape you, it is your fault." Animated with this, he took the
musket I had given him in his hand, and a pistol in his belt, and his
two comrades with him, with each a piece in his hand. The two men
who were with him going first, made some noise, at which one of the
seamen who was awake turned about, and seeing them coming, cried
out to the rest, but it was too late, then, for the moment he cried out
they fired-I mean the two men-the captain wisely reserving his
own piece. They had so well aimed their shots at the men they
knew, that one of them was killed on the spot and the other very
}
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
221
K
much wounded, but, not being dead, he started upon his feet and
called eagerly for help to the others, but the captain stepping to him,
told him it was too late to cry for help, he should call upon God to
forgive his villany, and with that word knocked him down with the
stock of his musket, so that he never spoke more. There were three
more in the company, and one of them was also slightly wounded.
By this time I was come, and when they saw their danger, and that it
was in vain to resist, they begged for mercy. The captain told them
he would spare their lives if they would give him any assurance of
their abhorrence of the treachery they had been guilty of, and would
swear to be faithful to him in recovering the ship, and afterward in
carrying her back to Jamaica, whence they came. They gave him all
the protestations of their sincerity that could be desired, and he was
willing to believe them, and spare their lives; which I was not against,
only that I obliged him to keep them bound hand and foot while they
were on the island.
While this was doing, I sent Friday with the captain's mate to the
boat, with orders to secure her, and bring away the oars and sails,
which they did; and by-and-by three straggling men, that were (hap-
pily for them) parted from the rest, came back upon hearing the guns
fired, and seeing the captain, who before was their prisoner, now their
conqueror, they submitted to be bound also; and so our victory was
complete.
It now remained that the captain and I should inquire into one
another's circumstances; I began first, and told him my whole history,
which he heard with an attention even to amazement; and particu-
larly at the wonderful manner of my being furnished with provisions
and ammunition; and, indeed, as my story is a whole collection of
wonders, it affected him deeply. But when he reflected from thence
upon himself, and how I seemed to have been preserved there on
purpose to save his life, the tears ran down his face, and he could not
speak a word more. After this communication was at an end, I car-
ried him and his two men into my apartment, leading them in just
where I came out, viz.: at the top of the house, where I refreshed
them with such provisions as I had, and showed them all the contri-
vances I had made, during my long, long inhabiting that place.
All I showed them, all I said to them, was perfectly amazing; but,
above all, the captain admired my fortification, and how perfectly I
had concealed my retreat with a grove of trees, which, having now
been plauted near twenty years, and the trees growing much faster
than in England, was become a little wood, and so thick, that it was
222
ADVENTURES OF
impassable in any part of it, but at that one side where I had reserved
my little winding passage into it. I told him this was my castle and
my residence, but that I had a seat in the country, as most princes
have, whither I could retreat upon occasion, and I would show him
that, too, another time; but at present our business was to consider
how to recover the ship. He agreed with me as to that; but told me
he was perfectly at a loss what measures to take, for that there were
still six-and-twenty hands on board, who having entered into a cursed
conspiracy, by which they had forfeited their lives to the law, would
be hardened in it now by desperation, and would carry it on, knowing
that, if they were subdued, they would be brought to the gallows, as
soon as they came to England, or to any of the English colonies; and
that, therefore, there would be no attacking them with so small a
number as we were.
I mused for some time upon what he had said, and found it was a
very rational conclusion, and that, therefore, something was to be rc-
solved on speedily, as well to draw the men on board into some snare
for their surprise, as to prevent their landing upon us, and destroying
us. Upon this, it presently occurred to me, that in a little while the
ship's crew, wondering what was become of their comrades, and of
the boat, would certainly come on shore in their other boat to look
for them; and that then, perhaps, they might come armed, and be too
strong for us; this he allowed to be rational. Upon this, I told him
the first thing we had to do was to stave the boat, which lay upon the
beach, so that they might not carry her off; and taking everything
out of her, leave her so far useless as not to be fit to swim; accord-
ingly we went on board, took the arms which were left on board out
of her, and whatever else we found there, which were a bottle of
brandy, and another of rum, a few biscuit-cakes, a horn of powder,
and a great lump of sugar in a piece of canvass (the sugar was five or
six pounds); all which was very welcome to me, especially the brandy
and sugar, of which I had had none left for many years.
When we had carried all these things on shore (the oars, mast, sail
and rudder of the boat were carried away before, as above), we
knocked a great hole in her bottom, that if they had come strong
enough to master us, yet they could not carry off the boat. Indeed it
was not much in my thoughts that we could be able to recover the
ship; but my view was, that if they went away without a boat, I did
not much question to make her fit again to carry us to the Leeward
Islands, and call upon our friends the Spaniards in my way; for I
had them still in my thoughts.
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
223
While we were thus preparing our designs, and had first, by main
strength, heaved the boat upon the beach so high, that the tide would
not float her off at high-water mark, and besides, had broke a hole in
her bottom too big to be quickly stopped, and were set down musing
what we should do, we heard the ship fire a gun, and saw her make a
waft with her ensign as a signal for the boat to come on board; but
no boat stirred; and they fired several times, making other signals
for the boat. At last, when all their signals and firing proved fruit-
less, and they found the boat did not stir, we saw them, by the help
of my glasses, hoist another boat out, and row toward the shore; and
we found, as they approached, that there were no less than ten men
in her, and that they had fire-arms with them.
As the ship lay almost two leagues from the shore, we had a full
view of them as they came, and a plain sight even of their faces; be-
cause the tide having set them a little to the east of the other boat,
they rowed up under shore, to come to the same place where the
other had landed, and where the boat lay; by this means, I say, we
had a full view of them, and the captain knew the persons and char-
acters of all the men in the boat, of whom he said, there were three
very honest fellows, who, he was sure, were led into this conspiracy
by the rest, being overpowered and frightened; but that as for the
boatswain, who it seems, was the chief officer among them, and all
the rest, they were as outrageous as any of the ship's crew, and were
no doubt made desperate in their new enterprise; and terribly appre-
hensive he was that they would be too powerful for us. I smiled at
him, and told him that men in our circumstances were past the opera-
tion of fear; that seeing almost every condition that could be was
better than that which we were supposed to be in, we ought to expect
that the consequence, whether death or life, would be sure to be a
deliverance. I asked him what he thought of the circumstances of
my life, and whether a deliverance were not worth venturing for.
"And where, sir," said I, "is your belief of my being preserved here
on purpose to save your life, which elevated you a little while ago?
For my part," said I, "there seems to me but one thing amiss in all
the prospect of it.” "What is that?" says he. “Why,” says I, “it
is, that as you say there are three or four honest fellows among them,
which should be spared, had they been all of the wicked part of the
crew, I should have thought God's providence had singled them out
to deliver them into your hands; for, depend upon it, every man that
comes ashore is our own, and shall die or live as he behaves to us.”
As I spoke this with raised voice and cheerful countenance, I found
it greatly encouraged him; so we set vigorously to our business.
F
224
ADVENTURES OF
We had, upon the first appearance of the boat's coming from the
ship, considered of separating our prisoners; and we had, indeed, se-
cured them effectually. Two of them, of whom the captain was less
assured than ordinary, I sent with Friday, and one of the three de-
livered men, to my cave, where they were remote enough, and out of
danger of being heard or discovered, or of finding their way out of the
woods if they could have delivered themselves; here they left them
bound, but gave them provisions; and promised them if they con-
tinued there quietly, to give them their liberty in a day or two; but
that if they attempted their escape, they should be put to death with-
out mercy. They promised faithfully to bear their confinement with
patience, and were very thankful that they had such good usage as to
have provisions and light left them; for Friday gave them candles
(such as we made ourselves) for their comfort; and they did not know
but that he stood sentinel over them at the entrance.
The other prisoners had better usage; two of them were kept
pinioned; indeed, because the captain was not free to trust them; but
the other two were taken into my service, upon the captain's recom-
mendation, and upon their solemnly engaging to live and die with us;
so with them and the three honest men we were seven men well
urmed; and I made no doubt we should be able to deal well enough
with the ten that were coming, considering that the captain had said
that there were three or four honest men among them also. As soon
as they got to the place where their other boat lay, they ran their
boat into the beach, and came on shore, hauling the boat up after
them, which I was glad to see; for I was afraid they would rather
have left the boat at an anchor, some distance from the shore, with
some hands in her to guard her, and so we should not be able to
seize the boat. Being on shore, the first thing they did, they ran all
to their other boat; and it was easy to see they were under a great
surprise to find her stripped, as above, of all that was in her, and a
great hole in her bottom. After they had mused a while upon this,
they set up two or three great shouts, hallooing with all their might
to try if they could make their companions hear; but all was to no
purpose; then they came all close in a ring, and fired a volley of
their small arms, which, indeed, we heard, and the echoes made the
woods ring; but it was all one; those in the cave we were sure could
not hear; and those in our keeping, though they heard it well enough,
yet durst give no answer to them. They were so astonished at the
surprise of this, that, as they told afterward, they resolved to go all
on board again to their ship, and let them know that the men were
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
225
+
all murdered, and the long-boat staved; accordingly, they imme-
diately launched their boat again, and got all of them on board.
The captain was terribly amazed and even confounded at this,
believing they would go on board the ship again, and set sail, giving
their comrades over for lost, and so he should still lose the ship
which he was in hopes we should have recovered; but he was quickly
as much frightened the, other way.
They had not been long put off with the boat, but we perceived
them all coming on shore again; but this with this new measure in
their conduct, which it seems they consulted together upon, viz.: to
leave three men in the boat, and the rest to go on shore, and go up
into the country to look for their fellows. This was a great disap-
pointment to us, for now we were at a loss what to do; as our seizing
those seven men on shore would be no advantage to us, if we let the
boat escape; because they would then row away to the ship, and then
he rest of them would be sure to weigh and set sail, and so our re-
covering the ship would be lost. However, we had no remedy but to
wait, and see what the issue of things might present. The seven men
came on shore, and the three who remained in the boat put her off to
a good distance from the shore, and came to an anchor to wait for
them; so that it was impossible for us to come at them in the boat.
Those that came on shore kept close together, marching toward the
top of the little hill under which my habitation lay; and we could
see them plainly, though they could not perceive us. We could have
been very glad they would have come nearer to us, so that we might
have fired at them, or that they would have gone farther off, that we
might have come abroad. But when they were come to the brow of
the hill, where they could see a great way into the valleys and woods,
which lay toward the northeast part, and where the island lay lowest,
they shouted and hallooed till they were weary; and not caring, it
seems, to venture far from the shore, nor far from one another, they
sat down together under a tree, to consider of it. Had they thought
fit to have gone to sleep there, as the other part of them had done,
they had done the job for us; but they were too full of apprehensions
of danger to venture to go to sleep, though they could not tell what
the danger was they had to fear neither.
1
The captain made a very just proposal to me upon this consultation
of theirs, viz.: that perhaps they would all fire a volley again, to en-
deavor to make their fellows hear, and that we should all sally upon
them, just at the juncture, when their pieces were all discharged, and
they would certainly yield, and we should have them without bloed
10*
$
226
ADVENTURES OF
shed. I liked this proposal, provided it was done while we were
near enough to come up to them before they could load their pieces
again; but this event did not happen; and we lay still a long while,
very irresolute what course to take. At length I told them that
there would be nothing done, in my opinion, till night; and then, if
they did not return to the boat, perhaps we might find a way to get
between them and the shore, and so we might use some stratagem
with them in the boat to get them on shore. We waited a great
while, though very impatient for their removing; and were very un-
easy, when, after long consultations, we saw them all start up and
march down toward the sea; it seems they had such dreadful appre-
hensions upon them of the danger of the place, that they resolved to
go on board the ship again, give their companions over for lost, and
so go on with their intended voyage with the ship.
As soon as I perceived them to go toward the shore, I imagined it
to be, as it really was, that they had given over their search, and were
for going back again; and the captain, as soon as I told him my
thoughts, was ready to sink at the apprehensions of it; but I pres-
ently thought of a stratagem to fetch them back again, and which
answered my end to a tittle. I ordered Friday and the captain's mato
to go over the little creek westward, toward the place where the sav-
ages came on shore when Friday was rescued, and as they came to a
little rising ground, at about a half a mile distance, I bade them halloo
out, as loud as they could, and wait till they found the seamen heard
them; that as soon as they heard the seamen answer them, they
should return it again; and then keeping out of sight, take a round,
always answering when the others hallooed, to draw them as far into
the island, and among the woods, as possible, and then wheel about
again to me, by such ways as I directed them.
They were just going into the boat when Friday and the mate hal-
looed; and they presently heard them, and answering, run along the
shore westward, toward the voice they heard, when they were pres-
ently stopped by the creek, where the water being up, they could
not get over, and called for the boat to come up and set them over;
as indeed I expected. When they had set themselves over, I ob-
served that the boat being gone a good way into the creek, and, as it
wore, in a harbor within the land, they took one of the three men out
of her, to go along with them, and left only two in the boat, having
fastened her to the stump of a little tree on the shore. This was
what I wished for; and immediately leaving Friday and the captain's
mate to their business, I took the rest with me, and crossing the creek
J
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
227
11
out of their sight, we surprised the two men before they were aware;
one of them lying on the shore, and the other being in the boat. The
fellow on the shore was between sleeping and waking, and going to
etart up; the captain, who was foremost, ran in upon him, and
knocked him down, and then called out to him in the boat to yield, or
he was a dead man. There needed very few arguments to persuade
a single man to yield, when he saw five men upon him, and his com-
rade knocked down; besides, this was, it seems, one of the three who
were not so hearty in the mutiny as the rest of the crew, and there-
fore was easily persuaded, not only to yield, but afterward to join
very sincerely with us. In the meantime, Friday and the captain's
mate so well managed their business with the rest, that they drew
them, by hallooing and answering, from one hill to another, and from
one wood to another, till they not only heartily tired them, but left
them where they were very sure they could not reach back to the
boat before it was dark; and, indeed, they were heartily tired them-
selves also, by the time they came back to us.
We had nothing now to do but to watch for them in the dark, and
to fall upon them so as to make sure work with them. It was seve-
ral hours after Friday came back to me before they came back to
their boat, and we could hear the foremost of them, long before they
came quite up, calling to those behind to come along, and could also
hear them answer and complain how lame and tired they were, and
not able to come any faster, which was very welcome news to us. At
length they came up to the boat, but it is impossible to express their
confusion when they found the boat fast aground in the creek, the
tide ebbed out, and their two men gone. We could hear them call to
one another in a most lamentable manner, telling one another they
were got into an enchanted island; that either there were inhabitants
in it, and they should all be murdered, or else there were devils and
spirits in it, and they should be all carried away and devoured.
They hallooed again, and called their two comrades by their names a
great many times, but no answer. After some time we could see
them, by the little light there was, run about wringing their hands,
like men in despair, and that sometimes they would go and sit down
in the boat to rest themselves, then come ashore again, and walk
about again, and so the same thing over again. My men would fain
have had me give them leave to fall upon them at once in the dark,
but I was willing to take them at some advantage, so as to spare
them, and to kill as few of them as I could; and especially I was
unwilling to hazard the killing any of our, men, knowing the others
1
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ADVENTURES OF
were very well armed. I resolved to wait, to see if they did not sep-
arate, and therefore, to make sure of them, I drew my ambuscade
nearer, and ordered Friday and the captain to creep upon their hands
and feet as close to the ground as they could, that they might not be
discovered, and get as near them as they could possibly before they
offered to fire.
They had not been long in that posture when the boatswain, who
was the principal ringleader of the mutiny, and had now shown him-
self the most dejected and dispirited of all the rest, came walking to-
ward them, with two more of the crew; the captain was so eager at
having this principal rogue so much in his power, that he could hardly
have patience to let him come so near as to be sure of him, for they
only heard his tongue before, but when they came nearer the captain
and Friday, starting up on their feet, let fly at them. The boatswain
was killed upon the spot, the next man was shot in the body and fell
just by him, though he did not die for an hour or two after, and the
third ran for it. At the noise of the fire I immediately advanced with
my whole army, which was now eight men, viz., myself, generalissi-
mo; Friday, my lieutenant-general; the captain and his two men,
and the three prisoners-of-war, whom we had trusted with arms. We
came upon them, indeed, in the dark, so that they could not see our
number, and I made the man they had left in the boat, who was now
one of us, to call them by name, to try if I could bring them to a
parley, and so might perhaps reduce them to terms, which fell out
just as we desired; for, indeed, it was easy to think, as their con-
dition then was, they would be willing to capitulate. So he calls
out, as loud as he could, to one of them, "Tom Smith! Tom Smith!"
Tom Smith answered immediately, "Is that Robinson ?" For it
seems he knew the voice. The other answered, "Ay, ay; for God's
sake, Tom Smith, throw down your arms and yield, or you are all
dead men this moment." "Who must we yield to? Where are
they ?" says Smith again. “Here they are," says he;" here's our cap-
tain, and fifty men with him, have been hunting you these two hours;
the boatswain is killed, Will Fry is wounded, and I am a prisoner,
and if you do not yield you are all lost." "Will they give us quarter,
then ?" says Tom Smith, " and we will yield." "I will go ask, if you
promise to yield," says Robinson. So he asked the captain, and the
captain himself then calls out, "You, Smith, you know my voice; if
you lay down your arms immediately, and submit, you shall have
your lives-all but Will Atkins."
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
229
Chapter Twenty-Seven.
Atkins entreats the Captain to spare his Life-The latter recovers his Vessel
from the Mutineers, and Robinson leaves the Island,

M
PON this Will Atkins cried out, "For God's sake, captain,
give me quarter. What have I done? They have all been
as bad as L." Which, by the way, was not true, neither,
for it seems this Will Atkins was the first man that laid
hold of the captain when they first mutinied, and used him barba-
rously, in tying his hands and giving him injurious language. How-
ever, the captain told him he must lay down his arms at discretion,
and trust to the governor's mercy; by which he meant me, for they
all called me governor. In a word, they all laid down their arms and
begged their lives, and I sent the man that had parleyed with them,
and two more, who bound them all; and then my great army of fifty
men, which, particularly with those three, were in all but eight, came
up and seized upon them and upon their boat, only that I kept my-
self and one more out of sight for reasons of state.
Our next work was to repair the boat, and think of seizing the
ship; and as for the captain, now he had leisure to parley with them,
he expostulated with them upon the villany of their practices with
him, and at length upon the further wickedness of their design, and
how certainly it must bring them to misery and distress in the end,
and perhaps to the gallows. They all appeared very penitent, and
begged hard for their lives. As for that, he told them they were none
of his prisoners, but the commander's of the island; that they thought
they had set him on shore on a barren, uninhabited island, but it had
pleased God so to direct them that it was inhabited, and that the gov-
ernor was an Englishman; that he might hang them all there, if he
pleased, but as he had given them all quarter, he supposed he would
send them to England, to be dealt with there as justice required, ex-
cept Atkins, whom he was commanded by the governor to advise to
prepare for death, for that he would be hanged in the morning.
Though all this was but a fiction of his own, yet it had its desired
effect: Atkins fell upon his knees, to beg the captain to intercede
with the governor for his life, and all the rest begged of him, for
God's sake, that they might not be sent to England.
It now occurred to me that the time of our deliverance was come,
and that it would be a most easy thing to bring these fellows in to be
hearty in getting possession of the ship, so I retired in the dark from
#
230
ADVENTURES OF
them, that they might not see what kind of a governor they had, and
called the captain to me; when I called, as at a good distance, one
of the men was ordered to speak again, and say to the captain, "Cap-
tain, the commander calls for you;" and presently the captain re-
plied, "Tell his excellency I am just a-coming." This more perfectly.
assured them, and they all believed that the commander was just by,
with his fifty men. Upon the captain's coming to me, I told him my
project for seizing the ship, which he liked wonderfully well, and re-
solved to put it in execution the next morning; but, in order to exe-
cute it with more heart, and to be sure of success, I told him we must
divide the prisoners, and that he should go and take Atkins, and two
more of the worst of them, and send them pinioned to the cave where
the others lay. This was committed to Friday and the two men who
came on shore with the captain. They conveyed them to the cave as
to a prison; and it was, indeed, a dismal place, especially to men in
their condition. The others I ordered to my bower, as I called it, of
of which I have given a full description, and as it was fenced in, and
they pinioned, the place was secure enough, considering they were
upon their behavior.
To these in the morning I sent the captain, who was to enter into a
parley with them; in a word, to try them, and tell me whether he
thought they might be trusted or no to go on board and surprise the
ship. He talked to them of the injury done him, of the condition they
were brought to, and that though the governor had given them
quarter for their lives as to the present action, yet that if they were
sent to England, they would all be hanged in chains, to be sure; but
that if they would join in so just an attempt as to recover the ship, he
would have the governor's engagement for their pardon.
Any one may guess how readily such a proposal would be accepted
by men in their condition; they fell down on their knees to the cap-
tain, and promised with the deepest imprecations, that they would be
faithful to him to the last drop, and that they should owe their lives
to him, and would go with him all over the world; and that they
would own him as a father as long as they lived. "Well," says the
captain, “I must go and tell the governor what you say, aod see what
I can do to bring him to consent to it." So he brought me an ac-
count of the temper he found them in, and that he verily believed
they would be faithful. However, that we might be very secure, I
told him we should go back again and choose out those five, and tell
them, that they might see he did not want men, that he would take
out those five to be his assistants, and that the governor would keep
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
231
the other two, and the three that were sent prisoners to the castle
(my cave) as hostages for the fidelity of those five; and that if they
proved unfaithful in the execution, the five hostages should be hanged
in chains alive on the shore. This looked severe, and convinced
them that the governor was in earnest: however, they had no way
left them but to accept it; and it was now the business of the
prisoners, as much as of the captain, to persuade the other five to do
their duty.
Our strength was now thus ordered for the expedition; first, the
captain, his mate, and passenger; second, the two prisoners of the
first gang, to whom, having their character from the captain, I had
given their liberty, and trusted them with arms: third, the other two
that I had kept till now in my bower pinioned, but, on the captain's
motion, had now released; fourth, these five released at last; so
that they were twelve in all, besides five we kept prisoners in the
cave for hostages.
I asked the captain if he was willing to venture with these hands
on board the ship: but as for me and my man Friday, I did not think
it was proper for us to stir, having seven men left behind; and it was
employment enough for us to keep them asunder, and supply them
with victuals. As to the five in the cave, I resolved to keep them
fast, but Friday went in twice a day to them, to supply them with
necessaries; and I made the other two carry provisions to a certain
distance, where Friday was to take it.
ร
When I showed myself to the two hostages, it was with the cap-
tain, who told them I was the person the governor had ordered to
look after them; and that it was the governor's pleasure that they
should not stir anywhere but by my direction; that if they did,
they would be fetched into the castle, and be laid in irons: so that as we
never suffered them to see me as a governor, I now appeared as
another person, and spoke of the governor, the garrison, the castle,
and the like, upon all occasions.
The captain now had no difficulty before him, but to furnish his
two boats, stop the breach in one, and man them. He made his pas-
senger captain of one, with four of the men; and himself, his mate,
and five more, went in the other; and they contrived their business
very well, for they came up to the ship about midnight. As soon as
they came within call of the ship, he made Robinson hail them, and
tell them they had brought off the men and the boat, but that it was
a long time before they had found them, and the like, holding them
in a chat till they came to the ship's side; when the captain and the
232
ADVENTURES OF
mate entering first, with their arms, immediately knocked down the
second mate and carpenter with the butt end of their muskets, being
very faithfully seconded by their men; they secured all the rest that
were upon the main and quarter decks, and began to fasten the
hatches, to keep them down that were below; when the other boat
and their men entering at the fore-chains, secured the forecastle of
the ship, and the scuttle which went down into the cook-room, mak-
ing three men they found there prisoners. When this was done, and
all safe upon deck, the captain ordered the mate with three men, to
break into the round-house, where the new rebel captain lay, who
having taken the alarm, had got up, and with two men and a boy had
got firearms into their hands; and when the mate, with a crow, split
open the door, the new captain and his men fired boldly among
them, and wounded the mate with a musket ball, which broke his
arm, and wounded two more of the men, but killed nobody. The
mate calling for help, rushed, however, into the round-house, wounded
as he was, and with his pistol shot the new captain through the head,
the bullet entering at his mouth, and came out again behind one of
his ears, so that he never spoke a word more: upon which the rest
yielded, and the ship was taken effectually, without any moro lives
lost.
As soon as the ship was thus secured, the captain ordered seven
guns to be fired, which was the signal agreed upon with me to give
me notice of his success, which you may be sure I was very glad to
hear, having sat watching upon the shore for it till ncar two o'clock
in the morning. Having thus heard the signals plainly, I laid me
down; and it having been a day of fatigue to me, I slept very sound,
till I was something surprised at the noise of a gun; and presently
starting up, I heard a man call me by the name of "Governor,
Governor," and presently I knew the captain's voice; when climbing
up to the top of the hill, there he stood, and pointing to the ship, he
embraced me in his arms. My dear friend and deliverer," says he,
"there's your ship, for she is all yours, and so are we, and all that be-
long to her." I cast my eyes to the ship, and there she rode within
a little more than half a mile of the shore; for they had weighed her
anchor as soon as they were masters of her, and the weather being
fair, had brought her to anchor just against the mouth of the little
creek; and the tide being up, the captain had brought the pinnace in
near the place where I at first landed my rafts, and so landed just at
my door. I was at first ready to sink down with the surprise; for I
saw my deliverance, indeed, visibly put into my hands, all things
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
233
easy, and a large ship just ready to carry me away whither I pleased
to go. At first, for some time, I was not able to answer him one
word; but as he had taken me in his arms, I held fast by him, or I
should have fallen to the ground. He perceived the surprise, and
immediately pulls a bottle out of his pocket, and gave me a dram of
cordial, which he had brought on purpose for me.
After I had drank
it, I sat down upon the ground; and though it brought me to myself,
yet it was a good while before I could speak a word to him. All
this time the poor man was in as great an ecstacy as I, only not under
any surprise, as I was; and he said a thousand kind and tender things
to me, to compose and bring me to myself: but such was the flood of
joy in my breast, that it put all my spirits into confusion; at last it
broke out into tears; and in a little while after I recovered my
speech. I then took my turn, and embraced him as my deliverer, and
we rejoiced together. I told him I looked upon him as a man sent
from Heaven to deliver 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 eye of an infinite power could search into the re-
motest 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 miraculous manner provided for me in such a wilderness, and in
such a desolate condition, but from whom every deliverance must
always be acknowledged to proceed?
When he had talked a while, the captain told me he had brought
me some little refreshment, such as the ship afforded, and such as the
wretches, that had been so long his masters, had not plundered him
of. Upon this he called aloud to the boat, and bade his men bring
the things ashore that were for the governor; and, indeed, it was a
present as if I had been one that was not to be carried away with
them, but as if I had been to dwell upon the island still. First, he
had brought me a case of bottles full of excellent cordial waters, six
large bottles of Madeira wine (the bottles held two quarts each), two
pounds of excellent good tobacco, twelve good pieces of the ship's
beef, and six pieces of pork, with a bag of peas, and about a hundred
weight of biscuit; he also brought me a box of sugar, a box of flour,
a bag full of lemons, and two bottles of lime juice, and abundance of
other things. But, besides these, and what was a thousand times
more useful to me, he brought me six new clean shirts, six very good
neckcloths, two pair of gloves, one pair of shoes, a hat, and one pair
234
ADVENTURES OF
of stockings, with a very good suit of clothes of his own, which had
been worn but very little; in a word, he clothed me from head to
foot. It was a very kind and agreeable present, as any one may im-
agine, to one in my circumstances; but never was anything in the
world, of that kind, so unpleasant, awkward, and uneasy, as it was to
me to wear such clothes at first.
((
After these ceremonies were past, and after all his good things
were brought into my little apartment, we began to consult what
was to be done with the prisoners we had; for it was worth consider-
ing whether we might venture to take them away with us or no,
especially two of them, whom we knew to be incorrigible and refrac-
tory to the last degree; and the captain said he knew they were such
rogues, that there was no obliging them; and if he did carry them
away, it must be in irons, as malefactors, to be delivered over to jus-
tice at the first English colony he could come at; and I found that the
captain himself was very anxious about it. Upon this I told him,
that if he desired it, I would undertake to bring the two men he spoke
of to make it their own request that he should leave them upon
the
island. "I should be very glad of that," says the captain, "with all
my heart."
Well," says I, "I will send for them up, and talk with
them for you." So I caused Friday and the two hostages, for they
were now discharged, their comrades having performed their promise ;
I say, I caused them to go to the cave, and bring up the five men pin-
ioned, as they were, to tho bower, and keep them there till I came.
After some time I came thither dressed in my new habit; and now I
was called governor again. Being all met, and the captain with me,
I caused the men to be brought before me, and I told them I had got
a full account of their villanous behavior to the captain, and how
they had run away with the ship, and were preparing to commit fur-
ther robberies, but that Providence had ensnared them in their own
ways, and that they were fallen into the pit which they had dug for
others. I let them know that by my direction the ship had been
seized; that she lay now in the road; and they might see, by-and-by,
that their new captain had received the reward ef his villany, and
that they would see him hanging at the yard-arm; that as to them, I
wanted to know what they had to say why I should aot execute them
as pirates, taken in the fact, as by my commission they could not doubt
but I had authority so to do.
One of them answered in the name of the rest, that they had noth-
ing to say but this, that when they were taken the captain promised
them their lives, and they humbly implored my mercy. But I told
:
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
235
2
them I knew not what mercy to show them: for, as for myself, I had
resolved to quit the island with all my men, and had taken passage
with the captain to go for England; and as for the captain he could
not carry them to England other than as prisoners, in irons, to be tried
for mutiny, and running away with the ship; the consequence of
which, they must needs know, would be the gallows; so that I could
not tell what was best for them, unless they had a mind to take their
fate in the island; if they desired that, as I had liberty to leave the
island, I had some inclination to give them their lives, if they thought
they could shift on shore. They seemed very thankful for it, and
said they would much rather venture to stay there than to be carried
to England to be hanged; so I left it on that issue.
However, the captain seemed to make some difficulty of it, as if he
durst not leave them there. Upon this I seemed a little angry with
the captain, and told him that they were my prisoners, not his; and
seeing that I had offered them so much favor, I would be as good as
my word; and that if he did not think fit to consent to it, I would set
them at liberty, as I found them; and if he did not like it, he might
take them again if he could catch them. Upon this they appeared
very thankful, and I accordingly set them at liberty, and bade them
retire to the woods from whence they came, and I would leave them
some fire-arms, some ammunition, and some directions how they should
live very well, if they thought fit. Upon this I prepared to go on
board the ship; but told the captain I would stay that night to pre-
pare my things, and desired him to go on board, in the meantime, and
keep all right in the ship, and send the boat on shore next day for
me; ordering him, at all events, to cause the new captain, who was
killed, to be hanged at the yard-arm, that these men might see him.
When the captain was gone, I sent for the men up to me, to my
apartment, and entered seriously into discourse with them on their
circumstances. I told them I thought they had made a right choice ;
that if the captain had carried them away, they would certainly be
hanged. I showed them the new captain hanging at the yard-arm of
the ship, and told them they had nothing less to expect.
When they had all declared their willingness to stay, I then told
them I would let them into the story of my living there, and put them
into the way of making it easy to them: accordingly, I gave them
the whole history of the place, and of my coming to it; showed them
my fortifications, the way I made my bread, planted my corn, cured
my grapes; and, in a word, all that was necessary to make them easy.
I told them the story also of the seventeen Spaniards that were to be
236
ADVENTURES OF
expected, for whom I left a letter, and made them promise to treat
them in common with themselves. Here it may be noted, that the
captain had ink on board, who was greatly surprised that I never hit
upon a way of making ink of charcoal and water, or of something
clse, as I had done things much more difficult.
I left them my fire-arms, viz., five muskets, three fowling-pieces, and
three swords. I had above a barrel and a half of powder left; for
after the first year or two I used but little and wasted none.
I gave
them a description of the way I managed the goats, and direction to
milk and fatten them, and to make butter and cheese; in a word, I
gave them every part of my own story, and told them I should pre-
vail with the captain to leave them two barrels of gunpowder more,
and some garden-seeds, which I told them I would have been very
glad of; also I gave them the bag of peas which the captain brought
me to eat, and bade them be sure to sow and increase them.
Having done all this, I left them the next day, and went on board
the ship. We prepared immediately to sail, but did not weigh that
night. The next morning, early, two of the five men came swimming
to the ship's side, and making a most lamentable complaint of the
other three, begged to be taken into the ship, for God's sake, for they
should be murdered, and begged the captain to take them on board,
though he hanged them immediately. Upon this the captain pretend-
ed to have no power without me; but after some difficulty, and after
their solemn promises of amendment, they were taken on board, and
were some time after soundly whipped and pickled; after which they
proved very honest and quiet fellows.
Some time after this, the boat was ordered on shore, the tide being
up, with the things promised to the men; to which the captain, at my
intercession, caused their chests and clothes to be added, which they
took, and were very thankful for. I also encouraged them, by telling
them, that if it lay in my power to send any vessel to take them in,
I would not forget them.
When I took leave of this island, I carried on board, for reliques,
the great goat-skin cap I had made, my umbrella, and one of my par-
rots; also I forgot not to take the money I formerly mentioned, which
had laid by me so long useless, that it was grown rusty or tarnished,
and could hardly pass for silver, till it had been a little rubbed and
handled; as also the money I found in the wreck of the Spanish ship.
And thus I left the island, the 19th of December, as I found by the
ship's account, in the year 1686, after I had been upon it eight-and-
twenty years, two months, and nineteen days; being delivered from
(
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
237
this second captivity the same day of the month that I first made my
escape in the long-boat, from among the Moors of Sallee. In this
vessel, after a long voyage, I arrived in England the 11th of June, in
the year 1687, having been thirty-five years absent.
Chapter Twenty-Eigh..
Robinson goes to Lisbon, where he finds the Portuguese Captain, who renders
him an Account of his Property in the Brazils-Sets out on his Return to
England by Land.
Full
HEN I came to England, I was a perfect stranger to all
the world as if I had never been known there. My ben-
efactor and faithful steward, whom I had left my money
in trust with, was alive, but had had great misfortunes in
the world; was become a widow the second time, and very low in the
world. I made her very easy as to what she owed me, assuring her
I would give her no trouble; but on the contrary, in gratitude for
former care and faithfulness to me, I relieved her as my little stock
would afford; which, at that time, would indeed allow me to do but
little for her; but I assured her I would never forget her former
kindness to me; nor did I forget her when I had sufficient to help
her, as shall be observed in its proper place. I went down afterward
into Yorkshire; but my father and mother were dead, and all the
family extinct, except that I found two sisters, and two of the chil-
dren of one of my brothers; and as I had been long ago given over
for dead, there had been no provision made for me; so that, in a
word, I found nothing to relieve or assist me; and that the little
money I had would not do much for me as to settling in the world.
I met with one piece of gratitude, indeed, which I did not expect,
and this was, that the master of the ship whom I had so happily de-
livered, and by the same means saved the ship and cargo, having
given a very handsome account to the owners of the manner how I
had saved the lives of the men and the ship, they invited me to meet
them, and some other merchants concerned, and all together made me
a very handsome compliment upon the subject, and a present of almost
two hundred pounds sterling.
But, after making several reflections upon the circumstances of my
life, and how little way this would go toward settling me in the world,

238
ADVENTURES OF
I resolved to go to Lisbon, and see if I might not come by some infor-
mation of the state of my plantation in the Brazils, and of what was
become of my partner, who, I had reason to suppose, had some years
past given me over for dead. With this view I took shipping for
Lisbon, where I arrived in April following; my man Friday accom-
panying me very honestly in all these ramblings, and proving a most
faithful servant upon all occasions. When I came to Lisbon, I found
out, by inquiry, and to my particular satisfaction, my old friend the
captain of the ship who first took me up at sea off the shore of Africa.
He was now grown old, and had left off going to sea, having put his
son, who was far from a young man, into his ship, and who still used
the Brazil trade. The old man did not know me, and, indeed, I hardly
knew him; but I soon brought him to my remembrance, when I told -
him who I was.
After some passionate expressions of the old acquaintance between
us, I inquired, you may be sure, after my plantation and my partner.
The old man told me he had not been in the Brazils for ahout nine
years, but that he could assure me that when he came away my part-
ner was living, but the trustees whom I had joined with him to tako
cognizance of my part, were both dead; that, however, he believed I
would have a very good account of the improvement of the planta-
tion, for that, upon the general belief of my being cast away and
drowned, my trustees had given in the account of the produce of my
part of the plantation to the procurator-fiscal, who had appropriated
it, in case I never came to claim it, one third to the king and two
thirds to the monastery of St. Augustine, to be expended for the
benefit of the poor, and for the conversion of the Indians to the Catho-
lic faith; but that if I appeared, or any one for me, to claim the in-
heritance, it would be restored, only that the improvement, or annual
production, being distributed to charitable uses, could not be restored;
but he assured me that the steward of the king's revenue from lands,
and the provicdore, or steward of the monastery, had taken great care
all along that the incumbent, that is to say, my partner, gave every
year a faithful account of the produce, of which they had duly re-
ceived my moiety. I asked him if he knew to what height of im-
provement he had brought the plantation, and whether he thought it
might be worth looking after, or whether, on my going thither, I
should meet with any obstruction to my possessing my just right to
the moiety. He told me he could not tell exactly to what degree the
plantation was improved, but this he knew, that my partner was
grown exceeding rich upon the enjoying his part of it, and that, to
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
239
the best of his remembrance, he had heard that the king's third of
my part, which was, it seems, granted away to some other monastery
or religious house, aniounted to above two hundred moidores a year;
that, as to my being restored to a quiet possession of it, there was no
question to be made of that, my partner being alive to witness my
title, and my name being also enrolled in the register of the country.
Also, he told me that the survivors of my two trustees were very fair,
honest people, and very wealthy, and he believed I would not only
have their assistance for putting me in possession, but would find a
very considerable sun of money in their hands for my account, being
the produce of the farm while their fathers held the trust, and before
it was given up, as above, which, as he remembered, was for about
twelve years.
I showed myself a little concerned and uneasy at this account, and
inquired of the old captain how it came to pass that the trustees
should thus dispose of my effects when he knew that I had made my
will, and had made him, the Portuguese captain, my universal
heir, &c.
He told me that was true, but that as there was no proof of my
being dead, he could not act as executor until some certain account
should come of my death; and, besides, he was not willing to inter-
meddle with a thing so remote; that it was true he had registered my
will, and put in his claim, and could he have given any account of my
being dead or alive, he would have acted by procuration, and taken
possession of the ingenio (so they called the sugar-house), and have
given his son, who was now at the Brazils, orders to do it.
"But,"
says the old man, "I have one piece of news to tell you, which, per-
haps, may not be so acceptable to you as the rest, and that is, believ-
ing you were lost, and all the world believing so, also, your partner
and trustees did offer to account with me, in your name, for six or
cight of the first years' profits, which I received. There being at
that time great disbursements for increasing the works, building an
ingenio, and buying slaves, it did not amount to near so much as
afterward it produced; however," says the old man, "I shall give
you a true account of what I have received in all, and how I have
disposed of it."
After a few days' further conference with this ancient friend, he
brought me an account of the first six years' income of plantation,
signed by my partner and the merchant trustees, being always de-
livered in the goods, viz., tobacco in roll, and sugar in chests, besides
rum, molasses, &c., which is the consequence of a sugar work and I
240
ADVENTURES OF
found, by this account, that every year the income considerably in-
creased, but, as above, the disbursements being large, the sum at first
was small; however, the old man let me see that he was debtor to me
four hundred and seventy moidores of gold, besides sixty chests of
sugar, and fifteen double rolls of tobacco, which were lost in his ship,
he having been shipwrecked coming home to Lisbon, about eleven
years after my leaving the place. The good man then began to complain
of his misfortunes, and how he had been obliged to make use of my
money to recover his losses, and buy him a share in a new ship.
However, my old friend," says he, "you shall not want a supply in
your necessity, and, as soon as my son returns, you shall be fully
satisfied." Upon this he pulls out an old pouch, and gives me one
hundred and sixty Portugal moidores in gold; and, giving the wri-
tings of his title to the ship, which his son was gone to the Brazils in,
of which he was a quarter part owner, and his son another, he puts
them both into my hands for security of the rest.
I was too much moved with the honesty and kindness of the poor
man to be able to bear this, and remembering what he had done for
me, how he had taken me up at sea, and how generously he had used
me on all occasions, and particularly, how sincere a friend he was
now to me, I could hardly refrain weeping at what he had said to me;
therefore, I asked him if his circumstances admitted him to spare so
much money at that time, and if it would not straiten him. IIe told
me he could not say but it might straiten him a little, but, however,
it was my money, and I might want it more than he.
Everything the good man said was full of affection, and I could
hardly refrain from tears while he spoke; in short, I took one hun-.
dred of the moidores, and called for a pen and ink to give him a re-
ceipt for them; then I returned him the rest, and told him if ever I
had possession of the plantation, I would return the other to him also
(as, indeed, I afterward did); and that, as to the bill of sale of his
part in his son's ship, I would not take it by any means, but that if
I wanted the money, I found he was honest enough to pay me, and if
I did not, but came to receive what he gave me reason to expect, I
would never have a penny more from him.
When this was past, the old man asked me if he should put me into
a method to make my claim to my plantation. I told him I thought
to go over to it myself. He said I might do so if I pleased; but that
if I did not, there were ways enough to secure my right, and im-
mediately to appropriate the profits to my uso: and as there were
ships in the river of Lisbon just ready to go away to Brazil, he made
•
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
241
WE
mc enter my name in a public register, with his affidavit, affirming,
upon oath, that I was alive, and that I was the same person who took
up the land for the planting the said plantation at first. This being
regularly attested by a notary, and a procuration affixed, he directed
me to send it, with a letter of his writing, to a merchant of his ac-
quaintance at the place; and then proposed my staying with him till
an account came of the return.
Never was anything more honorable than the proceedings upon
this procuration; for in less than seven months I received a large
packet from the survivors of my trustees, the merchants, for whose
account I went to sea, in which were the following particular letters
and papers enclosed:
First. There was the account current of the produce of my farm
or plantation, from the year when their fathers had balanced with my
old Portugal captain, being for six years: the balance appeared to be
one thousand one hundred and seventy-four moidores in my favor.
Secondly. There was the account of four years more, while they
kept the effects in their hands, before the government claimed the ad-
ministration, as being the effects of a person not to be found, which
they called civil death; and the balance of this, the value of the
plantation increasing, amounted to nineteen thousand four hundred
and forty-six crusadoes, being about three thousand two hundred and
forty moidores.
Thirdly. There was the prior of Augustine's account, who had re-
ceived the profits for above fourteen years; but not being able to ac-
count for what was disposed of by the hospital, very honestly de-
clared he had eight hundred and seventy-two moidores not distributed,
which he acknowledged to my account: as to the king's part, that
refunded nothing.
There was a letter of my partner's, congratulating me very
affectionately upon my being alive, giving me an account how the
estate was improved, and what it produced a year; with a particular
of the number of squares or acres that it contained, how planted,
how many slaves there were upon it, and making two-and-twenty
crosses for blessings, told he had said so many Ave Marias to thank
the blessed Virgin that I was alive; inviting me very passionately to
come over and take possession of my own; and, in the meantime, to
give him orders to whom he should deliver my effects, if I did not
come myself; concluding with a hearty tender of his friendship, and
that of his family; and sent me, as a present, seven fine leopards
skins, which he had, it seems, received from Africa, by some other
на
་
11
242
ADVENTURES OF
1
1
t
ship that he had sent thither, and who, it seems, had made a better
voyage than I.. Ile sent me also five chests of excellent sweetmeats,
and a hundred pieces of gold uncoined, not quite so large as moidores.
By the same fleet, my two merchant trustees shipped me one thousand
two hundred chests of sugar, eight hundred rolls of tobacco, and the
rest of the whole account in gold.
I might well say now, indeed, that the latter end of Job was better
than the beginning. It is impossible to express the flutterings of my
very heart, when I found all my wealth about me; for as the Brazil
ships come all in fleets, the same ships which brought my letters
brought my goods: and the effects were safe in the river before the
letters came to my hand. In a word, I turned pale and grew sick;
and had not the old man run and fetched me a cordial, I believe the
sudden surprise of joy had overset nature, and I had died upon the
spot: nay, after that, I continued very ill, and was so some hours, till
a physician being sent for, and something of the real cause of my ill-
ness being known, he ordered me to be let blood; after which I had
relief, and grew well: but I verily believe, if I had not been eased by a
vent given in that manner to the spirits, I should have died.
I was now master, all on a sudden, of above five thousand pounds
sterling in money, and had an estate, as I might well call it, in the
Brazils, of above a thousand pounds a year, as sure as an estate of
lands in England; and, in a word, I was in a condition which I
scarce knew how to understand, or how to compose myself for the en-
joyment of it. The first thing I did was to recompense my original
benefactor, my good old captain, who had been first charitable to me
in my distress, kind to me in my beginning, and honest to me at the
end. I showed him all that was sent to me; I told him, that next to
the providence of IIeaven, which disposed all things, it was owing to
him, and that it now lay on me to reward him, which I would do a
hundred-fold: so I first returned to him the hundred moidores I had
received of him; then I sent for a notary, and caused him to draw up
a general release or discharge from the four hundred and seventy
moidores, which he had acknowledged he owed me, in the fullest and
firmest manner possible. After which I caused a procuration to be
drawn, empowering him to be my receiver of the annual profits of my
plantation, and appointing my partner to account with him, and make
the returns by the usual fleets to him in my name; and a clause in
the end, being a grant of one hundred moidores a year to him during
his life, out of the effects, and fifty moidores a year to his son after
him, for his life: and thus I requited my old man.
'
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
243
I was now to consider which way to steer my course next, and
what to do with the estate that Providence had thus put into my
hands; and, indeed, I had more care upon my head now than I had
in my silent state of life in the island, where I wanted nothing but
what I had, and had nothing but what I wanted; whereas I had now
a great charge upon me, and my business was how to secure it. I
had never a cave now to hide my money in, or a place where it
might lie without a lock or key, till it grew mouldy and tarnished,
before anybody would meddle with it; on the contrary, I knew not
where to put it, or whom to trust with it. My old patron, the cap-
tain, indeed, was honest, and that was the only refuge I had. In the
next place, my interest in the Brazils seemed to summon me thither;
but now I could not tell how to think of going thither till I had
settled my affairs, and left my effects in some safe hands behind me.
At first I thought of my old friend the widow, who I knew was
honest, and would be just to me; but then she was in years, and but
poor, and, for aught I knew, might be in debt: so that, in a word, I
had no way but to go back to England myself, and take my effects
with me.
It was some months, however, before I resolved upon this; and
therefore, as I rewarded the old captain fully, and to his satisfaction,
who had been my former benefactor, so I began to think of my poor
widow, whose husband had been my first benefactor, and she, while
it was in her power, my faithful steward and instructor. So the first
thing I did, I got a merchant in Lisbon to write his correspondent in
London, not only to pay a bill, but to go find her out, and carry her
in money a hundred pounds for me, and to talk with her, and comfort
her in her poverty, by telling her she should, if I lived, have a further
supply at the same time I sent my two sisters in the country a
hundred pounds each, they being, though not in want, yet not in
very good circumstances; one having been married and left a widow ;
and the other having a husband not so kind to her as he should
be. But among all my relations or acquaintances, I could not yet
pitch upon one to whom I durst commit the gross of my stock, that
that I might go away to the Brazils, and leave things safe behind me;
and this greatly perplexed me.
I had once a mind to have gone to the Brazils, and have settled
myself there; for I was, as it were, naturalized to the place; but I
had some little scruple in my mind about religion, which insensibly
drew me back. However, it was not religion which kept me from
going there for the present; and as I had made no scruple of being
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openly of the religion of the country all the while I was among them,
so neither did I yet; only that, now and then, having of late thought
more of it than formerly, when I began to think of living and dying
among thein, I began to regret my having professed myself a Papist,
and thought it might not be the best religion to die with.
But, as I have said, this was not the main thing that kept me from
going to the Brazils, but that really I did not know with whom to
leave my effects behind me; so I resolved, at last, to go to England
with it, where, if I arrived, I concluded I should make some ac-
quaintance, or find some relations that would be faithful to me; and,
accordingly, I prepared to go to England with all my wealth.
In order to prepare things for my going home, I first, the Brazil
fleet being just going away, resolved to give answers suitable to the
just and faithful account of things I had from thence; and, first, to
the prior of St. Augustine I wrote a letter full of thanks for their just
dealings, and the offer of the eight hundred and seventy-two moidores
which were undisposed of, which I desired might be given, five hun-
dred to the monastery, and three hundred and seventy-two to the
poor, as the prior should direct; desiring the good padre's prayers
for me, and the like. I wrote next a letter of thanks to my two trus-
toes, with all the acknowledgment that so much justice and honesty
called for; as for sending them any present, they were far above
having any occasion for it. Lastly, I wrote to my partner, acknowl-
edging his industry in the improving the plantation, and his integrity
in increasing the stock of the works; giving him instructions for his
future government of my part, according to the powers I had left
with my old patron, to whom I desired him to send whatever became
due to me, till he shonld hear from mo more particularly; assuring
him that it was my intention not only to come to him, but to settle
myself there for the remainder of my life. To this I added a very
handsome present of soine Italian silks for his wife and two daugh-
ters, for such the captain's son informed me he had; with two pieces
of fine English broadcloth, the best I could get in Lisbon, five pieces
of black baize, and some Flanders lace of good value.
Having thus settled my affairs, sold my cargo, and turned all my
effects into good bills of exchange, my next difficulty was, which way
to go to England; I had been accustomed enough to the sea, and yet
I had a strange aversion to go to England by sea at that timo; and
though I could give no reason for it, yet the difficulty increased upon
me so inuch, that though I had once shipped my baggage, in order to
go, yet I altered my mind, and that not once, but two or three times.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
245
It is true, I had been very unfortunate by sea, and this might be
some of the reasons; but let no man slight the strong impulses of his
own thoughts in cases of such moment; two of the ships which I had
singled out to go in, I mean more particularly singled out than any
other, having put my things on board one of them, and in the other
to have agreed with the captain; I say, two of these ships miscarried,
viz.: one was taken by the Algerines, and the other was cast away on
the Start, near Torbay, and all the people drowned, except three; so
that in either of those vessels I had been made miserable.
IIaving been thus harassed in my thoughts, my old pilot, to whom
I communicated everything, pressed me earnestly not to go by sea,
but either to go by land to the Groyne (Corunna), and cross over the
Bay of Biscay to Rochelle, from whence it was but an easy and safe
journey by land to Paris, and so to Calais and Dover; or to go up
to Madrid, and so all the way by land through France. In a word, I
was so prepossessed against my going by sea at all, except from
Calais to Dover, that I resolved to travel all the way by land; which,
as I was not in haste, and did not value the charge, was by much the
pleasanter way; and to make it more so, my old captain brought an
English gentleman, the son of a merchant in Lisbon, who was willing
to travel with me; after which we picked up two more English mer-
chants also, and two young Portuguese gentlemen, the last going to
Paris only; so that in all there were six of us, and five servants; the
two merchants and the two Portuguese contenting themselves with
one servant between two, to save the charge; and as for me, I got an
English sailor to travel with me as a servant, besides my man Friday,
who was too much a stranger to be capable of supplying the place of
a servant on the road.
In this manner I set out from Lisbon; and our company being
very well mounted and armed, we made a little troop, whereof, they
did me the honor to call me captain, as well because I was the oldest
man, as because I had two servants, and, indeed, was the original of
the whole journey.
As I have troubled you with none of my sea journals, so I shall
trouble you now with none of my land journal; but some adventures
that happened to us in this tedious and difficult journey I must not omit.
When we came to Madrid, we, being all of us strangers to Spain,
were willing to stay sonie time to see the court of Spain, and to
sce what was worth observing; but it being the latter part of the
summer, we hastened away, and set out from Madrid about the mid-
dle of October; but when we came to the edge of Navarre, we were
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alarmed, at several towns on the way, with an account that so much
snow was fallen on the French side of the mountains, that several
travellers were obliged to come back to Pampeluna, after having at-
tempted, at an extreme hazard, to pass on.
When we came to Pampeluna itself, we found it so, indeed, and to
me, that had been always used to a hot climate, and to countries.
where I could scarce bear any clothes on, the cold was insufferable:
nor, indeed, was it more painful than surprising, to come but ten days
before out of Old Castile, where the weather was not only warm, but
very hot, and immediately to feel a wind from the Pyrenean moun-
tains, so very keen, so severely cold, as to be intolerable, and to en-
danger the benumbing and perishing of our fingers and toes.
Poor Friday was really frightened when he saw the mountains all
covered with snow, and felt cold weather, which he had never seen
or felt before in his life. To mend the matter, when we came to
Pampeluna, it continued snowing with so much violence, and so long,
that the people said winter was come before its time; and the roads,
which were difficult before, were now quite impassable; for, in a
word, the snow lay in some places too thick for us to travel, and
being not hard frozen, as is the case in the northern countries, there
was no going without being in danger of being buried alive every
step. We stayed no less than twenty days at Pampeluna; when, sceing
the winter coming on, and no likelihood of its being better, for it was
the severest winter all over Europe that had been known in the
memory of man, I proposed that we should all go away to Fontarabia,
and there take shipping for Bordeaux, which was a very little
voyage. But while I was considering this, there came in four French
gentlemen, who having been stopped on the French side of the passes,
as we were on the Spanish, had found out a guide, who traversing
the country near the head of Languedoc, had brought them over the
mountains by such ways, that they were not much incommoded with
the snow; for where they met with snow in any quantity, they said
it was frozen hard enough to bear them and their horses. We sent
for this guide, who told us he would undertake to carry us the same
way with no hazard from the snow, provided we were armed suffi-
ciently to protect ourselves from wild beasts; for, he said, upon these
great snows it was frequent for some wolves to show themselves at
the foot of the mountains, being made ravenous for want of food, the
ground being covered with snow. We told him we were well enough
prepared for such creatures as they were, if he would insure us from
a kind of two-legged wolves, which, wo were told, we were in most
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
247
IIe
danger from, especially on the French side of the mountains,
satisfied us that there was no danger of that kind in the way that we
were to go; so we readily agreed to follow him, as did also twelve
other gentlemen, with their servants, some French, some Spanish, who,
as I said, had attempted to go, and were obliged to come back again.
seen;
Accordingly, we set out from Pampeluna, with our guide, on the
15th of November; and, indeed, I was surprised, when, instead of
going forward, he came directly back with us on the same road that
we came from Madrid, about twenty miles; when having passed two
rivers, and came into the plain country, we found ourselves in a warm.
climate again, where the country was pleasant, and no snow to be
but on a sudden turning to his left, he approached the moun-
tains another way; and though it is true the hills and precipices look-
ed dreadful, yet he made so many tours, such meanders, and led us by
such winding ways, that we insensibly passed the height of the
mountains without being much encumbered with the snow; and, all on
a sudden, he showed us the pleasant fruitful provinces of Languedoc
and Gascony, all green and flourishing, though, indeed, at a great
distance, and we had some rough way to pass still.
We were a little uneasy, however, when we found it snowed, one
whole day and a night, so fast that we could not travel; but he bid us be
easy; we should soon be past it all; we found, indeed, that we began
to descend every day, and to come more north than before.; and so,
depending upon our guide, we went on.
Chapter Twenty-Nine.
Friday's Encounter with a Bear-Robinson and his Fellow-Traveller attacked by
a Flock of Wolves-His Arrangement of his Affairs, and Marriage after his
Return to England.
T was about two hours before night, when our guide being
something before us, and not just in sight, out rushed three
monstrous wolves, and after them a bear, out of a hollow way,
adjoining to a thick wood; two of the wolves made at the guide
and had he been far before us, he would have been devoured before
we could have helped him; one of them fastened upon his horse, and the
other attacked the man with that violence, that he had not time or
presence of mind enough to draw his pistol, but hallooed and cried
out to me most lustily. My man Friday being next to me, I bade him
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I
ride up, and see what was the matter. As soon as Friday came in
sight of the man, he hallooed out as loud as the other, "O master! O
master!" but like a bold fellow, rode directly up to the poor man,
and with his pistol shot the wolf, that attacked him, in the head.
It was happy for the poor man that it was my man Friday; for he
having been used to such creatures in his country, he had no fear re-
specting them, but went close up to him and shot him, as above;
whereas any other of us would have fired at a greater distance, and
have perhaps either missed the wolf, or endangered shooting the man.
But it was enough to have terrified a bolder man than I; and, in-
deed, it alarmed all our company, when with the noise of Friday's
pistol, we heard on both sides the most dismal howling of wolves;
and the noise, redoubled by the echo of the mountains, appeared to
us as if there had been a prodigious number of them; and perhaps,
there was not such a few as that we had no cause of apprehensions;
however, as Friday had killed this wolf, the other that had fastened
upon the horse left immediately, and fled, without doing him any
damage, having happily fastened upon his head, where the bosses of
the bridle had stuck in his teeth. But the man was most hurt; for
the raging creature had bit him twice, once in the arm, and the other
time a little above his knee; and though he had made some defence,
he was just as it were tumbling down by the disorder of his horse
when Friday came up and shot the wolf.
It is easy to suppose that at the noise of Friday's pistol we all
mended our pace, and rode up as fast as the way, which was very
difficult, would give us leave, to see what was the matter. As soon as
we came clear of the trees, which blinded us before, we saw clearly
what had been the case, and how Friday had disengaged the poor
guide, though we did not presently discern what kind of creature it
was he had killed.
But never was a fight managed so hardily, and in such a surprising
manner, as that which followed, between Friday and the bear, which
gave us all, though at first we were surprised and afraid of him, the
greatest diversion imaginable. As the bear is a heavy, clumsy crea-
ture, and does not gallop as the wolf does, who is swift and light, so
he has two particular qualities, which generally are the rule of his
actions: first, as to men, who are not his proper prey (he does not
usually attempt them, except they first attack him, unless he be ex-
cessively hungry, which it is probable might now be the case, the
ground being covered with snow), if you do not meddle with him, he
will not meddle with you; but then you must take care to be very
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
249
civil to him, and give him the road, for he is a very nice gentleman;
he will not go a step out of his way for a prince; nay, if you are
really afraid, your best way is to look another way, and keep going
on; for sometimes if you stop, and stand still, and look steadfastly at
him, he takes it for an affront; but if you throw or toss anything at
him, and it hits him, though it were but a bit of stick as big as your
finger, he thinks himself abused, and sets all other business aside to
pursue his revenge, and will have satisfaction in point of honor; this
is his first quality: the next is, if he be once affronted, he will never
leave you, night or day, till he has his revenge, but follows at a good
round rate, till he overtakes you.
My man Friday had delivered our guide, and when we came up to
him, he was helping him off his horse, for the man was both hurt and
frightened, when, on a sudden, we espied the bear come out of the
wood, and a vast, monstrous one it was, the biggest, by far, that ever
I saw.
We were all a little surprised when we saw him; but when
Friday saw him, it was easy to see joy and courage in the fellow's
countenance; "0, 0, 0!" says Friday, three times, pointing to him;
"Oh master! you give me te leave, me shakee te hand with him; me
makee you good laugh."
12).
I was surprised to see the fellow so well pleased. "You fool,” says
I, "he will cat you up." "Eatee me up! eatee me up says Friday,
twice over again; "me eatee him up; me makee you good laugh;
you all stay here, me show you good laugh." So down he sits, and
gets off his boots in a moment, and puts on a pair of pumps (as we
call the flat shoes they wear, and which he had in his pocket), gives
my other servant his horse, and with his gun away he flew, swift like
the wind.
The bear was walking softly on, and offered to meddle with nobody,
till Friday coming pretty near, calls to him, as if the bear could un-
derstand him, "Hark ye, hark ye," says Friday," me speakee with
you." We followed at a distance; for now being come down on the
Gascony side of the mountains, we were entered a vast great forest,
where the country was plain and pretty open, though it had many
trees in it scattered here and there. Friday, who had, as we say, the
hecls of the bear, came up with him quickly, and takes up a great
stone and throws it at him, and hit him just on the head, but did him
no more harm than if he had thrown it against a wall; but it answer-
ed Friday's end, for the rogue was so void of fear that he did it purely
to make the bear follow him, and show us "some laugh," as he called it.
As soon as the bear felt the blow, and saw him, he turns about, and
11*
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comes after him, taking devilish long strides and shuffling on at a
strange rate, such as would have put a horse to a middling gallop;
away runs Friday, and takes his course as if he ran toward us for
help; so we all resolved to fire at once upon the bear, and deliver my
man; though I was angry at him, heartily, for bringing the bear
back upon us, when he was going about his own business another
way; and especially I was angry that he had turned the bear upon
us, and then run away; and I called out, "You dog, is this your ma-
king us laugh? Come away, and take your horse, that we may shoot
the creature." He heard me, and cried out, "No shoot, no shoot;
stand still, and you get much laugh;" and as the nimble creature ran
two feet for the bear's one, he turned on a sudden, on one side of us,
and seeing a great oak tree, fit for his purpose, he beckoned to us to
follow; and doubling his pace, he gets nimbly up the tree, laying his
gun down on the ground, at about five or six yards from the bottom of
the tree. The bear soon came to the tree, and we followed at a dis-
tance; the first thing he did, he stopped at the gun, smelt of it, but
let it lie, and up he scrambles into the tree, climbing like a cat, though
so monstrous heavy. I was amazed at the folly, as I thought it, of my
man, and could not, for my life, see anything to laugh at yet, till see-
ing the bear get up the tree, we all rode near to him.
When we came to the tree, there was Friday got out to the small
end of a large branch, and the bear got about half way to him. As
soon as the bear got out to that part where the limb of the tree was
weaker, "Ha!" says he to us, "now you see me teachee the bear
dance." So he falls a jumping and shaking the bough, at which the
bear began to totter, but stood still and began to look behind him, to
see how he should get back; then, indeed, we did laugh heartily.
But Friday had not done with him by a great deal; when seeing him
stand still, he calls out to him again, as if he had supposed the bear
could speak English, "What, you come no farther? Pray you come
farther." So he left jumping and shaking the tree; and the bear,
just as if he understood what he said, did come a little farthor; then
he fell a jumping again, and the bear stopped again. We thought
now was a good time to knock him on the head, and called to Friday
to stand still and we would shoot the bear, but he cried out earnestly,
"0
pray ! O pray! no shoot, me shoot by and then;" he would have
said by-and-by. However, to shorten the story, Friday danced so
much, and the bear stood so ticklish, that we had laughing enough,
but still could not imagine what the fellow would do, for first wo
thought he depended upon shaking the bear off; and we found the
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
251
bear was too cunning for that, too, for he would not go out far enough
to be thrown down, but clings fast with his great broad claws and
feet, so that we could not imagine what would be the end of it, and
what the jest would be at last. But Friday puts us out of doubt
quickly, for seeing the bear cling fast to the bough, and that he would
not be persuaded to come any farther, "Well, well," says Friday,
"
you no come farther, me go; you no come to me, me come to you;"
and upon this he goes out to the smaller end of the bough, where it
would bend with his weight, and gently lets himself down by it, sli-
ding down the bough till he came near enough to jump down on his
feet, and away he runs to his gun, takes it up, and stands still. "Well,”
said I to him, "Friday, what will you do now? Why don't
Why don't you shoot
him ?" "No shoot," says Friday, "no yet; me no shoot now, me no
kill; me stay, give you one more laugh;" indeed, so he did, as you
will see presently, for when the bear saw his enemy gone, he comes
back from the bough where he stood, but did it mighty cautiously
looking behind him every stop, and coming backward till he got into
the body of the tree, then, with the same hinder-end foremost, he came
down the tree, grasping it with his claws, and moving one foot at a
time, very leisurely. At this junctore, and just before he could set
his hind-foot on the ground, Friday stepped up close to him, clapped
the muzzle of his piece in his ear, and shot him dead. Then the
rogue turned about to see if we did not laugh; and when he saw we
were pleased, by our looks, he falls a laughing himself very loud.
“So we kill bear in my country," says Friday. "So you kill them ?”
says I, "why, you have no guns." "No," says he, "no gun, but shoot
great much long arrow." This was a good diversion to us; but we
were still in a wild place, and our guide very much hurt, and what to
do we hardly knew. The howling of wolves run much in my head
and, indeed, except the noise I once heard on the shore of Africa, of
which I have said something already, I never heard anything that
filled me with so much horror.
These things, and the approach of night, called us off, or else, as
Friday would have had us, we should certainly have taken the skin
of this monstrous creature off, which was worth saving; but we had
near three leagues to go, and our guide hastened us, so we left him,
and went forward on our journey.
The ground was still covered with snow, though not so deep and
dangerous as on the mountains. and the ravenous creatures, as we
heard afterward, were come down into the forest and plain country,
pressed by hunger, to seek for food, and had done a great deal of mis-
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4
chief in the villages, where they surprised the country people, killed
a great many of their sheep and horses, and some peeple, too. We
had one dangerous place to pass, of which our guide told us, if there
were more wolves in the country we should find them there; and this
was a small plain, surrounded with woods on every side, and a long
narrow defile or lane, which we were to pass to get through the
wood, and then we should come to the village where we were to lodge.
It was within a half an hour of sunset when we entered the first wood,
and a little after sunset when we came into the plain. We met with
nothing in the first wood, except that, in a little plain within the
wood, which was not above two furlongs over, we saw five great
wolves cross the road, full speed, one after another, as if they had
been in chase of some prey, and had it in view; they took no notice
of us, and were gone out of sight in a few moments. Upon this our
guide, who, by-the-way, was but a faint-hearted fellow, bid us keep
in a ready posture, for he believed there were more wolves a coming.
We kept our arms ready, and our eyes about us, but we saw no more
wolves till we came through that wood, which was near half a league,
and entered the plain. As soon as we came into the plain we had
occasion enough to look about us; the first object we met with was a
dead horse, that is to say, a poor horse which the wolves had killed, and
at least a dozen of them at work, we could not say cating of him, but
picking of his bones, rather, for they had eaten up all the flesh before.
We did not think fit to disturb them at their feast, neither did they
take much notice of us. Friday would have let fly at them, but I
would not suffer him, by any means, for I found we were like to have
more business upon our hands than we were aware of. We were not
gone half over the plain when we began to hear the wolves howl in
the wood on our left in a frightful manner, and presently after we
saw about a hundred coming on directly toward us, all in a body, and
most of them in a line, as regularly as an army, drawn up by an ex-
perienced officer. I scarce knew in what manner to receive them,
but found to draw ourselves in a close line was the only way, so we
formed in a moment; but, that we might not have too much interval,
I ordered that only every other man should fire, and that the others
who had not fired, should stand ready to give them a second volley
immediately, if they continued to advance upon us; and then, that
those who had fired at first should not pretend to load their fusces
again, but stand ready every one with a pistol, for we were all armed
with a fusee and a pair of pistols each man; so we were, by this
method, able to fire six volleys, half of us at a time. However, at
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
253
present, we had no necessity, for upon firing the first volley the ene
my made a full stop, being terrified as well with the noise as with the
fire; four of them, being shot in the head, dropped; several others
were wounded, and went bleeding off, as we could see 'by the snow.
I found they stopped, but did not immediately retreat; whereupon,
remembering that I had been told that the fiercest creaturcs were ter-
rified at the voice of a man, I caused all the company to halloo as
loud as we could; and I found the notion not altogether mistaken, for
upon our shout they began to retire and turn about. I then ordered
a second volley to be fired in their rear, which put them to the gal-
lop, and away they went to the woods. This gave us leisure to charge
our pieces again, and that we might lose no time, we kept going;
but we had but little more than loaded our fusees, and put ourselves
in readiness, when we heard a terrible noise in the same wood, on
our left, only that it was farther onward, the same way we were
to go.
The night was coming on, and the light began to be dusky, which
made it worse on our side; but the noise increasing, we could easily
perceive that it was the bowling and yelling of those hellish creatures ;
and on a sudden we perceived two or three troops of wolves, one on
our left, one behind us, and one in.our front, so that we seemed to be
surrounded with them; however, as they did not fall upon us, we kept
our way forward, as fast as we could make our horses go, which, the
way being very rough, was only a good hard trot. In this manner
we came in view of the entrance of the wood, through which we were
to pass, at the farther side of the plain; but we were greatly surprised,
when, coming nearer the lane or pass, we saw a confused number of
wolves standing just at the entrance. On a sudden, at another open-
ing of a wood, we heard the noise of a gun, and looking that way out
rushed a horse, with a saddle and bridle on him, flying like the wind,
and sixteen or seventeen wolves after him, full speed; indeed, the
horse had the heels of them, but as we supposed that he could not
hold it that rate, we doubted not but they would get up with him at
last; no question but they did.
But here we had a most horrible sight; for riding up to the en-
trance where the horse came out, we found the carcasses of another
horse and two men, devoured by the ravenous creatures; and one or
the men was no doubt the same whom we heard fire the gun, for
there lay a gun just by him fired off; but as to the man, his head and
the upper part of his body were eaten up. This filled us with horror
and we knew not what course to take; but the creatures resolved us
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soon, for they gathered about us presently, in hopes of prey; and I
verily believe there were three hundred of them. It happened very
much to our advantage, that at the entrance into the wood, but a
little way from it, there lay some large timber trees, which had been
cut down the summer before, and I supposed lay there for carriage.
I drew my little troop in among those trees, and placing ourselves in
a line behind one long tree, I advised them all to alight, and keeping
that tree before us for a breastwork, to stand in a triangle or three
fronts enclosing our horses in the centre. We did so, and it was well
we did; for never was a more furious charge than the creatures
made upon us in this place. They came on with a growling kind of
noise, and mounted the piece of timber, which, as I said, was our
breastwork, as if they were only rushing upon their prey; and this
fury of theirs, it seems, was principally occasioned by their seeing
our horses behind us. I ordered our men to fire as before, every other
man; and they took their aims so sure, that they killed several of the
wolves at the first volley; but there was a necessity to keep a con-
tinual firing, for they came on like devils, those behind pushing on
those before.
When we had fired a second volley of our fuses, we thought they
stopped a little, and I hoped they would have gone off; but it was
but a moment, for others came forward again; so we fired two vol-
leys of our pistols; and I believe in these four firings we killed seven-
teen or eighteen of them, and lamed twice as many, yet they came on
again. I was loath to spend our shot too hastily; so I called my
servant, not my man Friday, for he was better employed, for, with
the greatest dexterity imaginable, he had charged my fusee and his
own while we were engaged; but as I said I called my other man,
and giving him a horn of powder, I bade him lay a train all along the
piece of timber, and let it be a large train. He did so; and had but
just time to get away, when the wolves came up to it, and some got
upon it, when I, snapping an uncharged pistol close to the powder,
set it on fire; those that were upon the timber were scorched with it;
and six or seven of them fell or rather jumped in among us, with the
force and fright of the fire; we dispatched these in an instant, and the
rest were so frightened with the light, which the night, for it was
now very dark, made more terrible, that they drew back a little:
upon which I ordered our last pistols to be fired off in one volley, and
after that we gave a shout; upon this the wolves turned tail, and we
sallied immediately upon near twenty lame ones, that we found strug-
gling on the ground, and fell a cutting them with our swords, which
S
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
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answered our expectation; for the crying and howling they made was
better understood by their fellows; so that they all fled and left us.
We had, first and last, killed about three score of them; and had it
been daylight, we had killed many more. The field of battle being
thus cleared, we made forward again, for we had still near a league
to go.
We heard the ravenous creatures howl and yell in the woods
as we went, several times, and sometimes we fancied we saw some of
them, but the snow dazzling our eyes, we were not certain; in about
an hour more we came to the town where we were to lodge, which
we found in a terrible fright, and all in arms; for, it seems, the night
before, the wolves and some bears had broke into the village, and put
them in such terror, that they were obliged to keep guard night and
day, but especially in the night, to preserve their cattle, and, indeed
their people.
The next morning our guide was so ill, and his limbs swelled so
much with the rankling of his two wounds, that he could go no
farther; so we were obliged to take a new guide here, and go to
Toulouse, where we found a warm climate, a fruitful, pleasant
country, and no snow, no wolves, nor anything like them; but when
we told our story at Toulouse, they told us it was nothing but what
was ordinary in the great forest at the foot of the mountains, espe-
cially when the snow lay on the ground; but they inquired much
what kind of a guide we had got, who would venture to bring us that
way in such a severe season; and told us it was surprising we were
not all devoured. When we told them how we placed ourselves, and
the horses in the middle, they blamed us exceedingly, and told us it
was fifty to one but we had been all destroyed; for it was the sight of
the horses which made the wolves so furious, seeing their prey; and
that, at other times, they are really afraid of a gun; but being ex-
cessive hungry, and raging on that account, the eagerness to come at
the horses had made them senseless of danger; and that if we had
not, by the continued fire, and at last by the stratagem of the train of
powder, mastered them, it bad been great odds but that we had been
torn to pieces; that whereas, had we been content to have sat still on
horseback, and fired as horsemen, they would not have taken the
horses so much for their own, when men were on their backs, as
otherwise; and withal they told us, that, at last, if we had stood alto-
gether, and left our horses, they would have been so eager to have
devoured them, that we might have come off safe, especially having
our fire-arms in our hands, and being so many in number.
part, I was never so sensible of danger in my life; for seeing above
For my
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ADVENTURES OF
three hundred devils come roaring and open-mouthed to devour us,
and having nothing to shelter us, or retreat to, I gave myself over
for lost; and, as it was, I believe I shall never care to cross those
mountains again; I think I would much rather go a thousand leagues
by sea, though I was sure to meet with a storm once a week.
I have nothing uncommon to take notice of in my passage through
France, nothing but what other travellers have given an account of,
with much more advantage than I can. I travelled from Toulouse
to Paris, and without any considerable stay came to Calais, and landed
safe at Dover, the 14th of January, after having a severe cold season
to travel in.
I was now come to the centre of my travels, and had in a little
time all my new discovered estate safe about me; the bills of ex-
change which I brought with me having been very currently paid.
My principal guide and privy counsellor was my good ancient
widow; who, in gratitude for the money I had sent her, thought no
pains too much, nor care too great, to employ for me; and I trusted
her so entirely with everything, that I was perfectly easy as to the
security of my effects: and, indeed, I was very happy from the be-
ginning, and now to the end, in the unspotted integrity of this good
gentlewoman.
I now resolved to dispose of my plantation in the Brazils, if I could
find means.
For this purpose, I wrote to my old friend at Lisbon,
who having offered it to the two merchants, the survivors of my
trustees, who lived in the Brazils, they accepted the offer, and re-
mitted thirty-three thousand pieces of eight to a correspondent of
theirs at Lisbon, to pay for it. Having signed the instrument of sale,
and sent it to my old friend, he remitted me bills of exchange for
thirty-two thousand eight hundred pieces of eight for the estate, re-
serving the payment of a hundred moidores a year to himself during
his life, and fifty moidores afterward to his son for life, which I had
promised them.
Though I had sold my estate in the Brazils, yet I could not keep
the country out of my head; nor could I resist the strong inclination
I had to see my island. My true friend, the widow, earnestly dis-
suaded 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 gentlemen,
and gave him a settlement of some addition to his estate, after my
decease. The other I put out to a captain of a ship; and after five
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
257
years, finding him a sensible, bold, enterprising young fellow, I put
him into a good ship, and sent him to sea: and this young fellow
afterward drew me in, old as I was, to further adventures myself.
In the meantime, I in part settled myself here; for, first of all, I
married, and that not either to my disadvantage or dissatisfaction,
and had three children, two sons and one daughter; but my wife
dying, 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 in his ship as a private trader to the East
Indies this was in the year 1694.
But these things, with some very surprising incidents in some new
adventures of my own, for ten years more, I shall give a further ac-
count of.
That homely proverb used on so many occasions in England, viz.,
"That what is bred in the bone will not go out of the flesh," was
never more verified than in the story of my life. Any one would
think that, after five years' affliction, and a variety of unhappy cir-
cumstances, which few men, if any, ever went through before, and
after near seven years of peace and enjoyment in the fullness of all
things, grown old, and when, if ever, it might be allowed me to have
had experience of every state of middle life, and to know which was
most adapted to make a man completely happy; I say, after all this,
any one would have thought that the native propensity to rambling,
which I gave an account of in my first setting out in the world to
have been so predominant in my thoughts, should be worn out, the
volatile part be fully evacuated, or at least condensed, and I might,
at sixty-one years of age, have been a little inclined to stay at home
and have done venturing life and fortune any more.
Nay, further, the common motive of foreign adventures was taken
away in me; for I had no fortune to make; I had nothing to seek :
if I had gained ten thousand pounds, I had been no richer; for I had
already sufficient for me, and for those I had to leave it to; and that
I had was visibly increasing; for having no great family, I could not
spend the income of what I had, unless I would set up for an ex-
pensive way of living, such as a great family, servants, equipage,
gayety, and the like, which were things I had no notion of, or inclina-
tion to; so that I had nothing indeed to do but to sit still, and fully
enjoy what I had got, and see it increase daily upon my hands. Yet
all these things had no effect upon me, or at least not enough to resist
the strong inclination I had to go abroad again, which hung about
me like a chronicle distemper. In particular, the desire of seeing my
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new plantation in the island, and the colony I left there, ran in my
head continually. I dreamed of it all night, and my imagination ran
upon it all day; it was uppermost in all my thoughts; and my fancy
worked so steadily and strongly upon it, that I talked of it in my
sleep in short, nothing could remove it out of my mind: it even
broke so violently into all my discourses, that it made my conversa-
tion tiresome, for I could talk of nothing else: all my discourse ran
into it, even to impertinence; and I saw it myself.
Chapter Thirty.
He is seized with a Desire to revisit his Island-Loses his Wife-Is tempted
to go to Sea again-Takes out a Cargo for his Colony.
in
HAVE often heard persons of good judgment say, that all
the stir people make in the world about ghosts and appari-
tions is owing to the strength of imagination, and the power-
ful operation of fancy in their minds; that there is no such
thing as a spirit appearing, or a ghost walking, and the like; that
people's poring affectionately upon the past conversation of their de-
ceased friends, so realizes it to them, that they are capable of fancying,
upon some extraordinary circumstances, that they see them, talk to
them, and are answered by them, when, in truth, there is nothing but
shadow and vapor in the thing, and they really know nothing of the
matter.
For my part, I know not to this hour whether there are any such
things as real apparitions, spectres, or walking of people after they
are dead or whether there is anything in the stories they tell us of
that kind, more than the product of vapors, sick minds, and wandering
fancies; but this I know, that my imagination worked up to such a
height, and brought me into such excess of vapors, or what else I may
call it, that I actually supposed myself often upon the spot, at my old
castle, behind the trees; saw my old Spaniard, Friday's father, and
the reprobate sailors I left upon the island; nay, I fancied I talked
to them, and looked at them steadily, though I was broad awake,
as at persons just before me; and this I did till I often frightened
myself with the images my fancy represented to me.
One time,
in my sleep, I had the villany of the three pirate sailors so lively
related to me by the first Spaniard and Friday's father, that it was
徵
​ROBINSON CRUSOE.
259
A
surprising: they told me how they barbarously attempted to murder
all the Spaniards, and that they set fire to the provisions they had laid
up, on purpose to distress and starve them; things that I had never
heard of, and that indeed were never all of them true in fact; but it
was so warm in my imagination, and so realized to me, that, to the
hour I saw them, I could not be persuaded but that it was, or would
be true: also how I resented it, when the Spaniards complained to me;
and how I brought them to justice, tried them before me, and ordered
them all three to be hanged. What there was really in this shall be
seen in its place: for however I came to form such things in my
dream, and what secret converse of spirits injected it, yet there was,
I
say, much of it true. I own that this dream had nothing in it liter-
ally and specifically true; but the general part was so true, the base,
villanous behavior of these three hardened rogues was such, and had
been so much worse than all I can describe, that the dream had too
much similitude of the fact; and as I would afterward have punished
them severely, so, if I had hanged them all, I had been much in the
right, and even should have been justified by the laws both of God
and man.
But to return to my story. In this kind of temper I lived
some years; I had no enjoyment of my life, no pleasant hours, no
agrecable diversion, but what had something or other of this in it; so
that my wife, who saw my mind wholly bent upon it, told me very se-
riously one night, that she believed there was some secret powerful im-
pulse of Providence upon me, which had determined me to go thither
again; and that she found nothing hindered my going, but my being
engaged to a wife and children. She told me, that it was true she
could not think of parting with me; but as she was assured, that if
she was dead it would be the first thing I would do, so, as it seemed
to her that the thing was determined above, she would not be the
only obstruction; for, if I thought fit, and resolved to go- IIere
she found me very intent upon her words, and that I looked very
earnestly at her, so that it a little disordered her, and she stopped. I
asked her why she did not go on, and say out what she was going to
say. But I perceived that her heart was too full, and some tears
stood in her eyes. ic Speak out, my dear," said I; "are you willing I
should go ?" "No," says she, very affectionately, "I am far from
willing; but if you are resolved to go," says she, "and rather than I
would be the only hinderance, I will go with you: for though I think
it a most preposterous thing for one of your years, and in your con-
dition, yet if it must be," said she, again weeping, "I would not leave
you; for if it be of Heaven, you must do it; there is no resisting it
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ADVENTURES OF
and if Heaven make it your duty to go, he will also make it mine to
go with you, or otherwise dispose of me, that I may not obstruct it."
This affectionate behavior of my wife's brought me a little out of
the vapors, and I began to consider what I was doing; I corrected
my wandering fancy, and I began to argue with myself sedately, what
business I had, after three-score years, and after such a life of tedious
sufferings and disasters, and closed in so happy and easy a manner-I
say, what business had I to rush into new hazards, and put myself
upon adventures fit only for youth and poverty to run into?
With these thoughts I considered my new engagements; that I had
a wife, one child born, and my wife then great with child of another;
that I had all the world could give me, and had no need to seek hazard
for gain; that I was declining in years, and ought to think rather of
leaving what I had gained, than of seeking to increase it; that as
to what my wife had said of its being an impulse of IIeaven, and that
it should be my duty to go, I had no notion of that; so, after many
of these cogitations, I struggled with the power of my imagination,
reasoned myself out of it, as I believe people may always do in like
cases if they will; and in a word, I conquered it; composed myself
with such arguments as occurred to my thoughts, and which my pres-
ent condition furnished me plentifully with; and particularly, as the
most effectual method, I resolved to divert myself with other things,
and to engage in some business that might effectually tie me up from
any more excursions of this kind; for I found that thing return upon
me chiefly when I was idle, and had nothing to do, nor anything of
moment immediately before me. To this purpose I bought a little
farm in the county of Bedford, and resolved to remove myself thither.
I had a little convenient house upon it; and the land about it, I found
was capable of great improvement; and it was many ways suited to
my inclination, which delighted in cultivating, managing, planting,
and improving of land; and particularly, being an inland county, I
was removed from conversing among sailors, and things relating to
remote parts of the world.
In in a word, I went down to my farm, settled my family, bought me
ploughs, harrows, a cart, wagon, horses, cows, and sheep, and setting
seriously to work, became in one half year, a mere country gentle-
man; my thoughts were entirely taken up in managing my servants,
cultivating the ground, enclosing, planting, &c.; and I lived, as I
thought, the most agreeable life that nature was capable of directing,
or that a man always bred to misfortunes was capable of retreating to.
I farmed upon my own land; I had no rent to pay, was limited by
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
261
no articles; I could pull up or cut down as I pleased what I planted
was for myself, and what I improved was for my family; and having
thus left off the thoughts of wandering, I had not the least discom-
fort in any part of life as to this world. Now I thought, indeed, that
I enjoyed the middle state of life which my father so earnestly recom-
mended to me, and lived a kind of heavenly life, something like what
is described by the poet, upon the subject of a country life-
"Free from vices, free from care,
Age has no pain, and youth no snare."
The
S
me.
But in the middle of all this felicity, one blow from unseen Provi-
dence unhinged me at once; and not only made a breach upon me
inevitable and incurable, but drove me, by its consequences, into a
deep relapse of the wandering disposition, which, as I may say, being
born in my very blood, soon recovered its hold of me, and, like the
returns of a violent distemper, came on with an irresistible force upon
This blow was the loss of my wife. It is not my business here
to write an elegy upon my wife, give a character of her particular
virtues, and make my court to the sex by the flattery of a funeral
sermon. She was, in a few words, the stay of all my affairs, the cen-
tre of all my enterprises, the engine that, by her prudence, reduced
me to that happy compass I was in, from the most extravagant and
ruinous project that fluttered in my head, as above, and did more to
guide my rambling genius than a mother's tears, a father's instruc-
tions, a friend's counsel, or my own reasoning powers, could do. I
was happy in listening to her tears, and in being moved by her en-
treaties; and to the last degree desolate and dislocated in the world
by the loss of her.
When she was gone, the world looked awkwardly round me. Ι.
was as much a stranger in it, in my thoughts, as I was in the Brazils,
when I first went on shore there; and as much alone, except as to the
assistance of servants, as I was in my island. I knew neither what
to think nor what to do. I saw the world busy around me; one part
laboring for bread, another squandering in vile excesses or empty
pleasures, equally miserable, because the end they proposed still fled
from them; for the men of pleasure every day surfeited of their vice,
and heaped up work for sorrow and repentance; and the men of
labor spent their strength in daily struggling for bread to maintain
the vital strength they labored with; so living in a daily circulation
on sorrow, living but to work, and working but to live, as if daily bread
were the only end of a wearisome life, and a wearisome life the only
occasion of daily bread.
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ADVENTURES OF
This put me in mind of the life I lived in my kingdom, the island;
where I suffered no more corn to grow because I did not want it, and
bred no more goats, because I had no more use for them; where the
money lay in the drawer till it grew mouldy, and had scarce the favor
to be looked upon in twenty years.
All these things, had I improved them as I ought to have done, and
as reason and religion had dictated to me, would have taught me to
search farther than human enjoyments for a full felicity; and that
there was something which certainly was the reason and end of life,
superior to all these things, and which was either to be possessed, or
at least hoped for, on this side the grave.
But my sage counsellor was gone; I was like a ship without a pilot,
that could only run afore the wind; my thoughts ran all away again
into the old affair; my head was quite turned with the whimsies of
foreign adventures; and all the pleasant innocent amusements of my
farm, my garden, my cattle, and my family, which before entirely
possessed me, were nothing to me, had no relish, and were like music
to one that has no ear, or food to one that has no taste; in a word, I
resolved to leave off housekeeping, let my farm, and return to Lon-
don; and in a few months after I did so.
When I came to London, I was still as uncasy as I was before; I
had no relish for the place, no employment in it, nothing to do but to
saunter about like an idle person, of whom it may be said he is per-
fectly useless in God's creation, and it is not one farthing's matter to
the rest of its kind whether he be dead or alive. This also was the
thing which, of all other circumstances of life, was the most my aver-
sion, who had been all my days used to an active life; and I would
often say to myself: a state of idleness is the very dregs of life; and
indeed, I thought I was much more suitably employed when I was
twenty-six days making me a deal-board.
It was now the beginning of the year 1693, when my nephew, whom,
as I have observed before, I had brought up to the sea, and had made
him commander of a ship, was come home from a short voyage to
Bilboa, being the first he had made. He came to me, and told me
that some merchants, of his acquaintance, had been proposing to him
to go a voyage for them to the East Indies and to China, as private
traders. "And now, uncle," says he, "if you will go to sea with me,
I will engage to land you upon your old habitation in the island; for
we are to touch at the Brazils."
Nothing can be a greater demonstration of a future state, and of
the existence of an invisible world, than the concurrence of second
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
263
L
causes with the ideas of things which we form in our minds, perfectly
reserved, and not communicated to any in the world.
My nephew knew nothing how far my distemper of wandering was
returned upon me, and I knew nothing of what he had in his thoughts
to say, when the very morning before he came to me, I had, in a great
deal of confusion of thought, and revolving every part of my circum-
stances in my mind, come to this resolution, viz., that I would go to
Lisbon, and consult with my old sea-captain; and so, if it was rational
and practicable, I would go and see the island again, and see what
was become of my people there. I had pleased myself with the
thoughts of peopling the place, and carrying inhabitants from hence,
getting a patent for the possession, and I knew not what; when in the
middle of all this, in comes my nephew, as I have said with his pro-
ject of carrying me thither in his way to the East Indies.
I paused awhile at his words, and, looking steadily at him, "What
devil," said I, "sent you on this unlucky errand ?" My nephew stared,
as if he had been frightened, at first; but perceiving that I was not so
much displeased with the proposal, he recovered himself. "I hope
it may not be an unlucky proposal, sir," says he; "I dare say you
would be pleased to see your new colony there, where you once
reigned with more felicity than most of your brother monarchs in the
world."
'
*7
In a word, the scheme hit so exactly with my temper, that is to
say, the prepossession I was under, and of which I have said so much,
that I told him, in a few words, if he agreed with the merchants, I
would go with him; but I told him I would not promise to go any
further than my own island. "Why, sir," says he, "you don't want
to be left there again, I hope.” "Why," said I, "can you not take
me up on your return?" He told me it would not be possible to do
so that the merchants would never allow him to come that way with
a laden ship of such value, it being a month's sail out of his way, and
might be three or four. Besides, sir, if I should miscarry," said he,
“and not return at all, then you would be just reduced to the con-
dition you were in before."
This was very rational, but we both found out a remedy for it,
which was to carry a framed sloop on board the ship, which being
taken in pieces and shipped on board the ship, might, by the help of
some carpenters whom we agreed to carry with us, be set up again in
the island, and finished, fit to go to sea, in a few days.
I was not long resolving, for indeed the importunities of my nephew,
joined so effectually with my inclination that nothing could oppose
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ADVENTURES OF
me; on the other hand, my wife being dead, I had nobody concerning
themselves so much for me as to persuade me to one way or the other,
except my ancient good friend the widow, who earnestly struggled
with me to consider my years, my easy circumstances, and the need-
less hazards of a long voyage-and, above all, my young children.
But it was all to no purpose; I had an irresistible desire to the voy-
age, and I told her I thought there was something so uncommon in
the impression I had upon my mind for the voyage, that it would be
a kind of resisting Providence if I should attempt to stay at home;
after which she ceased her expostulations, and joined with me, not
only in making provision for my voyage, but also in settling my
family affairs for my absence, and providing for the education of my
children.
In order to this I made my will, and settled the estate I had in
such a manner for my children, and placed in such hands that I was
perfectly easy, and satisfied they would have justice done them, what-
ever might befall me; and for their education, I left it wholly to the
widow, with a sufficient maintenance to herself for her care; all which
she richly deserved, for no other could have taken more care in
their education, or understood it better; and as she lived till I came
home, I also lived to thank Ler for it.
My nephew was ready to sail about the beginning of January,
1694-'5, and I, with my man Friday, went on board in the Downs the
8th; having, besides that sloop which I mentioned above, a very con-
siderable cargo of all kinds of necessary things for my colony; which,
if I did not find it in good condition, I resolved to leave so.
First, I carried with me some servants, whom I proposed to place
there as inhabitants, or at least to set on work there, upon my own
account, while I stayed, and either to leave them there or carry them
forward, as they would appear willing; particularly, I carried two
carpenters, a smith, and a very handy, ingenious fellow, who was a
cooper by trade, and was also a general mechanic, for he was dexter-
ous at making wheels, and hand-mills to grind corn-was a good turn-
er and a good pot-maker; he also made anything that was proper
to make of earth, or of wood; in a word, we called him our Jack-of-
all-trades. With these I carried a tailor, who had offered himself to
go a passenger to the East Indies with my nephew, but afterward
consented to stay on our new plantation, and proved a most necessary
handy fellow as could be desired, in many other businesses besides
that of his trade; for, as I observed formerly, necessity arms us for
all employments.
7.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
265
My cargo, as near as I can recollect, for I had not kept account of
the particulars, consisted of a sufficient quantity of linen, and some
English thin stuffs, for clothing the Spaniards that I expected to find
there, and enough of them, as by my calculation, might comfortably
supply them for seven years. If I remember right, the materials I
carried for clothing them, with gloves, hats, shoes, stockings, and all
such things as they could want for wearing, amounted to about two
hundred pounds—including some beds, bedding, and household stuff,
particularly kitchen utensils, with pots, kettles, pewter, brass, &c.,
and near a hundred pounds more in iron-work, nails, tools of every
kind, staples, hooks, binges, and every necessary thing I could
think of.
I carried, also, a hundred spare arms, muskets, and fusees, besides
some pistols, a considerable quantity of shot, of all sizes, three or four
tons of lead, and two pieces of brass cannon; and, because I knew not
what time and what extremities I was providing for, I carried a hun-
dred barrels of powder, besides swords, cutlasses, and the iron part
of some pikes and halberds, so that, in short, we had a large maga-
zine of all sorts of stores; and I made my nephew carry two small
quarter-deck guns more than he wanted for his ship, to leave behind
if there was occasion, that when we came there we might build a
fort, and man it against all sorts of enemies; and, indeed, I at first
thought there would be need enough for all, and much more, if we
hoped to maintain our possession of the island, as shall be seen in the
course of this story.
I had not such bad luck in this voyage as I had been used to meet
with, and, therefore, shall have the less occasion to interrupt the
reader, who, perhaps, may be impatient to hear how matters went
with my colony; yet some old accidents, cross winds, and bad
weather, happened on this first setting out, which made the voyage
longer than I expected at first; and I, who had never made but one
voyage, viz., my first voyage to Guinea, in which I might be said to
come back again, as the voyage was at first designed, began to think
the same ill fate attended me, and that I was born to be never
contented with being on shore, and yet to be always unfortunate at
sea.
Contrary winds first put us to the northward, and we were obliged
to put in at Galway, in Ireland, where we lay wiad-bound two-and-
twenty days but we had this satisfaction with the disaster, that pro-
visions were here exceeding cheap, and in the utmost plenty; so that
while we lay here we never touched the ship's stores, but rather
▼
12
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ADVENTURES OF
5
added to them. Here, also, I took in several live hogs, and two cows
with their calves, which I resolved, if I had a good passage, to put on
shore in my island; but we found occasion to dispose otherwise of
them.
Chapter Thirty-One.
Robinson's Ship relieves the Crew of a French Vessel that had caught Fire.

E set out on the 5th of February from Ireland, and had a
very fair gale of wind for some days. As I remember, it
might be about the 20th of February, in the evening late,
when the mate, having the watch, came into the round-
house, and told us he saw a flash of fire, and heard a gun fired; and
while he was telling us of it, a boy came in and told us the boatswain.
heard another. This made us all run out upon the quarter-deck,
where, for a while, we heard nothing, but in a few minutes we saw a
very great light, and found that there was some very terrible fire at a
distance. Immediately we had recourse to our reckonings, in which
we all agreed that there could bo no land that way in which the fire
showed itself, no, not for five hundred leagues, for it appeared at W.
N. W. Upon this we concluded it must be some ship on fire at sea;
and as, by our hearing the noise of guns just before, we concluded it
could not be far off, we stood directly toward it, and were presently
satisfied we should discover it, because, the farther we sailed, the
greater the light appeared, though, the weather being hazy, we could
not perceive anything but the light for a while. In about half an
hour's sailing, the wind being fair for us, though not much of it, and
the weather clearing up a little, we could plainly discern that it was
a great ship on fire, in the middle of the sea.
I was most sensibly touched with this disaster, though not at all
acquainted with the persons engaged in it; I presently recollected my
former circumstances, and in what condition I was in, when taken up
by the Portuguese captain; and how much more deplorable the circum-
stances of the poor creatures belonging to that ship must be, if they
had no other ship in company with them. Upon this, I immediately
ordered that five guns should be fired, one soon after another, that, if
possible, we might give notice to them that there was help for them
at hand, and that they night endeavor to save themselves in their
boat; for though we could see the flames of the ship, yet they, it
being night, could see nothing of us.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
267
We lay by for some time upon this, only driving as the burning ship
drove, waiting for daylight; when, on a sudden, to our great terror,
though we had reason to expect it, the ship blew up in the air; and
immediately, that is to say, in a few minutes, all the fire was out, that
is to say, the rest of the ship sunk. This was terrible, and indeed an
afflicting sight, for the sake of the poor men; who, I concluded, must
be either all destroyed in the ship, or be in the utmost distress in their
boat, in the middle of the ocean; which, at present, by reason it was
dark, I could not see. However, to direct them as well as I could, I
caused lights to be hung out in all parts of the ship where we could,
and which we had lanterns for, and kept firing guns all the night
long; letting them know, by this, that there was a ship not far off.
At about eight o'clock in the morning we discovered the ship's
boats by aid of our perspective glasses; found there were two of them,
both thronged with people, and deep in the water. We perceived
they rowed, the wind being against them; that they saw our ship, and
did their utmost to let us see them.
We immediately spread our ancient, to let them know we saw them,
and hung a waft out, as a signal for them to come on board; and
then made more sail, standing directly to them. In little more than
half an hour we came up with them; and, in a word, took them all
in, being no less than sixty-four men, women, and children; for there
were a great many passengers.
Upon the whole, we found it was a French merchant ship of three
hundred tons, home-bound from Quebec, in the river of Canada. The
master gave us a long account of the distress of his ship; how the fire
began in the steerage, by the negligence of the steersman;
but on
his crying out for help, was, as everybody thought, entirely put out;
but they soon found that some sparks of the first fire had gotten into
some part of the ship so difficult to come at, that they could not
effectually quench it; and afterward getting in between the timbers,
and within the ceiling of the ship, it proceeded into the hold, and
mastered all the skill and all the application they were able to
exert.
They had no more to do then, but to get into their boats, which, to
their great comfort, were pretty large; being their long-boat, and
their great shallop, besides a small skiff, which was of no great ser-
vice to them, other than to get some fresh water and provisions into
her, after they had secured their lives from the fire. They had, in-
deed, small hope of their lives by getting into these boats, at that
distance from any land; only, as they said well, that they were es-
;
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ADVENTURES OF
caped from the fire, and a possibility that some ship might happen to
be at sea, and might take them in. They had sails, oars, and a com-
pass; and were preparing to make the best of their way back to
Newfoundland, the wind blowing pretty fair, for it blew an easy gale
at S. E. by E. They had as much provision and water, as, with
sparing it, so as to be next door to starving, might support them about
twelve days; in which, if they had no bad weather, and no contrary
winds, the captain said he hoped he might get to the Banks of New-
foundland, and might perhaps take some fish, to sustain them till they
might go on shore. But there were so many chances against them in
all these cases, such as storms, to overset and founder them; rains
and cold, to benumb and perish their limbs; contrary winds, to keep
them out and starve them; that it must have been next to miraculous
if they had escaped.
In the midst of their consternation, every one being hopeless and
ready to despair, the captain, with tears in his eyes, told me they
were on a sudden surprised with the joy of hearing a gun fire, and
after that four more; these were the five guns which I caused to be
fired at first seeing the light. This revived their hearts, and gave them
the notice, which, as above, I desired it should, viz., that there was a
ship at hand for their help. It was upon the hearing of these guns
that they took down their masts and sails; the sound coming from the
windward, they resolved to lie by till morning. Some time after this,
hearing no more guns, they fired three muskets, one a considerable
while after another; but these, the wind being contrary, we never
heard.
Some time after that again, they were still more agreeably sur-
prised with seeing our lights, and hearing the guns which, as I have
said, I caused to be fired all the rest of the night; this set them to
work with their oars, to keep their boats ahead, at least, that we
might the sooner come up with them; and, at last, to their inexpres-
sible joy, they found we saw them.
It is impossible for me to express the several gestures, the strange
ecstacies, the variety of postures, which these poor delivered people
ran into, to express the joy of their souls at so unexpected a deliver-
ance. Grief and fear are easily described; sighs, tears, groans, and
very few motions of the head and hands, make up the sum of its
variety; but an excess of joy, a surprise of joy, has a thousand ex-
travagances in it; there were some in tears; some raging and tearing
themselves, as if they had been in the greatest agonies of sorrow; some
stark raving, and downright lunatic; some ran about the ship stamping
i
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
269
with their feet, others wringing their hands; some were dancing, some
singing, some laughing, more crying; many quite dumb, not able to
speak a word; others sick and vomiting; several swooning, and
ready to faint; and a few were crossing themselves, and giving God
thanks.
I would not wrong them neither; there might be many that were
thankful afterward, but the passion was too strong for them at first
and they were not able to master it; they were thrown into ecstacies,
and a kind of frenzy; and it was but a very few that were composed
and serious in their joy.
Perhaps, also, the case may have some addition to it from the par-
ticular circumstance of that nation they belonged to; I mean the
French, whose temper is allowed to be more volatile, more passionate,
and more sprightly, and their spirits more fluid, than in other nations.
I am not philosopher enough to determine the cause; but nothing I
had ever seen before came up to it. The ecstacies poor Friday, my
trusty savage, was in, when he found his father in the boat, came the
the nearest to it, and the surprise of the master and his two compan-
ions, whom I delivered from the villains that set them on shore in
the island, came a little way toward it; but nothing was to compare
to this, either that I saw in Friday, or anywhere else in my life.
It is further observable, that these extravagances did not show
themselves, in that different manner I have mentioned, in different
persons only; but all the variety would appear, in a short succession
of moments, in one and the same person. A man that we saw this
minute dumb, and as it were stupid and confounded, would the next
minute be dancing and hallooing like an antic; and the next moment
be tearing his hair or pulling his clothes to pieces, and stamping them
under his feet like a madman; in a few moments after that, we
would have him all in tears, then sick, swooning, and, had not imme-
diate help been had, he would in a few moments have been dead; and
thus it was, not with one or two, or ten or twenty, but with the
greatest part of them; and if I remember right, our surgeon was ob-
liged to let blood of about thirty of them.
There were two priests among them, one an old man, and the other
a young man; and that which was strangest was, the oldest man was
the worst. As soon as he set his foot on board our ship, and saw
himself safe, he dropped down stone dead, to all appearance; not the
least sign of life could be perceived in him: our surgeon immediately
applied proper remedies to recover him, and was the only man in the
ship that believed he was not dead. At length he opened a vein in
↑
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ADVENTURES OF
his arm, having first chafed and rubbed the part, so as to warm it as
much as possible: upon this blood, which only dropped at first,
flowing freely, in three minutes after the man opened his eyes; and a
quarter of an hour after that he spoke, grew better, and in a little
time quite well. After the blood was stopped, he walked about; told
us he was perfectly well; took a dram of cordial which the surgeon
gave him, and was what we called come to himself. About a quarter
of an hour after this, they came running into the cabin to the surgeon,
who was bleeding a French woman that had fainted, and told him the
priest was gone stark mad. It seems he had begun to revolve the
change of his circumstances in his mind, and again this put him into
an ecstacy of joy; his spirits whirled about faster than the vessels
could convey them, the blood grew hot and feverish, and the man was,
as fit for Bedlam as any creature that over was in it: the sur-
geon would not bleed him again in that condition, but gave him
something to doze and put him to sleep, which, after some time,
operated upon him, and he awoke next morning perfectly composed
and well.
The younger priest behaved with great command of his passions
and was really an example of a serious, well-governed mind: at his
first coming on board the ship, he threw himself flat on his face,
prostrating himself in thankfulness for his deliverance, in which I un-
happily and unseasonably disturbed him, really thinking he had been
in a swoon, but he spoke calmly, thanked me, told me was giving God
thanks for his deliverance; begged me to leave him a few moments,
and that, next to his Maker, he would give me thanks also.
I was heartily sorry that I disturbed him, and not only left him, but
kept others from interrupting him also. He continued in that posture
about three minutes, or little more, after I left him; then came to me,
as he had said he would, and with a great deal of seriousness and
affection, but with tears in his eyes, thanked me, that had, under God,
given him, and so many miserable creatures, their lives. I told him I
had no room to move him to thank God for it, rather than me, for I
had seen that he had done that already; but, I added, that it was
nothing but what reason and humanity dictated to all men; and that
we had as much reason as he to give thanks to God, who had blessed
us so far, as to make us the instruments of his mercy to so many of
his creatures.
After this, the young priest applied himself to his country folks;
labored to compose them; persuaded, entreated, argued, reasoned with
them; and did his utmost to keep them within the exercise of their
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
271
reason; and with some he had success, though others were for a time
out of all government of themselves.
I cannot help committing this to writing, as perhaps it may be use-
ful to those into whose hands it may fall, for the guiding themselves
in all the extravagances of their passions; for if an excess of joy can
carry men out to such a length beyond the reach of their reason, what
will not the extravagances of anger, rage, and a provoked mind, carry
us to? And, indeed, here I saw reason for keeping an exceeding
watch over our passions of every kind, as well those of joy and
satisfaction as those of sorrow and anger.
We were something disordered, by these extravagances among our
new guests, for the first day; but when they had been retired, lodg
ings provided for them, as well as our ship would allow, and they had
slept heartily-as most of them did, being fatigued and frightened—
they were quite another sort of people the next day.
:
Nothing of good manners, or civil acknowledgments for the kind-
ness shown them, was wanting; the French, it is known, are naturally
apt enought to exceed that way. The captain and one of the priests,
came to me the next day, and desired to speak with me and my
nephew the commander began to consult with us what should be
done with them; and first, they told us that we had saved their lives,
so all they had was little enough for a return to us for that kindness
received. The captain said they had saved some money, and some
things of value, in their boats, catched hastily out of the flames, and
if we would accept it, they were ordered to make an offer of it all to
us: they only desired to be set on shore somewhere in our way, where,
if possible, they might get a passage to France. My nephew was for
accepting their money at first word, and to consider what to do with
them afterward; but I overruled him in that part, for I knew what
it was to be set on shore in a strange country; and if the Portuguese
captain that took me up at sea had served me so, and took all I had
for my deliverance, I must have starved, or have been as much a slave
at the Brazils as I had been at Barbary, the mere being sold to a
Mohammedan excepted; and perhaps a Portuguese is not a much bet-
termaster than a Turk, if not, in some cases, much worse.
I therefore told the French captain that we had taken them up in
their distress, it was true, but that it was our duty to do so, as we were
fellow-creatures; and we would desire to be so delivered, if we were
in the like, or any other extremity; that we had done nothing for
them but what we believed they would have done for us,
if we had
been in their case, and they in ours; but that we took them up to
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ADVENTURES OF
save them, not to plunder them; and it would be a most barbarous
thing to take that little from them which they had saved out of the
fire, and then set them on shore and leave them; that this would be
first to save them from death, and then kill them ourselves; save them
from drowning, and abandon them to starving; and therefore I would
not let the least thing be taken from them. As to setting them on
shore, I told them, indeed, that was an exceeding difficulty to us, for
that the ship was bound to the East Indies; and though we were
driven out of our course to the westward a very great way, and per-
haps were directed by Heaven on purpose for their deliverance, yet
it was impossible for us wilfully to change our voyage on their par,
ticular account; nor could my nephew, the captain, answer it to the
freighters, with whom he was under charter-party to pursue his
voyage by the way of Brazil: and all I knew we could do for them,
was to put ourselves in the way of meeting with other ships home-
ward bound from the West Indies, and get them a passage, if possible
to England or France.
The first part of the proposal was so generous and kind, they could,
not but be very thankful for it; but they were in a very great con-
sternation, especially the passengers, at the notion of being carried
away to the East Indies: they then entreated me, that seeing I was
driven so far to the westward before I met with them, I would at least
keep on the same course to the banks of Newfoundland, where it was
probable I might meet with some ship or sloop that they might hire
to carry them back to Canada, whence they came.
I thought this was but a reasonable request on their part, and there-
fore I inclined to agree to it; for, indeed, I considered, that to carry
this whole company to the East Indies, would not only be an intolera
ble severity upon the poor people, but would be ruining our whole
voyage, by devouring all our provisions; so I thought it no breach of
charter-party, but what an unforeseen accident made absolutely neces-
sary to us, and in which no one could say we were to blame; for the
laws of God and nature would have forbid that we would refuse to
take up two boats' full of people in such a distressed condition; and
the nature of the thing, as well respecting ourselves as the poor peo-
ple, obliged us to set them on shore somewhere or other for their de-
liverance: so I consented that we would carry them to Newfound-
land, if wind and weather would permit; and if not, that I would
carry them to Martinico, in the West Indies.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
273
Chapter Thirty-Two.
Relieves the Crew of a Bristol Ship who are starving-Arrives at his Island.

.
HE wind continued fresh easterly, but the weather pretty
good; and as the wind had continued in the points between
N. E. and S. E. a long time, we missed several opportunities
of sending them to France; for we met several ships bound
to Europe, whereof two were French, from St. Christopher's; but
they had been so long beating up against the wind, they durst take in
no passengers, for fear of wanting provisions for the voyage, as well
for themselves as for those they should take in; so we were obliged
to go on. It was about a week after this that we made the Banks of
Newfoundland; where, to shorten my story, we put all our French
people on board a bark, which they hired at sea there, to put them on
shore, and afterward to carry them to France, if they could get pro-
visions to victual themselves with. When I say all the French went
on shore, I should remember, that the young priest I spoke of, hear-
ing we were bound to the East Indies, desired to go the voyage with
us, and to be set on shore on the coast of Coromandel; which I read-
ily agreed to, for I wonderfully liked the man, and had very good
reason, as will appear afterward; also four of the seamen entered
themselves on our ship, and proved very useful fellows.
From hence we directed our course to the West Indies, steering
away S. and S. by E. for about twenty days together, sometimes little
or no wind at all; when we met with another subject for our human-
ity to work upon, almost as deplorable as that before.
It was in the latitude of twenty-seven degrees five minutes north,
on the 19th day of March, 1694-25, when we spied a sail, our course
S. E. and by S.; we soon perceived it was a large vessel, and that she
bore up to us, but could not at first know what to make of her, till,
after coming a little nearer, we found she had lost her main topmast,
foremast, and bowsprit; and presently she fired a gun, as a signal of
distress; the weather was pretty good, wind at N. N. W., a fresh gale,
and we soon came to speak with her.
We found her a ship of Bristol, bound home from Barbadoes, but,
had been blown out of the road at Barbadoes a few days before she was
ready to sail, by a terrible hurricane, while the captain and chief mate
were both gone on shore; so that besides the terror of the storm, they
were in an indifferent case for good artists to bring the ship home.
They had been already nine weeks at sea, and had met with another
12*
י
!
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ADVENTURES OF
terrible sterm, after the hurricane was over, which had blown them
quite out of their knowledge to the westward, and in which they lost
their masts, as above. They told us they expected to have seen the
Bahama islands, but were then driven away again to the southeast, by
a strong gale of wind at N. N. W., the same that blew now; and hav-
ing no sails to work the ship with but a maincourse, and a kind
of square sail upon a jury foremast, which they had set up, they
could not lie near the wind, but were endeavoring to stand away for
the Canaries.
But that which was worst of all was, that they were almost starved
for want of provisions, besides the fatigues they had undergone; their
bread and flesh were quite gone; they had not one ounce left in the
ship, and had none for eleven days. The only relief they had was
their water was not all spent, and they had about half a barrel of
flour left they had sugar enough; some succades or sweetmeats,
they had at first, but they were devoured; and they had seven casks
of rum.
There were a youth and his mother, and a maid-servant on board,
who were going passengers, and thinking the ship was ready to sail,
unhappily came on board the evening before the hurricane began;
and having no provisions of their own left, they were in a more de-
plorable condition than the rest; for the seamen being reduced to such
an extreme necessity themselves, had no compassion, we may be sure,
for the poor passengers; and they were, indeed, in a condition, that
their misery is very hard to describe.
I had perhaps not known this part, if my curiosity had not led me
(the weather being fair, and the wind abated) to go on board the ship.
The second mate, who, upon this occasion, commanded the ship, had
been on board our ship, and he told me, indeed, they had three pas-
sengers in the great cabin, that were in a deplorable condition. "Nay,"
says he, "I believe they are dead, for I have heard nothing of them for
above two days; and I was afraid to inquire after them," said he,.
"for I had nothing to relieve them with."
We immediately applied ourselves to give them what relief we could
spare; and, indeed, I had so far overruled things with my nephew,
that I would have victualled them, though we had gone away to Vir-
ginia, or any other part of the coast of America to have supplied
ourselves; but there was no necessity for that.
But now they were in a new danger; for they were afraid of eating
too much, even of that little we gave them. The mate or commander
brought six men with him in his boat; but these men wretches look-
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
275
ed like skeletons, and were so weak, that they could hardly sit to their
oars. The mate himself was very ill, and half starved; for he de-
clared he had reserved nothing from the men, and went share and
share alike with them in every bit they ate.
I cautioned him to eat sparingly, but set meat before him immedi-
diately; and he had not eaten three mouthfuls before he began to be
sick, and out of order; so he stopped awhile, and our surgeon mixed
him up something with some broth, which he said would be to him
both food and physic; and after he had taken it he grew better. In
the meantime, I forgot not the men; I ordered victuals to be given
them; and the poor creatures rather devoured than ate it; they were
so exceedingly hungry, that they were in a kind ravenous, and had no
command of themselves; and two of them ate with so much greedi-
ness, that they were in danger of their lives the next morning.
The sight of these people's distress was very moving to me, and
brought to mind what I had a terrible prospect of at my first coming
on shore in my island, where I had never the least mouthful of food,
or any prospect of procuring any; besides the hourly apprehensions
I had of being made the food of other creatures. But all the while
the mate was thus relating to me the miserable condition of the ship's
company, I could not put out of my thought the story he had told me
of the three poor creatures in the great cabin, viz., the mother, her
son, and the maid-servant, whom he had heard nothing of for two or
three days, and whom he seemed to confess, they had wholly neglect-
ed, their own extremities being so great; by which I understood that
they had really given them no food at all, and that therefore they
must be perished, and be all lying dead, perhaps, on the floor or deck
of the cabin.
As I therefore kept the mate, whom we then called captain, on
board with his men, to refresh them, so I also forgot not the starving
crew that were left on board, but ordered my own boat to go on
board the ship, and with my mate and twelve men, to carry them a
sack of bread, and four or five pieces of beef to boil. Our surgeon
charged the men to cause the meat to be boiled while they stayed,
and to keep guard in the cook-room, to prevent the men taking it to
eat raw, or taking it out of the pot before it was well boiled, and then
to give every man but a very little at a time; and by this caution he
preserved the men, who would otherwise have killed themselves with
that
very food that was given them on purpose to save their lives.
At the same time I ordered the mate to go into the great cabin,
and see what condition the poor passengers were in, and if they were
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276
ADVENTURES OF
}
alive, to comfort them and give them what refreshment was proper;
and the surgeon gave him a large pitcher, with some of the prepared
broth which he had given the mate that was on board, and which he
did not question would restore them gradually.
I was not satisfied with this; but, as I said above, having a great
mind to see the scene of misery which I knew the ship itself would
present me with, in a more lively manner than I could have it by re-
port, I took the captain of the ship, as we now called him, with me,
and went myself, a little after, in their boat.
I found the poor men on board almost in a tumult to get the victuals
out of the boiler before it was ready; but my mate observed his or-
ders, and kept a good guard at the cook-room door; and the man he
placed there, after using all possible persuasion to have patience, kept
them off by force. However, he caused some biscuit cakes to be dip-
ped in the pot, and softened with the liquor of the meat, which they
called brewis, and gave them every one some to stay their stomachs,
and told them it was for their own safety that he was obliged to give
them but a little at a time. But it was all in vain; and had I not
come on board, and their own commander and officers with me, and
with good words, and some threats, also, of giving them no more, I
believe they would have broken into the cook-room by force, and
torn the meat out of the furnace; for words are, indeed, of very small
force to a hungry belly. However we pacified them, and fed them
gradually and cautiously for the first, and the next time gave them
more, and at last we filled their bellies, and the men did well enough.
But the misery of the poor passengers in the cabin was of another
nature, and far beyond the rest; for, as the ship's company had so
little for themselves, it was but too true that they had at first kept
them very low, and at last totally neglected them; so that for six or
seven days it might be said they had really no food at all, and for
several days before, very little. The poor mother, who, as the men
reported, was a woman of sense and good breeding, had spared all
she could so affectionately for her son, that at last she entirely sunk
under it; and when the mate of our ship went in, she sat upon the
floor or deck, with her back up against the sides, between two chairs,
which were lashed fast, and her head sunk between her shoulders,
like a corpse, though not quite dead. My mate said all he could to
revive and encourage her, and with a spoon put some broth into her
mouth. She opened her lips, and lifted up one hand, but could not
speak, yet she understood what he said, and made signs to him, inti-
mating that it was too late for her, but pointed to her child, as if she
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
277
would have said they should take eare of him. However, the mate,
who was exceedingly moved with the sight, endeavored to get some
of the broth into her mouth, and, as he said, got two or three spoon-
fuls down, though I question whether he could be sure of it or not;
but it was too late, and she died the same night.
The youth, who was preserved at the price of his most affectionate
mother's life, was not so far gone, yet he lay in a cabin-bed, as one
stretched out, with hardly any life left in him. He had a piece of an
old glove in his mouth, having eaten up all the rest of it; however,
being young, and having more strength than his mother, the mate got
something down his throat, and he began sensibly to revive; though,
by giving him, some time after, but two or three spoonfuls extraordi-
nary, he was very sick, and brought it up again.
But the next care was the poor maid; she lay all along upon the
deck, hard by her mistress, and just like one that had fallen down
with an apoplexy, and struggled for life. Her limbs were distorted;
one of her hands was clasped round the frame of a chair, and she
griped it so hard that we could not easily make her let it go; her
other arm lay over her head, and her feet lay both together, set fast
against the frame of the cabin table; in short, she lay just like one
in the agonies of death, and yet she was alive, too.
The poor creature was not only starved with hunger, and terrified
with the thoughts of death, but, as the men told us afterward, was
broken-hearted for her mistress, whom she saw dying for two or three
days before, and whom she loved most tenderly.
We knew not what to do with this poor girl, for when our surgeon,
who was a man of very great knowledge and experience, had, with
great application, recovered her as to life, he had her upon his hands
as to her senses, for she was little less than distracted for a consider-
able time after, as shall appear presently.
Whoever shall read these memorandums, must be desired to con-
sider that visits at sea are not like a journey into the country, where
sometimes people stay a week or a fortnight at a place; our business
was to relieve this distressed ship's crew, but not lie by for them, and
though they were willing to steer the same course with us for some
days, yet we could carry no sail, to keep pace with the ship that had
no masts; however, as their captain begged of us to help him to set
up a maintopmast, and a kind of topmast to his jury foremast, we did,
as it were, lie by him for three or four days, and then, having given
him five barrels of beef, a barrel of pork, two hogsheads of biscuit,
and a proportion of peas, flour, and what other things we could spare;
1
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ADVENTURES OF
and taking three casks of sugar, some rum, and some pieces of eight
from them, for satisfaction, we left them; taking on board with us,
at their own earnest request, the youth and the maid, and all their
goods.
The young lad was about seventeen years of age; a pretty, well
bred, modest and sensible youth, greatly dejected with the loss of his
mother, and, as it seems, had lost his father but a few months before,
at Barbadoes; he begged of the surgeon to speak to me to take him
out of the ship, for he said the cruel fellows had murdered his mother.
And, indeed, so they had; that is to say, passively, for they might
have spared a small sustenance to the poor helpless widow, that
might have preserved her life, though it had been but just enough to
keep her alive. But hunger knows no friend, no relation, no justice,
no right, and therefore is remorseless, and capable of no compassion.
The surgeon told him how far we were going, and that it would
carry him away from all his friends, and put him, perhaps, in as bad
circumstances almost as those we found him in-that is to say, starv-
ing in the world. He said it mattered not whither he went, if he was
delivered from the terrible crew that he was among; that the captain
(by which he meant me, for he could know nothing of my nephew)
had saved his life, and he was sure, would not hurt him; and as for
the maid, he was sure, if she came to herself, she would be very thank-
ful for it, let us carry them where we would. The surgeon repre-
sented the case so affectionately to me that I yielded, and we took
them both on board, with all their goods, except cleven hogsheads of
sugar, which could not be removed or come at; and, as the youth had
a bill of lading for them, I made his commander sign a writing, obli-
ging himself to go, as soon as he came to Bristol, to one Mr. Rogers,
a merchant there, to whom the youth said he was related, and to de-
liver a letter which I wrote to him, and all the goods he had belong-
ing to the deceased widow; which, I suppose, was not done, for I
could never learn that the ship came to Bristol, but was, as it is most
probable, lost at sea; being in so disabled a condition, and so far
from any land, that I am of opinion the first storm she met with after-
ward she might founder in the sea; for she was leaky, and had dam-
age in her hold, when we met with her.
I was now in the latitude of nineteen degrees thirty-two minutes,
and had hitherto a tolerable voyage as to weather, though, at first,
the winds had been contrary. I shall trouble nobody with the little
incidents of wind, weather, currents, &c., on the rest of our voyage;
but to shorten my story, for the sake of what is to follow, shall ob-
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
279
serve, that I came to my old habitation, the island, on the 10th of
April, 1695. It was with no small difficulty that I found the place;
for as I came to it, and went from it, before, on the south and cast
side of the island, as coming from the Brazils, so now, coming in be-
tween the main and the island, and having no chart for the coast, nor
any landmark, I did not know it when I saw it, or know whether I
saw it or not.
We beat about a great while, and went on shore on several islands
in the mouth of the great river Oronooko, but none for my purpose ;
only this I learned by my coasting the shore, that I was under one
great mistake before, viz. that the continent which I thought I saw
from the island I lived in, was really not continent, but a long island,
or rather a ridge of islands, reaching from one to the other side of the
extended mouth of that great river; and that the savages who came
to my island were not properly those which we call Caribbees, but
islanders, and other barbarians of the same kind, who inhabited some-
thing nearer to our side than the rest.
In short, I visited several of these islands to no purpose; some I
found were inhabited, and some were not; on one of them I found
some Spaniards, and thought they had lived there; but speaking
with them, found they had a sloop lay in a small creek hard by, and
came thither to make salt and to catch some pearl muscles, if they
could; but that they belonged to the Isle de Trinidad, which lay
farther north, in the latitude of ten and eleven degrees.
Thus coasting from one island to another, sometimes with the ship,
sometimes with the Frenchmen's shallop, which we had found a con-
venient boat, and therefore kept her with their very good will, at
length I came fair on the south side of my island, and presently
knew the very countenance of the place; so I brought the ship safe
to an anchor, broadside with the little creek where my old habitation
was.
>
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ADVENTURES OF
#
Chapter Thirty-Three.
Robinson and Friday go Ashore-The Latter meets with his Father-Accoun
of what passed on the Island after Robinson's quitting It.
R
S soon as I saw the place, I called for Friday, and asked
him if he knew where he was; he looked about a little, and
presently clapping his hands, cried: "O yes, O there, O
yes, O there," pointing to our old habitation, and fell dancing
and capering like a mad fellow; and I had much ado to keep him
from jumping into the sea, to swim ashore to the place.
"Well, Friday," says I, "do you think we shall find anybody here
or no? and do you think we shall see your father ?" The fellow
stood mute as a stock a good while, but when I named his father, the
poor affectionate creature looked dejected, and I could see the tears
run down his face very plentifully. "What is the matter, Friday ?"
says I
are you troubled because you may see your father ?"
“No,
I;
(C
((
no," says he, shaking his head, "no see him more; no, never more
see him again." Why so," said I, "Friday? how do you know
that ?" "O no, O no," says Friday; "he long ago die, long ago; he
much old man." Well, well," says I, "Friday, you don't know;
but shall we see any one else, then ?" The fellow, it seems, had
better eyes than I, and he points to the hill just above my old house;
and though we lay half a league off, he cries out, "We sec, we see—
yes, yes, we see much man there, and there, and there." I looked,
but I saw nobody, no, not with a perspective glass, which was, I sup-
pose, because I could not hit the place; for the fellow was right, as
I found upon inquiry the next day; and there were five or six men
there altogether, who stood to look at the ship, not knowing what to
think of us.
As soon as Friday told us he saw people, I caused the English
ancient to be spread, and fired three guns, to give them notice we
were friends; and in about half a quarter of an hour after, we perceived
a smoke arise from the side of the creek; so I immediately ordered
the boat out, taking Friday with me; and hanging out a white flag,
or a flag of truce, I went directly on shore, taking with me the young
friar I mentioned, to whom I told the story of my living there, and
the manner of it, and every particular both of myself and those I left
there; and who was, on that account, extremely desirous to go with
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
281
me.
We had besides about sixteen men well armed, if we had found
any new guests there which we did not know of; but we had no need
of weapons.
As we went ashore upon the tide flood, near high water, we rowed
directly into the creek; and the first man I fixed my eye upon was
the Spaniard whose life I had saved, and whom I knew by his face
perfectly well; as to his habit, I shall describe it afterward. I
ordered nobody to go on shore at first but myself: but there was no
keeping Friday in the boat, for the affectionate creature had spied his
father at a distance, a good way off the Spaniards, where indeed I saw
nothing of him; and if they had not let him go ashore, he would have
jumped into the sea. He was no sooner on shore, but he flew away
to his father, like an arrow out of a bow. It would have made any
man shed tears, in spite of the firmest resolution, to have seen the
first transports of this poor fellow's joy when he came to his father;
how he embraced him, kissed him, stroked his face, took him up in
his arms, set him down upon a tree, and lay down by him; and then
stood and looked at him, as any one would look at a strange picture,
for a quarter of an hour together; then lay down on the ground, and
stroked his legs, and kissed them, and then got up again, and stared
at him; one would have thought the fellow bewitched. But it would
have made a dog laugh the next day to see how his passion ran out
another way; in the morning he walked along the shore, to and again,
with his father several hours, always leading him by the hand, as if
he had been a lady; and every now and then he would come to the
boat to fetch something or other for him, either a lump of sugar, a
dram, a biscuit-cake, or something or other that was good. In the
afternoon his frolics ran another way; for then he would set the old
man down upon the ground and dance about him, and make a thousand
antic postures and gestures; and all the while he did this, he would
be talking to him, and telling him one story or other of his travels,
and what had happened to him abroad, to divert him. In short, if
the same filial affection was to be found in Christians to their parents
in our part of the world, one would be tempted to say, there would
hardly have been any need of the fifth commandment.
But this is a digression; I return to my landing. It would be
needless to take notice of all the ceremonies and civilities that the
Spaniards received me with. The first Spaniard, who, as I said, I knew
very well, was he whose life I had saved; he came toward the boat,
attended by one more, carrying a flag of truce also; and he not only
did not know me at first, but he had no thoughts, no notion of its
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ADVENTURES OF
being me that was come, till I spoke to him. Senhor," said I, in
Portuguese, "do you not know me ?" At which he spoke not a word,
but giving his musket to the man that was with him, threw his arms
abroad, saying something in Spanish that I did not perfectly hear,
came forward and embraced me; telling me he was inexcusable not
to know that face again, that he had once seen as of an angel from
heaven sent to save his life; he said abundance of very handsome
things, as a well-bred Spaniard always knows how; and then beckon-
ing to the person that attended him, bade him go and call out his
comrades. He then asked me if I would walk to my old habitation,
where he would give me possession of my own house again, and where
I should see they had made but mean improvements; so I walked
along with him; but, alas! I could no more find the place again than
if I had never been there; for they had planted so many trees, and
placed them in such a posture, so thick and close to one another, and
in ten years' time they were grown so big, that, in short, the place
was inaccessible, except by such windings and blind ways as they
themselves only, who made them, could find.
I asked them what put them upon all these fortifications: he told
me I would say there was great need of it, when they had given me
an account how they passed their time since their arriving in the
island, especially after they had the misfortune to find I was gone.
He told me he could not but have some satisfaction in my good fortune,
when he heard that I was gone in a good ship, and to my satisfaction;
and that he had oftentimes a strong persuasion that, one time or other,
he should see me again; but nothing that ever befell him in his life,
he said, was so surprising and afflicting to him at first, as the disap-
pointment he was under when he came back to the island and found
I was not there.
५
'
As to the three barbarians (so he called them) that were left be-
hind, and of whom, he said, he had a long story to tell me, the Span-
iards all thought themselves much better among the savages, only
that their number was so small; "and," says he, "had they been
Etrong enough, we had been long ago in purgatory" and with that
he crossed himself on the breast. (C
But, sir," says he, "I hope you
will not be displeased when I shall tell you how, forced by necessity,
we were obliged, for our own preservation, to disarm them, and make
them our subjects, who would not be content with being moderately
our masters, but would be our murderers." I answered I was heartily
afraid of it when I left them there, and nothing troubled me at my
parting from the island but that they were not come back, that I might
↓
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
283
have put them in possession of everything first, and left the others in
a state of subjection, as they deserved; but if they had reduced them
to it, I was very glad, and should be very far from finding any fault
with it for I knew they were a parcel of refractory, ungoverned vil-
lains, and were fit for any manner of mischief.
While I was thus saying this, the man came whom he had sent
back, and with him eleven men more. In the dress they were in, it
was impossible to guess what nation they were of; but he made all clear
both to them and me. First he turned to me, and pointing to them,
said, “These, sir, are some of the gentlemen who owe their lives to
you;" and then turning to them, and pointing to me, he let them know
who I was; upon which they all came up, one by one, not as if they
had been sailors and ordinary fellows, and the like, but really as if
they had been ambassadors or noblemen, and I a monarch or great
conqueror: their behavior was to the last degree obliging and courte-
ous, and yet mixed with a manly, majestic gravity, which very well
became them; and, in short, they had so much more manners than I,
that I scarce knew how to receive their civilities, much less how to
return them in kind.
The history of their coming to, and conduct in, the island, after my
going away, is so very remarkable, and has so many incidents, which
the former part of my relation will help to understand, and which
will, in most of the particulars, refer to the accourt I have already
given, that I cannot but commit them, with great delight, to the read-
ing of those that come after me.
I shall no longer trouble the story with a relation in the first per-
son, which will put me to the expense of ten thousand said Ps, and
said he's, and he told me's, and I told him's, and the like; but I shall
collect the facts historically, as near as I can gather them out of my
memory, from what they related to me, and from what I met with in
conversing with them and with the place.
2
In order to do this succinctly, and as intelligibly as I can, I must
go back to the circumstances in which I left the island and in which
the persons were of whom I am to speak. And first, it is necessary
to repeat, that I had sent away Friday's father and the Spaniard (the
two whose lives I had rescued from the savages) in a large canoe, to
the main, as I then thought it, to fetch over the Spaniard's com-
panions that he left behind him, in order to save them from the like
calamity that he had been in, and in order to succor them for the
present; and that, if possible, we might together find some way for
our deliverance afterward.
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ADVENTURES OF
When I sent them away, I had no visible appearance of, or the least
room to hope for, my own deliverance, any more than I had twenty
years before; much less had I any foreknowledge of what afterward
happened, I mean, of an English ship coming on shore there to fetch
me off; and it could not but be a very great surprise to them, when
they came back, not only to find that I was gone, but to find three
strangers left on the spot, possessed of all that I had left behind me,
which would otherwise have been their own.
The first thing, however, that I inquired into, that I might begin
where I left off, was of their own part; and I desired he would give
me a particular account of his voyage back to his countrymen with
the boat, when I sent him to fetch them over. He told me there was
little variety in that part, for nothing remarkable happened to them
on the way, having had very calm weather and a smooth sea. As
for his countrymen, "it could not be doubted," he said, "but that they
were overjoyed to see him" (it seems he was the principal man among
them, the captain of the vessel they had been shipwrecked in having
been dead some time); "they were," he said, "the more surprised to
see him, because they knew that he was fallen into the hands of the
savages, who, they were satisfied, would devour him, as they did all
"the rest of their prisoners; that when he told them the story of his
deliverance, and in what manner he was furnished for carrying them
away, it was like a dream to them, and their astonishment," he said,
ct was somewhat like that of Joseph's brethren, when he told them
who he was, and told them the story of his exaltation in Pharaoh's
court; but when he showed them the arms, the powder, the ball, and
provisions, that he brought them for their journey or voyage, they
were restored to themselves, took a just share of the joy of their de-
liverance, and immediately prepared to come away with him."
Their first business was to get canoes; and in this they were obli-
ged not to stick so much upon the honest part of it, but to trespass
upon their friendly savages, and to borrow two large canoes, or peri-
aguas, on pretence of going out ta-fishing, or for pleasure. In these they
came away the next morning. It seems they wanted no time to get
themselves ready; for they had no baggage, neither clothes nor pro-
visions, nor anything in the world but what they had on them, and a
few roots to eat, of which they used to make their bread.
They were all three weeks absent; and in that time, unluckily for
them, I had the occasion offered for my escape, as I mentioned in my
other part, and to get off from the island, leaving three of the most
impudent, hardened, ungoverned, disagreeable villains behind me, that
A
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
285
any man could desire to meet with; to the poor Spaniards great
grief and disappointment you may be sure.
The only just thing the rogues did was, that when the Spaniards
came ashore, they gave my letter to them, and gave them provisions
and other relief, as I had ordered them to do; also they gave them
the long paper of directions which I had left with them, containing
the particular methods which I took for managing every part of my
life there; the way how I baked my bread, bred up my tame goats,
and planted my corn; how I cured my grapes, made my pots, and, in
a word, everything I did; all this being written down, they gave to
the Spaniards (two of them understood English well enough); nor
did they refuse to accommodate the Spaniards with anything else, for
they agreed very well for some time. They gave them an equal ad-
mission into the house, or cave, and they began to live very sociably;
and the head Spaniard, who had seen pretty much of my methods,
and Friday's father together, managed all their affairs: but as for
the Englishmen, they did nothing but ramble about the island, shoot
parrots, and catch tortoises; and when they came home at night, the
Spaniards provided their suppers for them.
The Spaniards would have been satisfied with this, had the others
but let them alone; which however, they could not find in their hearts
to do long, but like the dog in the manger, they would not eat them-
selves, neither would they let the others eat. The differences, never-
theless, were at first but trivial, but such as are not worth relating,
but at last it broke out into an open war; and it began with all the
rudeness and insolence that can be imagined, without reason, without
provocation, contrary to nature, and, indeed to common sense; and
though it is true, the first relation of it came from the Spaniards
themselves, whom I may call the accusers, yet when I came to exam-
ine the fellows, they could not deny a word of it.
But before I come to the particulars of this part, I must supply a
defect in my former relation; and this was, I forgot to set down,
among the rest, that just as we were weighing the anchor to set sail,
there happened a little quarrel on board of our ship, which I was
once afraid would have turned to a second mutiny; nor was it ap-
peased till the captain, rousing up his courage, and taking us all to
his assistance, parted them by force, and making two of the most re-
fractory fellows prisoners, he laid them in irons; and as they had
been active in the former disorders, and let fall some ugly, dangerous
words, the second time he threatened to carry them in irons to Eng-
land and have them hanged there for mutiny, and running away with
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ADVENTURES OF
the ship. This, it seems, though the captain did not intend to do it,
frightened some other men in the ship; and some of them had put it
into the heads of the rest that the captain only gave them good words
for the present till they should come to some English port, and that
then they should be all put into jail, and tried for their lives. The
mate got intelligence of this, and acquainted us with it; upon which
it was desired that I, who still passed for a great man among them,
should go down with the mate, and satisfy the men, and tell them that
they might be assured, if they behaved well the rest of the voyage,
all they had done for the time past should be pardoned. So I went,
and after passing my honor's word to them, they appeared easy, and
the more so when I caused the two men that were in irons to be re-
leased and forgiven.
But this mutiny had brought us to an anchor for that night; the
wind also falling calm next morning, we found that our two men who
had been laid in irons, had stole each of them a musket, and some
other weapons (what powder and shot they had we knew not), and
had taken the ship's pinnace, which was not yet hauled up, and run
away with her to their companions in roguery on shore. As soon as
we found this, I ordered the long-boat on shore, with twelve men and
the mate, and away they went to seek the rogues; but they could nei-
ther find them or any of the rest, for they all fled into the woods when
they saw the boat coming on shore. The mate was once resolved, in
justice to their roguery, to have destroyed their plantations, burned
all their household stuff and furniture, and left them to shift without
it; but having no orders, he let it all alone, left everything as he
found it, and bringing the pinnace away, came on board without them.
These two men made their number five; but the other three villains
were so much more wicked than they, that after they had been two
or three days together, they turned the two new-comers out of doors
to shift for themselves, and would have nothing to do with them; nor
could they, for a good while, be persuaded to give them any food; as
for the Spaniards, they were not yet come.
When the Spaniards came first on shore, the business began to go
forward; the Spaniards would have persuaded the three English
brutes to have taken in their two countrymen again, that, as they said,
they might be all one family; but they would not hear of it; so the
two poor fellows lived by themselves; and finding nothing but industry
and application would make them live comfortably, they pitched their
tents on the north shore of the island, but a little more to the west, to be
out of danger of the savages, who always landed on the east parts of
the island.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
287
¿
Here they built them two huts, one to lodge in, and the other to lay
up their magazines and stores in; and the Spaniards having given
them some corn, for seed, and especially some of the peas which I had
left them, they dug, planted, and enclosed, after the pattern I had set
for them all, and began to live pretty well. Their first crop of corn
was on the ground; and though it was but a little bit of land which
they had dug up at first, having had but a little time, yet it was enough to
relieve them, and find them with bread and other eatables; and one
of the fellows, being the cook's mate of the ship, was very ready at
making soup, puddings, and such other preparations as the rice and
the milk, and such little flesh as they got, furnished him to do.
Chapter Thirty-four.
The Account continued-Quarrels between the Englishmen-A Battle between
two Parties of Savages who visit the Island-Fresh Mutiny among the Set-
tlers.
App
HEY were going on in this little thriving posture, when the
three unnatural rogues, their own countrymen too, in mere
humor, and to insult them, came and bullied them, and told
them the island was theirs; that the governor, meaning me,
had given them the possession of it, and nobody else had any right
to it; and that they should build no houses upon their ground, unless
they would pay rent for them.
The two men, thinking they were jesting at first, asked them to
come in and sit down, and see what fine houses they were that they
had built, and to tell them what rent they demanded; and one of
them merrily said, "If they were the ground-landlords, he hoped, if
they built tenements upon their land, and made improvements, they
would, according to the custom of landlords, grant a long lease;" and
desired they would get a scrivener to draw the writings. One of the
three cursing and raging, told them they should see they were not in
jest; and going to a little place at a distance, where the honest men
had made a fire to dress their victuals, he takes a firebrand, and claps
it to the outside of their hut, and very fairly set it on fire; and it
would have been burned all down in a few minutes, if one of the two
had not run to the fellow, thrust him away, and trod the fire out with
his feet, and that not without some difficulty too.
1

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ADVENTURES OF
The fellow was in such a rage at the honest man's thrusting him
away, that he returned upon him with a pole he had in his hand, and
had not the man avoided the blow very nimbly, and run into the hut,
he had ended his days at once. His comrade, seeing the danger they
were both in, ran in after him, and immediately they came both out
with their muskets, and the man that was first struck at with the pole
knocked the fellow down that had begun the quarrel with the stock of
his musket, and that before the other two could come to help him; and
then seeing the rest come at them, they stood together, and presenting
the other ends of their pieces to them, bado them stand off.
The others had firearms with them, too; but one of the two honest
men, bolder than his comrade, and made desperate by his danger, told
them, if they offered to move hand or foot, they were dead men, and
boldly commanded them to lay down their arms. They did not, in-
deed, lay down their arms, but seeing him so resolute it brought them
to a parley, and they consented to take their wounded man with them
and begone; and, indeed, it seems the fellow was wounded sufficiently
with the blow. However, they were much in the wrong, since they
had the advantage, that they did not disarm them effectually, as they
might have done, and have gone immediately to the Spaniards and
given them an account how the rogues had treated them, for the three
villains studied nothing but revenge, and every day gave them some
intimation that they did so.
But not to crowd this part with an account of the lesser part of the
rogueries, such as treading down their corn, shooting three young
kids and a she-goat, which the poor men had got to breed up tame
for their store, and, in a word, plaguing them night and day in this
manner; it forced the two men to such a desperation, that they re-
solved to fight them all three, the first time they had a fair opportu-
nity. In order to this they resolved to go to the castle, as they called
it (that was my old dwelling), where the three rogues and the Span-
iards all lived together at that time, intending to have a fair battle,
and the Spaniards should stand by to see fair play; so they got up
in the morning, before day, and came to the place, and called the
Englishmen by their names, telling a Spaniard that answered that
they wanted to speak with them.
It happened that the day before two of the Spaniards, having been
in the woods, had seen one of the two Englishmen, whom for distinc-
tion I called the honest men, and he had made a sad complaint to
the Spaniards of the barbarous usage they had met with from their
three countrymen, and how they had ruined their plantation, and de-
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
289
stroyed their corn that they had labored so hard to bring forward,
and killed the milch goat and their three kids, which was all they had
provided for their sustenance, and that if he and his friends, meaning
the Spaniards, did not assist them again, they should be starved.
When the Spaniards came home at night and they were all at supper,
one of them took the freedom to reprove the three Englishmen, though
in very gentle and mannerly terms, and asked them how they could
be so cruel, they being harmless, inoffensive fellows; that they were
putting themselves in a way to subsist by their labor, and that it had
cost them a great deal of pains to bring things to such perfection as
they were then in.
<<
One of the Englishmen returned, very briskly, "What had they to
do there? that they came on shore without leave, and that they should
not plant nor build upon the island; it was none of their ground.”
"Why," says the Spaniard, very calmly, "Senhor Inglese, they must
not starve." The Englishman replied, like a rough-hewn tarpauling,
they might starve and be d-d; they should not plant nor build
in that place."
"But what must they do, then, senhor ?" said the
Spaniard. Another of the brutes returned, "Do? d-n them, they
should be servants, and work for them." "But how can you expect
that of them ?" says the Spaniard; "they are not bought with your
money; you have no right to make them servants." The English-
man answered, "The island was theirs; the governor had given it to
them, and no man had anything to do there but themselves;" and with
that, swore by his Maker that they would go and burn all their new
huts; they should build none upon their land. "Why, Senhor," says
the Spaniard, "by the same rule, we must be your servants, too.”
Ay," says the bold dog, "and so you shall, too, before we have done
with you" (mixing two or three G-d d-n me's in the proper inter-
vals of his speech); the Spaniard only smiled at that, and made him
no answer. However, this little discourse had heated them, and,
starting up, one says to the other-I think it was he they called Will
Atkins—“Come, Jack, let's go and have t'other brush with 'em; we'll
demolish their castle, I'll wnrrant you; they shall plant no colony in
our dominions."
Upon this they all went trooping away, with every man a guu, a
pistol, and a sword, and muttered some insolent things among them-
selves of what they would do to the Spaniards, too, when opportu-
nity offered; but the Spaniards, it seems, did not so perfectly under-
stand them as to know all the particulars, only that, in general, they
threatened them hard for taking the two Englishmen's part.
13
290
ADVENTURES OF
Whither they went, or how they bestowed their time that evening,
the Spaniards said they did not know; but it seems they wandered
about the country part of the night, and then lying down in the place
which I used to call my bower, they were weary and overslept them-
selves. The case was this: they had resolved to stay till midnight
and so take the poor men when they were asleep, and, as they ac-
knowledged afterward, intended to set fire to their huts while they
were in them, and either burn them there or murder them as they
came out. As malice seldom sleeps very sound, it was very strange
they should not have been kept awake.
However, as the two men had also a design upon them, as I have
said, though a much fairer one than that of burning and murdering,
it happened, and very luckily for them all, that they were up
and
gone abroad before the bloody-minded rogues came to their huts.
When they came there and found the men gone, Atkius, who, it
seems, was the forwardest man, called out to his comrade,
"Ha! Jack,
here's the nest, hut, d-n them, the birds are flown." They mused
awhile, to think what should be the occasion of their being gone
abroad so soon, and suggested presently that the Spaniards had given
them notice of it; and with that they shook hands, and swore to one
another that they would be revenged of the Spaniards. As soon as
they had made this bloody bargain, they fell to work with the poor
men's habitation. They did not set fire, indeed, to anything, but they
pulled down both their houses, and pulled them so limb from limb
that they left not the least stick standing, or scarce any sign on the
ground where they stood; they tore all their little collected house-
hold stuff in pieces, and threw everything about in such a manner
that the poor men afterward found some of their things a mile off their
habitation. When they had done this, they pulled up all the young
trees which the poor men had planted, pulled up an enclosure they
had made to secure their cattle and their corn, and, in a word, sacked
and plundered everything as completely as a horde of Tartars would
have done.
The two men were, at this juncture, gone to find them out, and had
resolved to fight them wherever they had been, though they were but
two to three; ɛo that, had they met, there certainly would have been
bloodshed among them; for they were all very stout, resolute fel-
lows, to give them their due.
But Providence took more care to keep them asunder than they
themselves could do to meet, for as if they had dogged one another,
when the three were gone thither, the two were here; and, afterward,
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
291
when the two went back to find them, the three were come to the old
habitation again. We shall see their different conduct presently.
When the three came back like furious creatures, flushed with the
rage which the work they had been about had put them into, they
came up to the Spaniards and told them what they had done, by way
of scoff and bravado; and one of them, stepping up to one of the
Spaniards, as if they had been a couple of boys at play, takes hold of
his hat as it was upon his head, and giving it a twirl about, fleering
in his face, says to him, "And you, Senhor Jack Spaniard, shall have
the same sauce, if you do not mend your manners." The Spaniard,
who, though a quiet, civil man, was as brave a man as could be, and
withal a strong, well-made man, looked at him for a good while, and
then, having no weapon in his hand, stepped gravely up to him, and
with one blow of his fist knocked him down, as an ox is felled with a
pole-axe; at which one of the rogues, as insolent as the first, fired his
pistol at the Spaniard immediately. He missed his body, indeed, for
the bullets went through his hair, but one of them touched the tip of
his car, and he bled pretty much. The blood made the Spaniard be-
lieve ho was more hurt than he really was, and that put him into
some heat, for before he acted all in a perfect calm; but now resolv-
ing to go through with his work, he stooped, and took the fellow's
musket whom he had knocked down, and was just going to shoot the
man who had fired at him, when the rest of the Spaniards, being in
the cave, came out, and calling to him not to shoot, they stepped in,
secured the other two, and took their arms from them.
When they were thus disarmed, and found they had made all the
Spaniards their enemies, as well as their own countrymen, they began
to cool, and, giving the Spaniards better words, would have their
arms again; but the Spaniards, considering the feud that was between
them and the other two Englishmen, and that it would be the best
method they could take to keep them from killing one another, told
them they would do them no harm, and if they would live peaceably,
they would be very willing to assist and associate with them as they
did before; but that they could not think of giving them their arms
again, while they appeared so resolved to do mischief with them to
their own countrymen, and had even threatened them all to make
them their servants.
qu
*
The rogues were now no more capable to hear reason than to act
with reason; but being refused their arms, they went raving away
and raging like madmen, threatening what they would do, though
they had no firearms. But the Spaniards, despising their threaten-
292
ADVENTURES OF
*
ing, told them they should take care how they offered any injury to
their plantation or cattle, for if they did, they would shoot them as
they would ravenous beasts, wherever they found them; and if they
fell into their hands alive, they should certainly be hanged. How-
ever, this was far from cooling them, but away they went, raging and
swearing like furies of hell. As soon as they were gone, the two men
came back, in passion and rage enough also, though of another kind;
for having been at their plantation, and finding it all demolished and
destroyed, as above, it will easily be supposed that they had provoca-
tion enough. They could scarce have room to tell their tale, the
Spaniards were so eager to tell theirs; and it was strange enough to
find that three men should thus bully nineteen, and receive no pun-
ishment at all.
"L
The Spaniards, indeed, despised them, and especially having thus
disarmed them, made light of their threatenings; but the two English-
men resolved to have their remedy against them, what pains soever it
cost to find them out. But the Spaniards interposed here, too, and
told them, that as they had disarmed them, they could not consent
that they (the two) should pursue them with firearms, and perhaps
kill them. “But,” said the grave Spaniard, who was their governor,
we will endeavor to make them do you justice, if you will leave it to
us; for there is no doubt but that they will come to us again, when
their passion is over, being not able to subsist without our assistance;
we promise you to make no peace with them, without having a full
satisfaction for you; and upon this condition we hope you will
promise to use no violence with them, other than in your own de-
fence. The two Englishmen yielded to this very awkwardly, and
with great reluctance; but the Spaniards protested that they did it
only to keep them from bloodshed, and to make all easy at last.
"For,"
said they, “we are not so many of us; here is room enough for us
all, and it is a great pity we should not be all good friends. At
length they did consent, and waited for the issue of the thing, living
for some days with the Spaniards; for their own habitation was de-
stroyed.
In about five days' time the three vagrants, tired with wandering,
and almost starved with hunger, having chiefly lived on turtles' eggs
all that while, came back to the grove; and finding my Spaniard,
who, as I have said, was the governor, and two more with him walk-
ing by the side of the creek, they came up in a very submissive,
humble manner, and begged to be received again into the family.
The Spaniards used them civilly, but told them they acted so un.
***
森
​ROBINSON CRUSOE.
293
naturally by their own countrymen, and so very grossly by them (the
Spaniards), that they could not come to any conclusion without con-
sulting the two Englishmen and the rest; but, however, they would
go to them, and discourse about it, and they should know in half ar
hour. It may be guessed that they were very hard put to it; for, it
seems, as they were to wait this half hour for an answer, they begged
they would send them out some bread in the meantime, which they
did; sending, at the same time, a large piece of goat's flesh, and a
boiled parrot, which they ate very heartily, for they were hungry
enough.
After half an hour's consultation, they were called in, and a long
debate ensued; their two countrymen charging them with the ruin of
all their labor, and a design to murder them; all which they owned
before, and therefore could not deny now. Upon the whole, the
Spaniards acted the moderator between them; and as they had ob-
liged the two Englishmen not to hurt the three while they were naked
and unarmed, so now they obliged the three to go and rebuild their
fellows' two huts, one to be of the same, and the other of larger di-
mensions, than they were before; to fence their ground again where
they had pulled up their fences, plant trees in the room of those
pulled up, dig up the land again for planting corn where they had
spoiled it, and, in a word, to restore everything to the same state as
they found it, as near as they could; for entirely it could not be, the
season for the corn, and the growth of the trees and hedges, not being
possible to be recovered.
Well, they submitted to all this; and as they had plenty of pro-
visions given them all the while, they grew very orderly, and the
whole society began to live pleasantly and agreeably together again;
only, that these three fellows could never be persuaded to work, I
mean for themselves, except now and then a little, just as they
pleased; however, the Spaniards told them plainly, that if they
would but live sociably and friendly together, and study the good of
the whole plantation, they would be content to work for them, and
let them walk about and be as idle as they pleased; and thus having
lived pretty well together for about a month or two, the Spaniards
gave them arms again, and gave them liberty to go abroad with them
as before.
>
It was not above a week after they had these arms, and went abroad,
but the ungrateful creatures began to be as insolent and troublesome
as before; but, however, an accident happened presently upon this,
which endangered the safety of them all; and they were obliged to
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ADVENTURES OF
lay by all private resentments, and look to the preservation of their
lives.
It happened one night that the Spanish governor, as I call him,
that is to say, the Spaniard whose life I had saved, who was now the
captain, or leader, or governor of the rest, found himself very uneasy
in the night, and could by no means get any sleep; he was perfectly
well in body, as he told me the story, only found his thoughts tumult-
uous; his mind ran upon men fighting and killing of one another,
but he was broad awake, and could not by any means get any sleep;
in short, he lay a great while; but growing more and more uneasy,
he resolved to rise. As they lay, being so many of them, upon goats
skins laid thick upon such couches and pads as they had made for them-
selves, and not in hammocks and ship beds, as I did, who was but one,
so they had little to do, when they were willing to rise, but to get up
upon their feet, and perhaps put on a coat, such as it was, and their
pumps, and they were ready for going any way that their thoughts
guided them. Being thus got up, he looked out; but, being dark, he
could see little or nothing; and, besides, the trees which I had
planted, as in my former account is described, and which were now
grown tall, intercepted his sight, so that he could only look up,
and see that it was a clear starlight night, and hearing no noise,
he returned and laid him down again; but it was all one; he
could not sleep, nor could he compose himself to anything like
rest; but his thoughts were to the last degree uneasy, and he knew
not what.
IIaving made some noise with rising and walking about, going out
and coming in, another of them waked, and calling, asked who it was
that was up. The governor told him how it had been with him.
<<
Say you so ?" says the other Spaniard; "such things are not to be
slighted, I assure you; there is certainly some mischief working near
us ;" and presently he asked him, "Where are the Englishmen ?”
(6
They are all in their huts," says he, "safe enough." It seems the
Spaniards had kept possession of the main apartment, and had made
a place for the three Englishmen, who, since their last mutiny, were
always quartered by themselves, and could not come at the rest.
"Well," says the Spaniard, "there is something in it, I am per-
suaded, from my own experience. I am satisfied our spirits cm-
bodied have a converse with, and receive intelligence from, the spirits
unembodied and inhabiting the invisible world; and this friendly
notice is given for our advantage, if we knew how to make use of it.
Come," says he, "let us go and look abroad; and if we find nothing
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
295
at all in it to justify the trouble, I'll tell you a story to the purpose,
that shall convince you of the justice of my proposing it."
In a word, they went out, to go on the top of the hill where I used
to go; but they being strong, and a good company, not alone, as
I was, used none of my cautions, to go up by the ladder, and pulling
it up after them, to go up a second stage to the top, but were going
round through the grove, unconcerned and unwary, when they were
surprised with seeing a light as of fire, a very little way off from
them, and hearing the voices of men, not one or two, but of a great
number.
In all the discoveries I had made of the savages landing on the
island, it was my constant care to prevent them making the least dis-
covery of there being any inhabitant upon the place; and when by
any occasion they come to know it, they felt it so effectually, that they
that got away were scarce able to give any account of it; for we dis-
appeared as soon as possible; nor did ever any that had seen me,
escape to tell any one else, except it was the three savages in our last
encounter, who jumped into the boat; of whom I mentioned, I was
afraid they should go home and bring more help. Whether it was
the consequence of the escape of those men that so great a number
came now together, or whether they came ignorantly, and by acci-
dent, on their usual bloody errand, the Spaniards could not, it seems.
understand; but whatever it was, it had been their business either to
have concealed themselves, or not to have seen them at all, much less
to have let the savages have seen that there were any inhabitants in
the place; or to have fallen upon them so effectually, as that not a
man of them should have escaped, which could only have been by
getting in between them and their boats; but this presence of mind
was wanting to them, which was the ruin of their tranquillity for a
great while.
We need not doubt but that the governor and the man with him,
surprised with this sight, ran back immediately, and raised their fel-
lows, giving them an account of the imminent danger they were all in,
and they again as readily took the alarm; but it was impossible to
persuade them to stay close within, where they were, but they must
all run out to see how things stood.
While it was dark, indeed, they were well enough, and they had
opportunity enough for some hours, to view them by the light of three
fires they had made at a distance from one another; what they were
doing they knew not, and what to do themselves they knew not. For,
first, the enemy were too many; and, secondly, they did not keep
296
ADVENTURES OF
together, but were divided into several parties, and were on shore in
several places.
The Spaniards were in no small consternation at this sight; and
when they found that the fellows ran straggling all over the shore,
they made no doubt but first or last, some of them would chop in upon
their habitation, or upon some other place where they would see the
token of inhabitants; and they were in great perplexity also for fear
of their flock of goats, which would have been little less than starv-
ing them, if they should have been destroyed: so the first thing they
resolved upon was to despatch three men away before it was light,
two Spaniards and one Englishman, to drive all the goats away to
the great valley where the cave was, and, if need were, to drive
them into the cave itself, Could they have seen the savages all
together in one body, and at a distance from their canoes, they re-
solved, if there had been a hundred of them, to have attacked them;
but that could not be obtained; for they were some of them two miles
off from the other; and, as it appeared afterward, were of two dif-
ferent nations.
J
After having mused a great while on the course they should take,
and beating their brains in considering their present circumstances,
they resolved, at last, while it was still dark, to send the old savage,
Friday's father, out as a spy, to learn, if possible, something concern-
ing them as what they came for, what they intended to do, and the
like. The old man readily undertook it; and stripping himself quito
naked, as most of the savages were, away he went. After he had
been gone an hour or two, he brings word that he had been among
them undiscovered; that he found they were two parties, and of two
several nations, who had war with one another, and had a great bat-
tle in their own country; and that both sides having had several
prisoners taken in the fight, they were, by mere chance, landed all on
the same island, for the devouring their prisoners and making merry,
but their coming so by chance to the same place had spoiled all their
mirth;
that they were in a great rage at one another, and were so
near, that he believed they would fight again as soon as daylight
began to appear: but he did not perceive that they had any notion of
anybody being on the island but themselves. He had hardly made
an end of telling his story, when they could perceive, by the unusual
noise they made, that the two little armies were engaged in a bloody
fight.
Friday's father used all the arguments he could to persuade our
people to lie close, and not to be seen: he told them their safety con-
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
297
!
sisted in it, and that they had nothing to do but lie still, and the
savages would kill one another to their hands, and then the rest
would go away; and it was so to a tittle. But it was impossible to
prevail, especially upon the Englishmen; their curiosity was so im-
portune upon their prudentials, that they must run out and see the
battle: however, they used some caution, too, viz., they did not go
openly, just by their own dwelling, but went farther into the woods,
and placed themselves to advantage, where they might securely see
them manage the fight, and, as they thought, not be seen by them;
but it seems the savages did see them, as we shall find hereafter.
The battle was very fierce; and, if I might believe the Englishmen,
one of them said he could perceive that some of them were men of
great bravery, of invincible spirits, and of great policy in guiding the
fight. The battle, they said, held two hours before they could guess
which party would be beaten; but then, that party which was nearest
our people's habitation began to appear weakest, and, after some
time more, some of them began to fly; and this put our men again
into a great consternation, lest any one of those that fled should run
into the grove before their dwelling for shelter, and thereby involun-
tarily discover the place; and that, by consequence, the pursuers
would do the like in search of them. Upon this they resolved that
they would stand armed within the wall, and whoever came into the
grove, they resolved to sally out over the wall and kill them; so that,
if possible, not one should return to give an account of it, they ordered
also that it should be done with their swords, or by knocking them
down with the stocks of their muskets, but not by shooting them, for
fear of raising an alarm by the noise.
As they expected, it fell out; three of the routed army fled for life,
and crossing the creek, ran directly into the place, not in the least
knowing whither they went, but running as into a thick wood for
shelter. The scout they kept to look abroad gave notice of this
within, with this addition, to our men's great satisfaction, viz., that
the conquerors had not pursued them, or seen which way they were
gone; upon this the Spaniard governor, a man of humanity, would
not suffer them to kill the three fugitives, but sending three men out
by the top of the hill, ordered them to go round, come in behind them,
and surprise and take them prisoners; which was done. The residue
of the conquered people fled to their canoes, and got off to sea; the
victors retired, made no pursuit, or very little, but drawing themselves
into a body together, gave two screaming shouts, which they sup-
posed was by way of triumph, and so the fight ended; and the same
1
I
1
18*
298
ADVENTURES OF
{
day, about three o'clock in the afternoon, they also marched to their
canoes. And thus the Spaniards had their island again free to them-
selves, their fright was over, and they saw no savages in several years
after.
After they were all gone, the Spaniards came out of their den, and
viewing the field of battle, they found about two-and-thirty men dead
on the spot; some were killed with great long arrows, some of which
were found sticking in their bodies; but most of them were killed
with great wooden swords, sixteen or seventeen of which they found
on the field of battle, and as many bows, with a great many arrows.
These swords were strange, great unwieldy things, and they must be
very strong men that used them; most of those men that were killed
with them had their heads mashed to pieces, as we may say, or, as we
call it in English, their brains knocked out, and several of their arms
and legs broken; so that it is evident they fight with inexpressible
rage and fury. We found not one man that was not stone dead, for
either they stay by their enemy till they have quite killed him, or
they carry all the wounded men that are not quite dead away with
them.
This deliverance tamed our Englishmen for a great while; the
sight had filled them with horror, and the consequences appeared
terrible to the last degree, especially upon supposing that some time
or other they should fall into the hands of those creatures, who would
not only kill them as enemies, but kill them for food, as we kill our
cattle; and they professed to me, that the thoughts of being eaten up
like beef or mutton, though it was supposed it was not to be till they
were dead, had something in it so horrible, that it nauseated their
very stomachs, made them sick when they thought of it, and filled
their minds with such unusual terror, they were not themselves for
some weeks after. This, as I said, tamed even the three English
brutes I have been speaking of, and, for a great while after, they were
tractable, and went about the common business of the whole society
well enough; planted, sowed, reaped, and began to be all naturalized
to the country. But some time after this, they fell into such simple
measures again, as brought them into a great deal of trouble.
They had taken three prisoners, as I observed; and these three
being lusty, stout young fellows, they made them servants, and taught
them to work for them; and, as slaves, they did well enough; but
they did not take their measures with them as I did by my man
Friday, viz., to begin with them upon the principle of having saved
their lives. and then instruct them upon the rational principles of life;
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
299
much less of religion, civilizing them, and reducing them by kind
usage and affectionate arguings; but as they gave them their food
every day, so they gave them their work too, and kept them fully
employed in drudgery enough; but they failed in this by it, that they
never had to assist them, and fight for them, as I had my man Friday,
who was as true to me as the very flesh upon my bones.
But to come to the family part. Being all now good friends, for
common danger, as I said above, had effectually reconciled them, they
began to consider their general circumstances; and the first thing
that came under their consideration, was, whether, seeing the savages
particularly haunted that side of the island, and that there were more
remote and retired parts of it equally adapted to their way of living,
and manifestly to their advantage, they should not rather move their
habitation, and plant in some more proper place for their safety, and
especially for the security of their cattle and corn.
Upon this, after long debate, it was concluded that they would not
remove their habitation; because that, some time or other, they
thought they might hear from their governor again, meaning me; and
if I should send any one to seek them, I should be sure to direct
them to that side; where, if they should find the place demolished,
they would conclude the savages had killed us all, and we were
gone; and so our supply would go too. But as to their corn and
cattle, they agreed to remove them into the valley where my cave
was, where the land was as proper for both, and where, indeed, there
was land enough; however, upon second thoughts, they altered one
part of their resolution too, and resolved only to remove part of their
cattle thither, and plant part of their corn there; and so if one part
was destroyed, the other might be saved. And one part of prudence
they used, which it was very well they did, viz., that they never
trusted those three savages, which they had prisoners, with knowing
anything of the plantation they had made in that valley, or of any
cattle they had there, much less of the cave there, which they kept, in
case of necessity, as a safe retreat; and thither they carried also the
two barrels of powder which I had sent them at my coming away.
But however they resolved not to change their habitation, yet they
agreed, that as I had carefully covered it first with a wall or fortifica-
tion, and then with a grove of trees, so seeing their safety consisted
entirely in being concealed, of which they were now fully convinced,
they set to work to cover and conceal the place yet more effectually
than before. For this purpose, as I planted trees, or rather thrust in
stakes, which in time all grew up to be trees, for some good distance
Sapana ma
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ADVENTURES OF
before the entrance into my apartments, they went on in the same
manner, and filled up the rest of that whole space of ground, from the
trees I had set, quite down to the side of the creek, where, as I said,
I landed my floats, and even into the very ooze where the tide flowed,
not so much as leaving any place to land, or any sign that there had
been any landing thereabout; these stakes also being of a wood very
forward to grow, as I have noted formerly, they took care to have
them generally much larger and taller than those which I had
planted; and as they grew apace, so they planted them so very thick
and close together, that when they had been three or four years
grown, there was no piercing with the eye any considerable way into
the plantation; and, as for that part which I had planted, the trees
were grown as thick as a man's thigh, and among them they placed
so many other short ones, and so thick, that, in a word, it stood like a
palisade a quarter of a mile thick, and it was next to impossible to
penetrate it, but with a little army to cut it all down; for a little dog
could hardly get between the trees, they stood so close.
But this was not all, for they did the same by all the ground to the
right hand and to the left, and round even to the top of the hill, leav-
ing no way, not so much as for themselves to come out, but by the
ladder placed up to the side of the hill, and then lifted up and placed
again from the first stage up to the top; and when the ladder was
taken down, nothing but what had wings or witchcraft to assist it,
could come at them. This was excellently well contrived; nor was
it less than what they afterward found occasion for: which served to
convince me that as human prudence has the authority of Providence
to justify it, so it has doubtless the direction of Providence to set it to
work; and if we listened carefully to the voice of it, I am persuaded
we might prevent many of the disasters which our lives are now, by
our own negligence, subjected to; but this by the way.
I return to the story. They lived two years after this in perfect re-
tirement, and had no more visits from the savages. They had indeed
an alarm given them one morning, which put them into a great con-
sternation; for some of the Spaniards, being out early one morning on
the west side, or rather end, of the island (which was that end where
I never went, for fear of being discovered), they were surprised with
seeing above twenty canoes of Indians just coming on shore. They
made the best of their way home, in hurry enough, and giving the
alarm to their comrades, they kept close all that day and the next
going out only at night to make their observation. But they had the
good luck to be mistaken, for, wherever the savages went, they did
not land that time on the island, but pursued some other design.
___
Ada
****
3
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
301
And now they had another broil with the three Englishmen, one
of whom, a most turbulent fellow, being in a rage at one of the three
slaves which I mentioned they had taken, because the fellow had not
done something which he bid him do, and seemed a little untractable
in his showing him, drew a hatchet out of a frog-belt, in which he
wore it by his side, and fell upon the poor savage, not to correct him
but to kill him. One of the Spaniards, who was by, seeing him give
the fellow a barbarous cut with the hatchet, which he aimed at his
head but struck into his shoulders, so that he thought he had cut the
poor creature's arm off, ran to him, and entreating him not to murder
the poor man, placed himself between him and the savage to prevent
the mischief. The fellow being enraged the more at this, struck at
the Spaniard with his hatchet, and swore he would serve him as he
intended to serve the savage; which, the Spaniard perceiving, avoided
the blow, and with a shovel which he had in his hand (for they were
all working in the field about their corn-land) knocked the brute down.
Another of the Englishmen running at the same time to help his com-
rado, knocked the Spaniard down; and then two Spaniards more came
in to help their man, and a third Englishman fell in upon them. They
had none of them any firearms, or any other weapons but hatchets and
other tools, except this third Englishman; he had one of my rusty
cutlasses, with which he made at the two last Spaniards and wounded
them both. This fray set the whole family in an uproar, and more
help coming in, they took the three Englishmen prisoners. The next
question was what should be done with them. They had been so often
mutinous, and were so very furious, so very desperate, and so idle
withal, they knew not what course to take with them, for they were
mischievous to the highest degree, and valued not what hurt they did
to any man; so that, in short, it was not safe to live with them.
The Spaniard who was governor told them, in so many words, that
if they had been of his country, he would have hanged them; for all
laws and all governors were to preserve society, and those who were
dangerous to the society ought to be expelled out of it; but, as they
were Englishmen, and that it was to the generous kindness of an Eu-
glishman that they owed their preservation and deliverance, he would
use them with all possible lenity, and would leave them to the judg-
ment of the other two Englishmen, who were their countrymen.
One of the two honest Englishmen stood up, and said they desired
it might not be left to them, "For," says he, "I am sure we ought to
sentence them to the gallows." And with that he gives an account
how Will Atkins, one of the three, had proposed to have all the five
1
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ADVENTURES OF
Englishmen join together and murder all the Spaniards when they
were in their sleep.
When the Spanish governor heard this, he calls to Will Atkins,
How, Senhor Atkins, would you murder us all? What have you to
say to that?" The hardened villain was so far from denying it that
he said "it was true, and, G-d d-n him, they would do it still,
before they had done with them." "Well, but Senhor Atkins," says
the Spaniard, "what have we done to you, that you would kill us?
And what would you get by killing us? And what must we do to
provent your killing us? Must we kill you, or you kill us? Why
will you put us to the necessity of this, Senhor Atkins ?" says the
Spaniard, very calmly, and smiling. Senhor Atkins was in such a
rage at the Spaniard's making a jest of it, that, had he not been held
by three men, and withal had no weapon near him, it was thought he
would have attempted to have killed the Spaniard in the middle of all
the company.
This hair-brain carriage obliged them to consider se-
riously what was to be done. The two Englishmen, and the Spaniard
who saved the poor savage, were of the opinion that they should hang
one of the three for an example to the rest, and that particularly it
should be he that had twice attempted to commit murder with his
hatchet; and, indeed, there was some reason to believe he had done
it, for the poor savage was in such a miserable condition with the
wound he had received, that it was thought he could not live. But
the governor Spaniard still said no; it was an Englishman that had
saved all their lives, and he would never consent to put an English-
man to death, though he had murdered half of them; "Nay," he said,
"if he had been killed himself by an Englishman, and had time left
to speak, it should be that they should pardon him !”
This was so positively insisted on by the governor Spaniard, that
there was no gainsaying it, and as merciful counsels are most apt to
prevail where they are so earnestly pressed, so they all came into it;
but when it was to be considered what should be done to keep them
from doing the mischief they designed, for all agreed, governor and
all, that means were to be used for preserving the society from dan-
ger. After a long debate it was agreed, first, that they should be dis-
armed, and not permitted to have either gun, powder, shot, sword, or
any weapon, and should be turned out of the society, and left to live
where they would, and how they would, by themselves; but that none
of the rest, either Spaniards or English, should converse with them,
speak with them, or have anything to do with them; that they should
be forbid to come within a certain distance of the place where the
(i
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
303
rest dwelt; and, if they offered to commit any disorder, so as to spoil,
burn, kill, or destroy any of the corn, plantings, buildings, fences, or
cattle, belonging to the society, they should die without mercy, and
they should shoot them wherever they could find them.
tr
The governor, a man of great humanity, musing upon the sentence,
considered a little upon it, and turning to the two honest Englishmen
said, “IIold! you must reflect that it will be long ere they can raise
corn and cattle of their own, and they must not starve; we must,
therefore, allow them provisions." So he caused to be added, "that
they should have a proportion of corn given them to last them eight
months, and for seed to sow, by which they might be supposed to
raise some of their own; that they should have six milch goats, four
he-goats, and six kids given them, as well for present subsistence as
for a store; and that they should have tools given them for their
work in the fields, such as six hatchets, an adze, a saw, and the like;
but they should have none of these tools or provisions, unless they
would swear solemnly that they would not hurt or injure any of the
Spaniards with them, or of their fellow Englishmen.
Thus they dismissed them the society, and turned them out to shift
for themselves. They went away sullen and refractory, as neither
content to go away nor to stay; but as there was no remedy, they
went, pretending to go and choose a place where they would settle
themselves; and some provisions were given them, but no weapons.
About four or five days after, they came again for some victuals,
and gave the governor an account where they had pitched their tents,
and marked themselves out a habitation and plantation; and it was a
very convenient place, indeed, on the remotest part of the island, N.
E., much about the place where I providentially landed in my first
voyage, when I was driven out to sea, the Lord alone knows whither,
in my foolish attempt to sail round the island.
Here they built themselves two handsome huts, and contrived them,
in a manner, 1 ke my first habitation, being close under the side of a
hill, having some trees growing already on three sides of it, so that
by planting others, it would be very easily covered from the sight,
unless narrowly searched for. They desired some dried goat's skins,
for beds and covering, which were given them; and upon giving their
words that they would not disturb the rest, or injure any of their plan-
tations, they gave them hatchets, and what other tools they could
spare; some peas, barley, and rice, for sowing; and, in a word, any-
thing they wanted except arms and ammunition.
They lived in this separate condition about six months, and had got
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in their first harvest, though the quantity was but small, the parcel of
land they had planted being but little; for, indeed, having all their
plantation to form, they had a great deal of work upon their hands;
and when they came to make boards and pots, and such things, they
were quite out of their element, and could make nothing of it; and
when the rainy season came on, for want of a cave in the earth, they
could not keep their grain dry, and it was in great danger of spoiling;
and this humbled them much; so they came and begged the Span-
iards to help them, which they very readily did; and in four days
worked a great hole in the side of the hill for them, big enough to
secure their corn and other things from the rain; but it was but a
poor place, at best, compared to mine, and especially as mine was
then, for the Spaniards had greatly enlarged it, and made several
new apartments in it.
About three quarters of a year after this separation, a new frolic
took these rogues, which, together with the former villany they had
committed, brought mischief enough upon them, and had very near
been the ruin of the whole colony. The three new associates began,
it seems, to be weary of the laborious life they led, and that without
hope of bettering their circumstances; and a whim took them, that
they would make a voyage to the continent, whence the savages
came, and would try if they could seize upon some prisoners among
the natives there, and bring them home, so to make them do the labo-
rious part of the work for them.
The project was not so preposterous, if they had gone no further ;
but they did nothing, and proposed nothing, but had either mischief
in the design, or mischief in the event; and, if I may give my opin-
ion, they seemed to be under a blast from Heaven; for if we will not
allow a visible curse to pursue visible crimes, how shall we reconcile
the events of things with the divine justice? It was certainly an ap-
parent vengeance on their crimes of mutiny and piracy that brought
them to the state they were in; and they showed not the least remorse
for the crime, but added new villanies to it, such as the piece of mon-
strous cruelty of wounding a poor slave, because he did not, or per-
haps could not, understand to do what he was directed, and to wound
him in such a manner as made him a cripple all his life, and in a
place where no surgeon or medicine could be had for his cure; and
what was still worse, the murderous intent, or, to do justice to the
crime, the intentional murder, for such to be sure it was, as was after-
ward the formed design they all laid, to murder the Spaniards in cold
blood and in their sleep.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
305
Chapter Thirty-Five.
The Mutinous Englishmen are Dismissed from the Island-Return with several
Captive Savages-Take the Females as Wives-Arrival of Savages.

UT I leave observing, and return to the story. The three
fellows came down to the Spaniards one morning, and in
very humble terms desired to be admitted to speak with
them; the Spaniards very readily heard what they had to
say, which was this: That they were tired of living in the manner
they did; and that they were not handy enough to make the necessa-
ries they wanted, and that having no help, they found they should be
starved; but if the Spaniards would give them leave to take one of
the canoes which they came over in, and give them arms and ammu-
nition proportioned to their defence, they would go over to the main
and seek their fortunes, and so deliver them from the trouble of sup-
plying them with any other provisions.
The Spaniards were glad enough to get rid of them, but very hon-
estly represented to them the certain destruction they were running
into; told them they had suffered such hardships upon that very spot
that they could, without any spirit of prophesy, tell them they would
be starved, or murdered, and bade them consider of it.
The men replied audaciously, they should be starved if they stayed
here, for they could not work, and would not work, and they could
but be starved abroad; and if they wore murdered, there was an end
of them; they had no wives or children to cry after them; and, in short,
insisted importunately upon their demand; declaring they would go,
whether they gave them any arms or no.
The Spaniards told them, with great kindness, that if they were
resolved to go, they should not go like naked men, and be in no con-
dition to defend themselves; and that though they could ill spare their
firearms, having not enough for themselves, yet, they would let them
have two muskets, a pistol and a cutlass, and each man a hatchet,
which they thought was sufficient for them. In a word, they accepted
the offer; and having baked them bread enough to serve them a month,
and given them as much goat's flesh as they could eat while it was
sweet, and a great basket of dried grapes, and a pot of fresh water,
and a young kid alive, they boldly set out in the canoe for a voyage
over the sea, where it was at least forty miles broad.
The boat indeed, was a large one, and would very well have carried
306
ADVENTURES OF
fifteen or twenty men, and therefore was rather too big for them to
manage; but as they had a fair breeze, and flood tide with them, they
did well enough. They had made a mast of a long pole, and a sail
of four large goat's skins, dried, which they had sewed or laced to-
gether, and away they went merrily enough; the Spaniards called
after them Buen viage; and no man ever thought of seeing them
any more.
The Spaniards were often saying to one another, and to the two
honest Englishmen who remained behind, how quietly and comfort-
ably they had lived, now these three turbulent fellows were gone; as
for their coming again, that was the remotest thing from their
thoughts that could be imagined; when, behold, after two-and-twenty
days' absence, one of the Englishmen, being abroad upon his planting
work, sees three strange men coming toward him at a distance, with
guns upon their shoulders,
Away runs the Englishman, as if he was bewitched, comes fright-
ened and amazed to the governor Spaniard, and tells him they were
all undone, for there were strangers landed upon the island, but
could not tell who. The Spaniard, pausing a while, says to him,
"How do you mean, you cannot tell who? They are the savages, to
be sure." 'No, no," says the Englishman," they are men in clothes,
with arms." ({
Nay, then," says the Spaniard, "why are you con-
cerned? If they are not savages, they must be friends; for there is
no Christian nation upon earth but would do us good rather than
harm."
While they were debating thus, came the three Englishmen, and
standing without the wood, which was new planted, hallooed to them;
they presently knew their voices, and so all the wonder of that kind
ceased. But now the admiration was turned upon another question,
viz., what could be the matter, and what made them come back
again ?
It was not long before they brought the men in, and inquiring
where they had been, and what they had been doing, they gave them
a full account of their voyage in a few words, viz., That they reached
the land in two days, or something less; but finding the people
alarmed at their coming, and preparing with bows and arrows to
fight them, they durst not go on shore, but sailed on to the northward
six or seven hours, till they came to a great opening, by which they
perceived that the land they saw from our island was not the main,
but an island; upon entering that opening of the sea, they saw
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
307
another island on the right hand, north, and several more west; and
being resolved to land somewhere, they put over to one of the islands
which lay west, and went boldly on shore; that they found the
people very courteous and friendly to them; and that they gave them
several roots and some dried fish, and appeared very sociable; and
the women as well as the men were very forward to supply them with
anything they could get for them to eat, and brought it to them a
great way upon their heads.
They continued here four days; and inquired, as well as they could
of them, by signs, what nations were this way, and that way; and
were told of several fierce and terrible people that lived almost every
way. who, as they made known by signs to them, used to eat men;
but as for themselves, they said they never ate men or women, except
only such as they took in the wars; and then, they owned, they made
a great feast, and ate their prisoners.
The Englishmen inquired when they had a feast of that kind; and
they told them about two months ago, pointing to the moon, and to
two fingers; and that their great king had two hundred prisoners
now, which he had taken in his war, and they were feeding them to
make them fat for the next feast. The Englishmen seemed mighty
desirous of seeing those prisoners; but the others mistaking them,
thought they were desirous to have some of them to carry away for
their own eating; so they beckoned to them, pointing to the setting
of the sun, and then to the rising; which was to signify that the next
morning at sun-rising they would bring some for them; and, accord-
ingly, the next morning, they brought down five women, and eleven
men, and gave them to the Englishmen, to carry with them on their
voyage, just as we would bring so many cows and oxen down to a
seaport town to victual a ship.
་
As brutish and barbarous as these fellows were at home, their
stomachs turned at this sight, and they did not know what to do. To
refuse the prisoners would have been the highest affront to the savage
gentry that could be offered them, and what to do with them they
knew not. However, after some debate they resolved to accept of
them; and, in return, they gave the savages that brought them one of
their hatchets, an old key, a knife, and six or seven of their bullets;
which, though they did not understand their use, they seemed par-
ticularly pleased with; and then tying the poor creatures' hands be-
hind them, they dragged the prisonors in the boat for our men.
The Englishmen were obliged to come away as soon as they had
them, or else they that gave them this noble present would certainly
*
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ADVENTURES OF
have expected that they should have gone to work with them, have
killed two or three of them the next morning, and perhaps have in-
vited the donors to dinner. But having taken their leave, with
all the respect and thanks that could well pass between people,
where, on either side, they understood not one word they could say,
they put off with their boat, and came back toward the first island;
where, when they arrived, they set eight of their prisoners at liberty,
there being too many of them for their occasion.
In their voyage, they endeavored to have some communication with
their prisoners; but it was impossible to make them understand
anything; nothing they could say to them, or give them, or do for
them, but was looked upon as going to murder them. They first of
all unbound them; but the poor creatures screamed at that, especially
the women, as if they had just felt the knife at their throats; for they
immediately concluded they were unbound on purpose to be killed.
If they gave them anything to eat, it was the same thing; they then
concluded it was for fear they should sink in flesh, and so not be fat
enough to kill. If they looked at one of them more particularly, the
party presently concluded it was to see whether he or she was fattest,
and fittest to kill first; nay, after they had brought them quite over,
and begun to use them kindly, and treat them well, still they expected
every day to make a dinner or supper for their new masters.
When the three wanderers had given this unaccountable history or
journal of their voyage, the Spaniard asked them where their new
family was; and being told that they had brought them on shore, and
put them into one of their huts, and were come up to beg some
victuals for them, they (the Spaniards) and the other two Englishmen,
that is to say, the whole colony, resolved to go all down to the place
and see them; and did so, and Friday's father with them.
When they came into the hut, there they sat all bound; for when
they had brought them on shore, they bound their hands, that they
might not take the boat and make their escape; there, I say, they
sat, all of them stark naked. First, there were three men, lusty,
comely fellows, well-shaped, straight and fair limbs, about thirty to
thirty-five years of age; and five women, whereof two might be from
thirty to forty; two more not above four or five-and-twenty; and the
fifth, a tall comely maiden, about sixteen or seventeen. The women
were well-favored, agreeable persons, both in shape and features,
only tawny; and two of them, had they been perfect white, would
have passed for very handsome women, even in London itself, having
pleasant agreeable countenances, and of a very modest behavior:
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
309
especially when they came afterward to be clothed and dressed, as
they called it, though that dress was very indifferent, it must be con-
fessed; of which hereafter.
The sight, you may be sure, was something uncouth to our
Spaniards, who were, to give them a just character, men of the best
behavior, of the most calm, sedate tempers, and perfect good humor,
that ever I met with; and, in particular, of the most modest, as will
presently appear; I say the sight was very uncouth, to see three
naked men and five naked women, all together bound, and in the
most miserable circumstances that human nature could be supposed to
be, viz.: to be expecting every moment to be dragged out, and have
their brains knocked out, and then to be eaten up like a calf that is
killed for a dainty.
The first thing they did was to cause the old Indian, Friday's father,
to go in and sec, first, if he knew any of them, and then if he under-
stood any of their speech. As soon as the old man came in he looked
seriously at them, but knew none of them, neither could any of them
understand a word he said, or a sign he could make, except one of
the women. However, this was enough to answer the end, which was
to satisfy them that the men into whose hands they were fallen were
Christians; that they abhorred eating men or women, and that they
might be sure they would not be killed. As soon as they were assured
of this, they discovered such a joy, and by such awkward gestures,
several ways, as is hard to describe, for it seems they were of several
nations.
The woman who was their interpreter was bid, in the next place,
to ask them if they were willing to be servants, and to work for the
men who had brought them away, to save their lives. At which they
all fell a dancing, and presently one fell to taking up this, and an-
other that, anything that lay next, to carry on their shoulders, to inti-
mate that they were willing4o work.
The governor, who found that the having women among them would
presently be attended with some inconvenience, and might occasion
some strife, and perhaps blood, asked the three men what they in-
tended to do with these women, and how they intended to use them—
whether as servants or as women? One of the Englishmen answered
very boldly and readily, that "they would use them as both." To
which the governor said, "I am not going to restrain you from it;
you are your own masters as to that; but this I think is but just, for
avoiding disorders and quarrels among you, and I desire it of you for
that reason only, viz.: that you will all engage that if any of you take
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any of these women as a woman or wife, that he shall take but one,
and that having taken one, none else shall touch her; for, though we
cannot marry any one of you, yet it is but reasonable that while you
stay here, the woman any of you takes should be maintained by the
man who takes her, and should be his wife; I mean," says he, "while
he continues here, and that none else shall have anything to do with
her." All this appeared so just, that every one agreed to it without
any difficulty.
Then the Englishmen asked the Spaniards if they designed to take
any of them, but every one of them answered no: some of them said
they had wives in Spain, and the others did not like women that were
not Christians, and all together declared that they would not touch
one of them; which was an instance of such virtue as I have not met
with in all my travels. On the other hand, to be short, the five Eng-
lishmen took them every one a wife, that is to say, a temporary wife,
and so they set up a new form of living; for the Spaniards and Fri-
day's father lived in my old habitation, which they had enlarged ex-
ceedingly within. The three servants which were taken in the late
battle of the savages lived with them, and these carried on the main
part of the colony, supplied all the rest with food, and assisted them
in anything as they could, or as they found necessity required.
But the wonder of the story was, how five such refractory, ill-
matched fellows, should agree about these women, and that two of
them should not pitch upon the same woman, especially seeing two
or three of them were, without comparison, more agreeable than the
others. But they took a good way enough to prevent quarrelling
among themselves, for they set the five women by themselves in ono
of their huts, and they went all into the other hut, and drew lots
among them who should choose first.
He that drew to choose first went away by himself to the hut where
the
poor naked creatures were and fetched out her he chosc; and it
was worth observing that he that chose first took her that was reckon-
ed the homeliest and oldest of the five, which made mirth enough
among the rest, and even the Spaniards laughed at it; but the fellow
considered better than any of them, that it was application and busi-
ness they were to expect assistance in as much as in anything else,
and she proved the best wife of all the parcel.
When the poor women saw themselves set in a row thus, and fetch-
ed out one by one, the terrors of their condition returned upon them
again, and they firmly believed they were now going to be devoured.
Accordingly, when the English sailor came in and fetched out one of
$
1
2
*
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
311
them, the rest set up a most lamentable cry, and hung about her, and
took their leave of her with such agonies and affection as would have
grieved the hardest heart in the world; nor was it possible for the
Englishmen to satisfy them that they were not to be immediately
murdered, till they fetched the old man, Friday's father, who imme-
diately let them know that the five men who had fetched them out
one by one, had chosen them for their wives.
When they had done, and the fright the women were in was a little
over, the men went to work, and the Spaniards came and helped them,
and in a few hours they had built them every one a new hut or tent for
their lodging apart, for those they had already were crowded with
their tools, household stuff, and provisions. The three wicked ones
had pitched farthest off, and the two honest ones nearer, but both on
the north shore of the island, so that they continued separated, as be-
fore; and thus my island was peopled in three places, and, as I might
say, three towns were begun to be built.
And here it is very well worth observing, that, as it often happens
in the world (what the wise ends of God's providence are, in such a
disposition of things, I cannot say), the two honest fellows had the
two worst wives; and the three reprobates, that were scarce worth
hanging, that were fit for nothing, and neither seemed born to do
themselves good nor any one else, had three clever, diligent, careful,
and ingenious wives. Not that the first two were bad wives, as to
their temper and humor, for all the five were most willing, quiet, pas-
sive, and subjected creatures, rather like slaves than wives; but my
meaning is, they were not alike capable, ingenious, or industrious, or
alike cleanly and neat.
Another observation I must inake, to the honor of a diligent appli-
cation, on one hand, and to the disgrace of a slothful, negligent, idle
temper on the other, that when I came to the place, and viewed the
several improvements, plantings, and management of the several little
colonies, the two men had so far outgone the three that there was no
comparison. They had, indeed, both of them, as much ground laid
out for corn as they wanted, and the reason was because, according to
my rule, nature dictated that it was to no purpose to sow more corn
than they wanted; but the difference of the cultivation, of the plant-
ing, of the fences, and, indeed, of everything else, was easy to be seen
at first view.
The two men had innumerable young trees planted about their huts
so that when you camo to the place nothing was to be seen but wood,
and though they had twice had their plantation demolished, once by
•
?
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ADVENTURES OF
*
their own countrymen and once by the enemy, as shall be shown in
its place, yet they had restored all again, and everything was thriv-
ing and flourishing about them; they had grapes planted in order,
and managed like a vineyard, though they had themselves never seen
anything of that kind, and by their good ordering their vines, their
grapes were as good again as any of the others. They had also found
themselves out a retreat in the thickest part of the woods, where,
though there was not a natural cave, as I had found, yet they made
one with incessant labor of their hands; and where, when the mis-
chief which followed happened, they secured their wives and children
so as they never could be found, they having, by sticking innumerable
stakes and poles of wood, which, as I said, grew so readily, made the
grove unpassable, except in some places where they climbed up to get
over the outside part, and then went on by ways of their own leaving.
As to the three reprobates, as I justly call them, though they were
much civilized by their settlement, compared to what they were be-
fore, and were not so quarrelsome, having not the same opportunity;
yet one of the certain companions of a profligate mind never left them,
and that was their idleness. It is true, they planted corn, and made
fences; but Solomon's words were never better verified than in them,
"I went by the vineyard of the slothful, and it was all overgrown
with thorns;" for when the Spaniards came to view their crop, they
could not see it in some places for weeds, the hedge had several gaps
in it, where the wild goats had got in and eaten up the corn; perhaps
hero and there a dead bush was crammed in, to stop them out for the
present, but it was only shutting the stable-door after the steed was
stolen whereas, when they looked on the colony of the other two,
there was the very face of industry and success upon all they did;
there was not a weed to be seen in all their corn, or a gap in any of
their hedges; and they, on the other hand, verified Solomon's words
in another place, that the diligent hand maketh rich" for every-
thing. grew and thrived, and they had plenty within and without;
they had more tame cattle than the others, more utensils and neces-
saries within doors, and yet more pleasure and diversion too.
(:
It is true, the wives of the three were very handy and cleanly
within doors, and having learned the English ways of dressing and
cooking from one of the other Englishmen, who, as I said, was a
cook's mate on board the ship, they dressed their husband's victuals
very nicely and well; whereas the others could not be brought to
understand it; but then the husbands of the three wives, they loitered
about, fetched turtle's eggs, and caught fish and birds; in a word,
365
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
313
anything but labor, and they fared accordingly. The diligent lived
well and comfortably; and the slothful lived hard and beggarly; and
so, I believe, generally speaking, it is all over the world.
But now I come to a scene different from all that had happened
before, either to them or to me; and the original of the story was
this: Early one morning, there came on shore five or six canoes of
Indians or savages, call them which you please, and there is no room
to doubt they came upon the old errand of feeding upon their slaves;
but that part was now so familiar to the Spaniards, and to our men,
too, that they did not concern themselves about it, as I did; but
having been made sensible by their experience, that their only busi-
ness was to lie concealed, and that if they were not seen by any of
the savages, they would go off again quietly, when their business
was done, having, as yet, not the least notion of there being any in-
habitants in the island; I say, having been made sensible of this, they
had nothing to do but give notice to all the three plantations to keep
within doors, and not to show themselves, only placing a scout in a
proper place, to give notice when the boats went to sea again.
This was, without doubt, very right; but a disaster spoiled all these
measures, and made it known among the savages that there were in-
habitants there; which was, in the end, the desolation of almost the
whole colony. After the canoes with the savages were gone off, the
Spaniards peeped abroad again; and some of them had the curiosity
to go to the place where they had been, to see what they had been
doing. Here, to their great surprise, they found three savages left
behind, and lying fast asleep upon the ground. It was supposed they
had either been so gorged with their inhuman feast, that, like beasts,
they were fallen asleep, and would not stir when the others went, or
they had wandered into the woods, and did not come back in time to
be taken in.
The Spaniards were greatly surprised at this sight, and perfectly at
a loss what to do. The Spanish governor, as it happened, was with
them, and his advice was asked, but he professed he knew not what
to do. As for slaves, they had enough already; and as to killing
them, they were none of them inclined to that: the Spanish governor
told me, they could not think of shedding innocent blood: for as to
them, the poor creatures had done them no wrong, invaded none of
their property, and they thought they had no just quarrel against
them, to take away their lives. And here I must, in justice to these
Spaniards, observe, that let the accounts of Spanish cruelty in Mexico
and Peru be what they will, I never met with seventeen men of any
14
314
ADVENTURES OF
nation whatsoever, in any foreign country, who were so universally
modest, temperate, virtuous, so very good-humored and so courteous,
as these Spaniards; and as to cruelty, they had nothing of it in their
very nature no inhumanity, no barbarity, no outrageous passions;
and yet all of them men of great courage and spirit. The temper
and calmness had appeared in their bearing the insufferable usage of
the three Englishmen; and their justice and humanity appeared now
in the case of the savages, as above. After some consultation, they
resolved upon this: that they would lie still a while longer, till, if
possible, these three men might be gone. But then the governor
Spaniard recollected, that the three savages had no boat; and if they
were left to rove about the island, they would certainly discover that
there were inhabitants in it; and so they should be undone that way.
Upon this they went back again, and there lay the fellows fast asleep
still, and so they resolved to waken them, and take them prisoners;
and they did so. The poor fellows were strangely frightened when
they were seized upon and bound; and afraid, like the women, that
they should be murdered and eaten : for it seems those people think
all the world does as they do, eating men's flesh; but they were soon
made easy as to that, and away they carried them.
It was very happy for them that they did not carry them home
to their castle-I mean to my palace under the hill; but they
carried them first to the bower, where was the chief of their coun-
try work, such as the keeping the goats, the planting the corn, &c.;
and afterward they carried them to the habitation of the two En-
glishmen.
Here they were set to work, though it was not much they had for
them to do; and whether it was by negligence in guarding them, or
that they thought the fellows could not mend themselves, I know not,
but one of them run away, and taking to the woods, they could never
hear of him any more.
They had good reason to believe he got home again soon after,
in some other boats or canoes of savages who came on shore three or
four weeks afterward; and who, carrying on their revels as usual,
went off in two days' time. This thought terrified them exceedingly;
for they concluded, and that not without good cause indeed, that if
this fellow came home safe among his comrades, he would certainly
give them an account that there were people in the island, and also how
few and weak they were; for this savage, as I observed before, had
never been told, and it was very happy he had not, how many there
were, or where they lived; nor had he ever seen or heard the fire of
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
315
any of their guns, much less had they shown him any of their other
retired places; such as the cave in the valley, or the new retreat
which the two Englishmen had made, and the like.
The first testimony they had that this fellow had given intelligence
of them was, that, about two months after this, six canoes of savages,
with about seven, eight, or ten men in a canoe, came rowing along
the north side of the island, where they never used to come before,
and landed, about an hour after sunrise, at a convenient place, about
a mile from the habitation of the two Englishmen, where this escaped
man had been kept. As the Spaniard governor said, had they been
all there, the damage would not have been so much, for not a man of
them would have escaped: but the case differed now very much, for
two men to fifty was too much odds. The two men had the happiness
to discover them about a league off, so that it was above an hour be-
fore they landed; and as they landed a mile from their huts, it was
some time before they could come at them. Now, having great
reason to believe that they were betrayed, the first thing they did
was to bind the two slaves which were left, and caused two of the
three men whom they had brought with the women (who, it seems,
proved very faithful to them), to lead them, with their two wives, and
whatever they could carry away with them, to their retired places in
the woods, which I have spoken of above, and there to bind the two
fellows hand and foot, till they heard further.
In the next place, seeing the savages were all come on shore, and
that they had bent their course directly that way, they opened the
fences where the milk goats were kept, and drove them all out; leav-
ing their goats to straggle in the woods, whither they pleased, that the
savages might think they were all bred wild; but the rogue who came
with them was too cunning for that, and gave them an account of it
all, for they went directly to the place.
When the two poor frightened men had secured their wives and
goods, they sent the other slave they had of the three who came with
the women, and who was at their place by accident, away to the Span-
iards with all speed, to give them the alarm and desire speedy help;
and, in the meantime, they took their arms and what ammunition they
had, and retreated toward the place in the wood where their wives
were sent; keeping at a distance, yet so that they might see, if possi-
ble, which way the savages took.
They had not gone far, but that from a rising ground they could see
the little army of their enemies come on directly to their habitation,
and, in a moment more, could see all their huts and household stuff
*
The
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ADVENTURES OF
flaming up together, to their great grief and mortification; for they
had a very great loss to them, irretrievable, at least for some time.
They kept their station for a while, till they found the savages like
wild beasts, spread themselves all over the place, rummaging every
way and every place they could think of, in search of prey; and in
particular for the people, of whom, now, it plainly appeared they had
intelligence.
The two Englishmen, seeing this, thinking themselves not secure
where they stood, because it was likely some of the wild people might
come that way, and they might come too many together, thought it
proper to make another retreat about half a mile further; believing,
as it afterward happened, that the further they strolled the fewer would
be together.
→
Chapter Thirty-Six.
Several Savages killed, the Remainder leave the Island-A Fleet of Them after-
ward arrive-A General Battle-The Savages are overcome, and Tranquillity
restored.

HEIR next halt was at the entrance into a very thick-grown
part of the woods, and where an old trunk of a tree stood,
which was hollow and vastly large; and in this tree they
both took their standing, resolving to see there what might
offer. They had not stood there long, before two of the savages ap-
peared running directly that way, as if they had already had notice
where they stood, and were coming up to attack them; and a little
way further they espied three more coming after them, and five more
beyond them, all coming the same way; besides which, they saw seven
or eight more at a distance, running another way; for, in a word,
they ran every way, like sportsmen beating for their game.
The poor men were now in great perplexity whether they should
stand and keep their posture, or fly; but after a very short debate
with themselves, they considered, that if the savages ranged the coun-
try thus before help came, they might perhaps find out their retreat
in the woods, and then all would be lost; so they resolved to stand
them there; and if they were too many to deal with, then they would
get up to the top of the tree, from whence they doubted not to de-
fend themselves, fire excepted, as long as their ammunition lasted,
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
317
though all the savages that were landed, which was near fifty, were
to attack them.
Having resolved upon this, they next considered whether they should
fire at the first two, or wait for the three, and so take the middle party,
by which the two and the five that followed would be separated; at
length they resolved to let the first two pass by, unless they should spy
them in the tree, and come to attack them. The first two savages
confirmed them also in this resolution, by turning a little from them
toward another part of the wood; but the three, and the five after
them, came forward` directly to the tree, as if they had known the
Englishmen were there. Seeing them come so straight toward them,
they resolved to take them in a line as they came; and as they re-
solved to fire but one at a time, perhaps the first shot might hit them
all three; for which purpose, the man who was to fire put three or
four small bullets into his piece; and having a fair loophole, as it
were, from a broken hole in the tree, he took a sure aim, without be-
ing seen, waiting till they were within about thirty yards of the tree,
so that he could not miss.
While they were thus waiting, and the savages came on, they plainly
saw that one of the three was the runaway savage that had escaped
from them; and they both knew him distinctly, and resolved that, if
possible, he should not escape, though they should both fire; so the
other stood ready with his piece, that if he did not drop at the first
shot, he should be sure to have a second. But the first was too good
a marksman to miss his aim; for as the savages kept near one another,
a little behind, in a line, he fired, and hit two of them directly; the
foremost was killed outright, being shot in the head; the second, which
was the runaway Indian, was shot through the body, and fell but was
not quite dead; and the third had a little scratch on the shoulder,
perhaps by the same ball that went through the body of the second;
and being dreadfully frightened, though not so much hurt, sat down
upon the ground, screaming and yelling in a hideous manner.
The five that were behind, more frightened with the noise than sen-
sible of danger, stood still at first; for the woods made the sound a
thousand times bigger than it really was, the echoes rattling from one
side to another, and the fowls rising from all parts, screaming, and every
sort making a different noise, according to their kind; just as it was
when I fired the first gun that perhaps was ever shot off in the island.
However, all being silent again, and they not knowing what the
matter was, came on unconcerned, till they came to the place where
their companions lay, in a condition miserable enough; and here the
1
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ADVENTURES OF
poor ignorant creatures, not sensible that they were within reach of
the same mischief, stood all of a huddle over the wounded man, talk-
ing, and, as may be supposed, inquiring of him how he came to be
hurt; and who, it is very rational to believe, told them that a flash of
fire first, and immediately after that thunder from their gods, had kill-
ed those two and wounded him; this, I say, is rational; for nothing
is more certain than that, as they saw no man near them, so they had
never heard a gun in all their lives, nor so much as heard of a gun ;
neither knew they anything of killing and wounding at a distance
with fire and bullets; if they had, one might reasonably believe they
would not have stood so unconcerned in viewing the fate of their fel-
lows, without some appehensions of their own.
Our two men, though as they confessed to me, it grieved them to be
obliged to kill so many poor creatures, who, at the same time, had no
notion of their danger; yet, having them all thus in their power, and
the first having loaded his piece again, resolved to let fly both to-
gether among them; and singling out, by agreement, which to aim at,
they shot together, and killed, or very much wounded, four of them;
the fifth, frightened even to death, though not hurt, fell with the rest;
so that our men, seeing them all fall together, thought they had killed
them all.
The belief that the savages were all killed, made our two men come
boldly out from the tree before they had charged their guns, which
was a wrong step; and they were under some surprise when they
came to the place, and found no less than four of them alive, and of
them two very little hurt, and one not at all; this obliged them to
fall upon them with the stocks of their muskets; and first they made
sure of the runaway savage, that had been the cause of all the mis-
chief, and of another that was hurt in the knee, and put them out of
their pain; then the man that was not hurt at all came and kneeled
down to them, with his two hands held up, and made piteous moans
to them, by gestures and signs for his life, but could not say one word
to them that they could understand. IIowever, they made signs to
him to sit down at the foot of a tree hard by; and one of the English-
men, with a piece of rope twined, which he had by great chance in
his pocket, tied his two hands behind him, and there they left him;
and with what speed they could made after the other two, which were
gone before, fearing they or any of them, should find the way to their
covered place in the woods, where their wives, and the few goods
they had left, lay. They came once in sight of the two men, but it
was at a great distance; however, they had the satisfaction to see
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
319
them cross over a valley toward the sea, quite the contrary way from
that which led to their retreat, which they were afraid of; and being
satisfied of that, they went back to the tree where they left their
prisoner, who, as they supposed, was delivered by his comrades, for
he was gone, and the two pieces of rope-yarn, with which they had
bound him, lay just at the foot of the tree.
They were now in as great concern as before, not knowing what
course to take, or how near the enemy might be, or in what numbers;
so they resolved to go away to the place where their wives were, to
see if all was well there, and to make them easy, who were in fright
enough, to be sure; for though the savages were their own country-
folk, yet they were most terribly afraid of them, and perhaps the
more for the knowledge they had of them.
When they came there, they found the savages had been in the
wood, and very near that place, but had not found it; for it was in-
deed inaccessible, by the trees standing so thick, as before, unless the
persons seeking it had been directed by those that knew it, which
these did not; they found, therefore, everything very safe, only the
women in a terrible fright. While they were here, they had the
comfort to have seven of the Spaniards come to their assistance; the
other ten, with their servants, and old Friday, I mean Friday's father,
were gone in a body to defend their bower, and the corn and cattle
that were kept there, in case the savages should have roved over to
that side of the country; but they did not spread so far. With the
seven Spaniards came one of the three savages, who, as I said, were
their prisoners formerly; and with them also came the savage whom
the Englishmen had left bound hand and foot at the tree; for it seems
they came that way, saw the slaughter of the seven men, and unbound
the eighth, and brought him along with them; where, however, they
were obliged to bind him again, as they had the two others who were
left when the third ran away.
The prisoners now began to be a burthen to them; and they were
so afraid of their escaping, that they were once resolving to kill them
all, believing they were under an absolute necessity to do so for their
own preservation. However, the Spaniard governor would not con-
sent to it; but ordered, for the present, that they should be sent out
of the way, to my old cave in the valley, and be kept there, with two
Spaniards to guard them, and give them food for their subsistence,
which was done; and they were bound there hand and foot for that
night.
When the Spaniards came, the two Englishmen were so encouraged
>
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ADVENTURES OF
that they could not satisfy themselves to stay any longer there; but
taking five of the Spaniards and themselves, with four muskets and a
pistol among them, and two stout quarter-staves, away they went in
quest of the savages. And first they came to the tree where the men
lay that had been killed; but it was easy to see that some more of the
savages had been there, for they had attempted to carry their dead
men away, and had dragged two of them a good way, but had given
it over. From there they advanced to the first rising ground, where
they had stood and seen their camp destroyed, and where they had
the mortification still to see some of the smoke; but neither could
they here see any of the savages. They then resolved, though with
all possible caution, to go forward, toward their ruined plantation;
but a little before they came hither, coming in sight of the seashore,
they saw plainly the savages all embarked again in their canoes, in
order to be gone. They seemed sorry, at first, that there was no way
to come at them, to give them a parting blow; but, upon the whole,
they were very well satisfied to be rid of them.
The poor Englishmen being now twice ruined, and all their im-
provements destroyed, the rest all agreed to come and help them to
rebuild, and to assist them with needful supplies. Their three coun·
trymen, who were not yet noted for having the least inclination to do
any good, yet as soon as they heard of it (for they, living remote
eastward, knew nothing of the matter till all was over), came and
offered their help and assistance, and did very friendly work for
several days, to restore their habitation, and make necessaries for
them. And thus, in a little time, they were set upon their legs
again.
About two days after this, they had the further satisfaction of see-
ing three of the savages' canoes come driving on shore, and, at some
distance from them, two drowned men; by which they had reason to
believe that they had met with a storm at sea, which had overset
some of them; for it had blown very hard the night after they went off.
However, as some might miscarry, so, on the other hand, enough of
them escaped to inform the rest, as well of what they had done, as of
what happened to them, and to whet them on to another enterprise of
the same nature; which they, it seems, resolved to attempt, with
sufficient force to carry all before them; for except what the first man
had told them of inhabitants, they could say little of it of their own
knowledge, for they never saw one man; and the fellow being
killed that had affirmed it, they had no other witness to confirm it to
them.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
321
24T
It was five or six months after this, before they heard any more of
the savages, in which time our men were in hopes they either forgot
their former bad luck, or had given over hopes of better; when, on a
sudden, they were invaded with a most formidable fleet of no less than
eight-and-twenty canoes, full of savages, armed with bows and arrows,
great clubs, wooden swords, and such-like engines of war; and they
brought such numbers with them, that, in short, it put all our people
into the utmost consternation.
As they came on shore in the evening, and at the easternmost side
of the island, our men had that night to consult and consider what to
do; and, in the first place, knowing that their being entirely con-
cealed was their only safety before, and would be much more so now,
while the number of their enemies was so great, they therefore re-
solved, first of all, to take down the huts which were built for the two
Englishmen, and drive away their goats to the old cave; because they
supposed the savages would go directly thither, as soon as it was day,
to play the old game over again, though they did not now land within
two leagues of it. In the next place, they drove away all the flocks
of goats they had at the old bower, as I called it, which belonged to
the Spaniards; and, in short, left as little appearance of inhabitants
anywhere as was possible; and the next morning early they posted
themselves, with all their force, at the plantation of the two men, to
wait for their coming. As they guessed, so it happened; these new
invaders leaving their canoes at the east end of the island, came
ranging along the shore, directly toward the place, to the number of
two hundred and fifty, as near as our men could judge. Our army
was but small, indeed; but that which was worse, they had not arms
for all their number neither. The whole account, it seems, stood
thus: first, as to men, seventeen Spaniards, five Englishmen, old
Friday, or Friday's father, the three slaves taken with the women,
who proved very faithful, and three other slaves, who lived with the
Spaniards. To arm these, they had eleven muskets, five pistols, three
fowling-pieces, five muskets or fowling-pieces which were taken by
me from the mutinous seamen whom I reduced, two swords, and three
old halberds.
To their slaves they did not give either musket or fusee, but they
had every one a halberd, or a long staff, like a quarter-staff, with a
great spike of iron fastened into each end of it, and by his side a
hatchet; also, every one of our men had a hatchet. Two of the wo-
men could not be prevailed upon, but they would come into the fight,
and they had bows and arrows, which the Spaniards had taken from
14*
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ADVENTURES OF
the savages when the first action happened, which I have spoken of
where the Indians fought with one another, and the women had hat-
chets, too.
The Spaniard governor, whom I described so often, commanded the
whole, and Will Atkins, who, though a dreadful fellow for wicked-
edness, was a most daring, bold fellow, commanded under him. The
savages came forward like lions, and our men, which was the worst
of their fate, had no advantage in their situation; only that Will At-
kins, who now proved a most useful fellow, with six men, was planted
just behind a small thicket of bushes, as an advance guard, with
orders to let the first of them pass by, and then fire into the middle
of them, and as soon as he had fired, to make his retreat as nimble
as he could round a part of the wood, and so come in behind
the Spaniards, where they stood, having a thicket of trees before
them.
When the savages came on, they ran straggling about every way in
heaps, out of all manner of order, and Will Atkins let about fifty of
them pass by him, then, seeing the rest come in a very thick strong,
he orders three of his men to fire, having loaded their muskets with
six or seven bullets apiece, about as big as large pistol bullets. How
many they killed or wounded they knew not, but the consternation
and surprise were inexpressible among the savages; they were fright-
ened to the last degree to hear such a dreadful noise, and see their
men killed and others hurt, but see nobody that did it; when, in the
middle of their fright, Will Atkins and his other three let fly again
among the thickest of them, and in less than a minute, the first three
being loaded again, gave them a third volley.
Had Will Atkins and his men retired immediately, as soon as they
had fired, as they were ordered to do, or had the rest of the body been
at hand, to have poured in their shot continually, the savages would
have been effectually routed, for the terror that was among them came
principally from this, viz., that they were killed by the gods with
thunder and lightning, and could see nobody that hurt them; but
Will Atkins, staying to load again, discovered the cheat; some of the
savages who were at a distance spying them, came upon them be-
hind; and, though Atkins and his men fired at them, also, two or
three times, and killed above twenty, retiring as fast as they could,
yet they wounded Atkins himself and killed one of his fellow English-
men with their arrows, as they did afterward one Spaniard, and one
of the Indian slaves who came with the women.
This slave was a
most gallant fellow, and fought most desperately, killing five of them
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
323
!
with his own hand, having no weapon but one of the armed staves and
a hatchet.
Our men being thus hard laid at, Atkins wounded, and two other
men killed, retreated to a rising ground in the wood; and the Span-
iards, after firing three volleys upon them, retreated also; for their
number was so great, and they were so desperate, that though above
fifty of them were killed, and more than as many wounded, yet they
came on in the teeth of our men, fearless of danger, and shot their
arrows like a cloud; and it was observed that their wounded men,
who were not quite disabled, were made outrageous by their wounds,
and fought like madmen.
When our men retreated, they left the Spaniard and the English-
man that were killed behind them; and the savages, when they came
up to them, killed them over again in a wretched manner, breaking
their arms, legs, and heads, with their clubs and wooden swords, like
true savages, but finding our men were gone they did not seem to
pursue them, but drew themselves up in a ring, which is, it seems,
their custom, and shouted twice, in token of their victory, after which
they had the mortification to see several of their wounded men fall,
dying with the inere loss of blood.
The Spaniard governor having drawn his little body up together
upon a rising ground, Atkins, though he was wounded, would have
had them march, and charge again all together at once; but the
Spaniard replied, "Senhor Atkins, you see how their wounded men
fight; let them all alone till morning; all the wounded men will be
stiff and sore with their wounds, and faint with the loss of blood, and
so we shall have the fewer to engage." This advice was good, but
Will Atkins replied merrily, "That is true, senhor, and so shall I, too,
and that is the reason I would go on while I am warm."
“Well,
Senhor Atkins," says the Spaniard, "you have behaved gallantly and
done your part; we will fight for you, if you cannot come on, but I
think it best to stay till morning;" so they waited.
But as it was a clear moonlight night, and they found the savages
in great disorder about their dead and wounded men, and a great noise
and hurry among them where they lay, they afterward resolved to
fall upon them in the night; especially if they could come to give
them but one volley before they were discovered, which they had a
fair opportunity to do; for one of the Englishmen, in whose quarter
it was where the fight began, led them round between the woods and
the seaside, westward, and then turning short south, they came so near
where the thickest of them lay, that, before they were seen or heard,
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ADVENTURES OF
eight of them fired in among them, and did dreadful execution upon
them. In half a minute more eight others fired after them, pouring in
their small shot in such quantity that abundance were killed and
wounded, and all this while they were not able to see who hurt them,
or which way to fly.
The Spaniards charged again with the utmost expedition, and then
divided themselves in three bodies, and resolved to fall in among
them all together. They had in each body eight persons, that is to
say, twenty-two, and two women, who, by the way, fought despe-
rately. They divided the firearms equally in each party, and so the
halberds and staves. They would have had the women kept back,
but they said they were resolved to die with their husbands. Hav-
ing thus formed their little army, they marched out from among the
trees, and came up to the teeth of the enemy, shouting and hallooing
as loud as they could. The savages stood all together, but were in
the utmost confusion, hearing the noise of our men shouting from
three quarters together: they would have fought if they had seen us,
for as soon as we came near enough to be seen, some arrows were
shot, and poor old Friday was wounded, though not dangerously; but
our men gave them no time, but, running up to them, fired among
them three ways, and then fell in with the butt-ends of their muskets,
their swords, armed staves, and hatchets, and laid about them so well
that, in a word, they set up a dismal screaming and howling, flying to
save their lives which way soever they could.
Our men were tired with the execution, and killed or mortally;
wounded in two fights about one hundred and eighty of them; the
rest being frightened out of their wits, scoured through the woods and
over the hills, with all the speed fear and nimble feet could help them*
to; and as we did not trouble ourselves much to pursue them, they
got altogether to the seaside where they landed, and where their ca-
noes lay. But their disasters were not at an end yet; for it blew a
terrible storm of wind that evening from the sea, so that it was im-
possible for them to go off; nay, the storm continuing all night, when
the tide came up, their canoes were most of them driven by the surge
of the sea so high upon the shore, that it required infinite toil to get
them off; and some of them were even dashed to pieces against the
beach, or against one another.
Our men, though glad of their victory, yet got little rest that night,
but having refreshed themselves as well as they could, they resolved
to march to that part of the island, where the savages had fled, and
see what posture they were in. This necessarily led them over the
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
325
place where the fight had been, and where they found several of the
poor creatures not quite dead, and yet past recovering life; a sight
disagreeable enough to generous minds; for a truly great man, though
obliged by the law of battle to destroy his enemy, takes no delight in
his misery. However, there was no need to give any orders in this
case, for their own savages, who were their servants, dispatched these
poor creatures with their hatchets.
At length they came in view of the place where the more misera-
ble remains of the savages' army lay, where there appeared about a
hundred still; their posture was generally sitting upon the ground,
with their knees up toward their mouth, and the head put between
the two hands, leaning down upon the knees.
When our men came within two musket-shots of them, the Span-
iard governor ordered two muskets to be fired without ball, to alarm
them; this he did, that by their countenance he might know what to
expect, viz., whether they were still in heart to fight, or were so heart-
ily beaten as to be dispirited and discouraged, and so he might man-
age accordingly. This stratagem took; for as soon as the savages
heard the first gun and saw the flash of the second, they started up
upon their feet in the greatest consternation imaginable; and as our
men advanced swiftly toward them, they all ran screaming and yell-
ing away, with a kind of howling noise, which our men did not un-
derstand, and had never heard before; and thus they ran up the hills
into the country.
At first our men had much rather the weather had been calm, and
they had all gone away to sea; but they did not then consider that
this might probably have been the occasion of their coming again in
such multitudes as not to be resisted, or, at least, to come so many,
and so often, as would quite desolate the island and starve them. Will
Atkins, therefore, who, notwithstanding his wound, kept always with
them, proved the best counsellor in this case; his advice was, to take
the advantage that offered, and clap in between them and their boats,
and so deprive them of the capacity of ever returning any more to
plague the island.
They consulted long about this; and some were against it, for fear
of making the wretches fly to the woods and live there, desperate,
and so they should have them to hunt like wild beasts, be afraid to
stir out about their business, and have their plantation continually
rifled, all their tame goats destroyed, and, in short, be reduced to a
life of continual distress.
Will Atkins told them they had better have to do with a hundred
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ADVENTURES OF
men than a hundred nations; that as they must destroy their boats.
so they must destroy the men, or be all of them destroyed themselves.
In a word, he showed them the necessity of it so plainly, that they
all came into it; so they went to work immediately with the boats,
and getting some dry wood together from a dead tree, they tried to
set some of them on fire, but they were so wet they would not burn;
however, the fire so burned the upper part, that it soon made them
unfit for swimming in the sea as boats. When the Indians saw what
they were about, some of them came running out of the woods, and
coming as near as they could to our men, kneeled down and cried,
Oa, Oa, Waramokoa," and some other words of their language,
which none of the others understood anything of; but as they made
pitiful gestures and strange noises, it was easy to understand they
begged to have their boats spared, and they would begone, and never
come there again. But our men were now satisfied that they had
no way to preserve themselves, or to save their colony, but effectu-
ally to prevent any of these people from ever going home again; de-
pending upon this, that if even so much as one of them got back into
their country to tell the story, the colony was undone; so that letting
them know that they should not have any mercy, they fell to work
with their canoes, and destroyed them every one that the storm had
not destroyed before; at the sight of which the savages raised a hideous
cry in the woods, which our people heard plain enough, after which
they ran about the island like distracted men; so that, in a word, our
men did not really know at first what to do with them. Nor did the
Spaniards, with all their prudence, consider, that while they made
those people thus desperate, they ought to have kept a good guard at
the same time upon their plantations; for though it is true, they had
driven away their cattle, and the Indians did not find out their main
retreat, I mean my old castle at the hill, nor the cave in the valley,
yet they found out my plantation at the bower, and pulled it all to
pieces, and all the fences and planting about it; trod all the corn un-
der foot, tore up the vines and grapes, being just then almost ripe,
and did our men an inestimable damage, though to themselves not one
farthing's worth of service.
Though our men were able to fight them upon all occasions, yet
they were in no condition to pursue them, or hunt them up and down;
for as they were too nimble of foot for our men, when they found
them single, so our men durst not go abroad single for fear of being-
surrounded with their numbers. The best was, they had no weapons;
for though they had bows, they had no arrows left, nor any materials
to make any; nor had they any edge tool or weapon among them.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
327
The extremity and distress they were reduced to was great, and in-
deed, deplorable; but at the same time, our men were also brought to
very bad circumstances by them; for though their retreats were pre-
served, yet their provision was destroyed, and their harvest spoiled
and what to do, or which way to turn themselves, they knew not.
The only refuge they had now was, the stock of cattle they had in the
valley by the cave, and some little corn which grew there, and the
plantation of the three Englishmen, Will Atkins and his comrades
who were now reduced to two; one of them being killed by an ar-
row, which struck him on the side of his head, just under the temples,
so that he never spoke more; and it was very remarkable, that this
was the same barbarous fellow that cut the poor savage slave with
his hatchet, and who afterward intended to have murdered the
Spaniards.
I looked upon their case to have been worse at this time than mine
was at any time, after I first discovered the grains of barley and rice,
and got into the manner of planting and raising my corn, and my
tame cattle; for now they had, as I may say, a hundred wolves upon
the island, which would devour everything they could come at, yet
could be hardly come at themselves.
When they saw what their circumstances were, the first thing they
concluded was, that they would, if possible, drive them up to the far-
ther part of the island, southwest, that if any more savages came on
shore they might not find one another; then they would daily hunt
and harass them, and kill as many of them as they could come at,
till they had reduced their number; and if they could at last tame
them, and bring them to anything, they would give them corn, and
teach them how to plant, and live upon their daily labor.
In order to do this, they so followed them and so terrified them with
their guns, that in a few days, if any of them fired a gun at an Indian,
if he did not hit him yet he would fall down for fear, and so dreadfully
frightened they were, that they kept out of sight farther and farther,
till at last, our men following them and almost every day killing or
wounding some of them, they kept up in the woods or hollow places
so much that it reduced them to the utmost misery for want of food;
and many were afterward found dead in the woods, without any hurt,
absolutely starved to death.
When our men found this it made their hearts relent, and pity
moved them, especially the Spanish governor, who was the most gen-
tlemanlike, generous-minded man that I ever met with in my life,
and he proposed, if possible, to take one of them alive, and bring him
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ADVENTURES OF
to understand what they meant, so far as to be able to act as inter-
preter, and go among them, and see if they might be brought to some
conditions that might be depended upon, to save their lives and do us
no harm.
It was some while before any of them could be taken; but, being
weak and half starved, one of them was at last surprised and made a
prisoner. He was sullen at first, and would neither eat nor drink,
but finding himself kindly used, and victuals given him, and no vio-
lence offered him, he at last grew tractable and came to himself.
They brought old Friday to him, who talked often with him, and told
him how kind the others would be to them all; that they would not
only save their lives, but would give them part of the island to live
in, provided they would give satisfaction that they would keep in
their own bounds, and not come beyond it to injure or prejudice
others, and that they should have corn-given them to plant and make
it
grow for their bread, and some bread given them for their present
subsistence; and old Friday bade the fellow go and talk with the rest
of his countrymen, and see what they said to it, assuring them that if
they did not agree immediately they should be all destroyed.
The poor wretches, thoroughly humbled, and reduced in number to
about thirty-seven, closed with the proposal at the first offer, and beg-
ged to have some food given them; upon which, twelve Spaniards and
two Englishmen, well armed, with three Indian slaves and old Fri-
day, marched to the place where they were. The three Indian slaves
carried them a large quantity of bread, some rice boiled up to cakes
and dried in the sun, and three live goats; and they were ordered to
go to the side of a hill, where they sat down, ate their provisions very
thankfully, and were the most faithful fellows to their words that
could be thought of, for, except when they came to beg victuals and
directions, they never came out of their bounds; and there they lived
when I came to the island, and I went to see them.
They had taught them both to plant corn, make bread, breed tame
goats, and milk them: they wanted nothing but wives, and they soon
would have been a nation. They were confined to a neck of land,
surrounded with high rocks behind them, and lying plain toward the
sea before them, on the southeast corner of the island. They had land
enough, and it was very good and fruitful, about a mile and a half
broad and three or four miles in length.
Our men taught them to make wooden spades, such as I made for
myself, and gave among them twelve hatchets and three or four
knives; and there they lived, the most subjected, innocent creatures,
that ever were heard of.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
329
After this the colony enjoyed a perfect tranquillity with respect to
the savages, till I came to re-visit them, which was about two years
after; not but that, now and then, some canoes of savages came on
shore for their triumphal, unnatural feasts; but, as they were of seve-
ral nations, and perhaps had never heard of those that came before,
or the reason of it, they did not make any search or inquiry after
their countrymen; and if they had, it would have been very hard to
have found them out.
Thus, I think I have given a full account of all that happened to
them till my return, at least, that was worth notice. The Indians
or savages were wonderfully civilized by them, and they frequently
went among them, but forbade, on pain of death, any one of the In-
dians coming to them, because they would not have their settlement
betrayed again. One thing was very remarkable, viz., that they
taught the savages to make wicker-work, or baskets, but they soon
outdid their masters, for they made abundance of most ingenious
things in wicker-work, particularly all sorts of baskets, sieves, bird
cages, cupboards, etc., as also chairs to sit on, stools, beds, couches
and abundance of other things, being very ingenious at such work,
when they were once put in the way of it.
My coming was a particular relief to these people, because we fur-
nished them with knives, scissors, spades, shovels, pickaxes, and all
things of that kind which they could want. With the help of those
tools they were so very handy, that they came at last to build up
their huts or houses very handsomely, raddling or working it up like
basket-work, all the way round, which was a very extraordinary piece
of ingenuity, and looked very odd, but was an exceeding good fence
as well against heat as against all sorts of vermin; and our men
were so taken with it that they got the wild savages to come and do
the like for them, so that when I came to see the two Englishmen's
colonies, they looked, at a distance, as if they all lived like bees in
a hive. As for Will Atkins, who was now become a very industri-
ous, useful, and sober fellow, he had made himself such a tent of
basket-work, as, I believe, was never seen; it was one hundred and
twenty paces round on the outside, as I measured by my steps; the
walls were as close worked as a basket, in panels or squares of thirty-
two in number, and very strong, standing about seven feet high; in
the middle was another, not above twenty-two paces round, but built
stronger, being octagon in its form, and in the eight corners stood
eight very strong posts, round the top of which he laid strong pieces,
pinned together with wooden pins, from which he raised a pyramid
[rob
韪
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ADVENTURES OF
for a roof of eight rafters, very handsome, I assure you, and joined
together very well, though he had no nails and only a few iron spikes,
which he made himself, too, out of the old iron that I left there; and,
indeed, this fellow showed abundance of ingenuity in several things
which he had no knowledge of. He made him a forge, with a pair
of wooden bellows to blow the fire; he made himself charcoal for his
work, and he formed out of the iron crows a middling good anvil to
hammer upon. In this manner he made many things, but especially
hooks, staples and spikes, bolts, and hinges. But, to return to the
house. After he had pitched the roof of his innermost tent, he work-
ed it up between the rafters with basket-work, so firm, and thatched
that over again so ingeniously with rice straw, and over that a large
leaf of a tree, which covered the top, that his house was as dry as if
it had been entiled or slated. Indeed, he owned that the savages had
made the basket-work for him. The outer circuit was covered as a
lean-to, all round this inner apartment, and long rafters lay from the
thirty-two angles to the top posts of the inner house, being about
twenty feet distant, so that there was a space like a walk within the
outer wicker wall and without the inner, near twenty feet wide.
The inner place he partitioned off with the same wicker-work, but
much fairer, and divided into six apartments, so that he had six rooms
on a floor, and out of every one of these there was a door; first, into
the entry, or coming into the main tent, another door into the main
tent, and another door into the space or walk that was round it; so
that walk was also divided into six equal parts, which served not only
for a retreat, but to store up any necessaries which the family had
occasion for. These six spaces not taking up the whole circumference,
what other apartments the outer circle had were thus ordered: as
soon as you were in at the door of the outer circle, you had a short
passage straight before you to the door of the inner house; but on
either side was a wicker partition, and a door in it, by which you
went first into a large room or store-house, twenty feet wide, and
about thirty feet long, and through that into another, not quite so
long; so that in the outer circle were ton handsome rooms, six of
which were only to be come at through the apartments of the inner
tent, and served as closets or retiring rooms to the respective chambers
of the inner circle; and four large warehouses, or barns, or what
you please to call them, which went through one another, two on
either hand of the passage that led through the outer door to the
inner tent.
Such a piece of basket-work, I believe, was never seen in the
<
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
331
world, nor a house or tent so neatly contrived, much less so built. In
this great bee-hive lived the three families, that is to say, Will Atkins
and his companion; the third was killed, but his wife remained, with
three children, for she was, it seems, big with child when he died; and
the other two were not at all backward to give the widow her full
share of everything, I mean as to their corn, milk, grapes, &c., and
when they killed a kid, or found a turtle on the shore; so that they
all lived well enough; though it was true they were not so industrious
as the other two, as has been observed already.
One thing, however, cannot be omitted, viz., that, as for religion, I
do not know that there was anything of that kind among them; they
often, indeed, put one another in mind that there was a God, by the
very common method of seamen, viz., swearing by his name; nor
were their poor ignorant savage wives much better for having been
married to Christians, as we must call them; for as they knew very
little of God themselves, so they were utterly incapable of entering
into any discourse with their wives about a God, or to talk anything
to them concerning religion.
The utmost of all the improvement which I can say the wives had
made from them was, that they had taught them to speak English
pretty well; and most of their children, which were near twenty in
all, were taught to speak English too, from their first learning to
speak, though they at first spoke it in a very broken manner, like
their mothers. There was none of these children above six years
old when I came thither, for it was not much above seven years that
they had fetched these five savage ladies over; but they had all been
pretty fruitful, for they had all children, more or less; I think the
cook's mate's wife was big of her sixth child; and the mothers were
all a good sort of well-governed, quiet, laborious women, modest and
decent, helpful to one another, mighty observant and subject to their
masters (I cannot call them husbands), and wanted nothing but to be
well instructed in the Christian religion, and to be legally married ;
both which were happily brought about afterward by my means, or,
at least, in consequence of my coming among them.
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Chapter Thirty-Seven.
Robinson Learns from the Spaniards the Difficulties they had to encounter-He
Furnishes the People with Tools, &c.-The French Ecclesiastic.

AVING thus given an account of the colony in general, and
pretty much of my runagate English, I must say something
of the Spaniards, who were the main body of the family, and
in whose story there are some incidents also remarkable
B
enough.
I had a great many discourses with them about their circumstances
when they were among the savages. They told me readily that they
had no instances to give of their application or ingenuity in that
country; that they were a poor, miserable, dejected handful of people ;
that if means had been put into their hands, yet they had so aban-
doned themselves to despair, and so sunk under the weight of their
misfortunes, that they thought of nothing but starving. One of them,
a grave and sensible man, told me he was convinced they were in the
wrong; that it was not the part of wise men to give themselves up to
their misery, but always to take hold of the helps which reason
offered, as well for present support as for future deliverance; he told
me that grief was the most senseless insignificant passion in the
world, for that it regarded only things past, which were generally
impossible to be recalled, or to be remedied, but had no views of
things to come, and had no share in anything that looked like deliver-
ance, but rather added to the affliction than proposed a remedy; and
upon this he repeated a Spanish proverb, which though I cannot re-
peat just the same words that he spoke it in, yet I remember I made
it into an English proverb of my own, thus:
In trouble to be troubled,
Is to have your trouble doubled.
He ran on then in remarks upon all the little improvements I had
made in my solitude; my unwearied application, as he called it ; and
how I had made a condition which in its circumstances was at first
much worse than theirs, a thousand times more happy than theirs
was, even now when they were all together. He told me that it was
remarkable that Englishmen had a greater presence of mind, in their
distress, than any people that ever he met with; that their unhappy
Xx
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
333
nation and the Portuguese were the worst men in the world to
struggle with misfortunes; for that their first step in dangers, after
the common efforts were over, was to despair, lie down under it, and
die, without rousing their thoughts up to proper remedies for escape.
I told him their case and mine differed exceedingly; that they were
cast upon the shore without necessaries, without supply of food, or
present sustenance till they could provide it; that it was true, I had
this disadvantage and discomfort, that I was alone; but then the sup-
plies I had providentially thrown into my hands, by the unexpected
driving of the ship on shore, was such a help as would have en-
couraged any creature in the world to have applied himself as I had
done. "Senhor," says the Spaniard, "had we poor Spaniards been
in your case, we should never have got half those things out of the
ship, as you did; nay," says he, "we should never have found
means to have got a raft to carry them, or to have got the raft on
shore without boat or sail; and how much less should we have done
if any of us had been alone!" Well, I desired him to abate his com-
pliment, and go on with the history of their coming on shore, where
they landed. He told me they unhappily landed at a place where
there were people without provisions; whereas, had they the common
sense to have put off to sea again, and gone to another island a little
farther, they had found provisions, though without people; there
being an island that way, as they had been told, where there were
provisions, though no people; that is to say, that the Spaniards of
Trinidad had frequently been there, and had filled the island with
goats and hogs at several times, where they had bred in such multi-
tudes, and where turtle and seafowls were in such plenty, that they
could have been in no want of flesh, though they had found no bread;
whereas, here, they were only sustained with a few roots and herbs,
which they understood not, and which had no substance in them, and
which the inhabitants gave them sparingly enough; and who could
treat them no better, unless they would turn cannibals, aud eat men's
flesh, which was the great dainty of their country.
They gave me an account how many ways they strove to civilize
the savages they were with, and to teach them rational customs in
the ordinary way of living, but in vain; and how they retorted it
upon them, as unjust, that they, who came there for assistance and
support, should attempt to set up for instructors of those that gave
them food; intimating, it seems, that none should set up for the in-
structors of others, but those who could live without them.
They gave me dismal accounts of the extremities they were driven
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to; how sometimes they were many days without any food at all, the
island they were upon being inhabited by a sort of savages that lived
more indolent, and for that reason were less supplied with the neces-
saries of life, than they had reason to believe others were in the same
part of the world; and yet they found that these savages were less
ravenous and voracious than those who had better supplies of food
Also they added, they could not but see with what demonstrations of
wisdom and goodness the governing providence of God directs the
events of things in the world; which, they said, appeared in their
circumstances; for if, pressed by the hardships they were under, aud
barrenness of the country where they were, they had searched after
a better to live in, they had then been out of the way of the relief
that happened to them by my means.
They then gave me an account how the savages whom they lived
among expected them to go out with them into their wars; and, it
was true, that as they had firearms with them, had they not had the
disaster to lose their ammunition, they should have been serviceable
not only to their friends, but have made themselves terrible both to
friends and enemies; but being without powder and shot, and yet in
a condition that they could not in reason deny to go out with their
landlords to their wars, so when they came into the field of battle,
they were in a worse condition than the savages themselves: for they
had neither bows nor arrows, nor could they use those the savages
gave them; so they could do nothing but stand still, and be wounded
with arrows, till they came up to the teeth of their enemy; and then,
indeed, the three halberds they had were of use to them; and they
would often drive a whole little army before them with those halberds,
and sharpened sticks put into the muzzles of their muskets: but that,
for all this, they were sometimes surrounded with multitudes, and in
great danger from their arrows, till at last they found the way to
make themselves large targets of wood, which they covered with skins
of wild beasts, whose names they knew not, and these covered them
from the arrows of the savages: yet, notwithstanding these, they were
sometimes in great danger; and five of them were once knocked down
together with the clubs of the savages, which was the time when one
of them was taken prisoner, that is to say, the Spaniard whom I had
relieved: that at first they thought he had been killed; but when
they afterward heard he was taken prisoner, they were under the
greatest grief imaginable, and would willingly have all ventured
their lives to have rescued him.
They told me that when they were so knocked down, the rest of
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
335
I
their company rescued them, and stood over them fighting till they
were come to themselves, all but him who they thought had been
dead; and then they made their way with their halberds and pieces,
standing close together in a line, through a body of above a thousand
savages, beating down all that came in their way, got the victory over
their enemies, but to their great sorrow, because it was with the loss
of their friend, whom the other party, finding him alive, carried off,
with some others, as I gave an account before.
They described most affectionately how they were surprised with
joy at the return of their friend and companion in misery, who, they
thought, had been devoured by wild beasts of the worst kind, viz., by
wild men; and yet how more and more they were surprised with the
account he gave them of his errand, and that there was a Christian in
any place near, much more one that was able, and had humanity
enough, to contribute to their deliverance.
They described how they were astonished at the sight of the relief
I sent them, and at the appearance of loaves of bread, things they
had not seen since their coming to that miserable place: how often
they crossed it and blessed it as bread sent from Heaven; and what a
reviving cordial it was to their spirits to taste it, as also the other
things I had sent for their supply; and, after all, they would have
told me something of the joy they were in at the sight of a boat and
pilots, to carry them away to the person and place from whence all
these new comforts came, but it was impossible to express it by words,
for their excessive joy naturally driving them to unbecoming ex-
travagances, they had no way to describe them, but by telling me
they bordered upon lunacy, having no way to give vent to their pas-
sions suitable to the sense that was upon them; that in some it
worked one way, and in some another; and that some of them,
through a surprise of joy, would burst into tears, others be stark mad,
and others immediately faint. This discourse extremely affected me,
and called to my mind Friday's ecstacy when he met his father, and
the poor people's ecstacy when I took them up at sea after their ship
was on fire; the joy of the mate of the ship when he found himself
delivered in the place where he expected to perish; and my own joy,
when, after twenty-eight years' captivity, I found a good ship ready
to carry me to my own country. All these things made me more
sensible of the relation of these poor men, and more affected with it.
Having thus given a view of the state of things as I found them, I
must relate the heads of what I did for these people, and the condi-
tion in which I left them. It was their opinion, and mine, too, that
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ADVENTURES OF
they would be troubled no more with the savages, or, if they were,
they would be able to cut them off, if they were twice as many as be-
fore; so they had no concern about that. Then I entered into a
serious discourse with the Spaniard, whom I call governor, about
their stay in the island; for as I was not come to carry any of them
off, so it would not be just to carry off some and leave others, who,
perhaps, would be unwilling to stay if their strength was diminished.
On the other hand, I told them I came to establish them there, not to
remove them: and then I let them know that I had brought with me
relief of sundry kinds for them; that I had been at a great charge to
supply them with all things necessary, as well for their convenience
as their defence; and that I had such and such particular persons
with me, as well to increase and recruit their number, as by the par-
ticular necessary employments which they were bred to, being artifi-
cers, to assist them in those things in which at present they were in
want.
They were altogether when I talked thus to them; and before I de-
livered to them the stores I had brought, I asked them, one by one,
if they had entirely forgot and buried the first animosities that had
been among them, and would shake hands with one another, and
engage in a strict friendship and union of interest, that so there might
be no more misunderstandings and jealousies.
Will Atkins, with abundance of frankness and good humor, said
they had met with affliction enough to make them all sober, and ene-
mies enough to make them all friends; that, for his part, he would
live and die with them: and was so far from designing anything
against the Spaniards, that he owned they had done nothing to him
but what his own mad humor made necessary, and what he would
have done, and perhaps worse, in their case; and that he would ask
them pardon, if I desired it, for the foolish and brutish things he had
done to them, and was very willing and desirous of living in terms
of entire friendship and union with them, and would do anything
that lay in his power to convince them of it: and as for going to
England, he cared not if he did not go thither these twenty years.
The Spaniards said they had, indeed, at first disarmed and excluded
Will Atkins and his two countrymen for their ill conduct, as they had
let me know, and they appealed to me for the necessity they were
under to do so, but that Will Atkins had behaved himself so bravely
in the great fight they had with the savages, and on several occasions
since, and had showed himself so faithful to, and concerned for, the
general interest of them all, that they had forgotten all that was past,
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
337
J
and thought he merited as much to be trusted with arms and supplied
with necessaries as any of them; aud they had testified their satisfac-
tion in him by committing the command to him, next to the governor
himself; and as they had entire confidence in him, and all his coun-
trymen, so they acknowledged they had merited that confidence by
all the methods that honest men could merit to be valued and trusted,
and they most heartily embraced the occasion of giving me this assu-
rance, that they would never have any interest separate from one an-
other.
Upon these frank and open declarations of friendship, we appointed
the next day to dine all together, and, indeed, we made a splendid
feast. I caused the ship's cook and his mate to come on shore and
dress our dinner, and the old cook's mate we had on shore assisted.
We brought on shore six pieces of good beef, and four pieces of pork
out of the ship's provision, with our punch-bowl, and materials to fill
it; and, in particular, I gave them ten bottles of French claret, and
ten bottles of English beer-things that neither the Spaniards nor the
English had tasted for many years, and which, it may be supposed,
they were very glad of. The Spaniards added to our feast five whole
kids, which the cooks roasted; and three of them were sent, covered
up close, on board the ship to the seamen, that they might feast on
fresh meat from on shore, as we did with their salt meat from on
board.
་
After this feast, at which we were very innocently merry, I brought
out my cargo of goods. Wherein that there might be no dispute
about dividing, I showed them that there was a sufficiency for them
all, desiring that they might all take an equal quantity of the goods
that were for wearing, that is to say, equal when made up: as, first,
I distributed linen sufficient to make every one of them four shirts,
and, at the Spaniard's request, afterward made them up to six. These
were exceedingly comfortable to them, having been what, as I may
say, they had long since forgot the use of, or what it was to wear
them. I allotted the English thin stuffs, which I mentioned before,
to make every one a light coat like a frock, which I judged fittest for
the heat of the season, cool and loose, and ordered that whenever they
decayed they should make more, as they thought fit. The like for
pumps, shoes, stockings, hats, etc.
I cannot express what pleasure, what satisfaction, sat upon the
countenances of all these poor men, when they saw the care I had
taken of them, and how well I had furnished them. They told me I
was a father to them, and that, having such a correspondent as I was
15
338
ADVENTURES OF
in so remoto a part of the world, it would make them forget that they
were left in a desolate place; and they all voluntarily engaged to me
not to leave the place without my consent.
Then I presented to them the people I had brought with me, par-
ticularly the tailor, the smith, and the two carpenters, all of them
most necessary people; but, above all, my general artificer, than
whom they could not name anything that was more useful to them.
And the tailor, to show his concern for them, went to work imme-
diately, and, with my leave, made them every one a shirt, the first
thing he did; and, which was still more, he taught the women not
only how to sew and stitch, and use the needle, but made them assist
to make the shirts for their husbands and for all the rest.
As to the carpenters, I scarce need mention how useful they
were, for they took to pieces all my clumsy, unhandy things, and
made them clever, convenient tables, stools, bedsteads, cupboa: ds,
lockers, shelves, and everything they wanted of that kind. But, to
let them see how nature made artificers, at first I carried the carpen-
ter to see Will Atkins's basket-house, as I called it, and they both
owned they never saw an instance of such natural ingenuity before,
nor anything so regular and so handily built, at least of its kind; and
one of them, when he saw it, after musing a good while, turning
about to me, "I am sure," says he, "that man has no need of us; you
need do nothing but give him tools.
Then I brought them out all my store of tools, and gave every man
a digging spade, a shovel, and a rake, for we had no harrows or
ploughs, and to every separate place a pickaxe, a crow, a broadaxe,
and a saw; always appointing that as often as any were broken or
worn out, they should be supplied, without grudging, out of the gene-
ral stores that I left behind. Nails, staples, hinges, hammers, chisels,
knives, scissors, and all sorts of iron-work, they had without tale, as
they required; for no man would take more than he wanted, and he
must be a fool that would waste or spoil them on any account what-
ever; and, for the use of the smith, I left two tons of unwrought iron
for a supply.
My magazine of powder and arms which I brought them was such,
even to profusion, that they could not but rejoice at them; for now
they could march as I used to do, with a musket upon each shoulder,
if there was occasion, and were able to fight a thousand savages, if
they had but some little advantages of situation, which, also, they
could not miss, if they had occasion.
I carried on shore with me the young man whose mother was
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
339
starved to death, and the maid, also. She was a sober, well educa-
ted, religious young woman, and behaved so inoffensively that every
one gave her a good word. She had, indeed, an unhappy life with us,
there being no woman in the ship but herself, but she bore it with
patience. After a while, seeing things so well ordered, and in so fine
a way of thriving upon my island, and considering that they had nei-
ther business nor acquaintance in the East Indies, or reason for taking
so long a voyage; I say, considering all this, both of them came to
me, and desired I would give them leave to remain on the island, and
be entered among my family, as they called it. I agreed to this
readily; and they had a little plot of ground allotted to them, where
they had three tents or houses set up, surrounded with a basket-work,
palisadoed like Atkins's, adjoining to his plantation. Their tents were
contrived so that they had each of them a room apart to lodge in, and
a middle tent, like a great store-house, to lay their goods in, and to
eat and drink in. And now the other two Englishmen removed their
habitation to the same place; and so the island was divided into three
colonies, and no more, viz., the Spaniards, with old Friday and the
first servants, at my old habitation under the hill-which was, in a
word, the capital city-and where they had so enlarged and extended
their works, as well under as on the outside of the hill, that they lived
though perfectly concealed, yet full at large. Never was there such
a little city in a wood, and so hid, in any part of the world; for I
verily believe a thousand men might have ranged the island a month,
and, if they had not known there was such a thing, and looked on
purpose for it, they would not have found it; for the trees stood so
thick and so close, and grew so fast woven one into another, that
nothing but cutting them down first could discover the place, except the
only two narrow entrances where they went in and out could be found,
which was not very easy. One of them was close down at the water's
edge, on the side of the creek, and it was afterward about two hun-
dred yards to the place; and the other was up a ladder at twice, as I
have already formally described it. And they had, also, a large wood
thick planted on the top of the hill, containing above an acre, which
grew apace, and concealed the place from all discovery there, with
only one narrow place between two trees, not easily to be discovered,
to enter on that side.
The other colony was that of Will Atkins, where there were four
families of Englishmen, I mean those I had left there, with their wives
and children: three savages that were slaves; the widow and the
children of the Englishman that was killed; the young man and the
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ADVENTURES OF
*
*
maid; and, by the way, we made a wife of her before we went away.
There was also the two carpenters and the tailor, whom I brought
with me for them; also the smith, who was a very necessary man to
them, especially as a gunsmith, to take care of their arms; and my
other man, whom I called Jack-of-all-trades, who was, in himself, as
good almost as twenty men; for he was not only a very ingenious
fellow, but a very merry fellow; and before I went away we married
him to the honest maid that came with the youth in the ship I men-
tioned before.
And now I speak of marrying, it brings me naturally to say some-
thing of the French ecclesiastic that I had brought with me out of
the ship's crew whom I took up at sea. It is true this man was a
Roman, and perhaps it may give offence to some Hereafter, if I leave
anything extraordinary upon record of a man whom, before I began,
I must (to set him out in just colors) represent in terms very much to
his disadvantage, in the account of Protestants: as first, that he was a
Papist; secondly, a Popish priest; and thirdly, a French Popish priest.
But justice demands of me to give him a due character; and I must
say, he was a grave, sober, pious, and most religious person; exact in
his life, extensive in his charity, and exemplary in almost everything
he did. What then can any one say against being very sensible of
the value of such a man, notwithstanding his profession? though it
may be my opinion, perhaps, as well as the opinion of others who shall
read this, that he was mistaken.
The first hour that I began to converse with him after he had agreed
to go with me to the East Indies, I found reason to delight exceed-
ingly in his conversation; and he first began with me about religion,
in the most obliging manner imaginable. "Sir," said he, "you have not
only under God" (and at that he crossed his breast) "saved my life, but
you have admitted me to go this voyage in your ship, and by your
obliging civility have taken me into your family, giving me an oppor-
tunity of free conversation. Now, sir, you see by my habit what my
profession is, and I guess, by your nation, what yours is; I may think
it is my duty, and doubtless it is so, to use my utmost endeavors on all
occasions, to bring all the souls I can to the knowledge of the truth,
and to embaace the Catholic doctrine; but as I am here under your
permission, and in your family, I am bound, in justice to your kind-
ness, as well as in decency and good manners, to be under your gov-
ernment; and, therefore, I shall not, without your leave, enter into
any debate on the points of religion in which we may not agree, fur-
ther than you shall give me leave.
}
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
341
A
I told him his carriage was so modest, that I could not but ac-
knowledge it; that it was true, we were such people as they called her-
etics, but that he was not the first Catholic I bad conversed with with-
out falling into inconveniences, or carrying the questions to any
height in debate; that he should not find himself the worse used for
being of a different opinion from us; and if we did not converse with-
out any dislike on either side, it should be his fault, not ours.
He replied, that he thought all our conversation might be easily
separated from disputes; that it was not his business to cap principles
with every man he conversed with; and that he rather desired me to
converse with him as a gentleman than as a religionist; and that,
if I would give him leave, at any time, to discourse upon religious
subjects, he would readily comply with it, and that he did not doubt
but I would allow him to defend his own opinions as well as he could;
but that, without my leave, he would not break in upon me with any
such thing. He told me farther, that he would not cease to do all
that became bim, in his office as a priest as well as a private Christian,
to procure the good of the ship, and the safety of all that was in her,
and though, perhaps, we would not join with him, and he could not pray
with us, he hoped he might pray for us, which he would do upon all
occasions. In this manner we conversed; and, as he was of the most
obliging gentleman-like behavior, so he was, if I may be allowed to
say so, a man of good sense, and, as I believe, of great learning.
He gave me a most diverting account of his life, and of the many
extraordinary events of it; of many adventures which had befallen
him in the few years that he had been abroad in the world; and par-
ticularly this was very remarkable, viz., that in the voyage he was
now engaged in, he had the misfortune to be five times shipped and
unshipped, and never to go to the place whither any of the ships he
was in were at first designed. That his first intent was to have gone
to Martinico, and that he went on board a ship bound thither at St.
Malo; but being forced into Lisbon, by bad weather, the ship received
some damage by running aground in the mouth of the river Tagus,
and was obliged to unload her cargo there; but finding a Portuguese
ship there bound to the Madeiras, and ready to sail, and supposing he
should easily meet with a vessel there, bound to Martinico, he went
on board, in order to sail to the Madeiras; but the master of the Por-
tuguese ship, being but an indifferent mariner, had been out of his
reckoning, and they drove to Fayal; where, however, he happened to
find a very good market for his cargo, which was corn, and therefore
resolved not to go to the Madeiras, but to load salt at the isle of May,
}
342
ADVENTURES OF
!
»
and to go away to Newfoundland. He had no remedy in this exi.
gence but to go with the ship, and had a pretty good voyage as far as
the banks (so they call the place where they catch the fish); where,
meeting with a French ship bound from France to Quebec, in the river
of Canada, and from thence to Martinico, to carry provisions, he
thought he should have an opportunity to complete his first design ;
but when he came to Quebec the master of the ship died, and the ves-
sel proceeded no further; so the next voyage he shipped himself for
France, in the ship that was burned when we took them up at sea,
and then shipped with us for the East Indies, as I have already said.
Thus he had been disappointed in five voyages, all, as I may call it, in
one voyage, besides what I shall have occasion to mention hereafter
of the same person.
But I shall not make digression into other men's stories, which
have no relation to my own; I return to what concerns our affairs in
the island.
****
Chapter Thirty-Eight.
Robinson's Discourse with the Ecclesiastic as to Introducing Marriages among
the People-Marriages Performed-Atkins Converts his Wife.
They
E came to me one morning, for he lodged among us all the
while we were upon the island, and it happened to be just
when I was going to visit the Englishmen's colony, at the
farthest part of the island; I say, he came to me, and told
me with a very grave countenance, that he had for two or three days
desired an opportunity of some discourse with me, which, he hoped,
would not be displeasing to me, because, he thought, it might in some
measure correspond with my general design, which was the prosper-
ity of my new colony, and, perhaps, might put it, at least more than
he thought it was, in the way of God's blessing.

I looked a little surprised at the last part of his discourse, and turn-
ing a little short, "How, sir," said I, "can it be said that we are not
in the way of God's blessing, after such visible assistances and won-
derful deliverances as we have seen here, and of which I have given
you a large account ?” "If you had pleased, sir," said he, with a
world of modesty, and yet with great readiness, "to have heard me,
+

THE ENGLISHMAN'S PLANTATION,
އވ ދ
SOARIC
C
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
343
.
you would have found no room to be displeased, much less to think
so hard of me, that I should suggest that you have not had wonderful
assistances and deliverances; and I hope, on your behalf, that you are
in the way of God's blessing, as your design is exceedingly good, and
will prosper; but, sir, though it were more so than is even possible to
you, yet there may be some among you that are not equally right in
their actions; and you know, that in the story of the children of Is-
rael, one Achan in the camp removed God's blessing from them, and
turned his hand so against them, that six-and-thirty of them, though
not concerned in the crime, were the objects of Divine vengeance, and
bore the weight of that punishment."
I was sensibly touched with his discourse, and told him his in-
ference was so just, and the whole design seemed so sincere, and was
really so religious in its own nature, that I was very sorry I had in-
terrupted him, and begged him to go on; and in the meantime, be-
cause it seemed that what we had both to say might take up some time,
I told him I was going to the Englishmen's plantations, and asked him
to go with me, and we might discourse of it by the way. He told me
he would the more willingly wait on me thither, because there partly
the thing was acted which he desired to speak to me about; so we
walked on, and I pressed him to be free and plain with me in what
he had to say.
"Why then, sir," said he, "be pleased to give me leave to lay
down a few propositions, as the foundation to what I have to say, that
we may not differ in the general principles, though we may be of
some differing opinions in the practice of particulars. First, sir,
though we differ in some of the doctrinal articles of religion, and it is
very unhappy it is so, especially in the case before us, as I shall show
afterward, yet there are some general principles in which we both
agree, viz. that there is a God; and that this God having given us
some stated general rules for our service and obedience, we ought not
willingly and knowingly to offend him, either by neglecting to do
what he has commanded, or by doing what he has expressly for-
bidden; and let our different religions be what they will, this general
principle is readily owned by all, that the blessing of God does not
ordinarily follow presumptuous sinning against his command; and
every good Christian will be affectionately concerned to prevent any
that are under his care living in a total neglect of God and his com-
mands. It is not your men being Protestants, whatever my opinion
may be of such, that discharges me from being concerned for their souls,
and from endeavoring, if it lies before me, that they should live in as
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ADVENTURES OF
EX
little distance from enmity with their Maker as possible, especially, if
you give me leave to meddle so far in your circuit.”
I could not yet imagine what he aimed at, and told him I granted
all he had said, and thanked him that he would so far concern himself
for us; and begged he would explain the particulars of what he had
observed, that, like Joshua, to take his own parable, I might put away
the accursed thing from us.
(C
'Why then, sir," says he, "I will take the liberty you give me;
and there are three things, which, if I am right, must stand in the
way of God's blessing upon your endeavors here, and which I should
rejoice, for your sake, and their own, to see removed; and, sir, I
promise myself that you will fully agree with me in them all, as soon
as I name them; especially because I shall convince you that every
one of them may, with great ease, and very much to your satisfaction,
be remedied. First, sir," says he, "you have here four Englishmen,
who have fetched women from among the savages, and have taken
them as their wives, and have had many children by them all, and yet
are not married to them after any stated legal manner, as the laws of
God and man require; and therefore are yet, in the sense of both, no
less than fornicators, if not living in adultery. To this, sir, I know
you will object that there was no clergyman or priest of any kind, or
of any profession, to perform the ceremony; nor any pen and ink, or
paper, to write down a contract of marriage, and have it signed be-
tween them; and I know, also, sir, what the Spaniard governor has
told you, I mean, of the agreement that he obliged them to make
when they took those women, viz. that they should choose them out
by consent, and keep separately to them, which, by the way, is
nothing of a marriage, no agreement with the women, as wives, but
only an agreement among themselves, to keep them from quarrelling.
But, sir, the essence of the sacrament of matrimony (so he called it,
being a Roman) consists not only in the mutual consent of the parties
to take one another as man and wife, but in the formal and legal obli-
gation that there is in the contract, to compel the man and woman,
at all times to own and acknowledge each other; obliging the man to ab-
stain from all other women, to engage in no other contract while
these subsist, and, on all occasions, as ability allows, to provide
honestly for them and their children; and to oblige the women to the
same, or like conditions, mutatis mutandis, on their side. Now, sir,”
says he, "these men may, when they please, or when occasion pre-
sents, abandon these women, disown their children, leave them to
perish, and take other women, and marry them while these are
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
345
living;" and here he added, with some warmth, "how, sir, is God
honored in this unlawful liberty? and how shall a blessing succeed
your endeavors in this place, however good in themselves, and how-
ever sincere in your design, while these men, who at present are your
subjects, under your absolute government and dominion, are allowed
by you to live in open adultery ?”
I confess I was struck with the thing itself, but much more with the
convincing arguments he supported it with; for it was certainly true,
that though they had no clergyman npon the spot, yet a formal con-
tract on both sides, made before witnesses and confirmed by any
token which they had all agreed to be bound by, though it had been
but breaking a stick between them, engaging the men to own these
women for their wives upon all occasions, and never to abandon them
or their children, and the women to the same with their husbands,
had been an effectual lawful marriage in the sight of God; and it was
a great neglect that it was not done. But I thought to have got off
my young priest by telling him that all that part was done when I
was not here; and they had lived so many years with them now, that
if it was adultery, it was past remedy; they could do nothing in it
now.
看着
​Sir," says he, "asking your pardon for such freedom, you are
right in this, that, it being done in your absence, you could not be
charged with that part of the crime; but, I beseech you, flatter not
yourself that you are not therefore under an obligation to do your
utmost now to put an end to it. How can you think but that, let the
time past lie on whom it will, all the guilt, for the future, will lie en-
tirely upon you? because it is certainly in your power now to put an
end to it, and in nobody's power but yours."
I was so dull still, that I did not take him right; but I imagined
that, by putting an end to it, he meant that I should part them, and
not to suffer them to live together any longer; and I said to him I
could not do that, by any means, for that it would put the whole
island into confusion. He seemed surprised that I should so far mis-
take him. <<
No, sir," says he, "I do not mean that you should now
separate them, but legally and effectually marry them now; and as,
sir, my way of marrying them may not be easy to reconcile them to,
though it will be effectual by your own laws, so your way may be as
well before God, and as valid among men; I mean, by a written con-
tract signed by both man and woman, and by all witnesses present,
which all the laws of Europe would decree to be valid.
I was amazed to see so much true piety, and so much sincerity of
{"
*
15*
346
ADVENTURES OF
t
zeal, besides the unusual impartiality in his discourse as to his own
party or church, and such true warmth for preserving the people that
he had no knowledge of or relation to; I say, for preserving them
from transgressing the laws of God, the like of which I had indeed
not met with anywhere: but, recollecting what he had said of marry-
ing them by a written contract, which I knew he would stand to, I
returned it back upon him, and told him, I granted all that he had
said to be just, and on his part very kind; that I would discourse
with the men upon the point now, when I came to them; and I knew
no reason why they should scruple to let him marry them all, which
I knew well enough would be granted to be as authentic and valid in
England as if they were married by one of our own clergymen.
What was afterward done in this matter, I shall speak of by itself.
I then pressed him to tell me what was the second complaint which
he had to make, acknowledging that I was very much his debtor for
the first, and thanked him heartily for it. Ile told me he would use
the same freedom and plainness in the second, and hoped I would
take it as well; and this was, that, notwithstanding these English sub-
jects of mine, as he called them, had lived with those women for
almost seven years, had taught them to speak English, and even to
read it, and that they were, as he perceived, women of tolerable
understanding, and capable of instruction, yet they had not, to this
hour, taught them anything of the Christian religion, no, not as much
as to know that there was a God, or a worship, or in what manner
God was to be served; or that their own idolatry, and worshipping
they knew not whom, was false and absurd. This, he said, was an
unaccountable neglect, and what God would certainly call them to an
account for, and perhaps, at last, take the work out of their hands.
He spoke this very affectionately and warmly. "I am persuaded,"
says he, “had those men lived in the savage country whence their
wives came, the savages would have taken more pains to have brought
them to be idolaters, and to worship the devil, than any of these men,
so far as I can see, have taken with them to teach them the knowledge
of the true God. Now, sir," said he, “ though I do not acknowledge
your religion, or you mine, yet we would be glad to see the devil's
servants, and the subjects of his kingdom, taught to know the general
principles of the Christian religion: that they might, at least, hear
of God and a Redeemer, and of the resurrection, and of a future
state-things which we all believe; they would have, at least, been
so much nearer coming into the bosom of the true church than they
are now, in the public profession of idolatry and devil-worship."
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
347
<<
I could hold no longer; I took him in my arms, and embraced him
with an excess of passion. "How far," said I to him, "have I been
from understanding the most essential part of a Christian? viz., to
love the interest of the Christian church, and the good of other men's
souls: I scarce have known what belongs to the being of a Christian."
'O, sir, do not say so," replied he; "this thing is not your fault."
"No," said I; "but why did I never lay it to heart as well as you ?”
"It is not too late yet," said he; "be not too forward to condemn
yourself:" "But what can be done now?" said I; "you see I am
going away." "Will you give me leave to talk with these poor men
about it ?" <<
Yes, with all my heart," said I: "and will oblige them
to give heed to what you say, too." "As to that,” said he, "we must
leave them to the mercy of Christ; but it is your business to assist
them, encourage them, and instruct them; and if you give me leave,
and God his blessing, I do not doubt but the poor ignorant souls shall
be brought home to the great circle of Christianity, if not into the
particular faith we all embrace, and that even while you stay here.”
Upon this I said, "I shall not only give you leave, but give you a
thousand thanks for it." What followed on this account I shall men-
tion also again in its place.
I now pressed him for the third article in which we were to blame.
"Why, really," says he, "it is of the same nature; and I will proceed,
asking your leave, with the same plainness as before; it is about your
poor savages, who are, as I may say, your conquered subjects. It is
a maxim, sir, that is, or ought to be, received among all Christians,
of what church or pretended church soever, viz., The Christian knowl-
edge ought to be propagated by all possible means, and upon all pos-
sible occasions. It is on this principle that our church sends mis-
sionaries into Persia, India, China; and that our clergy, even of the
superior sort, willingly engage in the most hazardous voyages, and
most dangerous residence among murderers and barbarians, to teach
them the knowledge of the true God, and to bring them over to em
brace the Christian faith. Now, sir, you have such an opportunity
here to have six or seven and thirty poor savages brought over from
idolatry to the knowledge of God, their Maker and Redeemer, that I
wonder how you can pass such an occasion of doing good, which is
really worth the expense of a man's whole life."
I was now struck dumb, indeed, and had not one word to say. I
had here a spirit of true Christian zeal for God and religion before
me, let his particular principles be of what kind soever: as for me, ]
had not so much as entertained a thought of this in my heart before.
Jon
348
ADVENTURES OF
1
and I believe I should not have thought of it; for I looked upon
these savages as slaves, and people whom, had we any work for them
to do, we would have used as such, or would have been glad to have
transported them to any other part of the world: for our business
was to get rid of them; and we would all have been satisfied if they
had been sent to any country, so they had never seen their own. But
to the case:—I say, I was confounded at his discourse, and knew not
what answer to make him.
He looked earnestly at me, seeing me in some disorder-"Sir,' says
he, "I shall be very sorry if what I have said gives you any offence."
CC
No, no,” said I, "I am offended with nobody but myself; but I am
perfectly confounded, not only to think that I should never take any
notice of this before, but with reflecting what notice I am able to take
of it now. You know, sir," said I, "what circumstances I am in; I
am bound to the East Indies in a ship freighted by merchants, and to
whom it would be an insufferable piece of injustice to detain their
ship here, the men lying all this while at victuals and wages on the
owners' account. It is true, I agreed to be allowed twelve days here,
and if I stay more, I must pay three pounds sterling per diem
demurrage; nor can I stay upon demurrage above eight days more,
and I have been here thirteen already; so that I am perfectly unable
to engage in this work, unless I would suffer myself to be left behind
here again; in which case, if this single ship should miscarry in any
part of her voyage, I should be just in the same condition that I was
left in here, at first, and from which I have been so wonderfully de-
livered." He owned the case was very hard upon me, as to my
voyage; but laid it home upon my conscience, whether the blessing
of saving thirty-seven souls was not worth venturing all I had in the
world for. I was not so sensible of that as he was.
I returned upon
him thus: “ Why, sir, it is a valuable thing, indeed, to be an instru-
ment in God's hand to convert thirty-seven heathens to the knowledge
of Christ; but as you are an ecclesiastic, and are given over to the
work, so that it seems so naturally to fall into the way of your pro-
fession, how is it then that you do not rather offer yourself to under-
take it, than press me to do it ?"
Upon this he faced about just before me, as he walked along, and
putting me to a full stop, made me a very low bow. "I most heartily
thank God, and you sir," said he, " for giving me so evident a call to
so blessed a work; and if you think yourself discharged from it,
and desire me to undertake it, I will most readily do it, and think it a
happy reward for all the hazards and difficulties of such a broken
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
349
disappointed voyage as I have met with, that I am dropped at last
into so glorious a work."
I discovered a kind of rapture in his face while he spoke this to
me; his eye sparkled like fire, his face glowed, and his color came and
went, as if he had been falling into fits; in a word, he was fired with
the joy of being embarked in such a work. I paused a considérable
while before I could tell what to say to him; for I was really sur.
prised to find a man of such sincerity and zeal, and carried out in his
zeal beyond the ordinary rate of men, not of his profession only, but
even of any profession whatsoever. But after I had considered it
awhile, I asked him seriously if he was in earnest, and that he would
venture, on the single consideration of an attempt on those poor peo-
ple, to be locked up in an unplanted island for perhaps his life, and
at last might not know whether he should be able to do them good
or not.
(
He turned short upon me, and asked me what I called a venture.
Pray, sir," said he, "what do you think I consented to go in your
ship to the East Indies for ?" "Nay," said I, "that I know not unless
it was to preach to the Indians.” "Doubtless it was," said he ;
"and
do you think, if I can convert these thirty-seven men to the faith of
Jesus Christ, it is not worth my time, though I should never be fetched
off the island again? Nay, is it not infinitely of more worth to save
so many souls than my life is, or the life of twenty more of the same
profession? Yes, sir," says he, "I would give Christ and the blessed
Virgin thanks all my days, if I could be made the least happy instru-
ment of saving the souls of those poor men, though I were never to
set my foot off this island, or see my native country any more.
But since you will honor me with putting me into this work, for which
I will pray for you all the days of my life, I have one humble peti-
tion to you besides." "What is that?" said I. "Why," says he,
"it is, that you will leave your man Friday with me, to be my inter-
preter to them, and to assist me; for without some help I cannot
speak to them, or they to me."
I was sensibly touched at his requesting Friday, because I could not
think of parting with him, and that for many reasons: he had been
the companion of my travels; he was not only faithful to me, but
sincerely affectionate to the last degree; and I had resolved to do
something considerable for him if he outlived me, as it was probable
he would. Then I knew, that as I had bred Friday up to be a Protes-
tant, it would quite confound him to bring him to embrace another
profession; and he would never, while his eyes were open, believe
350
ADVENTURES OF
7
3
that his old master was a heretic, and would be damned; and this
might, in the end, ruin the poor fellow's principles, and so turn him
back again to his first idolatry. However, a suddon thought relieved
me in this strait, and it was this: I told him, "I could not say that I
was willing to part with Friday on any account whatever, though a
work that, to him, was of more value than his life, ought to be of
much more value than the keeping or parting of a servant. But, on
the other hand, I was persuaded that Friday would by no means agree
to part with me; and I could not force him to it without his con-
sent, without manifest injustice; because I had promised I would
never put him away, and he had promised and engaged to me that he
would never leave me unless I put him away."
He seemed very much concerned at it, for he had no rational access
to these poor people, seeing he did not understand one word of their
language, nor they one word of his. To remove this difficulty, I told
him “Friday's father had learned Spanish, which I found he also un-
derstood, and he should serve him as an interpreter." So he was
much better satisfied, and nothing could persuade him but he would
stay and endeavor to convert them; but Providence gave another very
happy turn to all this.
I come back now to the first part of his objections. When we came
to the Englishmen, I sent for them altogether, and after some account
given them of what I had done for them, viz., what necessary things I
had provided for them, and how they were distributed, which they
were sensible of, and very thankful for, I began to talk to them of
the very scandalous life they led, and gave them à full account of the
notice the clergyman had taken of it; and arguing how unchristian
and irreligious a life it was, I first asked them if they were married
men or bachelors? They soon explained their condition to me, and
showed that two of them were widowers, and the other three were
single men or bachelors. I ashed them with what conscience they
could take these women, and lie with them as they had done, call
them their wives, and have so many children by them, and not be
lawfully mrrried to them?
They all gave me the answer I expected, viz., that there was nobody
to marry them; that they agreed, before the governor, to keep them
as their wives, and to maintain them and own them as their wives,
and they thought, as things stood with them, they were as legally
married as if they had been married by a parson, and with all the
formalities in the world.
I told them that no doubt they were married in the sight of God,
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
351
and were bound in conscience to keep them as their wives; but that
the laws of men being otherwise, they might desert the poor women
and children hereafter; and that their wives being poor desolate
women, friendless and moneyless, would have no way to help them-
selves. I therefore told them that unless I was assured of their hon-
est intent, I could do nothing for them, but would take care that what
I did should be for the women and children without them; and that,
unless they would give me some assurances that they would marry
the women, I could not think it was convenient they should continue
together as man and wife; for it was both scandalous to men and
offensive to God, who they could not think would bless them if they
went on thus.
All this went on as I expected; and they told me, especially Will
Atkins, who now seemed to speak for the rest, that they loved their
wives as well as if they had been born in their own native country,
and would not leave them upon any account whatever; and they did
verily believe that their wives were as virtuous and as modest, and
did, to the utmost of their skill, as much for them and for their chil-
dren, as any women could possibly do; and they would not part with
them on any account; and Will Atkins, for his own particular added,
that if any man would take him away, and offer to carry him home
to England, and make him captain of the best man-of-war in the navy,
he would not go with him, if he might not carry his wife and children
with him; and if there was a clergyman in the ship, he would be
married to her now, with all his heart.
This was just as I would have it; the priest was not wita me at
that moment, but was not far off; so, to try him further, I told him I
had a clergyman with me, and, if he was sincere, I would have him
married next morning, and bade him consider of it, and talk with the
rest. He said, as for himself, he need not consider of it at all, for he
was very ready to do it, and was glad I had a minister with me, and
he believed they would be all willing also. I then told him that my
friend, the minister, was a Frenchman, and could not speak English,
but I would act as the clerk between them. He never so much as
asked me whether he was a Papist or Protestant, which was, indeed,
what I was afraid of; so we parted; I went back to my clergyman,
and Will Atkins went in to talk with his companions. I desired the
French gentleman not to say anything to them till the business was
thoroughly ripe; and I told him what answer the men had given me.
Before I went from their quarter they all came to me, and told me
they had been considering what I had said; that they were glad to
352
ADVENTURES OF
hear I had a clergyman in my company, and they were very willing
to give me the satisfaction I desired, and to be formally married as
soon as I pleased; for they were far from desiring to part with their
wives, and that they meant nothing but what was very honest when
they chose them. So I appointed them to meet me the next morn-
ing, and in the meantime they should let their wives know the mean-
ing of the marriage law, and that it was not only to prevent any
scandal, but also to oblige them that they should not forsake them,
whatever might happen.
The women were easily made sensible of the meaning of the thing
and were very well satisfied with it, as indeed they had reason to be;
so they failed not to attend all together at my apartment, next morn-
ing, where I brought out my clergyman, and though he had not on a
minister's gown, after the manner of England, or the habit of a priest,
after the manner of France, yet having a black vest something like a
cassock, with a sash round it, he did not look very unlike a minister;
and, as for his language, I was his interpreter. But the seriousness
of his behavior to them, and the scruples he made of marrying tho
women, because they were not baptized and professed Christians,
gave them an exceeding reverence for his person, and there was no
need, after that, to inquire whether he was a clergyman or not. In-
deed, I was afraid his scruples would have been carried so far as that
he would not have married them at all; nay, notwithstanding all I
was able to say to him, he resisted me, though modestly yet very
steadily, and at last refused absolutely to marry them, unless he had
first talked with the men and the women, too, and though I at first
was a little backward to it, yet at last I agreed to it with a good will,
perceiving the sincerity of his design.
When he came to them, he let them know that I had acquainted
him with their circumstances, and with the present design; that he
was very willing to perform that part of his function, and marry
them, as I had desired, but that before he could do it he must take
the liberty to talk with them. He told them that, in the sight of all
indifferent men, and in the sense of the laws of society, they had lived
all this while in open fornication, and that it was true that nothing
but the consenting to marry, or effectually separating them from one
another, could now put an end to it; but there was a difficulty in it,
too, with respect to the laws of Christian matrimony, which he was
not fully satisfied about, viz., that of marrying one that is a professed
Christian to a savage, an idolater, and a heathen, one that is not bap-
tized; and yet that he did not see that there was time left to endeavor
}
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
353
to persuade the women to be baptized, or to profess the name of
Christ, whom they had, he doubted, heard nothing of, and without
which they could not be baptized. He told them he doubted they
were but indifferent Christians themselves; that they had but little
knowledge of God or of his ways, and therefore he could not expect
that they had said much to their wives on that head yet; but that,
unless they would promise him to use their endeavors with their wives
to persuade them to become Christians, and would, as well as they
could, instruct them in the knowledge and belief of God that made
them, and to worship Jesus Christ that redeemed them, he could not
marry them, for he would have no hand in joining Christians with sav-
ages, nor was it consistent with the principles of the Christian re-
ligion, and was indeed expressly forbidden in God's law.
They heard all this very attentively, and I delivered it very faith-
fully to them from his mouth, as near his own words as I could, only
sometimes adding something of my own, to convince them how just it
was, and how I was of his mind; and I always very faithfully distin-
guished between what I said from myself and what were the clergy-
man's words. They told me it was very true what the gentleman
said; that they were very indifferent Christians themselves, and that
they had never talked to their wives about religion. "Lord, sir,"
says.Will Atkins, "how should we teach them religion? why, we
know nothing ourselves; and, besides, sir," said he, "should we talk
to them of God, and Jesus Christ, and heaven, and hell, it would
make them laugh at us, and ask us what we believe ourselves. And
if we should tell them that we believe all the things we speak of to
them, such as of good people going to heaven, and wicked people to
the devil, they would ask us where we intend to go ourselves, that be
lieve all this, and are such wicked fellows, as we indeed are. Why,
sir, 'tis enough to give them a surfeit of religion at first hearing; folks
must have some religion themselves before they pretend to teach other
people." "Will Atkins," said I to him, "though I am afraid that
what you say has too much truth in it, yet can you not tell your wife
that she is in the wrong; that there is a God, and a religion better
than her own; that her gods are idols; that they can neither hear
nor speak; that there is a great Being that made all things, and that
can destroy all that he has made; that he rewards the good and pun-
ishes the bad, and that we are to be judged by him at last for all we
do here? You are not so ignorant but eren nature itself will teach
you that all this is true; and I am satisfied you know it all to be true,
and believe it yourself." "That is true, sir," said Atkins, "but with
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ADVENTURES OF
what face can I say anything to my wife of all this, when she will
tell me immediately it cannot be true ?" "Not true!" said I; "what
do you mean by that?" "Why, sir," said he, "she will tell me it
cannot be true that this God I shall tell her of can be just, or can
punish or reward, since I am not punished and sent to the devil, that
have been such a wicked creature as she knows I have been, even to
her and to everybody else; and that I should be suffered to live, that
have been always acting so contrary to what I must tell her is good,
and to what I ought to have done." "Why, truly, Atkins," said I, “I
am afraid thou speakest too much truth;" and with that I informed
the clergyman of what Atkins had said, for he was impatient to know.
"Oh," said the priest, "tell him there is one thing will make him the
best minister in the world to his wife, and that is repentance, for none
teach repentance like true penitents. He wants nothing but to re-
pent, and then he will be so much the better qualified to instruct his
wife; he will then be able to tell her that there is not only a God,
and that he is the just rewarder of good and evil, but that he is a mer-
ciful Being, and with infinite goodness and long-suffering, forbears to
punish those that offend; waiting to be gracious, and willing not the
death of a sinner, but rather that he should return and live; and often-
times he suffers wicked men to go a long time, and even reserves
damnation to the general day of retribution; that it is a clear evi-
dence of God, and of a future state, that righteous men receive not
their reward, or wicked men their punishment, till they come into an-
other world; and this will lead him to teach his wife the doctrine of
the resurrection and of the last judgment. Let him but repent
for himself, he will be an excellent preacher of repentance to his
wife."
Add
I repeated all this to Atkins, who looked very serious all the while,
and who, we could easily perceive, was more than ordinarily affected
with it; when, being eager, and hardly suffering me to make an end;
"I know all this, master," says he, "and a great deal more; but I
have not the impudence to talk thus to my wife, when God and my
conscience know, and my wife will be an undeniable evidence against
me, that I have lived as if I had never heard of a God, or a future
state, or anything about it; and to talk of my repenting, alas!" (and
with that he fetched a deep sigh, and I could see that the tears stood
in his eyes) "tis past all that with me." "Past it, Atkins ?" said I;
"what dost thou mean by that?" "I know well enough what I
mean," says he; "I mean 'tis too late, and that is too true.
I told the clergyman, word for word, what he said: the poor zeal-
.
:
i
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
355
1
ous priest-I must call him so, for, be his opinion what it will, he had
certainly a most singular affection for the good of other men's souls,
and it would be hard to think he had not the like for his own-I say,
this affectionate man could not refrain from tears; but, recovering
himself, said to me, "Ask him but one question: is he easy that it is
too late; or is he troubled, and wishes it were not so ?? I put the
question fairly to Atkins; and he answered with a great deal of pas-
sion, "How could any man be easy in a condition that must certainly
end in eternal destruction? that he was far from being easy; but
that, on the contrary, he believed he would, one time or other, ruin
him." "What do you mean by that?" said I. "Why," he said, "he
believed he should one time or other cut his throat, to put an end to
the terror of it."
The clergyman shook his head with great concern in his face, when
I told him all this; but turning quick to me upon it, says, "If that be
his case, we may assure him it is not too late; Christ will give him
repentance. But pray, says he, "explain this to him: that as no
man is saved but by Christ, and the merit of his passion procuring
divine mercy for him, how can it too late for any man to receive
mercy? Does he think he is able to sin beyond his power or reach
of divine merey? Pray tell him, there may be a time when pro-
voked mercy will no longer strive, and when God may refuse to hear,
but that it is never too late for men to ask mercy; and we, that are
Christ's servants, are commanded to preach mercy at all times, in the
name of Jesus Christ, to all those that sincerely repent: so that it is
never too late to repent."
I told Atkins all this, and he heard me with great earnestness; but
it seemed as if he turned off the discourse to the rest, for he said to
me, he would go and have some talk with his wife; so he went out
awhile, and we talked to the rest. I perceived they were all stupidly
ignorant as to matters of religion, as much as I was when I went
rambling away from my father; and yet there were none of them
backward to hear what had been said; and all of them seriously
promised that they would talk with their wives about it, and do their
endeavors to persuade them to turn Christians.
.
The clergyman smiled upon me when I reported what answer they
gave, but said nothing a good while; but at last, shaking his head,
"We that are Christ's servants," says he, "can go no farther than to
exhort and instruct; and when men comply, submit to the reproof,
and promise what we ask, 'tis all we can do; we are bound to accept
their good words; but, believe me, sir," said he, "whatever you may
ГТ
L
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ADVENTURES OF
have known of the life of that man you call Will Atkins, I believe he
is the only sincere convert among them: I take that man to be a true
penitent: I will not despair of the rest; but that man is apparently
struck with the sense of his past life, and I doubt not, when he comes
to talk of religion to his wife, he will talk himself effectually into it :
for attempting to teach others is sometimes the best way of teaching
ourselves, I know a man, who, having nothing but a summary no-
tion of religion himself, and being wicked and profligate to the last
degree in his life, made a thorough reformation in himself by laboring
to convert a Jew. If that poor Atkins begins but once to talk
seriously of Jesus Christ to his wife, my life for it, he talks himself
into a thorough convert, makes himself a penitent; and who knows
what may follow ?"
Upon this discourse, however, and their promising, as above, to on-
deavor to persuade their wives to embrace Christianity, he married
the other two couple; but Will Atkins and his wife were not yet come
in. After this, my clergyman waiting awhile, was curious to know
where Atkins was gone; and turning to me, said, "I entreat you, sir,
let us walk out of your labyrinth here, and look; I dare say we shall
find this poor man somewhere or other talking seriously to his wife,
and teaching her already something of religion." I began to be of
the same mind; so we went out together, and I carried him a way
which none knew but myself, and where the trees were so very thick
that it was not easy to see through the thicket of leaves, and far
harder to see in than to see out; when coming to the edge of the
wood, I saw Atkins and his tawny wife sitting under the shade of a
bush, very eager in discourse; I stopped short till my clergyman
came up to me, and then having showed him where they were, we
stood and looked very steadily at them a good while. We observed
him very earnest with her, pointing up to the sun, and to every quarter
of the heavens, and then down to the earth, then out to the sea, then
to himself, then to her, to the woods, to the trees. "Now," says the
clergyman, “you see my words are made good, the man preaches to
her; mark him now, he is telling her that our God has made him and
her, and the heavens, the earth, the sea, the woods, the trees, &c."
"I believe he is," said I. Immediately we perceived Will Atkins
start upon his feet, fall down on his knees, and lift up both his hands.
We supposed he said something, but we could not hear him; it was
too far for that. IIe did not continue kneeling half a minute, but
comes and sits down by his wife, and talks to her again; we per-
ceived then the woman very attentive, but whether she said anything
;
ས
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
357
to him, we could not tell. While the poor fellow was upon his knees,
I could see the tears runs plentifully down my clergyman's cheeks,
and I could hardly forbear myself; but it was a great affliction to us
both that we were not near enough to hear anything that passed be-
tween them. Well, however, we could come no nearer, for fear of
disturbing them; so we resolved to see an end to this piece of still
conversation, and it spoke loud enough to us without the help of voice.
He sat down again, as I have said, close by her, and talked again
earnestly to her, and two or three times we could see him embrace
her most passionately; another time we saw him take out his hand-
kerchief and wipe her eyes, and then kiss her again, with a kind of
transport very unusual; and after several of these things, we saw him
on a sudden jump up again, and lend her his hand to help her up,
when immediately leading her by the hand a step or two, they both
kneeled down together, and continued so about two minutes.
My friend could bear it no longer, but cries out aloud, "St Paul!
St. Paul! behold he prayeth." I was afraid Atkins would hear him,
therefore I entreated him to withhold himself awhile, that we might
see an end of the scene, which to me, I must confess, was the most
affecting that I ever saw in my life. Well, he strove with himself for
awhile, but was in such raptures to think that the poor heathen
woman was become a Christian, that he was not able to contain him-
self; he wept several times, then throwing up his hands and crossing
his breast, said over several things ejaculatory, and by way of giving
God thanks for so miraculous a testimony of the success of our en-
deavors; some he spoke softly, and I could not well hear others;
some in Latin, some in French; then two or three times the tears
would interrupt him, that he could not speak at all; but I begged
that he would contain himself, and let us more narrowly and fully ob-
serve what was before us, which he did for a time, the scene not being
near ended yet; for after the poor man and his wife were risen again
from their knees, we observed he stood talking still eagerly to her,
and we observed her motion, that she was greatly affected with what
he said, by her frequently lifting up her hands, laying her hands to
her breast, and such other postures as express the greatest seriousness
and attention: this continued about half a quarter of an hour, and
then they walked away; so we could see no more of them in that
situation. I took this interval to talk with my clergyman; and first,
I was glad to see the particulars we had both been witnesses to, that,
though I was hard enough of belief in such cases, yet that I began to
think it was all very sincere here, both in the man and his wife, how-
=
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ADVENTURES OF
ever ignorant they might both be, and I hoped such a beginning
would yet have a more happy end. "And who knows," said I," but
these two may in time, by instruction and example, work upon some
of the others ?" "Some of them ?" said he, turning quick upon me;
""
ay, upon all of them: depend upon it, if those two savages, for he
has been but little better, as you relate it, should embrace Jesus
Christ, they will never leave it till they work upon all the rest; for
true religion is naturally communicative, and he that is once made a
Christian will never leave a pagan behind him, if he can help it." I
owned it was a most Christian principle to think so, and a testimony
of true zeal, as well as a generous heart, in him. But, my friend,"
said I, "will
you give me leave to start one difficulty here? I
cannot tell how to object to the least thing against that affectionate
concern which you show for the turning the poor people from their
paganism to the Christian religion: but how does this comfort you
while these people are, in your account, out of the pale of the
Catholic church, without which you believe there is no salvation? so
that you esteem these but heretics, and for other reasons as effectually
lost as the pagans themselves ?”
To this he answered, with abundance of candor, thus: "Sir, I am a
Catholic of the Roman church, and a priest of the order of St. Bene-
dict, and I embrace all the principles of the Roman faith; but yet, if
you will believe me, and that I do not speak in compliment to you, or
in respect to my circumstances and your civilities; I say, nevertheless,
I do not look upon you who call yourselves reformed, without some
charity: I dare not say (though I know it is our opinion in general)
that you cannot be saved; I will by no means limit the mercy of
Christ so far as to think that he cannot receive you into the bosom of
his church, in a manner to us unperceivable; and I hope you have the
same charity for us; I pray daily for your being all restored to
Christ's church, by whatsoever method He, who is all-wise, is pleased
to direct. In the meantime, sure you will allow it consists with me,
as a Roman, to distinguish far between a Protestant and a pagan; be-
tween one that calls on Jesus Christ, though in a way which I do not
think is according to the true faith, and a savage or a barbarian, that
knows no God, no Christ, no Redeemer; and if you are not within the
pale of the Catholic church, we hope you are nearer being restored to
it than those who know nothing of God or of his church; and I re-
joice, therefore, when I see this poor man, who, you say, has been a
profligate, and almost a murderer, kneel down and pray to Jesus
Christ, as we suppose he did, though not fully enlightened; believing
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
359
that God, from whom every such work proceeds, will sensibly touch
his heart, and bring him to the further knowledge of that truth in his.
own time; and if God shall influence this poor man to convert and
instruct the ignorant savage, his wife, I can never believe that he shall
be cast away himself. And have I not reason, then, to rejoice, the
nearer any are brought to the knowledge of Christ, though they may
not be brought quite home into the bosom of the Catholic church just
at the time when I may desire it, leaving it to the goodness of Christ
to perfect his work in his own time, and in his own way? Certainly,
I would rejoice if all the savages in America were brought, like this
poor woman, to pray to God, though they were all to be Protestants
at first, rather than they should continue pagans or heathens; firmly
believing, that he that had bestowed the first light to them would
farther illuminate them with a beam of his heavenly grace, and bring
them into the pale of his church, when he should see good.
•
Chapter Thirty-Nine.
Atkins relates his Conversation with his Wife- The Latter Baptized by the
Priest-Account of the Starving State of those on Board the Rescued Vessel
-Robinson's Departure from the Island,
Q
WAS astonished at the sincerity and temper of this pious
papist, as much as I was oppressed by the power of his rea-
soning, and it presently occurred to my thoughts, that if such
a temper was universal, we might all be Catholic Christians,
whatever church or particular profession we joined in; that a spirit
of charity would soon work us all up into right principles; and as he
thought that the like charity would make us all Catholics, so I told
him I believed had all the members of his church the like moderation,
they would soon all be Protestants. And there we left that part; for
we never disputed at all.
re
However, I talked to him another way, and taking him by the hand,
My friend," says I, "I wish all the clergy of the Romish church
were blest with such moderation, and had an equal share of your
charity. I am entirely of your opinion; but I must tell you, that if
you should preach such doctrine in Spain or Italy, they would put
you into the Inquisition." "It may be so," said he; "I know not
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ADVENTURES OF
what they would do in Spain or Italy; but I will not say they would
be the better Christians for that severity; for I am sure there is no
heresy in abounding with charity.”
-As Will Atkins and his wife were gone, our business there was
over, so we went back our own way; and when we came back, we
found them waiting to be called in; observing this, I asked my clergy-
man if we should discover to him that we had seen him under the
bush or not; and it was his opinion we should not, but that we should
talk to him first, and hear what he would say to us; so we called him
in alone, nobody being in the place but ourselves, and I began with
him thus:
-
"Will Atkins," said I, "prithee what education had you? What
was your father?”
W. A. A better man than over I shall bc, sir; my father was a
clergyman.
R. C. What education did he give you?
W. A. He would have taught me well, sir; but I despised all edu-
cation, instruction, or correction, like a beast as I was.
R. C. It is true, Solomon says, he that despises reproof is brutish.
W. A. Ay, sir, I was brutish, indeed, for I murdered my father;
for God's sake, sir, talk no more about that; sir, I murdered my poor
father.
PR. IIa! a murderer!
Here the priest started (for I interpreted every word as he spoke)
and looked palo; it seems he believed that Will had really killed his
father.
R. C. No, no, sir, I do not understand him so; Will Atkins, explain
yourself; you did not kill your father, did you, with your own
hands?
W. A. No, sir, I did not cut his throat; but I cut the thread of all
his comforts, and shortened his days; I broke his heart by the most
ungrateful, unnatural return, for the most tender and affectionate
treatment that father over gave, or child could receive.
R. C. Well, I did not ask you about your father, to extort this con-
fession; I pray God give you repentance for it, and forgive that and
all your other sins; but I asked you because I see that though you
have not much learning, yet you are not so ignorant as some arc in
things that are good; that you have known more of religion, a great
deal, than you have practised.
W. A. Though you, sir, did not extort the confession that I make
about my father, conscience does; and whenever we come to look
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
361
back upon our lives, the sins against our indulgent parents are cer-
tainly the first that touch us; the wounds they make lie deepest, and
the weight they leave will lie heaviest upon the mind of all the sins
we can commit.
R. C. You talk too feelingly and sensibly for me, Atkins; I cannot
bear it.
W. A. You bear it, master; I dare say you know nothing of it.
R. C. Yes, Atkins; every shore, every hill, nay, I may say every
tree of this island, is witness to the anguish of my soul for my ingrati-
tude and bad usage of a good, tender father; a father much like yours,
by your description. And I murdered my father as well as you, Will
Atkins, but I think, for all that, my repentance is short of yours, too,
by a great deal.
I would have said more, if I could have restrained my passions;
but I thought this poor man's repentance was so much sincerer than
mine, that I was going to leave off the discourse and retire, for I was
surprised at what he had said, and thought that instead of my going
about to teach and instruct him, this man was made a teacher and in-
structor to me, in a most surprising and unexpected manner.
I laid all this before the young clergyman, who was greatly affected
with it, and said to me, "Did I not say, sir, that when this man was
converted he would preach to us all? I tell you, sir, if this one man
be made a true penitent, there will be no need of me; he will make
Christians of all in the island." But having a little composed myself,
I renewed my discourse with Will Atkins. "But, Will," said I, “how
comes the sense of this matter to touch you just now ?"
W. A. Sir, you have set me about a work that has struck a dart
through my very soul; I have been talking about God and religion
to my wife, in order, as you directed me, to make a Christian of her
and she has preached such a sermon to me as I shall never forget
while I live.
R. C. No, no, it is not your wife has preached to you, but when you
were moving religious arguments to her, conscience has flung them
back upon you.
W. A. Ay, sir, with such force as is not to be resisted.
R. C. Pray, Will, let us know what passed between you and your
wife, for I know something of it already.
W. A. Sir, it is impossible to give you a full account of it; I am
too full to hold it, and yet have no tongue to express it; but let her
have said what she will, and though I cannot give you an account of
it, this I can tell you, I have resolved to amend and reform my life.
16
362
ADVENTURES OF
R. C. But tell us some of it; how did you begin, Will? for this has
been an extraordinary case, that is certain. She has preached a ser-
mon, indeed, if she has wrought this upon you.
W. A. Why, I first told her the nature of our laws about marriage,
and what the reasons were that men and women were obliged to enter
into such compacts as it was neither in the power of one nor other to
break; that, otherwise, order and justice could not be maintained,
and men would run from their wives, and abandon their children,
mix confusedly with one another, and neither families be kept entire,
nor inheritances be settled by legal descent.
R. C. You talk like a civilian, Will. Could you make her under-
stand what you meant by inheritance and families? They know no
such things among the savages, but marry any how, without regard
to relation, consanguinity, or family-brother and sister, nay, as I
have been told, even the father and the daughter, and the son and the
mother.
W. A. I believe, sir, you are misinformed, and my wife assures me
of the contrary, and that they abhor it: perhaps, for any farther rela-
tions, they may not be so exact as we are; but, she tells me, they never
touch one another in the near relationship you speak of.
R. C. Well, what did she say to what you told her ?
W. A. She said she liked it very well, and it was much better than
in her country.
R. C. But did you tell her what marriage was?
W. A. Ay, ay; there began our dialogue. I asked her if she would
be married to me our way. She asked me what way that was. I
told her marriage was appointed by God; and here we had a strange
talk together, indeed, as ever man and wife had, I believe.
N. B. This dialogue between Will Atkins and his wife I took down
in writing, just after he had told it me, which was as follows:
WIFE. Appointed by God! Why, have you a God in your country?
W. A. Yes, my dear, God is in every country.
WIFE. No your God in my country; my country have the great
old Benamuckee God.
W. A. Child, I am very unfit to show you who God is. God is in
heaven, and made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and all that in
them is.
WIFE. No makee de earth; no you God makee all earth; no makee
my country.
Will Atkins langhed a little at her expression of God not making
her country.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
363
WIFE. No laugh; why laugh me? This nothing to laugh.
He was justly reproved by his wife, for she was more serious than
he at first.
W. A. That's true, indeed; I will not laugh any more, my dear.
WIFE. Why you say you God makee all?
W. A. Yes, child, our God made the whole world, and you and me,
and all things; for he is the only true God, and there is no God but
him; he lives forever in heaven.
WIFE. Why you no tell me long ago ?
W. A. That's true, indeed; but I have been a wicked wretch, and
have not only forgotten to acquaint thee with anything before, but
have lived without God in the world myself.
WIFE. What! have you a great God in your country, you no know
him? Go say O to him? No do good thing for him? That no
possible.
W. A. It is true; though, for all that, we live as if there was no
God in heaven, or that he had no power on earth.
WIFE. But why God let you do so?
Why he no makee you good
live?
W. A. It is all our own fault.
WIFE. But you say me he is great, much great, have much great
power, can makee kill when he will, why he no makee kill when you
no serve him, no say O to him, no be good mans?
W. A. That is true, he might strike me dead; and I ought to ex-
pect it, for I have been a wicked wretch, that is true; but God is mer-
ciful, and does not deal with us as we deserve.
WIFE. But then you do not tell God thankee for that, too?
W. A. No, indeed, I have not thanked God for his mercy any more
than I have feared God for his power.
WIFE. Then you God no God; me no think believe he be such one,
great much power, strong; no makee kill you, though you make him
so much angry.
W. A. What, will my wicked life hinder you from believing in
God? What a dreadful creature am I! and what a sad truth it is,
that the horrid lives of Christians hinder the conversion of heathens!
WIFE. How me think you have great much God up there (she points
up to heaven) and yet no do well, no do good thing? Can he tell? Sure
he no tell what you do?
W. A. Yes, yes, he knows and sees all things; he hears us speak,
sees what we do, knows what we think, though we do not speak.
WIFE. What! he no hear you curse, swear, speak de great damın ?
7
364
ADVENTURES OF
W. A. Yes, yes, hears it all.
WIFE. Where be then the much great power strong?
W. A. IIe is merciful, that is all we can say for it; and this proves
him to be the true God: he is God and not man, and therefore we are
not consumed.
Here Will Atkins told us he was struck with horror, to think how
he could tell his wife so clearly that God sees, and hears and knows
the secret thoughts of the heart, and all that we do, and yet that he
had dared to do all the vile things he had done.
WIFE. Merciful! What you call that?
W. A. He is our father and maker, and he pities and spares us.
WIFE. So then he never makee kill, never angry when you do wick-
ed; then he no good himself, or no great able.
W. A. Yes, yes, my dear, he is infinitely good and infinitely great,
and able to punish too; and sometimes to show his justice and ven-
geance, he lets fly his anger to destroy sinners and make examples;
many are cut off in their sins.
WIFE. But no makee kill you yet; then he tell you, may be, that
he no makee you kill ; so you makee de bargain with him, you do
bad thing, he no be angry at you when he be angry at other mans.
W. A. No, indeed; my sins are all presumptions upon his good-
ness; and he would be infinitely just if he destroyed me, as he has
done other men.
WIFE. Well, and yet no kill, no makee you dead; what you say to
him for that? You no tell him thankee for all that too?
W. A. I am an unthankful, ungrateful dog, that is true.
WIFE. Why he no makee you much good better? You say he makee
you.
W. A. He made me as he made all the world; it is I have de-
formed myself and abused his goodness, and made myself an abomin-
able wretch.
WIFE. I wish you makee God know me; I no makee him angry, I
no do bad wicked thing.
Here Will Atkins said his heart sunk within him, to hear a poor un-
taught creature desire to be taught to know God, and he such a wicked
wretch that he could not say one word to her about God, but what
the reproach of his own carriage would make most irrational to her
to believe; nay, that already she had told him that she could not be-
lieve in God, because he, that was so wicked, was not destroyed.
W. A. My dear, you mean, you wish I could teach you to know
God. not God to know you; for he knows you already, and every
thought in your heart.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
365
WIFE. Why, then he know what I say to you now; he know me
wish to know him; how shall me know who makee me?
W. A. Pour creature, he must teach thee, I cannot teach thee; I
will pray to him to teach thee to know him, and forgive me, that am
unworthy to teach thee.
2
The poor fellow was in such an agony at her desiring him to make
her know God, and her wishing to know him, that he said he fell
down on his knees before her, and prayed to God to enlighten her
mind with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, to pardon his sins,
and accept of his being the unworthy instrument of instructing her
in the principles of religion; after which he sat down by her again,
and their dialogue went on.
This was the time when we saw him
kneel down, and hold up his hands.
What you hold up the
What is all that ?
WIFE. What you put down the knee for?
hand for? What you say; Who you speak to?
W. A. My dear, I bow my knees in token of my submission to him
that made me; I said O to him, as you call it; and as your old men
do to their idol Benamuckee; that is, I prayed to him.
WIFE. What you say O to him for?
W. A. I prayed to him to open your eyes, ánd your understanding,
that you may know him, and be accepted by him.
WIFE. Can he do that too?
Yes, he can; he can do all things.
But now he hear what you say
W. A.
WIFE.
W. A.
WIFE. Bid you pray?
what, you hear him speak ?
W. A. No, we do not hear him speak; but he has revealed him-
self many ways to us.
Here he was at a great loss to make her understand that God has
revealed himself to us by his word, and what his word was; but at
last ho told it her thus:
Yes; he has bid us pray to him, and promised to hear us.
When he bid you? How he bid you?
W. A. God has spoken to some good men in former days, even
from heaven, by plain words; and God has inspired good men by his
Spirit; and they have written all his laws down in a book.
WIFE. Me no understand that, where is my book?
W. A. Alas! my poor creature, I have not this book; but I hope
I shall one time or other get it for you, and help you to read it.
Here he embraced her with great affection; but with inexpressible
grief that he had not the Bible.
WIFE. But how you makee me know that God teachee them to
write that book?
}
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ADVENTURES OF
W. A.
WIFE.
By the same rule that we know him to be God.
What rule! what way do you know him?
W. A. Because he teaches and commands nothing but what is
good, righteous, and holy, and tends to make us perfectly good, as
well as perfectly happy; and because he forbids and commands us to
avoid all that is wicked, that is evil in itself, or evil in its con-
sequence.
WIFE. That me would understand, that me fain see; if he teachee
all good thing, he makee all good thing, he give all thing, he hear
me when I say O to him, as you do just now; he makee me good, if
I wish to be good; he spare me, no makee kill me when I no be
good: all this you say he do, yet he be great God: me take, think,
believe him to be great God; mo say O to him with you, my dear.
Here the poor man could forbear no longer, but raised her up,
made her kneel by him, and he prayed to God aloud to instruct her
in the knowledge of himself, by his Spirit; and that by some good
providence, if possible, she might some time or other come to have a
Bible, that she might read the word of God, and be taught by it to
know him. This was the time that we saw him lift her up by the
hand, and saw him kneel down by her, as above.
They had several other discourses, it seems, after this, too long to
be set down here; and particularly she made him promise, that since.
he confessed his own lifo had been a wicked, abominable course of
provocations against God, that he would reform it, and not make God
angry any more; lest he should make him dead, as he called it, and'
then she would be left alone, and never be taught to know this God
better; and lest he should be miserable, as he told her wicked men
would be after death.
This was a strange account, and very affecting to us both, but par-
ticularly to the young clergyman; he was indeed wonderfully sur-
prised with it, but under the greatest affliction imaginable that he
could not talk to her, that he could not speak English, to make her
understand him; and as she spoke but very broken English, he could
not understand her; however, he turned himself to me, and told me
that he believed that there must be more to do with this woman than
to marry her. I did not understand him at first, but at length he
explained himself, viz., that she ought to be baptized. I agreed with
him in that part readily, and was for going about it presently. "No,
no; hold, sir," said he; "though I would have her be baptized by all
means, yet I must observe that Will Atkins, her husband, has indeed
brought her, in a wonderful manner, to be willing to embrace a re-
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
367
ligious life, and has given her just ideas of the being of a God; of
his power, justice, and mercy; yet I desire to know of him, if he has
said anything to her of Jesus Christ, and of the salvation of sinners;
of the nature of faith in him, and redemption by him; of the Holy
Spirit, the resurrection, the last judgment, and a future state.”
I called Will Atkins again, and asked him; but the poor fellow
fell immediately into tears, and told us he had said something to her
of all these things, but that he was himself so wicked a creature, and
his conscience so reproached him with his horrid ungodly life, that
he trembled at the apprehensions that her knowledge of him should
lessen the attention she should give to those things, and make her
rather contemn religion than receive it; but he was assured, he said,
that her mind was so disposed to receive due impressions of all those
things, and that if I would but discourse with her, she would make
it appear to my satisfaction that my labor would not be lost upon
her.
Accordingly, I called her in, and placing myself as interpreter be-
tween my religious priest and the woman, I entreated him to begin
with her; but sure such a sermon was never preached by a popish
priest in these latter ages of the world; and, as I told him, I thought
he had all the zeal, all the knowledge, all the sincerity of a Christian,
without the error of a Roman Catholic; and I took him to be such a
clergyman as the Roman Bishops were, before the Church of Rome
assumed spiritual sovereignty over the consciences of men. In a word,
he brought the poor woman to embrace the knowledge of Christ, and
of redemption by him, not with wonder and astonishment only, as she
did the first notions of a God, but with joy and faith; with an affection,
and a surprising degree of understanding, scarce to be imagined, much
less to be expressed; and, at her own request, she was baptized.
When he was preparing to baptize her, I entreated him that he
would perform that office with some caution, that the man might not
perceive he was of the Roman Church, if possible, because of other ill
consequences which might attend a difference among us in that very
religion which we were instructing the other in. He told me that as
he had no consecrated chapel, nor proper things for the office, I should
see he would do it in a manner that I should not know by it that he
was a Roman Catholic himself, if I had not known it before; and so
he did; for saying only some words over to himself in Latin, which I
could not understand, he poured a whole dishful of water upon the
woman's head, pronouncing in French very loud "Mary" (which was
the name her husband desired me to give her, for I was her godfather),
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ADVENTURES OF
"I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost:" so that none could know anything by it what religion
he was of. He gave the benediction afterward in Latin, but either
Will Atkins did not know but it was French, or else did not take notice
of it at that time.
As soon as this was over, we married them; and after the marriage
was over, he turned to Will Atkins, and in a very affectionate manner
exhorted him, not only to persevere in that good disposition he was
in, but to support the convictions that were upon him by a resolution
to reform his life; told him it was in vain to say he had repented if
he did not forsake his crimes; represented to him how God had
honored him with being the instrument of bringing his wife to the
knowledge of the Christian religion, and that he should be careful he
did not dishonor the grace of God; and that if he did, he would see
the heathen a better Christian than himself; the savage converted,
and the instrument thrown away. He said a great many good things
to them both; and then recommending them to God's goodness, gave
them the benediction again, I repeating everything to them in English;
and thus ended the ceremony. I think it was the most pleasant and
agreeable day to me that I ever passed in my whole life.
*
But my clergyman had not done yet; his thoughts hung continu-
ally upon the conversion of the thirty-seven savages, and fain he
would have stayed upon the island to have undertaken it; but I con-
vinced him, first, that his undertaking was impracticable in itself;
and, secondly, that perhaps I would put it into a way of being done
in his abseuce to his satisfaction; of which by-and-by.
Having thus brought the affairs of the island to a narrow compass,
I was preparing to go on board the ship, when the young man I had
taken out of the famished ship's company came to me, and told me he
understood I had a clergyman with me, and that I had caused the
Englishman to be married to the savages; that he had a match, too,
which he desired might be finished before I went, between two
Christians, which he hoped would not be disagreeable to me.
I knew this must be the young woman who was his mother's
servant, for there was no other Christian woman on the island; so I
began to persuade him not to do anything of that kind rashly, or be-
cause he found himself in this solitary circumstance. I represented
to him that he had some considerable substance in the world, and
good friends, as I understood by himself, and the maid also; that the
maid was not only poor, and a servant, but was unequal to him, she
being six or seventy-and-twenty years old, and he not being seventeen
ROBINSON CRUSOE
369
or eighteen; that he might very probably, with my assistance, make
a remove from this wilderness, and come into his own country again;
and that then it would be a thousand to one but he would repent his
choice, and the dislike of that circumstance might be disadvantageous
to both. I was going to say more, but he interrupted me, smiling,
and told me, with a great deal of modesty, that I mistook in my
guesses; that he had nothing of that kind in his thoughts; and that
he was very glad to hear that I had an intent of putting them in a
way to see their own country again; and nothing should have put him
upon staying there, but that the voyago I was going was so exceed-
ingly long and hazardous, and would carry him quite out of the
reach of all his friends; and that he had nothing to desire of me, but
that I would settle him in some little property in the island where he
was, give him a servant or two, and some few necessaries, and he
would settle himself here like a planter, waiting the good time when,
if ever I returned to England, I would redeem them; and hoped I
would not be unmindful of him when I came to England; that he
would give me some letters to his friends in London, and let them
know how good I had been to him, and in what part of the world,
and what circumstances I had left him in; and he promised me that
whenever I redeemed him, the plantation, and all improvements he
had made upon it, let the value be what it would, should be wholly
mine.
His discourse was very prettily delivered, considering his youth,
and was the more agreeable to me because he told me positively the
match was not for himself. I gave him all possible assurances that if
I lived to come safe to England, I would deliver his letters, and do his.
business effectually; and that he might depend I should never forget
the circumstances I had left him in; but still I was impatient to know
who was the person to be married; upon which he told me it was my
Jack-of-all-trades and his maid Susan. I was most agreeably sur-
prised when he named the match; for indeed I thought it very suit-
able. The character of that man I have given already; and as for
the maid, she was a very honest, modest, sober, and religious young
woman; had a very good share of sense, was agreeable enough in
her person, spoke very handsomely, and to the purpose, always with
decency and good manners, and neither too backward to speak, when
requisite, nor impertinently forward, when it was not her business;
very handy and housewifely, and an excellent manager; fit, indeed, to
have been governess to the whole island, and she knew very well how
to behave in every respect.
16*
370
ADVENTURES OF
•
The match being proposed in this manner, we married them the
same day; and as I was father at the altar, as I may say, and gave
her away, so I gave her a portion; for I appointed her and her
husband a handsome large space of ground for their plantation; and,
indeed, this match, and the proposal the young gentlemen made to
give him a small property in the island put me upon parcelling it out
among them, that they might not quarrel afterward about their
situation.
This sharing out the land to them I left to Will Atkins, who was
now grown a sober, grave, managing fellow, perfectly reformed, ex-
ceedingly pious and religious, and as far as I may be allowed to
speak positively in such a case, I verily believe he is a true penitent.
He divided things so justly, and so much to every one's satisfaction,
that they only desired one general writing under my hand for the
whole, which I caused to be drawn up, and signed and scaled to them,
setting out the bounds and situation of every man's plantation, and
testifying that I gave them thereby severally a right to the whole
possession and inheritance of the respective plantations or farms, with
their improvements, to them and their heirs, reserving all the rest of
the island as my own property, and a certain rent for every particular
plantation after eleven years, if I, or any one from me, or in my
name, came to demand it, producing an attested copy of the same
writing..
As to the government and laws among them, I told them I was not
capable of giving them better rules than they were able to give them-
selves; only I made them promise me to live in love and good neigh-
borhood with one another; and so I prepared to leave them.
One thing I must not omit, and that is, that being now settled in a
kind of commonwealth among themselves, and having much business
in hand, it was but odd to have seven-and-thirty Indians live in a
nook of the island, independent, and, indeed, unemployed; for, ex-
cepting the providing themselves with food, which they had difficulty
enough to do sometimes, they had no manner of business or property
to manage. I proposed, therefore, to the governor Spaniard, that he
should go to them, with Friday's father, and propose to them to re-
move, and either plant for themselves, or take them into their several
families as servants, to be maintained for their labor, but without be-
ing actual slaves; for I would not admit them to make them slaves
by force, by any means; because they had their liberty given them
by capitulation, as it were articles of surrender, which they ought not
to break.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
371
They most willingly embraced the proposal, and came all very
cheerfully along with him: so we allotted them land, and plantations,
which three or four accepted of, but all the rest chose to be em-
ployed as servants in the several families we had settled; and thus
my colony was in a manner settled, as follows: The Spaniards pos-
sessed my original habitation, which was the capital city, and ex-
tended their plantations all along the side of the brook, which made
the creek that I have so often described, as far as my bower; and as
they increased their culture, it went alway eastward. The English
lived in the northeast part, where Will Atkins and his comrades be-
gan, and came on southward and southwest, toward the back part of
the Spaniards; and every plantation had a great addition of land to
take in, if they found occasion, so that they need not jostle one
another for want of room. All the east end of the island was left
uninhabited, that if any of the savages should come on shore there
only for their usual customary barbarities, they might come and
go; if they disturbed nobody, nobody would disturb them; and
no doubt but they were often ashore, and went away again, for I
never heard that the planters were ever attacked or disturbed any
more.
It now came into my thoughts that I had hinted to my friend, the
clergyman, that the work of converting the savages might perhaps be
set on foot in his absence to his satisfaction, and told him that now
I thought it was put in a fair way; for the savages being thus di-
vided among the Christians, if they would but every one of them do
their part with those which came under their hands, I hoped it might
have a very good effect.
He agreed presently in that, if they did their part. "But how,”
says he, "shall we obtain that of them ?" I told him we would call
them all together, and leave it in charge with them, or to go to them,
one by one, which he thought best; so we divided it, he to speak to
the Spaniards, who were all papists, and I to the English, who were
all Protestants; and we recommended it earnestly to them, and made
them promise that they would never make any distinction of papist
or Protestant in their exhorting the savages to turn Christians, but
teach them the general knowledge of the true God, and of their Sa-
vior Jesus Christ; and they likewise promised us that they would
never have any differences or disputes one with another about re-
ligion.
When I came to Will Atkins's house (I may call it so, for such a
house, or such a piece of basket-work, I believe, was not standing in
f
372
ADVENTURES OF
the world again), there I found the young woman I have mentioned
above, and Will Atkins's wife, were become intimates; and this pru-
dent, religious young woman had perfected the work Will Atkins had
begun; and though it was not above four days after what I have re-
lated, yet the new-baptized savage woman was made such a Christian
as I have seldom heard of in all my observation or conversation in
the world.
It came next into my mind, in the morning before I went to them,
that among all the needful things I had to leave with them, I had
not left them a Bible, in which I showed myself less considering for
them than my good friend the widow was for me, when she sent me
the cargo of a hundred pounds from Lisbon, where she packed up
three Bibles and a prayer-book. However, the good woman's charity
had a greater extent than ever she imagined, for they were reserved
for the comfort and instruction of those that made much better use
of them than I had done.
k
I took one of the Bibles in my pocket, and when I came to Will
Atkins's tent, or house, and found the young woman and Atkins's
baptized wife had been discoursing of religion together, for Will At-
kins told me it with a great deal of joy, I asked if they were together
now, and he said yes; so I went into the house, and he with me, and
we found them together very earnest in discourse. "O sir," says
Will Atkins, "when God has sinners to reconcile to himself, and
aliens to bring home, he never wants a messenger; my wife has got
a new instructor; I knew I was as unworthy as I was incapable of
that work; that young woman has been sent hither from heaven; she
is enough to convert a whole island of savages." The young woman
blushed, and rose up to go away, but I desired her to sit still; I told
her she had a good work upon her hands, and I hoped God would
bless her in it.
We talked a little, and I did not perceive they had any book among
them, though I did not ask: but I put my hand into my pocket, and
pulled out my Bible. Here," says I to Atkins, "I have brought
yov an assistant that perhaps you had not before." The man was so
confounded that he was not able to speak for some time; but recover-
ing himself, he takes it with both his hands, and turning to his wife,
"Here, my dear," says he, "did I not tell you our God, though he
lives above, could hear what wo said? IIere's the book I prayed for
when you and I kneeled down under the bush; now God has heard
us, and sent it." When he had said so, the man fell into such trans-
ports of passionate joy, that between the joy of having it, and giving
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
· 373
God thanks for it, the tears ran down his face like a child that was
crying.
The woman was surprised, and was like to have run into a mistake
that none of us were aware of, for she firmly believed God had sent
the book upon her husband's petition. It is true, that providentially
it was so, and might be taken so in a consequent sense; but I believe
it would have been no difficult matter, at that time, to have per-
suaded the poor woman to have believed that an express messenger
came from heaven on purpose to bring that individual book; but it
was too serious a matter to suffer any delusion to take place; so I
turned to the young woman, and told her we did not desire to im-
pose upon the new convert, in her first and more ignorant understand-
ing of things, and begged her to explain to her that God may be very
properly said to answer our petitions when, in the course of his
providence, such things are in a particular manner brought to pass as
we petitioned for; but we did not expect returns from heaven in a
miraculous and particular manner, and it is our mercy that it is
not so.
This the young woman did afterwards effectually, so that there was,
I assure you, no priestcraft used here; and I should have thought it
one of the most unjustifiable frauds in the world to have had it so.
But the surprise of joy upon Will Atkins is really not to be expressed;
and there, we may be sure, was no delusion. Sure no man was ever
more thankful in the world for anything of its kind than he was for
the Bible; nor, I believe, never any man was glad of a Bible from a
better principle; and though he had been a most profligate creature,
headstrong, furious, and desperately wicked, yet this man is a stand-
ing rule to us all for the well instructing children, viz.: that parents
should never give over to teach and instruct, nor ever despair of the
success of their endeavors, let the children be ever so refractory, or to
appearance, insensible of instruction; for if ever God, in his provi-
dence, touches the conscience of such, the force of their education
returns upon them, and the early instruction of parents is not lost,
though it may have been many years Jaid asleep, but, some time or other,
they may find the benefit of it. Thus it was with this poor man;
however ignorant he was of religion and Christian knowledge, ho
found he had some to do with now more ignorant than himself, and
that the least part of the instruction of his good father that now came
to his mind was of use to him.
Among the rest it occurred to him, he said, how his father used to
insist so much on the inexpressible value of the Bible, the privilege
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and blessing of it to nations, families, and persons; but he never en-
tertained the least notion of the worth of it till now, when being to
talk to heathens, savages, and barbarians, he wanted the help of the
written oracle for his assistance.
The young woman was glad of it also for the present occasion,
though she had one, and so had the youth, on board our ship, among
their goods, which were not yet brought on shore. And now having said
so many things of this young woman, I cannot omit telling one story
more of her and myself, which has something in it very informing and
remarkable.
I have related to what extremity the poor young woman was re-
duced, how her mistress was starved to death, and died on board that
unhappy ship we met at sea, and how the whole ship's company was
reduced to the last extremity. The gentlewoman and her son, and
this maid, were first hardly used, as to provisions, and at last totally
neglected and starved; that is to say, brought to the last extremity of
hunger. One day, being discoursing with her on the extremities they
suffered, I asked her if he she could describe, by what she had felt,
what it was to starve, and how it appeared? She told me she believed
she could, and she told her tale very distinctly, thus:
<C
First, sir," said she, "we had for some days fared exceeding hard,
and suffered very great hunger; but at last we were wholly without
food of any kind, except sugar, and a little wine and water. The
first day, after I had received no food at all, I found myself, toward'
evening, first empty and sick at the stomach, and nearer night much
inclined to yawning and sleep. I laid down on a couch in the greht
cabin to sleep, and slept about three hours, and awaked a little re-
freshed, having taken a glass of wine when I lay down; after being
about three hours awake, it being about five o'clock in the morning, I
found myself empty, and my stomach sickish, and lay down again, but
could not sleep at all, being very faint and ill; and thus I continued
all the second day, with a strange variety, first hungry, then sick
again, with retchings to vomit. The second night, being obliged to go
to bed again without any food, more than a draught of fresh water,
and being asleep, I dreamed I was at Barbadoes, and that the market
was mightily stocked with provisions; that I bought some for my
mistress, and went and dined very heartily. I thought my stomach
was as full after this as it would have been after a good dinner but
when I awaked, I was exceedingly sunk in my spirits to find myself in
the extremity of famine. The last glass of wine we had I drank, and
put sugar in it, because of its having some spirit to supply nourish-
(.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
375
Z
ment; but there being no substance in the stomach for the digesting
office to work upon, I found the only effect of the wine was, to raise
disagreeable fumes from the stomach into the head; and I lay, as
they told me, stupid and senseless, as one drunk, for some time. The
third day, in the morning, after a night of strange, confused, and in-
consistent dreams, and rather dozing than sleeping, I awaked raven-
ous and furious with hunger; and I question, had not my understand-
ing returned and conquered it, whether, if I had been a mother, and
had had a little child with me, its life would have been safe or not.
This lasted about three hours; during which time I was twice raging
mad as any creature in Bedlam, as my young master told me, and as
he can now inform you.
"In one of these fits of lunacy or distraction I fell down, and struck
my face against the corner of a pallet bed, in which my mistress lay,
and, with the blow, the blood gushed out of my nose; and the cabin-
boy bringing me a little basin, I sat down and bled into it a great
deal; and as the blood came from me, I came to myself, and the
violonce of the flame or fever I was in abated, and so did the raven-
ous part of the hunger. Then I grew sick, and retched to vomit, but
could not, for I had nothing in my stomach to bring up. After I had
bled some time, I swooned, and they all believed I was dead; but I
came to myself soon after, and then had a most dreadful pain in my
stomach, not to be described, not like the colic, but a gnawing, eager
pain for food; and toward the night it went off with a kind of earnest
wishing or longing for food, something like, as I suppose, the longing
of a woman with child. I took another draught of water, with sugar
in it; but my stomach loathed the sugar, and brought it all up again;
then I took a draught of water without sugar, and all staid with me ;
and I laid me down upon the bed, praying me most heartily that it
would please God to take me away; and composing my mind in
hopes of it, I slumbered awhile, and then waking, thought mysel
dying, being light with vapors from an empty stomach; I recom-
mended my soul then to God, and earnestly wish that somebody
would throw me into the sea.

"All this while my mistress lay by me, just, as I thought, expiring,
but bore it with much more patience than I; gave the last bit of bread
she had left to her child, my young master, who would not have taken
it, but she obliged him to eat it; and I believed it saved his life.
"Toward the morning I slept again; and when I a roke, I fell into
a violent passion of crying, and after that had a second fit of violenţ
hunger; I got up ravenous, and in a most dreadful condition; had
<
-WAY
376
ADVENTURES OF
my mistress been dead, as much as I loved her, I am certain I should
have caten a piece of her flesh with much relish, and as unconcerned
as ever I did eat the flesh of any creature appointed for food; and
once or twice I was going to bite my own arm; at last I saw the basin
in which was the blood I had bled at my nose the day before; I ran
to it, and swallowed it with such haste, and such a greedy appetite, as
if I wondered nobody had taken it before, and afraid it should be
taken from me now. After it was down, though the thoughts of it
filled me with horror, yet it checked the fit of hunger, and I took
another draught of water, and was composed and refreshed for some
hours after. This was the fourth day; and thus I held it till toward
night; when, within the compass of three hours, I had all the several
circumstances over again, one after another, viz.: sick, sleepy, eagerly
hungry, pain in the stomach, then ravenous again, then sick, then lu-
natic, then crying, then ravenous again, and so every quarter of an
hour; and my strength wasted exceedingly; at night I laid me down,
having no comfort but in the hope that I should die before morn-
ing.
"All this night I had no sleep; but the hunger was now turned into
a disease; and I had a terrible colic and griping, by wind, instead
of food, having found its way into the bowels; and in this condition I
lay till morning, when I was surprised with the cries and lamenta-
tions of my young master, who called out to me that his mother was
dead: I lifted myself up a little, for I had not strength to rise, but
found she was not dead, though she was able to give very little signs
of life.
"I had then such convulsions in my stomach, for want of some
sustenance, that I cannot describe; with such frequent throes and
pangs of appetite, that nothing but the tortures of death can imi-
tate; and in this gondition I was when I heard the seamen above
cry out, 'A sailla sail! halloo and jump about as if they were dis-
tracted.
"I was not
le to get off from the bed, and my mistress much less;
and my young aster was so sick, that I thought he had been ex-
piring; so we could not open the cabin door, or get any account
what it was that occasioned such confusion; nor had we any con-
versation with the ship's company for two days, they having told us
that they had not a mouthful of anything to eat in the ship; and this
they told us afterward, they thought we had been dead. It was this
dreadful condition we were in when you were sent to save our lives ;
and how you found us, sir, you know as well as I, and better too.”

ROBINSON CRUSOE.
377
This was her own relation, and is such a distinct account of starving
to death, as I confess, I never met with, and was exceeding entertain-
ing to me. I am the rather apt to believe it to be a true account, be-
cause the youth gave me an account of a good part of it; though, I
must own, not so distinct and so feeling as the maid: and the rather,
because it seems his mother fed him at the price of her own life;
but the poor maid, though her constitution being stronger than that
of her mistress, who was in years, and a weakly woman, too, she
might struggle harder with it: I say, the poor maid might be sup-
posed to feel the extremity, something sooner than her mistress, who
might be allowed to keep the last bit something longer than she
parted with any to relieve the maid. No question, as the case is here
related, if our ship, or some other, had not providentially met them, a
few days more would have ended all their lives, unless they had pre-
vented it by eating one another; and that even, as their case stood,
would have served them but a little while, they being fire hundred
leagues from any land, or any possibility of relief, other than in the
miraculous manner it happened; but this is by the way: I return to
my disposition of things among the people.
And, first, it is to be observed here, that for many reasons I did not
think fit to let them know anything of the sloop I had framed, and
which I thought of setting up among them; for I found, at least at
my first coming, such seeds of divisions among them, that I saw
plainly had I set up the sloop, and left it among them, they would,
upon every light disgust, have separated, and gone away from one
another, or perhaps have turned pirates, and so made the island a den
of thieves, instead of a plantation of sober and religious people, as I
intended it; nor did I leave the two pieces of brass cannon that I
had on board, or the two quarter-deck guns that my nephew took ex-
traordinary, for the same reason: I thought it was enough to qualify
them for a defensive war against any that should invade them, but
not to set them up for an offensive war, or to go abroad to attack
others; which, in the end, would only bring ruin and destruction
upon them: I reserved the sloop, therefore, and the guns for their
service another way, as I shall observe in its place.
Having now done with the island, I left them all in good circum-
stances, and in a flourishing condition, and went on board my ship
again on the 6th of May, having been about twenty-five days among
them; and as they were all resolved to stay upon the island till I
came to remove them, I promised to send them farther relief from the
Brazils, if I could possibly find an opportunity: and, particularly, I
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promised to send them some cattle, such as sheep, hogs, and cows; as
to the two cows and calves which I had brought from England, we
had been obliged, by the length of our voyage, to kill them at sea,
for want of hay to feed them.
Chapter Forty.
Encounter with Savages at Sea-Friday's Death - Robinson finds his former
Partner in the Brazils-Sails for the East Indies,

HE next day, giving them a salute of five guns at parting
we set sail, and arrived at the bay of All Saints, in the Bra-
zils, in about twenty-two days, meeting nothing remarkable
in the passage but this: that about three days after we had
sailed, being becalmed, and the current setting strong to the E. N. E.
running, as it were, into a bay or gulf on the land side, we were
driven something out of our course, and once or twice our men cried
out, "Land to the eastward;" but whether it was the continent or
islands we could not tell by any means. But the third day, toward
evening, the sea smooth, and the weather calm, we saw the sea, as it
were, covered toward the land with something very black; not being
able to discover what it was, till after some time, our chief mate, going
up to the main-shrouds a little way, and looking at them with a
perspective, cried out it was an army. I could not imagine what he
meant by an army, and thwarted him a little hastily. "Nay, sir,”
says he, "don't be angry, for 'tis an army, and a fleet, too; for I be-
lieve there are a thousand canoes, and you may see them paddle
along, for they are coming toward us apace."
I was a little surprised then, indeed, and so was my nephew the
captain; for he had heard such terrible stories of them in the island,
and having never been in those seas before, that he could not tell
what to think of it, but said, two or three times, we should all be de-
voured. I must confess, considering we were becalmed, and the cur-
rent set strong toward the shore, I liked it the worse; however, I
bade them not to be afraid, but bring the ship to an anchor as soon as
we came so near to know that we must engage them.
The weather continued calm, and they came on apace toward us;
I gave order to come to an anchor, and furl all our sails: as for
SO
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
379
the savages, I told them they had nothing to fear but fire, and there-
fore they should get their boats out, and fasten them, one close by
the head, and the other by the stern, and man them both well, and
wait the issue in that posture: this I did, that the men in the boats
might be ready with sheets and buckets to put out any fire these
savages would endeavor to fix to the outside of the ship.
In this posture we lay for them, and in a little while they came up
with us; but never was such a horrid sight seen by Christians:
though my mate was much mistaken in his calculation of their num-
ber, yet when they came up we reckoned about a hundred and
twenty-six; some of them had sixteen or seventeen men in them,
soine more, and the least six or seven.
When they came nearer to us, they seemed to be struck with won-
der and astonishment, as at a sight which doubtless they had never
seen before; nor could they at first, as we afterward understood,
know what to make of us. They came boldly up, however, very near
to us, and seemed to go about to row round us; but we called to our
men in the boats not to let them come too near them. This very order
brought us to an engagement with them, without our designing it, for
five or six of the large canoes came so near our long boat that our
men beckoned with their hands to keep them back, which they under-
stood very well, and went back, but at their retreat about fifty arrows
came on board us from those boats, and one of our men in the long-
boat was very much wounded. However, I called to them not to fire
by any means; but we handed down some deal boards into the boat,
and the carpenter presently set up a kind of fence, like waste boards,
to cover them from the arrows of the savages, if they should shoot
again.
About half an hour afterward they all came up in a body astern of
us, and so near as that we could easily discern what they were, though
we could not tell their design; and I easily found they were some of
my old friends, the same sort of savages that I had been used to en-
gage with, and in a short time more they rowed a little farther out to
sea, till they came directly broadside with us, and then rowed down
straight upon us, till they came so near that they could hear us speak.
Upon this I ordered all my men to keep close, lest they should shoot
any more arrows, and made all our guns ready; but being so near as
to be within hearing, I made Friday go out upon the deck, and call
out aloud to them in his language to know what they meant, which
accordingly he did. Whether they understood him or not that I knew
not, but as soon as he had called to them, six of them, who were in
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ADVENTURES OF
the foremost or nighest boat to us, turned their canoes from us, and
stooping down, showed us their naked backsides; just as if, in En-
glish, saving your presence, they bid us kiss
Whether this was
a defiance or challenge we knew not, or whether it was done in
mere contempt, or as a signal to the rest; but immediately Friday
cried out they were going to shoot; and, unhappily for him, pocr fel-
low, they let fly about three hundred of their arrows, and, to my in-
expressible grief, killed poor Friday, no other man being in their
sight. The poor fellow was shot with no less than three arrows,
and about three more fell very near him, such unlucky marksmen
they were.
I was so enraged at the loss of my old trusty servant and compan-
ion, that I immediately ordered five guns to be loaded with small shot
and four with great, and gave them such a broadside as they had never
heard in their lives before, to be sure. They were not above half a
cable length off when we fired, and our gunners took their aim so well
that three or four of their canoes were overset, as we had reason to
believe, by one shot only.
The ill manners of turning up their bare backsides to us gave us no
great offence; neither did I know for certain whether that which
would pass for the greatest contempt among us, might be understood
so by them or not; therefore, in return, I had only resolved to have
fired four or five guns at them, with powder only, which I knew would
frighten them sufficiently; but when they shot at us directly, with all
the fury they were capable of, and especially as they had killed my
poor Friday, whom I so entirely loved and valued, and who, indeed,
so well deserved it, I thought myself not only justifiable before God
and man, but would have been very glad if I could have overset every
canoe there, and drowned every one of them.
I can neither tell how many we killed, nor how many we wounded
at this broadside, but sure such a fright and hurry never was seen
among such a multitude; there were thirteen or fourteen of their ca-
noes split and overset in all, and the men all set a swimming; the
rest, frightened out of their wits, scoured away as fast as they could,
taking but little care to save those whose boats were split or spoiled
with our shot, so I suppose that many of them were lost, and our men
took up one poor fellow, swimming for his life, above an hour after
they were all gone.
The small shot from our cannon must needs kill and wound a great
many; but, in short, we never knew anything how it went with them,
for they fled so fast that in three hours, or thereabouts, we could not
Sy
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
381
see above three or four straggling canoes, nor did we ever see the rest
any more, for a breeze of wind springing up the same evening, we
weighed, and set sail for the Brazils.
We had a prisoner, indeed, but the creature was so sullen that he
would neither eat nor speak, and we all fancied he would starve him-
self to death, but I took a way to cure him, for I made them take him
and turn him out into the long-boat, and make him believe they would
toss him into the sea again, and so leave him where they found him,
if he would not speak; nor would that do, but they really did throw
him into the sea, and came away from him; and then he followed
them, for he swam like a cork, and called to them in his tongue,
though they knew not a word of what he said. However, at last they
took him in again, and then he began to be more tractable; nor did I
ever design they should drown him.
We were now under sail again, but I was the most disconsolate
creature alive for want of my man Friday, and would have been very
glad to have gone back to the island, to have taken one of the rest
from there for my occasion; but it could not be, so we went on.
We
had one prisoner, as I have said, and it was a long time before we
could make him understand anything, but, in time, our men taught
him some English, and he began to be a little tractable. Afterward,
we inquired what country he came from, but could make nothing of
what he said, for his speech was so odd (all gutturals), and he spoke
in the throat in such a hollow, odd manner, that we could never form a
word after him, and we were all of opinion that they might speak
that language as well if they were gagged as otherwise; nor could we
perceive that they had any occasion either for teeth, tongue, lips, or
palate, but formed their words just as a hunting horn forms a tune,
with an open throat. He told us, however, some time after, when we
had taught him to speak a little English, that they were going with
their kings to fight a great battle. When he said kings, we asked him
how many kings? IIe said there were five nation (we could not make
him understand the plural s), and that they all joined to go against
two nation. We asked him what made them come up to us? He
said, “To makee te great wonder look." Here it is to be observed
that all these natives, as also those of Africa, when they learn En-
glish, always add two e's at the end of the words where we use one,
and they place the accent upon them, as makee, takee, and the like,
and we could not break them of it; nay, I could hardly make Friday
leave it off, though at last he did.
And, now I name the poor fellow once more, I must take my last
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ADVENTURES OF
leave of him. Poor, honest Friday! We buried him with all the de-
cency and solemnity possible, by putting him into a coffin and throw-
ing him into the sea, and I caused them to fire eleven guns for him;
and so ended the life of the most grateful, faithful, honest, and most
affectionate servant that ever man had.
We went now away with a fair wind for Brazil, and in about twelve
days' time we made land, in the latitude of five degrees south of the
line, being the northeastermost land of all that part of America. We
kept on, S. by E., in sight of the shore, four days, when we made
Cape St. Augustine, and in three days came to an anchor off the bay
of All Saints, the old place of my deliverance, from whence came both
my good and evil fate.
Է
Never ship came to this port that had less business than I had, and
yet it was with great difficulty that we were admitted to hold the
least correspondence on shore; not my partner himself, who was alive,
and made a great figure among them, not my two merchant trustees,
not the fame of my wonderful preservation in the island, could obtain
me that favor; but my partner remembering that I had given five
hundred moidores to the priory of the monastery of the Augustines,
and two hundred and seventy-two to the poor, went to the monastery,
and obliged the prior that then was, to go to the governor, and get
leave for me personally, with the captain and one more besides eight
seamen, to come on shore, and no more; and this upon condition ab-
solutely capitulated for, that we should not offer to land any goods out
of the ship, or to carry any person away without license. They were
so strict with us as to landing and goods, that it was with extreme
difficulty that I got on shore three bales of English goods, such as fine
broadcloths, stuffs, and some linen, which I had brought for a present
to my partner.
He was a very generous, open-hearted man; though, like me, he
came from little at first; and though he knew not that I had the least
design of giving him anything, he sent me on board a present of fresh
provision, wine and sweetmeats, worth above thirty moidores, in-
cluding some tobacco, and three or four fine medals of gold; but I
was even with him in my present, which, as I have said, consisted of
fine broadcloth, English stuffs, lace, and fine hollands; I also delivered
him about the value of one hundred pounds sterling, in the same
goods, for other uses; and I obliged him to set up the sloop, which I
had brought with me from England, as I have said, for the use of my
colony, in order to send the refreshments I intended to my planta-
tion.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
383
Accordingly, he got hands, and finished the sloop in a very few
days, for she was already framed; and I gave the master of her such
instructions as that he could not miss the place; nor did he miss them,
as I had an account from my partner afterward. I got him soon
loaded with a small cargo I sent them; and one of our seamen, that
had been on shore with me there offered to go with the sloop and
settle there, upon my letter to the governor Spaniard to allot him a
sufficient quantity of land for a plantation, and giving him some
clothes and tools for his planting work, which he said he understood,
having been an old planter at Maryland, and a buccaneer into the
bargain. I encouraged the fellow, by granting all he desired; and,
as an addition, I gave him the savage whom we had taken prisoner of
war to be his slave, and ordered the governor Spaniard to give him
his share of everything he wanted with the rest.
When we came to fit this man out, my old partner told me there
was a certain very honest fellow, a Brazil planter of his acquaintance,
who had fallen into the displeasure of the church. "I know not what
the matter is with him," says he, "but on my conscience, I think he
is a heretic in his heart, and he has been obliged to conceal himself
for fear of the Inquisition; that he would be very glad of such an
opportunity to make his escape, with his wife and two daughters; and
if I would let them go to my island, and allot them a plantation, he
would give them a small stock to begin with; for the officers of the
Inquisition had seized all his effects and estate, and he had nothing
left but a little household stuff, and two slaves; and," adds he,
though I hate his principles, yet I would not have him fall into
their hands, for he will be assuredly burned alive if he does:"
I granted this presently, and joined my Englishman with them;
and we concealed the man, and his wife and daughters, on board our
ship, till the sloop put out to go to sea; and then, having put all
their goods on board some time before, we put them on board the
sloop after she was got out of the bay.
Our seamen were mightily pleased with this new partner; and their
stocks, indeed, were much alike rich in tools, in preparations, and a
farm; but nothing to begin with, except as above; however, they
carried over with them, which was worth all the rest, some materials
for planting sugarcanes, with some plants of canes, which he, I mean
the Portugal man, understood very well.
Among the rest of the supplies sent to my tenants in the island, I
sent them by the sloop three milch cows and five calves, about twenty-
two hogs among them, three sows big with pig, two mares, and a
}}
384
ADVENTURES OF
į
stonehorse. For my Spaniards, according to my promise, I engaged
three Portugal women to go, and recommended it to them to marry
them, and use them kindly. I could have procured more women, but
I remembered that the poor prosecuted man had two daughters, and
that there were but five of the Spaniards who wanted; the rest had
wives of their own, though in another country.
All this cargo arrived safe, and, as you may easily suppose, was
welcome to my old inhabitants, who were now, with this addition, be-
tween sixty and seventy people, besides little children, of which there
were a great many. I found letters at London from them all, by way
of Lisbon, when I came back to England, of which I shall also take
some notice immediately.
I have now done with the island, and all manner of discourse about
it; and whoever reads the rest of my memorandums, would do well to
turn his thoughts entirely from it, and expect to read of the follies of
an old man, not warned by his own harms, much less by those of
other men, to beware of the like; not cooled by almost forty years'
miseries and disappointments; not satisfied with prosperity beyond
expectation, nor made cautious by afflictions and distress beyond
imitation.
I had no more business to go to the East Indies, than a man at
full liberty has to go to the turnkey at Newgate, and desire him
to lock him up among the prisoners there, and starve him. Ilad
I taken a small vessel from England and gone directly to the is-
land; had I loaded her as I did the other vessel, with all the ne-
cessaries for the plantation, and for my people; taken a patent from
the government here to have secured my property, in subjection only
to that of England; had I carried over cannon and ammunition,
servants and people to plant, and taken possession of the place, forti-
fied and strengthened it in the name of England, and increased it with
people, as I might easily have done; had I then settled myself there,
and sent the ship back laden with good rice, as I might also have
done in six months' time, and ordered my friends to have fitted her
out again for our supply; had I done this, and stayed there myself, I
had at least acted like a man of common sense; but I was possessed
with a wandering spirit, and scorned all advantages; I pleased my-
self with being the patron of the people I placed there, and doing for
them in a kind of haughty, majestic way, like an old patriarchal
monarch, providing for them as if I had been father of the whole
family, as well as of the plantation; but I never so much as pretended
to plant in the name of any government or nation, or to acknowledge
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
385
any prince, or to call my people subjects to any one nation more than
another; nay, I never so much as gave the place a name, but left it,
as I found it, belonging to nobody, and the people under no discipline
or government but my own; who, though I had influence over them
as a father and benefactor, had no authority or power to act or com-
mand one way or other, farther than voluntary consent moved them to
comply; yet, even this, had I stayed there, would have done well
enough; but as I rambled from them, and came there no more, the
last letters I had from any of them were by my partner's means, who
afterward sent another sloop to the place, and who sent me word,
though I had not the letter till I got to London, several years after it
was written, that they went on but poor poorly, were malcontent with
their long stay there; that Will Atkins was dead; that five of the
Spaniards were come away; and though they had not been much
molested by the savages, yet they had some skirmishes with them;
and that they begged of him to write to me to think of the promise I
had made to fetch them away, that they might see their country again
before they died.
But I was gone a wild goose chase, indeed, and they that will have
any more of me, must be content to follow me into a new variety of
follies, hardships, and wild adventures, wherein the justice of Provi-
dence may be duly observed; and we may see how easily Heaven can
gorge us with our own desires, make the strongest of our wishes be
our affliction, and punish us most severely with those very things
which we think it would be our utmost happiness to be allowed in.
Whether I had business or no business, away I went. It is no time
now to enlarge upon the reason or absurdity of my own conduct, but
to come to the history: I was embarked for the voyage, and the voy-
age I went.
I shall only add a word or two concerning my honest popish cler-
gyman; for, let their opinion of us, and all other heretics in general,
as they eall us, be as uncharitable as it may, I verily believe this man
was very sincere, and wished the good of all men; yet I believe he
was upon the reserve in many of his expressions, to prevent giving
me offence, for I scarce heard him once call on the blessed Virgin, or
mention St. Jago or his guardian angel, though so common with the
rest of them. However, I say, I had not the least doubt of his sin-
cerity, and pious intentions on his own part, and I am firmly of opin-
ion, if the rest of the popish missionaries were like him, they would
strive to visit even the poor Tartars, and Laplanders, where they had
nothing to give them, as well as covet to flock to India, Persia, China,
17
386
ADVENTURES OF
·
t
etc., the most wealthy of the heathen countries, for if they expected to
bring no gains to their church by it, it may well be admired how they
came to admit the Chinese Confucius into the calendar of the Chris-
tian saints. But this, by-the-by.
A ship being ready to sail for Lisbon, my pious priest asked my
leave to go thither, being still, as he observed, bound never to finish
any voyage he began. How happy had it been for me if I had gone
with him; but it was too late now. All things Heaven appoints for
the best had I gone with him, I had never had so many things to be
thankful for, and the reader had never heard of the second part of
the travels and adventures of Robinson Crusoe, so I must here leave
exclaiming at myself, and go on with my voyage.
From the Brazils we made directly over the Atlantic Sea to the
Cape of Good Hope, and had a tolerable good voyage, our course
generally southeast; now and then a storm, and some contrary winds,
but my disasters at sea were at an end; my future rubs and cross
events were to befall me on shore, that it might appear the land was
as well prepared to be our scourge as the sea.
Our ship was on a trading voyage, and had a supercargo on board,
who was to direct all her motions after she arrived at the Cape, only
being limited to a certain number of days for stay, by charter-party,
at the several ports she was to go. This was none of my business,
neither did I meddle with it; my nephew, the captain, and the
supercargo, adjusting all those things between them as they thought
fit.
Chapter Forty-One.
The Vessel touches at Madagascar-Affray with the Natives, who are massacred
by the Crew-The Sailors afterward refuse to sail with Robinson, who is left
by his Nephew, the Captain, in Bengal.
E stayed at the Cape no longer than was needful to take
in fresh water, but made the best of our way for the coast
of Coromandel. We were, indeed, informed that a French
man-of-war of fifty guns, and two large merchant ships,
were gone for the Indies; and as I knew we were at war with France,
I had some apprehensions of them, but they went their own way, and
we heard no more of them.
Sup

ROBINSON CRUSOE.
387
I shall not pester the reader with a tedious description of places,
journals of our voyages, variations of the compass, latitudes, trade-
winds, etc., it is enough to name the ports and places which we
touched at, and what occurred to us upon our passing from one to
another. We touched first at the island of Madagascar, where, though
the people are fierce and treacherous, and very well armed with
lances and bows, which they use with inconceivable dexterity, yet
we fared very well with them a while; they treated us very civilly,
and, for some trifles which we gave them, such as knives, scissors, etc.,
they brought us eleven good fat bullocks of a middling size, which we
took in, partly for fresh provisions for our present spending, and the
rest to salt for the ship's use.
We were obliged to stay here some time after we had furnished
ourselves with provisions; and I, who was always too curious to look
into every nook of the world wherever I came, was for going on shore
as often as I could. It was on the east side of the island that we
went on shore one evening; and the people, who, by-the-way, are
very numerous, came thronging about us, and stood gazing at us at a
distance; but, as we had traded freely with them, and had been kindly
used, we thought ourselves in no danger, but when we saw the peo-
ple, we cut three boughs out of a tree and stuck them up at a distance
from us, which, it seems, is a mark in that country, not only of truce
and friendship, but when it is accepted, the other side sets up three
poles or boughs, which is a signal that they accept the truce, too;
but then this is a known condition of the truce, that you are not to
pass beyond their three poles toward them, nor they to come past
your three poles or boughs toward you; so that you are perfectly se-
cure within the three poles, and all the space between your poles and
theirs is allowed like a market for free converse, traffic, and com-
merce. When you go there you must not carry your weapons with
you, and if they come into that space, they stick up their javelins and
lances all at the first poles, and come on unarmed; but if any violence
is offered them, and the truce thereby broken, away they run to the
poles and lay hold of their weapons, and the truce is at an end.
It happened one evening, when we went on shore, that a greater
number of the people came down than usual, but all very friendly
and civil; and they brought several kinds of provisions, for which we
satisfied them with such toys as we had; their women, also, brought
us milk and roots, and several things very acceptable to us, and all
was quiet, and we made us a little tent or hut of some boughs of trees
and lay on shore all night.
388
ADVENTURES OF
+
I know not what was the occasion, but I was not so well satisfied
to lie on shore as the rest, and the boat riding at an anchor about a
stone's cast from the land, with two men in her to take care of her, I
made one of them come on shore, and getting some boughs of trees to
cover us, also, in the boat, I spread the sail on the bottom of the boat
and lay under the cover of the branches of the trees all night in the
boat.
About two o'clock in the morning we heard one of our men make a
terrible noise on the shore, calling out, for God's sake, to bring the
boat in, and come and help them, for they were all like to be mur-
dered; at the same time I heard the fire of five muskets, which was
the number of the guns they had, and that three times over; for, it
seems the natives here were not so easily frightened with guns as the
savages were in America, where I had to do with them. All
this while I knew not what was the matter, but rousing immedi-
ately from sleep with the noise, I caused the boat to be thrust in
and resolved, with three fusees we had on board, to land and assist
our men.
We got the boat soon to the shore, but our men were in too much
haste; for being come to the shore, they plunged into the water, to
get to the boat with all the expedition they could, being pursued by
between three and four hundred men. Our men were but nine in all,
and only five of them had fusees with them; the rest had pistols and
swords, indeed, but they were of small use to them.
We took up seven of our men, and with difficulty enough too, three
of them being very ill wounded; and that which was still worse was, that
while we stood in the boat to take our men in, we were in as much
danger as they were in on shore; for they poured their arrows in
upon us so thick, that we were glad to barricade the side of the boat
up with the benches, and two or three loose boards, which, to our
great satisfaction, we had by mere accident in the boat. And yet
had it been daylight, they are, it seems, such exact marksmen, that
if they could have seen but the least part of us, they would have been
sure of us. We had, by the light of the moon, a little sight of them,
as they stood pelting us from the shore with darts and arrows; and
having got ready our fire-arms, we gave them a volley, that we could
hear, by the cries of some of them, had wounded several; however,
they stood thus in battle array on the shore till break of day, which,
we suppose was that they might see the better to take their aim at
us.
In this condition we lay, and could not tell how to weigh our
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
389
anchor or set up our sail, because we must needs stand up in the boat,
and they were sure to hit us as we were to hit a bird on a tree with
small shot. We made signals of distress to the ship, which, though
she rode a league off, yet my nephew, the captain, hearing our firing,
and by glasses perceiving the posture we lay in, and that we fired
toward the shore, pretty well understood us; and weighing anchor
with all speed, he stood as near the shore as he durst with the ship,
and then sent another boat, with ten hands in her to assist us; but we
called to them not to come too near, telling them what condition we
were in; however they stood in near to us, and one of the men taking
the end of a tow-line in his hand, and keeping one boat between him
and the enemy, so that they could not perfectly see him, swam on
board us, and made fast the line to the boat; upon which we slipped
out a little cable, and leaving our anchor behind, they towed us out
of the reach of the arrows; we all the while lying close behind the
barricado we had made.
As soon as we were got from between the ship and the shore, that
we could lay her side to the shore, she run along just by them, and
poured in a broadside among them loaded with pieces of iron and
lead, small bullets, and such stuff, besides, the great shot, which made
a terrible havoc among them.
When we were got on board and out of danger, we had time to ex-
amine into the occasion of this fray; and, indeed, our supercargo, who
had been often in those parts, put me upon it; for he said he was
sure the inhabitants would not have touched us after we had made a
truce, if we had not done something to provoke them to it. At length
it came out that an old woman who had come to sell us some milk,
had brought it within our poles, and a young woman with her, who
also brought some roots or herbs; and while the old woman (whether
she was mother to the young woman or no they could not tell) was
selling us the milk, one of our men offered some rudeness to the
wench that was with her, at which the old woman made a great
noise; however; the seaman would not quit his prize, but carried her
out of the old woman's sight among the trees, it being almost dark;
the old woman went away without her, and, as we may suppose, made
an outcry among the people she came from, who, upon notice, raised
this great army upon us in three or four hours; and it was great odds
but we had all been destroyed.
One of our men was killed with a lance thrown at him just at the
beginning of the attack, as he sallied out of the tent they had made;
the rest came off free, all but the fellow who was the occasion of all
1
390
ADVENTURES OF
the mischief, who paid dear enough for his black mistress, for we
could not hear what became of him a great while. We lay upon the
shore two days after, though the wind presented, and made signals
for him, and made our boat sail up shore and down shore several
leagues, but in vain, so we were obliged to give him over; and if
he alone had suffered for it, the loss had been less.
I could not satisfy myself, however, without venturing on shore
once more, to try if I could learn anything of him or them; it
was the third night after the action that I had a great mind to
learn, if I could by any means, what mischief we had done, and
how the game stood on the Indian's side. I was careful to do it
in the dark, lest we should be attacked again; but I ought, indeed,
to have been sure that the men I went with had been under my com-
mand, before I engaged in a thing so hazardous and mischievous, as
I was brought into by it without design.
We took twenty as stout fellows with us as any in the ship, besides
the supercargo and myself, and we landed two hours before midnight,
at the same place where the Indians stood drawn up in the evening
before; I landed here, because my design, as I have said, was chiefly
to see if they had quitted the field, and if they had left any marks be-
hind them of the mischief we had done them; and I thought if we
could surprise one or two of them, perhaps we might get our man
again, by way of exchange.
We landed without any noise, and divided our men into two bodies,
whereof the boatswain commanded one, and I the other. We neither
saw nor heard anybody stir when we landed; and we marched up,
one body at a distance from the other, to the place; but at first could
see nothing, it being very dark; till by-and-by our boatswain, who
led the first party, stumbled and foll over a dead body. This made
them halt awhile; for knowing by the circumstances that they were
at the place where the Indians had stood, they waited for my coming
up there. We concluded to halt till the moon began to rise, which
we knew would be in less than an hour, when we could easily discern
the havoc we had made among them. We told thirty-two bodies upon
the ground, whereof two were not quite dead; some had an arm, and
some a leg shot off, and one his hand; those that were wounded, we
suppose, they had carried away.
When we had made, as I thought, a full discovery of all we could
come to the knowledge of, I was resolved for going on board; but the
boatswain and his party sent me word that they were resolved to
make a visit to the Indian town, where these dogs, as they called
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
391
them, dwelt, and asked me to go along with them; and if they could
find them, as they still fancied they should, they did not doubt of
getting a good booty; and it might be they might find Tom Jeffry
there; that was the man's name we had lost.
Had they sent to ask my leave to go, I knew well enough what
answer to have given them; for I should have commanded them
instantly on board, knowing it was not a hazard fit for us to run, who
had a ship, and ship-loading in our charge, and a voyage to make
which depended very much upon the lives of the men; but as they
sent me word they were resolved to go, and only asked me and my
company to go along with them, I positively refused it, and rose up,
for I was sitting on the ground, in order to go to the boat. One or
two of the men began to importune me to go; and when I refused,
began to grumble, and say they were not under my command, and
would go. (* Come, Jack,” says one of the men, "will you go with
me? I'll go for one." Jack said he would-and then another-and,
in a word, they all left me but one, whom I persuaded to stay, and a
boy left in the boat. So the supercargo and I with the third man,
went back to the boat, where we told them we should stay for them,
and take care to take in as many of them as should be left; for I told
them it was a mad thing they were going about, and supposed most
of them would run the fate of Tom Jeffry.
They told me, like seamen, they would warrant it they would come
off again, and they would take care, &c.; so away they went. I en-
treated them to consider the ship and the voyage, that their lives
were not their own, and that they were intrusted with the voyage in
some measure; that if they miscarried, the ship might be lost for
want of their help, and that they could not answer for it to God or
man. But I might as well have talked to the mainmast of the ship;
they were mad upon their journey, only they gave me good words,
and begged I would not be angry, that they did not doubt but they
would be back again in about an hour at farthest; for the Indian
town, they said, was not above half a mile off, though they found it
above two miles before they got to it.
Well, they all went away; and though the attempt was desperate,
and such as none but madmen would have gone about, yet to give
them their due, they went about it as warily as boldly: they were
gallantly armed, for they had every man a fusee or musket, a bayonet,
and a pistol; some of them had broad cutlasses, some of them had
hangers, and the boatswain and two more had pole axes; besides all
which they had among them thirteen hand-grenadoes: bolder fellows,
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and better provided, never went about any wicked work in the
world.
When they went out, their chief desire was plunder, and they were
in mighty hopes of finding gold there; but a circumstance, which
none of them were aware of, set them on fire with revenge, and made
devils of them all. When they came to the few Indian houses which
they thought had been the town, which was not above half a mile off,
they were under a great disappointment, for there were not abore
twelve or thirteen houses; and where the town was, or how big, they
knew not. They consulted, therefore, what to do, and were some time
before they could resolve; for if they fell upon these, they must cut
all their throats, and it was ten to one but some of them might escape,
it being in the night, though the moon was up; and if one escaped,
he would run and raise all the town, so they should have a whole
army upon them: again, on the other hand, if they went away and
left those untouched, for the people were all asleep, they could not
tell which way to look for the town: however, the last was the best
advice; so they resolved to leave them, and look for the town as well
as they could. They went on a little way, and found a cow tied to a
tree; this, they presently concluded, would he a good guide to them;
for, they said, the cow certainly belonged to the town before them, or
the town behind them; and if they untied her, they should see which
way she went; if she went back, they had nothing to say to her; but,
if she went forward, they would follow her: so they cut the cord,
which was made of twisted flags, and the cow went on before them,
directly to the town; which, as they reported, consisted of above two
hundred houses or huts, and in some of these they found several
families living together.
Here they found all in silence, as profoundly secure as sleep could
make them; and, first, they called another council, to consider what
they had to do; and, in a word, they resolved to divide themselves
into three bodies, and so set three houses on fire in three parts of the
town; and as the men came out, to seize them and bind them (if any
resisted, they need not be asked what to do then), and so to search
the rest of the houses for plunder: but they resolved to march silently
first through the town, and see what dimensions it was of, and if they
might venture upon it or no.
They did so, and desperately resolved that they would venture
upon them but while they were animating one another to the work,
three of them, who were a little before the rest, called out aloud to
them, and told them that they had found Tom Jeffry: they all ran
What is the
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393
up to the place, where they found the poor fellow hanging up naked
by one arm, and his throat cut. There was an Indian house just by
the tree, where they found sixteen or seventeen of the principal
Indians, who had been concerned in the fray with us before, and two
or three of them wounded with our shot; and our men found they
were awake, and talking one to another in that house, but knew not
their number.
The sight of their poor mangled comrade so enraged them, as be-
fore, that they swore to one another they would be revenged, and that
not an Indian that came into their hands should have any quarter;
and to work they went immediately, and yet not so madly as might be
expected from the rage and fury they were in. Their first care was
to get something that would soon take fire, but, after a little search,
they found that would be to no purpose; for most of the houses
were low, and thatched with flags and rushes, of which the country is
full so they presently made some wild-fire, as we call it, by wetting
a little powder in the palm of their hands; and in a quarter of an
hour they set the town on fire in four or five places, and particularly
that house where the Indians were not gone to bed.
As soon as the fire began to blaze, the poor frightened creatures
began to rush out to save their lives, but met with their fate in
the attempt; and especially at the door, where they drove them back,
the boatswain himself killing one or two with his pole-axe; the house
being large, and many in it, he did not care to go in, but called for a
hand-grenado, and threw it among them, which at first frightened
them, but, when it burst, made such havoc among them, that they
cried out in a hideous manner. In short, most of the Indians who
were in the open part of the house were killed or hurt with the gren-
ado, except two or three who pressed to the door, which the boatswain
and two more kept, with their bayonets on the muzzles of their pieces,
and despatched all that came in their way but there was another
apartment in the house, where the prince or king, or whatever he
was, and several others were; and these were kept in till the house,
which was by this time all a light flame, fell in upon them, and they
were smothered together.
All this while they fired not a gun, because they would not waken
the people faster than they could master them; but the fire began to
waken them fast enough, and our fellows were glad to keep a little
together in bodies; for the fire grew so raging, all the houses being
made of light combustible stuff, that they could hardly bear the street
between them; and their business was to follow the fire, for the surer
ין
17*
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ADVENTURES OF
execution; as fast as the fire either forced the people out of those
houses which were burning, or frightened them out of others, our
people were ready at their doors to knock them on the head, still
calling and hallooing one to another to remember Tom Jeffry.
While this was doing, I must confess I was very uneasy, and
especially when I saw the flames of the town, which, it being night,
seemed to be just by me. My nephew, the captain, who was roused
by his men, seeing such a fire, was very uneasy, not knowing what
the matter was, or what danger I was in, especially hearing the guns,
too, for by this time they began to use their firearms; a thousand
thoughts oppressed his mind concerning me, and the supercargo, what
would become of us; and, at last, though he could ill spare any more
men, yet not knowing what exigence we might be in, he takes another
boat, and with thirteen men and himself comes on shore to me.
}
He was surprised to see me and the supercargo in the boat, with no
more than two men; and though he was glad that we were well, yet
he was in the same impatience with us to know what was doing; for
the noise continued, and the flame increased; in short, it was next to
an impossibility for any man in the world to restrain their curiosity
to know what had happened, or their concern for the safety of tho
men in a word, the captain told me he would go and help his men,
let what would come. I argued with him, as I did before with the
men, the safety of the ship, the danger of the voyage, the interest of
the owners and merchants, &c., and told him I and the two men
would go, and only see if we could at a distance learn what was like
to be the event, and come back and tell him. It was all one to talk
to my nephew, as it was to talk to the rest before; he would go, he
said; and he only wished he had left but ten men in the ship; for he
could not think of having his men lost for want of help; he had rath-
er lose the ship, the voyage, and his life and all; and away he went.
I was no more able to stay behind now than I was to persuade
them not to go: so, in short, the captain ordered two men to row back
the pinnace, and fetch twelve men more, leaving the long-boat at an
anchor; and that when they came back, six men should keep the two
boats, and six more come after us; so that he left only sixteen men
in the ship; for the whole ship's company consisted of sixty-five men,
whereof, two were lost in the late quarrel which brought this mischief
on.
Being now on the march, you may be sure we felt little of the
ground we trod on and being guided by the fire, we kept no path,
but went directly to the place of the flame. If the noise of the guns
x+
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☆
was surprising to us before, the cries of the poor people were now
quite of another nature, and filled us with horror. I must confess I
was never at the sacking a city, or at the taking a town by storm. I
had heard of Oliver Cromwell taking Drogheda, in Ireland, and kill-
ing man, woman, and child; and I had read of Count Tilly sacking
the city of Magdeburg, and cutting the throats of twenty-two thou-
sand of all sexes; but I never had an idea of the thing itself before,
nor is it possible to describe it, or the horror that was upon our
minds at hearing it. However, we went on, and at length came to
the town, though there was no entering the streets of it for the fire.
The first object we met with was the ruins of a hut or house, or rath-
er the ashes of it, for the house was consumed; and just before it,
plain enough to he seen by the light of the fire, lay four men and
three women killed, and, as we thought, one or two more lay in the
heap among the fire; in short, there were such instances of rage al-
together barbarous, and of a fury something beyond what was human,
and we thought it impossible our men could be guilty of it; or if
they were the authors of it, we thought they ought to be every one of
them put to the worst of deaths. Bnt this was not all: we saw the
fire increased forward, and the cry went on just as the fire went on;
so that we were in the utmost confusiou. We advanced a little way
farther, and, behold, to our astonishment, three naked women, and
crying in the most dreadful manner, came flying as if they had wings,
and after them sixteen or seventeen men, natives, in the same terror
and consternation, with three of our English butchers in the rear ;
who, when they could not overtake them, fired in among them, and
one that was killed by their shot, fell down in our sight. When the
rest saw us, believing us to be their enemies, and that we would mur-
der them as well as those that pursued them, they set up a most
dreadful shriek, especially the women, and two of them fell down, as
if already dead with the fright.
My very soul shrunk within me, and my blood ran chill in my
veins, when I saw this; and I believe, had the three English sailors
that pursued them come on, I had made our men kill them all: how-
ever, we took some ways to let the poor flying creatures know that
we would not hurt them; and immediately they came up to us, and
kneeling down with their hands lifted up, made piteous lamentation
to us to save them, which we let them know we would; whereupon
they crept all together in a huddle close behind us for protection. I
left my men drawn up together, and charging them to hurt nobody,
but if possible, to get at some of our people, and see what devil it was
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ADVENTURES OF
k
possessed them, and what they intended to do, and to command them
off; assuring them that if they stayed till daylight, they would have
a hundred thousand men about their ears: I say I left them, and went
among those flying people, taking only two of our men with me; and
there was indeed a piteous spectacle among them; some of them had
their feet terribly burned, with trampling and running through the
fire, others their hands burned; one of the women had fallen down in
the fire, and was very much burned before she could get out again;
and two or three of the men had cuts in their backs and thighs, from
our men pursuing; and another was shot through the body, and died
while I was there.
I would fain have learned what the occasion of all this was, but I
could not understand one word they said; though, by signs, I perceiv-
ed some of them knew not what was the occasion themselves. I was
so terrified in my thoughts, at this outrageous attempt, that I could
not stay there, but went back to my own men, and resolved to go
into the middle of the town, through the fire, or whatever might be
in the way, and put an end to it, cost what it would: accordingly, as
I came back to my men, I told them my resolution and commanded
them to follow me; when at the very moment came four of our men,
with the boatswain at their head, roving over heaps of bodies they
had killed, all covered with blood and dust, as if they wanted more
people to massacre, when our men hallooed to them as loud as they
could halloo; and with much ado one of them made them hear, so
that they knew who we were, and came up to us.
As soon as the boatswain saw us, he set up a halloo like a shout of
triumph, for having, as he thought, more help come; and without
waiting to hear me, "Captain," says he, "noble captain! I am glad
you are come; we are not half done yet: villanous hell-hound dogs!
I'll kill as many of them as poor Tom has hairs upon his head: we
have sworn to spare none of them; we'll root out the very nation of
them from the earth;" and thus he ran on, out of breath, too, with
action, and would not give us leave to speak a word.
At last, raising my voice, that I might silence him a little, "Barba-
rous dog!" said I, "what are you doing? I won't have one creature
touched more, upon pain of death: I charge you, upon your life, to
stop your hands, and stand still here, or you are a dead man this min-
ute." "Why, sir," says he, "do you know what you do, or what they
have done? If you want a reason for what we have done, come hith-
er;" and with that he showed me the poor fellow hanging, with his
throat cut.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
397
I confess I was urged then myself, and at another time would have
been forward enough; but I thought they had carried their rage too
far, and remembered Jacob's words to his sons, Simeon and Levi-
"Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was
cruel." But I had now a new task upon my hands; for when the
men I carried with me saw the sight as I had done, I had as much to
do to restrain them as I should have done with the others, nay, my
nephew himself fell in with them, and told me, in their hearing, that
he was only concerned for fear of the men being overpowered, and
as for the people, he thought not one of them ought to live, for they
had all glutted themselves with the murder of the poor man, and
that they ought to be used like murderers. Upon these words, away
ran eight of my men, with the boatswain and his crew, to complete
their bloody work; and I, seeing it quite out of my power to restrain
them, came away pensive and sad; for I could not bear the sight,
much less the horrible noise and cries of the poor wretches that fell
into their hands.
I got nobody to come back with me but the supercargo and two
men, and with these walked back to the boat. It was a very great
piece of folly in me, I must confess, to venture back as it were alone;
for as it began now to be almost day, and the alarm had run over the
country, there stood about forty men, armed with lances and bows, at
the little place where the twelve or thirteen houses stood mentioned
before; but by accident I missed the place, and came directly to the
seaside; and by the time I got to the seaside it was broad day. Im-
mediately I took the pinnace and went on board, and sent her back to
assist the men in what might happen.
I observed about the time that I came to the boat's side, that the
fire was pretty well out, and the noise abated; but in about half an
hour after I got on board I heard a volley of our men's firearms, and
saw a great smoke; this, as I understood afterward, was our men fall-
ing upon the men who, as I said, stood at the few houses on the way,
of whom they killed sixteen or seventeen, and set all the houses on
fire, but did not meddle with the women or children.
By the time the men got to the shore again with the pinnace, our
men began to appear. They came dropping in, not in two bodies as
they went, but straggling here and there, in such a manner that a
small force of resolute men might have cut them all off. But the
dread of them was upon the whole country; and the men were sur-
prised, and so frightened, that I believe a hundred of them would
have fled at the sight of but five of our men; nor in all this terrible
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ADVENTURES. OF
action was there a man that made any considerable defence; they were
so surprised with the terror of the fire and the sudden attack of our
men in the dark, that they knew not which way to turn themselves;
for if they fled one way, they were met by one party; if back again,
by another; so that they were everywhere knocked down: nor did
any of our men receive the least hurt, except one that sprained his
foot, and another that had one of his hands burned.
I was very angry with my nephew, the captain, and indeed with
all the men, in my mind, but with him in particular, as well for his
acting so out of his duty, as commander of the ship and having the
charge of the voyage upon him, as in his prompting, rather than
cooling, the rage of his blind men, in so bloody and cruel an enter-
prise. My nephew answered me very respectfully, but told me that
when he saw the body of the poor seaman whom they had murdered
in so cruel and barbarous a manner, he was not master of himself,
neither could he govern his passion; be owned he should not have
done so, as he was commander of the ship; but as he was a man, and
nature moved him, he could not bear it. As for the rest of the men,
they were not subject to me at all, and they knew it well enough; so
they took no notice of my dislike.
The next day we set sail, so we never heard any more of it. Our
men differed in the account of the number they had killed; but ac-
cording to the best of their accounts, put all together, they killed or
destroyed about one hundred and fifty people, men, women, and
children, and left not a house standing in the town. As for the poor
fellow Tom Jeffry, as he was quite dead (for his throat was so cut
that his head was half off), it would do no service to bring him away,
so they only took him down from the tree, where he was hanging by
one hand.
However just our men thought this action, I was against them in it,
and I always after that time told them God would blast the voyage,
for I looked upon all the blood they shed that night to be murder in
them; for though it is true that they had killed Tom Jeffry, yet Jeffry
was the aggressor, had broken the truce, and had violated or de-
bauched a young woman of theirs, who came down to them innocently,
and on the faith of the public capitulation.
The boatswain defended this quarrel when we were afterward on
board. He said it was true we had seemed to break the truce, but
really had not; and that the war was begun the night before by the
natives themselves, who had shot at us, and killed one of our men
without any just provocation; so that as we were in a capacity to
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
399
fight them now, we might also be in a capacity to do ourselves justice
upon them in an extraordinary manner; that though the poor man
had taken a little liberty with the wench, he ought not to have been
murdered, and that in such a villanous manner; and that they did
nothing but what was just, and what the laws of God allowed to be
done to murderers.
One would think this should have been enough to have warned us
against going on shore among heathens and barbarians; but it is im-
possible to make mankind wise but at their own expense, and their
experience seems to be always of most use to them when it is dearest
bought.
We were now bound to the gulf of Persia, and from thence to the
coast of Coromandel, only to touch at Surat; but the chief of the
supercargo's design lay at the bay of Bengal, where, if he missed his
business outward bound, he was to go up to China, and return to the
coast as he came home.
The first disaster that befell us was in the gulf of Persia, where
five of our men venturing on shore on the Arabian side of the gulf,
were surrounded by the Arabians, and either all killed or carried
away into slavery; the rest of the boat's crew were not able to rescue
them, and had but just time to get off their boat. I began to upbraid
them with the just retribution of Heaven in this case; but the boat-
swain very warmly told me, he thought I went further in my censures
than I could show any warrant for in Scripture, and referred to Luke
xiii. 4, where our Savior intimates that those men on whom the tower
of Siloam fell were not sinners above all the Galileans. But that
which put me to silence in the case was, that not one of those five
men who were now lost were of those who went on shore to the mas-
sacre of Madagascar, so I always called it, though our men could not
bear to hear the word massacre with any patience.
But my frequent preaching to them on this subject had worse con-
sequences than I expected; and the boatswain, who had been the
head of the attempt, came up boldly to me one time, and told me he
found that I brought that affair continually upon the stage; that I
made unjust reflections upon it, and had used the men very ill on that
account, and himself in particular; that I was but a passenger, and
had no command in the ship, or concern in the voyage, they were not
obliged to bear it; that they did not know but I might have some ill
design in my head, and perhaps to call them to an account for it when
they came to England; and that, therefore, unless I would resolve to
have done with it, and also not to concern myself any further with
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ADVENTURES OF
him, or any of his affairs, he would leave the ship; for he did not
think it was safe to sail with me among them.
I heard him patiently enough till he had done, and then told him,
that I confess I had all along opposed the massacre of Madagascar,
and that I had, on all occasions, spoken my mind freely about it,
though not more upon him than any of the rest; that as to having no
command in the ship, that was true: nor did I excrcise any au-
thority, only took the liberty of speaking my mind in things which
publicly concerned us all; and what concern I had in the voyage was
none of his business; that I was a considerable owner in the ship;
in that claim, I had conceived I had a right to speak even farther
than I had done, and would not be accountable to him or any one
else; and began to be a little warm with him. He made but little
reply to me at that time, and I thought the affair had been over. We
were at this time in the road at Bengal; and boing willing to see the
place, I went on shore with the supercargo in the ship's boat to divert
myself; and toward evening was preparing to go on board, when one
of the men came to me, and told me he would not have me trouble
myself to come down to the boat, for they had orders not to carry me
on board any more. Any one may guess what a surprise I was in
at so insolent a message; and I asked the man who bade him deliver
that message to me? He told me the cockswain. I said no more to
the fellow, but bade him let them know he had delivered his message,
and that I had given him no answer to it.
I immediately went and found out the supercargo, and told him the
story; adding, which I presently foresaw, that there would be a mu-
tiny in the ship; and entreated him to go immediately on board the
ship in an Indian boat, and acquaint the captain of it. But I might
have spared this intelligence, for before I had spoken to him on shore
the matter was effected on board. The boatswain, the gunner, the
carpenter, and all the inferior officers, as soon as I was gone off in the
boat, came up, and desired to speak with the captain; and there the
boatswain, making a long harangue, and repeating all he had said to
me, told the captain in a few words, that I was now gone peaceably
on shore, they were loath to use any violence with me, which, if I had
not gone on shore, they would otherwise have done, to oblige me to
have gone; they therefore thought fit to tell him, that as they shipped
themselves to serve in the ship, under his command, they would per
form it well and faithfully; but if I would not quit the ship, or the
captain oblige me to quit it, they would all leave the ship, and sail
no farther with him; and at that word all, he turned his face toward
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
401
I
the mainmast, which was, it seems, the signal agreed on between them,
" One
at which all the seamen, being got together there, cried out,
and all! one and all!"
My nephew, the captain, was a man of spirit, and of great presence
of mind; and though he was surprised, you may be sure, at the thing,
yet he told them calmly that he would consider of the matter; but
that he could do nothing in it till he had spoken to me about it. IIe
used some arguments with them to show the unreasonableness and in-
justice of the thing; but it was all in rain; they swore and shook
hands round before his face, that they would all go on shore, unless
he would engage to them not to suffer me to come any more on board
the ship.
This was a hard article upon him, who knew his obligation to me,
and did not know how I might take it; so he began to talk smartly
to them; told them that I was a very considerable owner of the ship,
and that, in justice, he could not put me out of my own house; that
this was the next door to serving me as the famous pirate Kidd had
done, who made a mutiny in the ship, set the captain on shore on an
uninhabited island, and ran away with the ship; that let them
go into
what ship they would, if ever they came to England again it would
cost them very dear; that the ship was mine, and that he could not
put me out of it; and that he would rather lose the ship and the
voyage too than disoblige me so much; so they might do as they
pleased; however, he would go on shore and talk with me, and in-
vited the boatswain to go with him, and perhaps they might ac-
commodate the matter with me. But they all rejected the proposal,
and said they would have nothing to do with me any more; and if I
came on board, they would all go on shore. Well," said the cap-
tain, “if you are all of this mind, let me go on shore and talk with
him." So away he came to me with this account, a little after the
message had been brought to me from the cockswain.
rr
I was very glad to see my nephew, I must confess; for I was not
without apprehensions that they would confine him by violence, set
sail, and run away with the ship; and then I had been stripped naked
in a remote country, having nothing to help myself; in short, I had
been in a worse case than when I was alone in the island. But they
had not come to that length, it seems, to my satisfaction; and when
my nephew told me what they had said to him, and how they had
sworn and shook hands that they would, one and all, leave the ship if
I was suffered to come on board, I told him he should not be concerned
at it at all, for I would stay on shore; I only desired he would take
2
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care and send me all my necessary things on shore, and leave me a
sufficient sum of money, and I would find my way to England as well
as I could.
This was a heavy piece of news to my nephew, but there was no
way to help it but to comply; so, in short, he went on board the ship
again, and satisfied the men that his uncle had yielded to their im-
portunity, and had sent for his goods from on board the ship; so that
the matter was over in a few hours, the men returned to their duty,
and I began to consider what course I should steer,
Chapter Forty-Two.
Meets with an English Merchant with whom he makes some Trading Voyages
J
- They are mistaken for Pirates - Vanquish their Pursuers - Voyage to
China Rencontre with the Cochin Chinese Island of Formosa - Gulf of
Nanquin --- Apprehensions of falling into the Hands of the Dutch.
()
WAS now alone in the most remote part of the world, as I
think I may call it, for I was near three thousand leagues by
sea farther off from England than I was at my island; only,
it is true, I might travel here by land over the great Mogul's
country to Surat, might go from thence to Bassora by sea, up the
gulf of Persia, and take the way of the caravans, over the Desert of
Arabia, to Aleppo and Scanderoon; from thence by sea again to
Italy, and so overland into France; and this put together might at
least be a full diameter of the globe, or more.
I had another way before me, which was to wait for some English
ships, which were coming to Bengal from Achin, on the island of
Sumatra, and get passage on board them for England. But as I camo
hither without any concern with the English East India Company, so
it would be difficult to go from hence without their license, unless
with great favor of the captains of the ships, or the Company's factors,
and to both I was an utter stranger.
Here I had the mortificatiou to see the ship set sail without me; a
treatment I think a man in my circumstances scarce ever met with,
except when pirates running away with the ship, and setting those
who would not agree with their villany on shore. Indeed, this was
next door to it, both ways; however, my nephew left me two servants,
가로
​ROBINSON CRUSOE.
403
or rather one companion and one servant; the first was clerk to the
purser, whom he engaged to go with me, and the other was his own
servant. I took me also a good lodging in the house of an English-
woman, where several merchants lodged, some French, two Italians,
or rather Jews, and one Englishman; here I was handsomely enough
entertained; and that I might not be said to run rashly upon auy-
thing, I stayed here above nine months considering what course to
take, and how to manage myself. I had some English goods with me
of value, and a considerable sum of money; my nephew furnishing me
with a thousand pieces of eight, and a letter of credit for more, if
I had occasion, that I might not be straitened, whatever might
happen.
I quickly disposed of my goods to advantage, and, as I originally
intended, I bought here some very good diamonds, which, of all other
things, were the most proper for me, in my present circumstances;
because I could always carry my whole estate about me.
After a long stay here, and many proposals made for my return to
England, none falling out to my mind, the English merchant who
lodged with me, and whom I had contracted an intimate acquaintance
with, came to me one morning. "Countryman," says he, "I have a
project to communicate to you, which, as it suits with my thoughts,
may, for aught I know, suit with yours also, when you shall have
thoroughly considered it. Here we are posted, you by accident, and
I by my own choice, in a part of the world very remote from our own
country; but it is in a country where, by us, who understand trade
and business, a great deal of money is to be got. If you will put one
thousand pounds to my one thousand pounds, we will hire a ship here,
the first we can get to our minds; you shall be captain, I'll be mer-
chant, and we'll go a trading voyage to China: for what should we
stand still for? The whole world is in motion, rolling round and
round, all the creatures of God, heavenly bodies and earthly, are
busy and diligent: why should we be idle? There are no drones in
the world but men ; why should we be of that number ?"
I
I liked this proposal very well, and the more because it seemed to
be expressed with so much good will, and in so friendly a manner.
will not say but that I might, by my loose, unhinged circumstances,
be the fitter to embrace a proposal for trade, or, indeed, anything
else; whereas, otherwise, trade was none of my element. However,
I might, perhaps, say with some truth, that if trade was not my ele-
ment, rambling was, and no proposal for seeing any part of the world
which I had never seen before could possibly come amiss to me.
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It was, however, some time before we could get a ship to our minds,
and when we had got a vessel, it was not easy to get English sailors;
that is to say, so many as were necessary to govern the voyage,
and manage the sailors which we should pick up there. After
some time we got a mate, a boatswain, and a gunner, English ; a
Dutch carpenter, and three foremastmen. With these we found we
could do well enough, having Indian seamen, such as they were, to
make up.
There are so many travellers who have wrote the history of their
voyages and travels this way, that it would be very little diversion
to anybody to give a long account of the places we went to, and the
people who inhabit there: these things I leave to others, and refer
the reader to those journals and travels of Englishmen, of which
many I find are published and more promised every day; it is enough
for me to tell you that we made this voyage to Achin, in the island
of Sumatra, and from thence to Siam, where we exchanged some of
our wares for opium and some arrack; the first a commodity which
bears a great price among the Chinese, and which, at that time, was
much wanted there. In a word, we went up to Suskan, made a very
great voyage, were eight months out, and returned to Bengal; and I
was very well satisfied with my adventure. I observe that our people
in England often admire how officers which the Company send into
India, and the merchants which generally stay there, get such very
great estates as they do, and sometimes come home worth sixty or
seventy thousand pounds at a time; but it is no wonder, or at least
we shall see so much farther into it, when we consider the innumera-
ble ports and places where they have a free commerce, that it will be
none; and much less will it be so when we consider that at those
places and ports where the English ships come, there is such great
and constant demands for the growth of all other countries, that there
is a certain vent for the returns, as well as a market abroad for the
goods carried out.
In short, we made a very good voyage, and I got so much money
by my first adventure, and such an insight into the method of getting
more, that had I been twenty years younger, I should bave been
tempted to have stayed here, and sought no farther for making any
fortune: but what was all this to a man upward of threescore, that
was rich enough, and came abroad more in obedience to a restless
desire of seeing the world than a covetous desire of gaining by it?
And, indeed, I think it is with great justice I now call it a restless
desire, for it was so. When I was at home, I was restless to go
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
405
abroad; and when I was abroad, I was restless to be at home. I
say, what was this gain to me? I was rich enough already, nor had
I any uneasy desires about getting more money; and therefore the
profit of the voyage to me was of no great force for the prompting
me forward to farther undertakings; hence I thought that by this
Voyage I had made no progress at all, because I was come back, as I
might call it, to the place from whence I came, as to home: whereas
my eye, which, like that which Solomon speaks of, was never satisfied
with seeing, was still desirous of wandering and seeing more. I was
come into a part of the world which I never was in before, and that
part, in particular, which I had heard much of, and was resolved
to see as much of it as I could; and then I thought I might say I
had seen all the world that was worth seeing.
But my fellow-traveller and I had different notions: I do not name
this to insist on my own, for I acknowledge his was the most just, and
most suited to the end of a merchant's life; who, when he is abroad
upon adventures, it is his wisdom to stick to that, as the best thing
for him, which he is like to get the most money by. My new friend
kopt himself to the nature of the thing, and would have been content
to have gone like a carrier's horse, always to the same inn, backward
and forward, provided he could, as he called it, find his account in it.
On the other hand, mine was the notion of a mad rambling boy, that
never cares to see a thing twice over. But this was not all; I had a
kind of impatience upon me to be nearer home, and yet the most
unsettled resolution imaginable which way to go. In the interval of
these consultations, my friend, who was always upon the search for
business, proposed another voyage to me among the Spice Islands,
and to bring home a loading of cloves from the Manillas, or there-
abouts; places, indeed, where the Dutch trade, but islands belonging
partly to the Spaniards; though we went not so far, but to some
other, where they have not the whole power, as they have at Batavia,
Ceylon, &c.
We were not long in preparing for this voyage; the chief difficulty
was in bringing me to come into it: however, at last, nothing else
offering, and finding that really stirring about and trading, the profit
being so great, and, as I may say, certain, had more pleasure in it,
and had more satisfaction to my mind than sitting still, which, to me
especially, was the unhappiest part of my life, I resolved on this
voyage, too, which we made very successfully, touching at Borneo,
and several islands whose names I do not remember, and came home
in about five months. We sold our spice, which was chiefly cloves
!
A
1
406
ADVENTURES OF
and some nutmegs, to the Persian merchants, who carried them away
to the gulf; and making near five of one, we really got a great deal
of money.
“Well,
My friend, when we made up this account, smiled at me.
now," said he, with a sort of agreeable insult upon my indolent
temper, "is not this better than walking about here, like a man of noth-
ing to do, and spending our time in staring at the nonsense and igno-
rance of the pagans ?" "Why, truly," says I, "my friend, I think
it is, and I begin to be a convert to the principles of merchandising;
but I must tell you," said I, "by the way, you do not know what I
am doing; for if I once conquer my backwardness, and embark
heartily, as old as I am, I shall harass you up and down the world
till I tire you; for I shall pursue it so eagerly, I shall never let you
lie still."
But, to be short with my speculations, a little while after this there
cane in a Dutch ship from Batavia: she was a coaster, not a Eu-
ropean trader, of about two hundred tons burden; the men, as they
pretended, having been so sickly, that the captain had not hands
enough to go to sea with, he lay by at Bengal; and having, it seems,
got money enough, or being willing, for other reasons, to go for Eu-
rope, he gave public notice he would sell his ship. This came to my
ears before my new partner heard of it, and I had a great mind to buy
it; so I went to him, and told him of it. He considered awhile, for
he was no rash man neither; but musing some time, he replied, "She
is a little too big; but, however, we will have her." Accordingly,
we bought the ship, and agreeing with the master, we paid for her
and took possession. When we had done so, we resolved to entertain
the men, if we could, to join them with those we had, for the pursuing
our business; but on a sudden, they having received, not their wages,
but their share of the money, as we afterward learned, not one of
them was to be found; we inquired much about them, and at length
were told that they were all gone together by land to Agra, the great
city of the Mogul's residence, and from thence to travel to Surat, and
go by sea to the gulf of Persia.
Nothing had so much troubled me a good while as that I should
miss the opportunity of going with them; for such a ramble, I thought,
and in such company as would both have guarded and diverted me,
would have suited mightily with my great design; and I should have
both seen the world and gone homeward too; but I was much better
satisfied a few days after, when I came to know what sort of fellows
they were; for, in short, their history was, that this man they called
+
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
407
captain, was the gunner only, not the commander; that they had been
a trading voyage, in which they had been attacked on shore by some
of the Malays, who had killed the captain and three of his men; and
that after the captain was killed, these men, eleven in number, had
resolved to run away with the ship, which they did, and brought her
to Bengal, leaving the mate and five men more on shore; of whom
hereafter.
Well, let them get the ship how they would, we came honestly by
her, as we thought, though we did not, I confess, examine into things
so exactly as we ought; for we never inquired anything of the seamen,
who would certainly have faltered in their account, contradicted one
another, and perhaps contradicted themselves; or one how or other
we should have had reason to have suspected them; but the man
showed us a bill of sale for the ship, to one Emanuel Clostershoven,
or some such name, for I suppose it was all a forgery, and called him-
self by that name, and we could not contradict him; and withal,
having no suspicion of the thing, we went through with our bargain.
We picked up some more English sailors here after this, and some
Dutch; and now we resolved for a second voyage to the southeast
for cloves, &c.; that is to say, among the Philippine and Molucca
isles; and, in short, not to fill up this part of my story with trifles,
when what is to come is so remarkable, I spent from first to last, six
years in this country, trading from port to port, backward and for-
ward, and with very good success, and was now in the last year with
my new partner, going in the ship above mentioned, on a voyage to
China, but designing first to Siam, to buy rice.
In this voyage, being by contrary winds obliged to beat up and
down a great while in the straits of Malacca, and among the islands,
we were no sooner got clear of those difficult seas than we found our
ship had sprung a leak, and we were not able, by all our industry, to
find out where it was. This forced us to make some port; and my
partner, who knew the country better than I did, directed the captain
to put into the river of Cambodia; for I had made the English mate,
one Mr. Thompson, captain, not being willing to take the charge of
the ship upon myself. This river lies on the north side of the great
bay or gulf which goes up to Siam. While we were here, and going
often on shore for refreshment, there comes to me one day an English-
man, and he was, it seems, a gunner's mate ou board an English
East India ship which rode in the same river, at or near the city of
Cambodia; what brought him hither we knew not; but he comes to
me, and speaking English, "Sir," says he, "you are a stranger to me,
-"
408
ADVENTURES OF
and I to you, but I have something to tell you that very nearly con-
cerns you."
I looked steadfastly at him a good while, and thought at first I had
known him, but I did not; "If it very nearly concerns me," said
I, "and not yourself, what moves you to tell it to me?" "I am
moved,” says he, "by the imminent danger you are in, and for aught
I see you have no knowledge of it." I know no danger I am in,"
says I, "but that my ship is leaky, and I cannot find it out; but I in-
tend to lay her aground to-morrow, to see if I can find it.”
“ But,
sir," says he, “leaky or not leaky, find it or not find it, you will be
wiser than to lay your ship on shore to-morrow, when you hear what
I have to say to you; do you know, sir," said he, "the town of Cam-
bodia lies about fifteen leagues up this river? and there are two large
English ships about five leagues on this side, and three Dutch.”
"Well," said I, "and what is that to me?" "Why, sir," said he,
"is it for a man that is upon such adventures as you are, to come
into a port and not examine first what ships there are there, and
whether he is able to deal with them? I suppose you do not think
you are a match for them ?" I was amused very much at his dis-
course, but not amazed at it, for I could not conceive what he meant;
and I turned short upon him, and said, "Sir, I wish you would ex-
plain yourself; I cannot imagine what reason I have to be afraid of
any of the Company's ships, or Dutch ships; I am no interloper ;
what can they have to say to me?" He looked like a man half angry
and half pleased, and pausing awhile, but smiling, "Well, sir," said
he, "if you think yourself secure, you must take your chance; I am
sorry your fate should blind you against good advice; but assuro
yourself, if you do not put to sea immediately, you will the very
next tide be attacked by five long-boats full of men, and perhaps,
if you are taken, you will be hanged for a pirate, and the particulars
be examined afterward. I thought, sir," added he, "I should havo
met with a better reception than this, for doing you a piece of service
of such importance." can never be ungrateful," said I,
"for any
service, or to any man that offers me any kindness; but it is past my
comprehension what they should have such a design upon me for;
however, since you say there is no time to be lost, and that there is
some villanous design on hand against me, I will go on board this
minute, and put to sea immediately, if my men can stop the leak, or
if we can swim without stopping it; but, sir," said I, "shall I go
away ignorant of the cause of all this? Can you give me no farther
light into it?" "I can tell you but part of the story, sir," says ho;
(
****
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
409
"but I have a Dutch seaman here with me, and I believe I could
persuade him to tell you the rest; but there is scarce time for it ;
but the short of the story is this, the first part of which, I suppose,
you know well enough, viz.: that you were with this ship at Sumatra;
that there your captain was murdered by the Malays, with three of
his men; and that you or some of those that were on board with you,
ran away with the ship, and are since turned pirates. This is the sum
of the story, and you will all be seized as pirates, I can assure you,
and executed with very little ceremony; for you know merchant-ships
show but little law to pirates, if they get them into their power."
"Now you speak plain English," said I, "and I thank you; and
though I know nothing that we have done like what you talk of, for
I am sure we came honestly and fairly by the ship, yet seeing such
a work is doing, as you say, and that you seem to mean honestly, I
will be upon my guard." "Nay, sir," says he, "do not talk about
being upon your guard; the best defence is, to be out of the danger ;
if you have any regard for your life, and the lives of all your men,
put to sea, without fail, at high water; and as you have a whole tide
before you, you will be gone too far out before they can come down;
for they will come away at high water, and as they have twenty
miles to come, you will get near two hours of them by the difference
of the tide, not reckoning the length of the way; besides, as they are
only boats and not ships, they will not venture to follow you far out
to sea, especially if it blows."
« Well,"
"said I, "you have been very
kind in this; what shall I do for you to make you amends."
"Sir,"
says he, “you may not be willing to make me any amends, because
you may not be convinced of the truth of it; I will make an offer to
you; I have nineteen months' pay due to me on board the ship ***,
which I came out of England in; and the Dutchman that is with me
had seven months' pay due to him; if you will make good our pay to
us, we will go along with you; if you find nothing more in it, we will
desire no more; but if we do convince you that we have saved your
lives, and the ship, and the lives of all the men in her, we will leave
the rest to you.
't
I consented to this readily, and went immediately on board, and
the two men with me. As soon as I came to the ship's side, my part-
ner, who was on board, came out on the quarter-deck, and called to
me, with a great deal of joy, "Oho! O ho! we stopped the leak!
we have stopped the leak!" Say you so!" said I, "thank God; but
weigh anchor then immediately." Weigh!" says he; "what do you
mean by that? What is the matter ?”; "Ask no questions," said I;
CC
46
#
18
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ADVENTURES OF
"but all hands to work, and weigh without losing a minute." He
was surprised, but, however, he called the captain, and he immediately
ordered the anchor to be got up: and though the tide was not quite
down, yet a little land breeze blowing, we stood out to sea. Then I
called him into the cabin, and told him the story; and we called in
the men, and they told us the rest of it: but as it took up a great deal
of time before we had done, a seaman comes to the cabin door, and
called out to us that the captain bade him tell us we were chased.
容
​"Chased!" says I; "by what?" "By five sloops, or boats," says the
fellow, "full of men." "Very well," said I; "then it is apparent
there is something in it." In the next place I ordered all the men to
be called up, and told them there was a design to seize the ship, and
take us for pirates, and asked them if they would stand by us, and
by one another: the men answered cheerfully, one and all, that they
would live and die with us. Then I asked the captain what way he
thought best for us to manage a fight with them; for resist them I
was resolved we would, and that to the last drop. He said readily
that the way was to keep them off with our great shot as long as wo
could, and then ffre at them with our small arms, to keep them from
boarding us; but when neither of these would do any longer, we
should retire to our close quarters; perhaps they bad not materials
to break open our bulk-heads, or get in upon us.
The gunner had, in the meantime, orders to bring two guns to bear
fore and aft, out of the steerage, to clear the deck, and load them with
musket bullets and small pieces of old iron, and what came next to
hands; and thus we made ready for fight: but all this while we kept
out to sea, with wind enough, and could see the boats at a distance,
being five large long-boats, following us with all the sail they could
make.
་
Two of those boats (which by our glasses we could see were En-
glish) outsailed the rest, were near two leagues ahead of them, and
gained upon us considerably, so that we found they would come up
with us; upon which we fired a gun without ball, to intimate that
they should bring to; and we put out a flag of truce, as a signal for
parley; but they came crowding after us, till they came within shot,
when we took in our white flag, they having made no answer to it,
and hung out a red flag, and fired at them with shot. Notwithstand-
ing this, they came on till they were near enough to call to them with
a speaking-trumpet which we had on board; so we called to them,
and bade them keep off, at their peril.
C
It was all one; they crowded after us, and endeavored to come
•
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
411
under our stern, so as to board us on our quarter; upon which, seeing
they were resolute for mischief, and depended upon the strength that
followed them, I ordered to bring the ship to, so that they lay upon
our broadside; when immediately we fired five guns at them, one of
which had been levelled so true as to carry away the stern of the
hindermost boat, and bringing them to the necessity of taking down
their sail, and running all to the head of the boat to keep her from
sinking; so she lay by, and had enough of it; but seeing the foremost
boat crowd on after us, we made ready to fire at her in particular.
While this was doing, one of the three boats, that was behind, being
forwarder than the other two, made up to the boat which we had
disabled, to relieve her, and we could see her take out the men; we
called again to the foremost boat, and offered a truce, to parley again,
and to know what her business was with us; but had no answer, only
she crowded close under our stern. Upon this our gunner, who was
a very dexterous fellow, ran out his two chase guns, and fired again
at her, but the shot missing, the men in the boat shouted, waved their
caps, and came on; but the gunner, getting quickly ready again, fired
among them a second time, one shot of which, though it missed the
boat itself, yet fell in among the men, and we could easily see had
done a great deal of mischief among them; but we took no notice of
that, wore the ship again, and brought our quarter to bear upon
them, and firing three guns more, we found the boat was almost split
to pieces; in particular, her rudder and a piece of her stern was shot
quite away; so they handed her sail immediately, and were in great
disorder. But to complete their misfortune, our gunner let fly two
guns at them again: where he hit them we could not tell, but we
found the boat was sinking, and some of the men already in the water:
upon this I immediately manned out our pinnace, which we had kept
close by our side, with orders to pick up some of the men, if they
could, and save them from drowning, and immediately come on board
the ship with them, because we saw the rest of the boats began to
Our men in the pinnace followed their orders, and took up
three men, one of whom was just drowning, and it was a good while
before we could recover him. As soon as they were on board, we
crowded all the sail we could make, and stood farther out to sea; and
we found that when the other three boats came up to the first, they
gave over their chase.
come up.
Being thus delivered from a danger, which, though I knew not the
reason of it, yet seemed to be much greater than I apprehended, I
resolved that we should change our course, and not let any one know
412
ADVENTURES OF
whither we were going; so we stood out to sea eastward, quite
out of the course of all European ships, whether they were bound
to China or anywhere else within the commerce of the European
nations.
When we were at sea, we began to consult with the two seamen,
and inquire what the meaning of all this should be; and the Dutchman
let us into the secret at once, telling us that the fellow that sold us the
ship, as we said, was no more than a thief that had run away with
her. Then he told us how the captain, whose name, too, he told us,
though I do not remember it now, was treacherously murdered by
the natives on the coast of Malacca, with three of his men; and that
he, this Dutchman, and four more, got into the woods, where they
wandered about a great while, till at length he, in particular, in a
miraculous manner, made his escape, and swam off to a Dutch ship,
which, sailing near the shore in its way from China, had sent their
boat on shore for fresh water; that he durst not come to that part of
the shore where the boat was, but made shift in the night to take the
water farther off, and swimming a great while, at last the ship's boat
took him up.
He then told us that he went to Batavia, where two of the seamen
belonging to the ship arrived, having deserted the rest in their travels,
and gave an account that the fellow who had run away with the ship
sold her at Bengal to a set of pirates, which were gone a cruising in
her; and that they had already taken an English ship and two Dutch
ships very richly laden.
This latter part was found to concern us directly, though we knew
it to be false; yet as my partner said very justly, if we had fallen into
their hands, and they had had such a prepossession against us before-
hand, it had been in vain us to have defended ourselves, or to hope
for any good quarter at their hands; and especially cousidering that
our accusers had been our judges, and that we could have expected
nothing from them but what rage would have dictated, and an un-
governed passion have executed and therefore it was his opinion we
should go directly back to Bengal, from whence we came, without
putting in at any port whatever; because there we could give a good
account of ourselves, could prove where we were when the ship put
in, of whom we bought her, and the like; and which was more than
all the rest, if we were put upon the necessity of bringing it before
the proper judges, we should be sure to have some justice, and not be
hanged first and judged afterward.
I was some time of my partner's opinion; but after a little more
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
413
医
​serious thinking, I told him I thought it was a very great hazard for
us to attempt returning to Bengal, for that we were on the wrong side
of the Straits of Malacca, and that if the alarm was given, we should
be sure to be waylaid on every side, as well by the Dutch of Bata-
via as the English elsewhere; that if we should be taken, as it were,
running away, we should even condemn ourselves, and there would
want no more evidence to destroy us. I also asked the English sail-
or's opinion, who said he was of my mind, and that we should cer-
tainly be taken. This danger a little startled my partner, and all
the ship's company, and we immediately resolved to go away to the
coast of Tonquin, and so on to the coast of China; and pursuing the
first design as to trade, find some way or other to dispose of the ship,
and come back in some of the vessels of the country, such as we could
get. This was approved of as the best method for our security; and
accordingly we steered away N. N. E., keeping about fifty leagues off
from the usual course to the eastward. This, however, put us to
some inconvenience; for, first, the winds, when we came to that dis-
tance from the shore, scemed to be more steadily against us, blowing
almost trade, as we call it, from the E. and E. N. E., so that we were a
long while upon our voyage, and we were but ill provided with vic-
tuals for so long a run; and, which was still worse, there was some
danger that those English and Dutch ships, whose boats pursued us,
whereof some were bound that way, might be got in before us, and if
not, some other ship bound to China might have information of us
from them, and pursue us with the same vigor.
I must confess, I was now very uneasy, and thought myself, includ-
ing the last escape from the longboats, to have been in the most dan-
gerous condition that ever I was through my past life; for whatever
ill circumstances I had been in, I was never pursued for a thief be-
fore; nor had I ever done anything that merited the name of dishon-
est or fraudulent, much less thievish; I had chiefly been my own
enemy, or, as I may rightly say, I had been nobody's enemy but my
own; but now I was embarrassed in the worst condition imaginable ;
for though I was perfectly innocent, I was in no condition to make
that innocence appear; and if I had been taken, it had been under a
supposed guilt of the worst kind. This made me very anxious to make
an escape, though which way to do it I knew not, or what port or
place we could go to. My partner seeing me thus dejected, though
he was the most concerned at first, began to encourage me, and de-
scribing to me the several ports of that coast, told me he would put in
on the coast of Cochin China, or the bay of Tonquin, intending to go
414
ADVENTURES OF
afterward to Macao, a town once in possession of the Portuguese, and
where still a great many European families resided; and particularly
the missionary priests usually went thither, in order to their going
forward to China.
Hither, then, we resolved to go; and accordingly, though after a
tedious and irregular course, and very much straitened for provisions,
we came within sight of the coast very early in the morning; and
upon reflection on the past circumstances we were in, and the danger
if we had not escaped, we resolved to put into a small river, which,
however, had depth enough of water for us, and to see if we could,
either overland or by the ship's pinnace, come to know what ships
were in any port thereabouts. This happy step was, indeed, our de-
liverance; for though we did not immediately see any European ships
in the bay of Tonquin, yet the next morning there came into the bay
two Dutch ships; and the third, without any colors spread out, but
which we believed to be a Dutchman, passed by at about two leagues'
distance, steering for the coast of China; and in the afternoon went
by two English ships steering the same course; and thus we thought
we saw ourselves beset with enemies both one way and the other.
The place we were in was wild and barbarous; the people thieves,
even by occupation or profession; and though, it is true, we had not
much to seek of them, and, except getting a few provisions, cared not
how little we had to do with them, yet it was with much difficulty
that we kept ourselves from being insulted by them, several ways.
We were in a small river of this country, within a few leagues of its
utmost limits northward; and by our boat we coasted northeast, to
the point of land which opens the great bay of Tonquin and it was
in this beating up along the shore that we discovered we were sur-
rounded with enemies. The people we were among were the most
barbarous of all the inhabitants of the coast, having no correspondence-
with any other nation, and dealing only in fish and oil, and such gross
commodities; and it may be particularly seen that they are the most
barbarous of any of the inhabitants. Among other customs, they
have this one, viz., that if any vessel has the misfortune to be ship-
wrecked upon their coast, they presently make the men all prisoners
or slaves; and it was not long before we found a piece of their kind-
ness this way, on the occasion following:
I have observed above, that our ship sprung aleak at sea, and that
we could not find it out; and it happened that, as I have said, it was
stopped unexpectedly in the happy minute of our being to be seized
by the Dutch and English ships in the bay of Siam; yet as we did
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
415
I
not find the ship so perfectly tight and sound as we desired, we re-
solved, while we were at this place, to lay her on shore, and take out
what heavy things we had on board, and clean her bottom; and, if
possible, to find out where the leaks were. Accordingly, having light-
ened the ship, and brought all our guns and other moveables to one
side, we tried to bring her down, that we might come at her bottom;
but, on second thoughts, we did not care to lay her on dry ground,
neither could we find a proper place for it.
The inhabitants, who had never been acquainted with such a sight,
came wandering down the shore to look at us; and seeing the ship
lie down on one side in such a manner, and heeling in toward the
shore, and not seeing our men, who were at work on her bottom with
stages, and with their boats, on the off-side, they presently concluded
that the ship was cast away, and lay so fast on the ground. On this
supposition, they all came about us in two or three hours' time, with
ten or twelve large boats, having some of them eight, some ten men
in a boat, intending, no doubt, to have come on board and plundered
the ship; and if they had found us there, to have carried us away for
slaves to their king, or whatever they call him, for we knew nothing
of their governor.
When they came up to the ship and began to row round her, they
discovered us all hard at work on the outside of the ship's bottom and
side, washing, and graving, and stopping, as every seafaring man
knows how. They stood for a while gazing at us, and we who were
a little surprised, could not imagine what their design was; but being
willing to be sure, we took this opportunity to get some of us into the
ship, and others to hand down arms and ammunition to those who
were at work to defend themselves with, if there should be occasion;
and it was no more than need; for in less than a quarter of an hour's
consultation, they agreed, it seems, that the ship was really a wreck;
and that we were all at work endeavoring to save her, or to save our
lives by the help of our boats; and when we handed our arms into
the boats, they concluded, by that motion, that we were endeavoring
to save some of our goods; upon this they took it for granted we all
belonged to them, and away they came directly upon our men, as if
it had been in a line of battle.
Our men, seeing so many of them, began to be frightened, for we
lay but in an ill posture to fight, and cried out to us to know what
they should do. I immediately called to the men that worked upon
the stages, to slip them down, and get up the side into the ship; and
bade those in the boat to row round, and come on board; and those
416
ADVENTURES OF
few of us who were on board worked with all the strength and hands
we had, to bring the ship to rights; but, however, neither the men
upon the stages nor those in the boats could do as they were ordered,
before the Cochin Chinese were upon them; and two of their boats
boarded our longboat, and began to lay hold on the men as their
prisoners.
The first man they laid hold on was an English seaman, a stout,
strong fellow, who, having a musket in his hand, never offered to fire
it, but laid it down in the boat, like a fool, as I thought; but he un-
derstood his business better than I could teach him, for he grappled
the pagan, and dragged him by main force out of their boat into ours,
where taking him by the ears, he beat his head so against the boat's
gunnel, that the fellow died in his hands; and, in the meantime, a
Dutchman, who stood next, took up the musket, and with the butt-end
of it so laid about him, that he knocked down five of them who at-
tempted to enter the boat. But this was doing little toward resisting
thirty or forty men, who, fearless, because ignorant of their danger,
began to throw themselves into the longboat, where we had but five
men in all to defend it; but the following accident, which deserved
our laughter, gave our men a complete victory.
Our carpenter being prepared to grave the outside of the ship, as
well as to pay the seams where he had calked her to stop the leaks,
had got two kettles just let down into the boat, one filled with boiling
pitch, and the other with rosin, tallow, and oil, and such stuff as the
shipwrights use for that work; and the man that attended the car-
penter had a great iron ladle in his hand, with which he supplied the
men that were at work with the hot stuff; two of the enemy's men
entered the boat just where this fellow stood, being in the foresheets;
he immediately saluted them with a ladleful of the stuff, boiling hot,
which so burned and scalded them, being half naked, that they roared
out like bulls, and enraged with the fire, leaped both into the sea.
The carpenter saw it, and cried out, "Well done, Jack! give them
some more of it;" and stepping forward himself, takes one of the mops,
and dipping it in the pitch-pot, he and his man threw it among them
so plentifully, that, in short, of all the men in the three boats there
was not one that escaped being scalded and burned with it, in a most
frightful, pitiful manner, and made such a howling and crying, that I
never heard a worse noise; for it is worth observing, that though
pain naturally makes all people cry out, yet every nation has a par-
ticular way of exclamation, and makes noises as different from one
another as their speech. I cannot give the noise those creatures made
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
417
a better name than howling, nor a name more proper to the tone of
it; for I never heard anything more like the noise of the wolves,
which, as I have said, I heard howl in the forest on the frontiers of
Languedoc.
I was never better pleased with a victory in my life; not only as it
was a perfect surprise to me, and that our danger was imminent be-
fore, but as we got this victory without any bloodshed, except of that
man the fellow killed with his naked hands, and which I was very
much concerned at, for I was sick of killing such poor savage wretches,
even though it was in my own defence, knowing they came on errands
which they thought just, and knew no better; and that though it may
be a just thing, because necessary (for there is no necessary wicked-
ness in nature), yet I thought it was a sad life, when we must be al-
ways obliged to be killing our fellow-creatures to preserve ourselves;
and, indeed, I think so still, and I would even now suffer a great deal
rather than I would take away the life even of the worst person in-
juring me; and I believe all considering people who know the value
of life would be of my opinion, if they entered seriously into the con-
sideration of it.
But to return to my story. All the while this was doing, my part-
ner and I, who managed the rest of the men on board, had with great
dexterity brought the ship almost to rights, and having got the guns
into their places again, the gunner called to me to bid our boat get out
the way, for he would let fly among them. I called back again to
him, and bid him not offer to fire, for the carpenter would do the work
without him; but bid him heat another pitch-kettle, which our cook,
who was on board, took care of; but the enemy was so terrified with
what they had met with in their first attack, that they would not come
on again; and some of them who were farthest off, seeing the ship
swim, as it were, upright, began, as we suppose, to see their mistake,
and give over the enterprise, finding it was not as they expected. Thus
we got clear of this merry fight, aud having got some rice, and some
roots and bread, with about sixteen hogs, on board, two days before,
we resolved to stay here no longer, but go forward, whatever came of
it; for we made no doubt but we should be surrounded the next day
with rogues enough, perhaps more than our pitch-kettle would dispose
of for us.
We therefore got all our things on board the same evening,
and the next morning were ready to sail; in the meantime, lying at
anchor at some distance from the shore, we were not so much con-
cerned, being now in a fighting posture, as well as in a sailing posture,
if any enemy had presented. The next day, having finished our work
课
​*
13
18*
418
ADVENTURES OF
·
within board, and finding our ship was perfectly healed of all her
leaks, we set sail. We would have gone into the bay of Tonquin, for
we wanted to inform ourselves of what was to be known concerning
the Dutch ships that had been there; but we durst not stand in there
because we had seen several ships go in, as we supposed, but a little
before; so we kept on N. E. toward the island of Formosa, as much
afraid of being seen by a Dutch or English merchant ship, as a Dutch
or English merchant ship in the Mediterranean is of an Algerine
man-of-war.
When we were thus got to sea, we kept on N. E. as if we would go
to the Manillas or the Phillipine islands, and this we did that we might
not fall into the way of any of the European ships; and then we
steered north, till we came to the latitude of 22 deg. 30 min., by which
means we made the island Formosa directly, where we came to an
anchor, in order to get water, and fresh provisions, which the people
there, who were very courteous and civil in their manners, supplied
us with willingly, and dealt very fairly and punctually with us in all
their agreements and bargains, which is what we did not find among
other people, and may be owing to the remains of Christianity which
was once planted here by a Dutch missionary of Protestants, and is a
testimony of what I have often observed, viz.: that the Christian re-
ligion always civilizes the people and reforms their manners, where it
is received, whether it works saving effects upon them or no.
From thence we sailed still north, keeping the coast of China at an
equal distance, till we knew we were beyond all the ports of China
where our European ships usually come; being resolved, if possible,
not to fall into any of their hands, especially in this country; where,
as our circumstances were, we could not fail of being entiraly
ruined.
Being now come to the latitude of thirty degrees, we resolved
to put into the first trading port we should come at; and standing in
for the shore, a boat came off two leagues to us, with an old Portuguese
pilot on board, who knowing us to be a European ship, came to offer
his service, which, indeed, we were glad of, and took him on board;
upon which, without asking us whither we would go, he dismissed the
boat he came in, aud sent it back.
I thought it was now so much in our choice to make the old man
carry us whither he would, that I began to talk to him about carry-
ing us to the gulf of Nanquin, which is the most northern part of the
coast of China. The old man said he knew the gulf of Nanquin very
well, but smiling, asked us what we would do there. I told him we
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
419
would sell our cargo and purchase China wares, calicoes, raw silks,
tea, wrought silks, &c., and so would return by the same course we
canie. lle told us our best port had been to put in at Macao, where
we could not have failed of a market for our opium to our satisfac-
tion, and might for our money have purchased all sorts of China goods
as cheap as we could at Nanquin.
Not being able to put the old man out of his talk, of which he was
very opinionated or conceited, I told him we were gentlemen as well
as merchants, and that we had a mind to go and see the great city of
Peking, and the famous court of the monarch of China. “ Why, then,"
says the old man, "you should go to Ningpo, where, by the river which
runs into the sea there, you may go up within five leagues of the
great canal. This canal is a navigable stream, which goes through
the heart of that vast empire of China, crosses all the rivers, passes
some considerable hills by the help of sluices and gates, and goes up
to the city of Peking, being in length near two hundred and seventy
leagues."
(C
Well," said I, "Senhor Portuguese, but that is not our business
now; the great question is, if you can carry us up to the city of Nanquin,
from whence we can travel to Peking afterward ?" He said he could
do so very well, and that there was a great Dutch ship gone up that
way just before. This gave me a little shock, for a Dutch ship was
now our terror, and we had much rather have met the devil, at least
if he had not come in too frightful a figure; and we depended upon
it that a Dutch ship would be our destruction, for we were in no con-
dition to fight them; all the ships they trade with into those parts be-
ing of great burden, and of much greater force than we were.
'
The old man found me a little confused, and under some concern,
when he named a Dutch ship; and said to me, "Sir, you need be un-
der no apprehensions of the Dutch; I suppose they are not now at
war with your nation!" "No," said I, "that's true; but I know not
what liberties men may take when they are out of the reach of the
laws of their own country." "Why," says he, "you are no pirates;
what need you fear? They will not meddle with peaceable mer-
chants, sure."
If I had any blood in my body that did not fly up into my face at
that word, it was hindered by some stop in the vessels appointed by
nature to circulate it, for it put me into the greatest disorder and con-
fusion imaginable; nor was it possible for me to conceal it so, but
the old man easily perceived it.
"Sir," says he, "I find you are in some disorder in your thoughts
420
ADVENTURES OF
f
at my talk; pray be pleased to go which way you think fit, and, de-
pend upon it, I'll do you all the service I can." 'Why, senhor,"
said I, "it is true I am a little unsettled in my resolution at this time,
whither to go in particular; and I am something more so for what
you said about the pirates. I hope there are no pirates in these seas ;
we are but in an ill condition to meet with them, for you see we have
but a small force, and are but very weakly manned." "O, sir," says
he, “don't be concerned, I do not know that there have been any pi-
rates in these seas these fifteen years, except one, which was seen, as
I hear, in the bay of Siam, about a month since; but you may be as-
sured she has gone to the southward; nor was she a ship of any great
force, or fit for the work; she was not built for a privateer, but was
run away with by a reprobate crew that was on board, after the cap-
tain and some of his men had been murdered by the Maylayans, at or
near the island of Sumatra." "What!” said I, seeming to know noth-
ing of the matter, "did they murder the captain ?" "No," said he, "I
don't understand that they murdered him; but as they afterward ran
away with the ship, it is generally believed that they betrayed him
into the hands of the Malayans, who did murder him; and perhaps
they procured them to do it." "Why, then," said I. "they deserve
death as if they had done it themselves." "Nay," says the old man,
،،
they do deserve it; and they will certainly have it, if they light
upon any English or Dutch ship; for they have all agreed together,
that if they meet that rogue they'll give him no quarter.”
"But,"
said I to him, "you say the pirate is gone out of these seas; how can
they meet with him then ?" Why, that's true," says he, "they do
say so; but he was, as I tell you, in the bay of Siam, in the river
Cambodia; and was discovered there by some Dutchmen who be-
longed to the ship, and who were left on shore when they ran away
with her; and some English and Dutch traders being in the river,
they were within a little of taking him; nay," said he, "if they fore-
most boats had been well seconded by the rest, they had certainly ta-
ken him; but he, finding only two boats within reach of him, tacked
about, and fired at those two, and disabled them before the others
came up, and then standing off to sea, the others were not able to fol-
low, and so he got away; but they have all so exact a description of
the ship, that they will be sure to know her; and wherever they find
her they have vowed to give no quarter either to the captain or sea-
men, but to hang them all up to the yard-arm." "What!" said I,
"will they execute them right or wrong; hang them first and judge
them afterward ?" "O sir," says the old pilot, "there is no need to
ད ་༢
1
#!
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
421
make a formal business of it with such rogues as those; let them tie
them back to back, and set them a diving, it is no more than they
deserve."
I knew I had my old man fast on board, and that he could do no
harm, so that I turned short upon him: "Well now, senhor," said I,
"this is the very reason why I would have you carry us up to Nan-
quin, and not put back to Macao, or to any other part of the country
where the English or Dutch ships come; for be it known to you, sen-
hor, those captains of the English and Dutch ships are a parcel of
rash, proud, insolent fellows, that neither know what belongs to jus-
tice, nor how to behave themselves as the laws of God and nature direct;
but being proud of their offices, and not understanding their power, they
would act the murderers to punish robbers; would take upon them
to insult men falsely accused, and determine them guilty without due
inquiry; and perhaps I may live to bring some of them to account
for it, when they may be taught how justice is to be executed; and
that no man ought to be treated as a criminal till some evidence may
be had of the crime, and that he is the man.
With this I told him that this was the very ship they attacked, and
gave him a full account of the skirmish we had with their boats, and
how foolishly and cowardly they behaved. I told him all the story
of our buying the ship, and how the Dutchman served us. I told him
the reasons I had to believe the story of killing the master of the Ma-
layans was true, as also the running away with the ship; but it was
all a fiction of their own to suggest that the men had turned pirates,
and they ought to have been sure it was so before they ventured to
attack us by surprise, and oblige us to resist them; adding, that they
would have the blood of those men, whom we killed there in just de-
fence, to answer for.
t
The old man was amazed at this relation, and told us we were very
much in the right to go away to the north; and that if he might ad-
vise us, it should be to sell the ship in China, which we might very
well do, and buy or build another in the country; and, said he,
though you will not get so good a ship, yet you may get one able
enough to carry you and all your goods back to Bengal, or anywhere
else." I told him I would take his advice when I came to any port
where I could find a ship for my turn, or get any customer to buy
this. IIe replied, I should meet with customers enough for the ship
at Nanquin, and that a Chinese junk would serve me very well to go
back again; and that he would procure me people both to buy one
and sell the other. "Well, but, senhor," said I, "as you say they
1
422
ADVENTURES OF
3
know the ship so well, I may, perhaps, if I follow your measures, be
instrumental to bring some honest, innocent men into a terrible broil,
and perhaps to be murdered in cold blood; for wherever they find
the ship, they will prove the guilt upon the men, by proving that this
was the ship, and so innocent men may probably be overpowered and
murdered." (C
Why," says the old man, "I'll find out a way to pre-
vent that also; for as I know all those commanders you speak of very
well, and shall see them all as they pass by, I will be sure to set
them to rights in the thing, and let them know that they have been
so much in the wrong; that though the people who were on board at
first might run away with the ship, yet it was not true that they had
turned pirates; and that, in particular, these were not the men that
first went off with the ship, but innocently bought her for the trade;
and I am persuaded they will so far believe me, as at least to act
more cautiously for the time to come.
I
While these things were passing between us, by way of discourse,
we went forward directly for Nanquin, and in about thirteen days'
sail came to an anchor at the southwest point of the great gulf of
Nanquin; where, by the way, came by accident to understand that
two Dutch ships were gone the length before me, and that I should
certainly fall into their hands. I consulted my partner again in this
exigency, and he was as much at a loss as I was, and would very
gladly have been safe on shoro almost any where; however, I was not
in such perplexity neither, but I asked the old pilot if there was no
creck or harbor which I might put into and pursue my business with
the Chinese privately, and be in no danger of the enemy. He told
me, if I would sail to the southward about forty-two leagues, there
was a little port called Quinchang, where the fathers of the mission
usually landed from Macao, on their progress to teach the Christian
religion to the Chinese, and where no European ships ever put in; and
if I thought to put in there, I might consider what further course to
take when I was on shore. Ile confessed, he said, it was not a place
for merchants, except that at some certain times they had a kind of a
fair there, when the merchants from Japan came over thither to buy
the Chinese merchandizes.
We all agreed to go back to this place; the name of the port, as he
called it, I may perhaps spell wrong, for I do not particularly re-
member it, having lost this, together with the names of many other
places set down in a little pocket-book, which was spoiled by the
water by an accident; but this I remember, that the Chinese or
Japanese merchants we corresponded with called it by a different
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
423
•
name from that which our Portuguese pilot gave it, and pronounced
it as above, Quinchang.
As we were unanimous in our resolution to go to this place, we
weighed the next day, having only gone twice on shore where we
were to get fresh water; on both which occasions the people of the
country were very civil to us, and brought us abundance of things to
sell to us, I mean of provisions, plants, roots, tea, rice, and some fowls,
but nothing without money.
We came to the other port (the wind being contrary) not till five
days, but it was very much to our satisfaction; and I was joyful, and
I may say thankful, when I set my foot on shore, resolving, and my
partner, too, that if it was possible to dispose of ourselves and effects
any other way, though not every way to our satisfaction, we would
never set one foot on board that unhappy vessel more; and, indeed, I
must acknowledge, that of all the circumstances of life that ever I had
any experience of, nothing makes mankind so completely miserable as
that of being in constant fear. Well does the Scripture say: "The
fear of man brings a snare;" it is a life of death, and the mind is so
entirely oppressed by it, that it is capable of no relief.
Nor did it fail of its usual operations upon the fancy, by heighten-
ing every danger, representing the English and Dutch captains to be
men incapable of hearing reason, or of distinguishing between honest
men and rogues; or between a story calculated for our own turn, made
out of nothing, on purpose to deceive, and a true genuine account of
our whole voyage, progress, and design; for we might many ways
have convinced any reasonable creature that we were not pirates; the
goods we had on board, the course we steered, our frankly showing
ourselves, and entering into such and such ports; and even our very
manner, the force we had, the number of men, the few arms, little
ammunition, short provisions; all these would have served to convince
any men that we were no pirates. The opium and other goods we had
on board would make it appear the ship had been at Bengal. The
Dutchmen, who, it was said, had the names of all the men that were
in the ship, might easily see that we were a mixture of English, Por-
tuguese, and Indians, and but two Dutchmen on board. These, and
many other particular circumstances, might have made it evident to
the understanding of any commander, whose hands we might fall into,
that we were no pirates. But fear, that blind, useless passion, worked
another way, and threw us into the vapors; it bewildered our under-
standings, and set the imagination at work to form a thousand terrible
things that perhaps might never happen. We first supposed, as in-
<
;
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ADVENTURES OF
deed every body else had related to us, that the seamen on board the
English and Dutch ships, but especially the Dutch, were so enraged
at the name of a pirate, and especially at our beating off their boats
and escaping, that they would not give themselves leave to inquire
whether we were pirates or no ; but would execute us off-hand, as we
call it, without giving us any room for a defence. We reflected that
there really was so much apparent evidence before them, that they
would scarce inquire after any more; as, first, that the ship was cer-
tainly the same, and that some of the seamen among them knew her,
and had been on board her; and, secondly, that when we had iutelli-
gence at the river of Cambodia that they were coming down to ex-
amine us, we fought their boats and fled; so that we made no doubt
but they were as fully satisfied of our being pirates, as we were satis-
fied of the contrary; and, as I often said, I know not but I should
have been apt to have taken those circumstances for evidence, if the
tables were turned, and my case was theirs; and have made no scruplo
of cutting all the crew to pieces, without believing, or perhaps con-
sidering, what they might have to offer in their defen
But let that be how it will, these were our apprehensions; and
both my partner and I scarce slept a night without dreaming of
halters and yard-arms, that is to say, gibbets; of fighting, and being
taken; of killing, and being killed; and one night I was in such. a
fury in my dream, fancying the Dutchmen had boarded us, and I was
knocking one of their seamen down, that I struck my doubled fist
against the side of the cabin I lay in, with such a force, as wounded
my hand grievously, broke my knuckles, and cut and bruised the flesh,
so that it awaked me out of my sleep.
Another apprehension I had was, the cruel usage we might meet
with from them if we fell into their hands; then the story of Amboyna
came into my head, and how the Dutch might perhaps torture us, as´
they did our countrymen there, and make some of our men, by ex-
tremity of torture, confess those crimes they never were guilty of, or
own themselves and all of us to be pirates, and so they would put us
to death with a formal appearance of justice; and that they might be
tempted to do this for the gain of our ship and cargo, which was worth
four or five thousand pounds, put altogether.
These things tormented me and my partner too, night and day; nor
did we consider that the captains of ships have no authority to act thus;
and if we had surrendered prisoners to them, they could not answer
the destroying us, or torturing us, but would be accountable for it
when they came to their own country; this, I say, gave me no satis-
,
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
425
11
faction; for if they were to act thus with us, what advantage would
it be to us that they should be called to an account for it? or if we
were first to be murdered, what satisfaction would it be to us to have
them punished when they came home?
I cannot refrain taking notice here what reflections I now had upon
the vast variety of my particular circumstances; how hard I thought
it was, that I, who had spent forty years in a life of continual diffi-
culties, and was at last come, as it were, to the port or haven which
all men drive at, viz., to have rest and plenty, should be a volunteer
in new sorrows by my own unhappy choice; and that I, who had
escaped so many dangers in my youth, should now come to be hanged
in my old age, and in so remote a place, for a crime which I was not
in the least inclined to, much less guilty of.
After these thoughts, something of religion would come in ; and I
would be considering that this seemed to ine to be a disposition of
immediate Providence, and I ought to look upon it and submit to it
as such; that although I was innocent as to men, I was far from
being innocent as to my Maker; and I ought to look in and examine
what other crimes in my life were most obvious to me, and for which
Providence might justly inflict this punishment as a retribution; and
that I ought to submit to this, just as I would to a shipwreck, if it had
pleased God to have brought such a disaster upon me.
In its turn, natural courage would sometimes takes its place, and
then I would be talking myself up to vigorous resolutions; that I
would not be taken to be barbarously used by a parcel of merciless
wretches in cold blood; that it were much better to have fallen into
the hands of the savages, though I was sure they would feast upon
me when they had taken me, than those who would perhaps glut their
rage upon me by inhuman tortures and barbarities; that in the case
of the savages I always resolved to die fighting to the last gasp, and
why should I not do so now, seeing it was much more dreadful, to me,
at least, to think of falling into these men's hands, than ever it was to
think of being eaten by men? for the savages, give them their due,
would not eat a man till he was killed and dead, but that these men
had many arts beyond the cruelty of death. Whenever these thoughts
prevailed, I was sure to put myself into a kind of fever with the agi-
tation of a supposed fight; my blood would boil, and my eyes sparkle,
as if I was engaged, and I always resolved to take no quarter at their
hands; but, even at last, if I could resist no longer, I would blow up
the ship and all that was in her, and leave them but little booty to
boast of.
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The greater weight the anxieties and perplexities of these things
were to our thoughts while we were at sea, the greater was our satis-
faction when we saw ourselves on shore; and my partner told me he
dreamed he had a very heavy load upon his back, which he was to
carry up a hill, and found that he was not able to stand longer under
it; but that the Portuguese pilot came and took it off his back, and
the hill disappeared. the ground before him appearing all smooth and
plain and truly it was so; they were all like men who had a load
taken off their backs. For my part, I had a weight taken off from
my heart that it was not able any longer to bear; and, as I said above,
we resolved to go no more to sea in that ship. When we came on
shore, the old pilot, who was now our friend, got us a lodging and a
warehouse for our goods, which, by the way, was much the same; it
was a little house, or hut, with a larger house adjoining to it, all built
with canes, and palisadoed round with large canes, to keep out pilfer-
ing thieves, of which, it seems, there were not a few in that country;
however, the magistrates allowed us a little guard, and we had a
soldier with a kind of halberd, or half-pike, who stood sentinel at our
door; to whom we allowed a pint of rice, and a little piece of money,
about the value of three-pence, per day, so that our goods were kept
very safe.
The fair, or mart, usually kept in this place, had been over some
time; however, we found that there were three or four junks in the
river, and two Japaners, I mean ships from Japan with goods which
they had bought in China, and were not gone aw ay, having some
Japanese merchants on shore.
:
The first thing our old Portuguese pilot did for us was, to get us
acquainted with three missionary Romish priests who were in town,
and who had been there some time converting the people to Christi-
anity but we thought they made but poor work of it, and made them
but sorry Christians when they had done; however, that was none of
our business. One of these was a Frenchmen, whom they called
Father Simon; another was a Portuguese, and the third, a Genoese:
but Father Simon was courteous, easy in his manner, and very agree-
able company; the other two were more reserved, seemed rigid and
austere, and applied seriously to the work they came about, viz., to
talk with, and insinuate themselves among, the inhabitants, wherever
they had opportunity. We often ate and drank with those men; and
though, I must confess, the conversion, as they call it, of the Chinese
to Christianity is so far from the true conversion required to bring
heathen people to the faith of Christ, that it seems to amount to little
:
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
427
more than letting them know the name of Christ, and say some prayers
to the Virgin Mary and her Son, in a tongue which they understand
not, and to cross themselves, and the like; yet it must be confessed
that the religionists, whom we call missionaries, have a firm belief
that these people will be saved, and that they are the instruments
of it; and, on this account, they undergo not only the fatigue of
the voyage, and the hazards of living in such places, but often-
times death itself, with the most violent tortures, for the sake of this
work.
But to return to my story. This French priest, Father Simon, was
appointed, it seems, by order of the chief of the Mission, to go up to
Peking, the royal seat of the Chinese emperor, and waited only for
another priest, who was ordered to come to him from Macao, to go
along with him; and we scarce ever met together but he was inviting
me to go that journey; telling me how he would show me all the
glorious things of that mighty empire, and, among the rest, the greatest
city in the world; a city, said he, that your London and our Paris
put together, cannot be equal to. This was the city of Peking, which,
I confess, is very great, and infinitely full of people; but as I looked
on those things with different eyes from other men, so I shall give my
opinion of them in a few words, when I come in course of my travels
to speak more particularly of them.
But, first, I come to my friar or missionary. Dining with him one
day, and being very merry together, I showed some little inclination
to go with aim; and he pressed me and my partner very hard, and
with a great many persuasions, to consent. Why, Father Simon,"
says my partner, "should you desire our company so much? you
know we are heretics, and you do not love us, nor cannot keep us
company with any pleasure." "O," says he, "you may perhaps be
good Catholics in time; my business here is to convert heathens, and
who knows but I may convert you, too?"
cr
Very well, Father," said
I, "so you will preach to us all the way ?" "I will not be trouble-
some to you," says he; "our religion does not divest us of good man-
ners: besides, we are here like countrymen; and so we are, compared
to the place we are in; and if you are Huguenots, and I a Catholic,
wo may all be Christians at last; at least, we are all gentlemen, and
we may converse so, without being uneasy to one another." I liked
this part of his discourse very well, and it began to put me in mind of
my priest I had left in the Brazils; but this Father Simon did not
come up to his character by a great deal; for though Father Simon
had no appearance of a criminal levity in him neither, yet he had not
<<
'
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ADVENTURES OF
that fund of Christian zeal, strict piety, and sincere affection to
religion, that my other good ecclesiastic had.
But to leave him a little, though he never left us, nor soliciting us
to go with him, we had something else before us at first, for we had
all this while our ship and our merchandise to dispose of, and we
began to be very doubtful what we should do, for we were now in a
place of very little business; and once I was about to venture to sail
for the river of Kilam, and the city of Nanquin: but Providence
seemed now more visibly, as I thought, than ever, to concern itself in
our affairs; and I was encouraged, from this very time, to think I
should one way or other get out of this entangled circumstance, and
be brought home to my own country again, though I had not the least
view of the manner. Providence, I say, began here to clear up our
way a little; and the first thing that offered was, that our old Portu-
guese pilot brought a Japan merchant to us, who inquired what goods
we had; and, in the first place, he bought all our opium, and gave us
a very good price for it, paying us in gold by weight, some in small
pieces of their own coin, and some in small wedges, of about ten or
eleven ounces each. While we were dealing with him for our opium,
it came into my head that he might perhaps deal for the ship, too, and
I ordered the interpreter to propose it to him: he shrugged up his
shoulders at it, when it was first proposed to him; but in a few days
after he came to me, with one of the missionary priests for his in-
terpreter, and told me had a proposal to make to me, which was this:
he had bought a great quantity of goods of us, when he had no thoughts
of proposals made to him of buying the ship; and that, therefore, he
had not money enough to pay for the ship: but that if I would let
the same men who were in the ship navigate her, he would hire the
ship to go to Japan; and would send them from thence to the Philip-
pine islands with another loading, which he would pay the freight of
before they went to Japan, and that at their return he would buy the
ship. I began to listen to his proposal, and so eager did my head
still run upon rambling, that I could not but begin to entertain a
notion of going myself with him, and so to sail from the Philippine
islands away to the South Seas: accordingly I asked the Japanese
merchant if he would not hire us to the Philippine islands, and dis-
charge us there. IIo said no, he could not do that, for then he could
not have the return of his cargo; but he would discharge us in Japan,
at the ship's return. Well, still I was for taking him at that propo-
sal, and going myself; but my partner, wiser than myself, persuaded
me from it, representing the dangers, as well of the seas as of the
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
429
Japanese, who are a false, cruel, and treacherous people; likewise
those of the Spaniards at the Philippines, more false, cruel, and
treacherous than they.
But to bring this long turn of our affairs to a conclusion: the first
thing we had to do was, to consult with the captain of the ship, and
with his men, and know if they were willing to go to Japan and
while I was doing this, the young man whom my nephew had left
with me as my companion for my travels came to me, and told me
that he thought that voyage promised very fair, and that there was a
great prospect of advantage, and he would be very glad if I under-
took it; but that if I would not, and would give him leave, he would
go as a merchant, or how I pleased to order him; that if ever he
came to England, and I was there and alive, he would render me a
faithful account of his success, which would be as much mine as I
pleased. I was really loath to part with him; but considering the
prospect of advantage, which was really considerable, and that he
was a young fellow as likely to do well in it as any I knew, I inclined
to let him go; but I told him I would consult my partner, and give
him an answer the next day. My partner and I discoursed about it,
and my partner made a most generous offer. "You know it has been
an unlucky ship," said he, "and we both resolved not to go to sea in
it again if your steward" ( so he called my man) "will venture tho
voyage, I will leave my share of the vessel to him, and let him make
the best of it; and if we live to meet in England, and he meets with
success abroad, he shall account for one half of the profits of the
ship's freight to us; the other shall be his own.”
If my partner, who was no way concerned with my young man,
made him such an offer, I could no less than offer him the same; and
all the ship's company being willing to go with him, we made over
half the ship to him in property, and took a writing from him, ob-
liging him to account for the other; and away he went to Japan.
The Japan merchant proved a very punctual, honest man to him;
protected him at Japan, and got him a license to come on shore, which
the Europeans in general have not lately obtained; paid him his
freight very punctually; sent him to the Philippines, loaded with
Japan and China wares, and a supercargo of their own, who, traffick-
ing with the Spaniard, brought back European goods again, and a
great quantity of cloves and other spices; and there he was not only
paid his freight very well, and at a very good price, but not being
willing to sell the ship then, the merchant furnished him with goods
ou mis own account; and with some money, and some spices of his own,
·
+
430
ADVENTURES OF
which he brought with him, he went back to the Manillas to the
Spaniards, where he sold his cargo very well. Here, having got a
good acquaintance at Manilla, he got his ship made a free ship; and
the governor of Manilla hired him to go to Acapulco in America, on
the coast of Mexico, and gave him a license to land there, and to
travel to Mexico, and to pass in any Spanish ship to Europe with all
his men.
He made the voyage to Acapulco very happily, and there
he sold his ship; and having there also obtained allowance to travel
by land to Porto Bello, he found means, some how or other, to get to
Jamaica, with all his treasure; and about eight years after, came to
England exceedingly rich, of which I shall take notice in its place; in
the meantime, I return to our particular affairs.
เป
Being now to part with the ship and ship's company,
I came bc-
fore us, of course, to consider what recompense we should give to the
two men that gave us such timely notice of the design against us in
the river Cambodia. The truth was, they had done us a very con-
siderable service, and deserved well at our hands; though, by tho
way, they were a couple of rogues, too; for as they believed the story
of our being pirates, and that we had really run away with the ship,
they came down to us not only to betray the design that was formed
against us, but to go to sea with us as pirates; and one of them con-
fessed, afterward, that nothing else but the hope of going a-roguing
brought him to do it; however, the service they did us was not the
less; and therefore, as I had promised to be grateful to them, I first
ordered the money to be paid them which they said was due to them
on board their respective ships; over and above that I gave each of
them a small sum of money in gold, which contented them very well;
then I made the Englishman gunner in the ship, the gunner being
now made second mate and purser; the Dutchman I made boatswain;
so they were both very well pleased, and proved very serviceable,´
being both able seamen, and very stout fellows.
We were now on shore in China; if I thought myself banished and
remote from my own country at Bengal, where I had many ways to
get home for my money, what could I think of myself now, when I
was got about a thousand leagues farther off from home, and perfectly
destitute of all manner of prospect of return? All we had for it was
this, that in about four months' time there was to be another fair at
the place where we were, and then we might be able to purchase all
sorts of the manufactures of the country, and withal might possibly
find some Chinese junks or vessels from Tonquin, that would be to be
sold, and would carry us and our goods whither we pleased. This I
*
73%
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE,
431
liked very well, and resolved to wait; besides, as our particular per-
sons were not obnoxious, so if any English or Dutch ships came thither,
perhaps we might have an opportunity to load our goods, and get a
passage to some other place in India, nearer home. Upon these hopes
we resolved to continue here; but, to divert ourselves, we took two
or three journeys into the country. First, we went ten days' journey,
to the city of Nanquin, a city well worth seeing, indeed; they say it
has a million of people in it; it is regularly built, the streets all ex-
actly straight, and cross one another in direct lines, which gives the
figure of it great advantage. But when I come to compare the
miserable people of these countries with ours, their fabrics, their
manner of living, their government, their wealth, and their glory,
as some call it, I must confess that I scarcely think it worth my
while to mention them here. It is very observable, that we
wonder at the grandeur, the riches, the pomp, the ceremonies, the
government, the manufactures, the commerce, and conduct of these
people; not that it is to be wondered at, or, indeed, in the least to be
regarded, but because, having a true notion of the barbarity of those
countries, the rudeness and the ignorance that prevails there, we do
not expect to find any such thing so far off. Otherwise, what are their
buildings to the palaces and royal buildings of Europe? What their
trade to the universal commerce of England, Holland, France, and
Spain? What are their cities to ours, for wealth, strength, gaiety of
apparel, rich furniture, and infinite variety? What are their ports,
supplied with a fow junks and barks, to our navigation, our merchant
fleets, our large and powerful navies? Our city of London has more
trade than half their mighty empire; one English, Dutch, or French
man-of-war of eighty guns, would be able to fight almost all the shipping
belonging to China; but the greatness of their wealth, their trade, the
power.of their government, and the strength of their armies, may be a
little surprising to us; because, as I have said, considering them as a
barbarous nation of pagans, little better than savages, we did not ex-
pect such things among them. And this, indeed, is the advantage,
with which all their greatness and power is represented to us; other-
wise, it is in itself nothing at all; for what I have said of their ships
may be said of their armies and troops; all the forces of their empire,
though they were to bring two millions of men into the field together,
would be able to do nothing but ruin the country, and starve them-
selves, if they were to besiege a strong town in Flanders, or to fight a
disciplined army. One good line of German cuirassiers, or of French
cavalry, might withstand all the horse of China; a million of their
**
3
432
ADVENTURES OF
foot could not stand before one embattled body of our infantry, posted
so as not to be surrounded, though they were not to be one to twenty
in number; nay, I do not boast if I say that thirty thousand German
or English foot, and ten thousand horse, well managed, could defeat
all the forces of China. And so of our fortified towns, and of the art
of our engineers in assaulting and defending towns; there is not a
fortified town in China could hold out one month against the batteries
and attacks of an European army; and, at the same time, all the
armies of China could never take such a town as Dunkirk, provided it
was not starved-no, not in a ten years' siege. They have fire-arms,
it is true, but they are awkward and uncertain in their going off; and
their powder has but little strength. Their armies are badly discip-
lined, and want skill to attack, or temper to retreat; and therefore, I
must confess, it seemed strange to me, when I came home, and heard
our people say such fine things of the power, glory, magnificence, and
trade of the Chinese; because, as far as I saw, they appeared to be a
contemptible herd or crowd of ignorant sordid slaves, subjected to a
government qualified only to rule such a people; and were not its
distance inconceivably great from Muscovy, and the Muscovite empire,
in a manner, as rude, impotent, and ill governed as thoy, the Czar of
Muscovy might with ease drive them all out of their country, and
conquer them in one campaign; and had the Czar (who is now a grow-
ing prince) fallen this way, instead of attacking the warlike Swedes,
and equally improved himself in the art of war, as they say he has
done; and if none of the powers of Europe had envied or interrupted
him, he might by this time have been emperor of China, instead of
being beaten by the king of Sweden at Narva, when the latter was not
one to six in number. As their strength and their grandeur, so their
navigation, commerce, and husbandry, are very imperfect, compared to
the same things in Europe; also in their knowledge, their learning,
and in their skill in the sciences, they are either very awkward or
defective, though they have globes and spheres, and a smattering of
the mathematics, and think they know more than all the world be-
sides; but they know little of the motions of the heavenly bodies; and
so grossly and absurdly ignorant are their common people, that when
the sun is eclipsed, they think a great dragon has assaulted it, and is
going to run away with it; and they fall clattering with all the drums
and kettles in the country, to fright the monster away, just as we do
to hire a swarm of bees.
As this is the only excursion of the kind which I have made in all
the accounts I have given of my travels, I shall make no more such ;
ROBINSON CRUSOL.
433
it is none of my business, nor any part of my design; but to give an
account of my own adventures through a life of inimitable wanderings,
and a long variety of changes, which, perhaps, few that come after me
will have heard the like of; I shall, therefore, say very little of all
the mighty places, desert countries, and numerous people I have yet
to pass through, more than relates to my own story, and which my
concern among them will make necessary.
Chapter Forty-Three.
Journey to Peking-Robinson joins a Caravan proceeding to Moscow-Rencon-
tres with the Tartars
ด
WAS now, as near as I can compute, in the heart of China,
about thirty degrees north of the line, for we were returned
from Nanquin; I had, indeed, a mind to see the city of Pe-
king, which I had heard so much of, and Father Simon im-
portuned me daily to do it. At length, his time of going away being
set, and the other missionary who was to go with him being arrived
from Macao, it was necessary that we should resolve either to go or
not; so I referred it wholly to my partner, and left it wholly to his
choice, who at length resolved it in the affirmative; and we prepared
for our journey. We set out with very good advantage, as to finding
the way, for we got leave to travel in the retinue of one of their Man-
darins, a kind of viceroy or principal magistrate in the province where
they reside, and who take great state upon them, traveling with great
attendance, and with great homage from the people, who are some-
times greatly impoverished by them, being obliged to furnish pro-
visions for them and all their attendants in their journeys. That
which I particularly observed, as to our traveling with his baggage,
was this, that though we received sufficient provisions both for our-
selves and our horses from the country, as belonging to the Mandarin,
yet we were obliged to pay for everything we had after the market
price of the country, and the Mandarin's steward collected it duly
from us; so that our traveling in the retinue of the Mandarin, though
it was a very great kindness to us, was not such a mighty favor in him,
but was a great advantage to him, considering there were about thirty
other people traveled in the same manner beside us, under the pro-
19
424
ADVENTURES OF
tection of his retinue; for the country furnished all the provisions for
nothing to him, and yet he took our money for them.
We were twenty-five days traveling to Peking, through a country
infinitely populous, but I think badly cultivated; the husbandry, the
economy, and the way of living miserable, though they boast so much
of the industry of the people; I say miserable, if compared with their
own, but not so to these poor wretches, who know no other. The
pride of the people is infinitely great, and exceeded by nothing but
their poverty, in some parts, which adds to that which I call their
misery; and I must needs think the naked savages of America live
much more happily than the poorest sort of these, because as they
have nothing, so they desire nothing; whereas these are proud and
insolent, and in the main are in many parts mere beggars and
drudges; their ostentation is inexpressible; and, if they can, they
love to keep multitudes of servants or slaves, which is to the last de-
gree ridiculous, as well as the contempt of all the world but them-
selves.
W
I must confess, I traveled more pleasantly afterward in the deserts
and wildernesses of Grand Tartary than here; and yet the roads here
are well paved and well kept, and very convenient for travellers; but
nothing was more awkward to me than to see such a haughty, im-
perious, insolent people, in the midst of the grossest simplicity and
ignorance; and my friend Father Simon and
friend Father Simon and I used to be very merry
upon these occasions, to see the beggarly pride of these people. For
example, coming by the house of a country gentleman, as Father
Simon called him, about ten leagues off the city of Nanquin, we had
first of all the honor to ride with the master of the house about two
miles; the state he rode in was a perfect Don Quixotism, being a mix-
ture of pomp and poverty. His habit was very proper for a scara-
mouch, or merry-andrew, being a dirty calico, with hanging sleeves,
tassels, and cuts and slashes almost on every side; it covered a taffety
vest, as greasy as a butcher's, and which testified that his honor must
be a most exquisite sloven. His horse was but a poor, starved, hobbling
creature, and he had two slaves followed him on foot to drive the poor
creature along; he had a whip in his hand, and he belabored the
beast as fast about the head as his slaves did about the tail; and thus
he rode by us, with about ten or twelve servants, going from the city
to his country seat, about half a league before us. We travelled on
gently, but this figure of a gentleman rode away before us; and as we
stopped at a village about an hour to refresh us, when we came by the
country seat of this great man, we saw him in a little place before his
དྷསཏིཾཏི - ཡ-
I
4
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
435
door eating his repast. It was a kind of a garden, but he was very
easy to be seen; and we were given to understand that the more we
looked at him the better he would be pleased. He sat under a tree,
something like a palmetto, which effectually shaded him over the
head, and on the south side; but under the tree was also placed a
large umbrella, which made that part look well enough. He sat
lolling back in a great elbow-chair, being a heavy, corpulent man,
and had his meat brought him by two women slaves; he had two
more, one of which fed the squire with a spoon, and the other held the
dish with one hand, and scraped off what he let fall upon his worship's
beard and taffety vest with he other; while the great fat brute
thought it below him to employ his own hands in any of those fami-
liar offices, which kings and monarchs would rather do than be troubled
with the clumsy fingers of their servants.
I took this time to think what pains men's pride put them to, and
how troublesome a haughty temper, thus ill managed, must be to a
man of common sense; and leaving the poor wretch to please himself
with our looking at him, as if we admired his pomp, though we really
pitied and contemned him, we pursued our journey; only Father
Simon had the curiosity to stay to inform himself what dainties the
country justice had to feed on in all his state, which he had the honor
to taste of, and which was, I think, a mess of boiled rice, with a great
piece of garlic in it, and a little bag filled with green pepper, and
another plant which they have there, something like our ginger, but
smelling like musk, and tasting like mustard; all this was put together,
and a small piece of lean mutton boiled in it, and this was his wor-
ship's repast; four or five servants more attended at a distance, who,
we supposed, were to eat of the same after their master.
As for our Mandarin with whom we travelled, he was respected as
a king, surrounded always with his gentlemen, and attended in all his
appearances with such pomp, that I saw little of him but at a distance;
but this I observed, that there was not a horse in his retinue but that
our carrier's pack-horses in England seemed to me to look much
better; though it was hard to judge rightly, for they were so covered
with equipage, mantles, trappings, &c., that we could scarce see any-
thing but their feet and their heads as they went along.
I was now light-hearted, and all my trouble and perplexity that I
have given an account of being over, I had no anxious thought about
me, which made this journey the pleasanter to me; nor had I any
ill accident attended me, only in passing or fording a small river my
horse fell, and made me free of the country, as they call it, that is to
436
ADVENTURES OF
say, threw me in; the place was not deep, but it wetted me all over. I
mention it, because I spoiled my pocket-book, wherein I had set down
the names of several people and places which I had occasion to re-
member, and which, not taking due care of, the leaves rotted, and the
words were never after to be read, to my great loss as to the names
of some places I touched at in this journey.
CC
At length we arrived at Peking; I had nobody with me but the
youth whom my nephew the captain had given me to attend me as a
servant, and who proved very trusty and diligent; and my partner
had nobody with him but one servant, who was a kinsman. As for
the Portuguese pilot, he being desirous to see the court, we bore his
charges for his company, and to use him as an interpreter, for he un-
derstood the language of the country, and spoke good French, and a
little English; and, indeed, this old man was a most useful implement
to us everywhere; for we had not been above a week at Peking, when
he came laughing, "Ah, Senhor Inglese,” says he, "I have something
to tell you will make your heart glad!" My heart glad!" says I,
"what can that be? I don't know anything in this country can either
give me joy or grief, to any great degree." "Yes, yes," said the old
man, in broken English, "make you glad, me sorry." Why," said
I," will it make you sorry?" "Because," said he, "you have brought
me here twenty-five days' journey, and will leave me to go back
alone, and which way shall I get to my port afterward without a
ship, without a horse, without pccune?" So he called money, being
his broken Latin, of which he had abundance to make merry with.
In short, he told us there was a great caravan of Muscovite and Po-
lish merchants in the city, preparing to set out on their journey by
land to Muscovy, within four or five weeks, and he was sure we would
take the opportunity to go with them, and leave him behind to go
back alone.
<<
I confess I was greatly surprised with this good news, and had
scarce power to speak to him for some time; but at last I turned to
him, "How do you know this ?" said I. "Are you sure it is true ?"
"Yes," says he; "I met this morning in the street an old acquain-
tance of mine, an Armenian, who is among them; he came last from
Astracan, and was designing to go to Tonquin, where I formerly
knew him, but has altered his mind, and is now resolved to go with
the caravan to Moscow, and so down the river Wolga to Astracan."
Well, senhor," says I, "do not be uneasy about being left to go
back alone; if this be a method for my return to England, it shall be
your fault if you go back to Macao at all." We then went to con-
sult together what was to be done, and I asked my partner what.
(C
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
437
thought of the pilot's news, and whether it would suit with his af
fairs? He told me he would do just as I would; for he had settled
all his affairs so well at Bengal, and left his effects in such good
hands, that as we had made a good voyage here, if he could vest it in
China silks, wrought and raw, such as might be worth the carriage,
he would be content to go to England, and then make his voyage
back to Bengal by the Company's ships.
Having resolved upon this, we agreed that if our Portuguese pilot
would go with us, we would bear his charges to Moscow, or to Eng-
land, if he pleased; nor, indeed, were we to be esteemed over gener-
ous in that neither, if we had not rewarded him farther, the service
he had done us being really worth more than that; for he had not
only been a pilot to us at sea, but he had been like a broker to us on
shore; and his procuring for us the Japan merchant was some hun-
dreds of pounds in our pockets. So we consulted together about it,
and being willing to gratify him, which was but doing him justice,
and very willing also to have him with us besides, for he was a most
necessary man on all occasions, we agreed to give him a quantity of
coined gold, which, as I compute it, came to about one hundred and
seventy-five pounds sterling, between us, and to bear all his charges,
both for himself and horse, except only a horse to carry his goods.
Having settled this between ourselves, we called him to let him know
what we had resolved. I told him he had complained of our being
to let him go back alone, and I was now to tell him we were resolved
he should not go back at all; that as we had resolved to go to Eu-
rope with the caravan, we resolved also he should go with us; and
that we called him to know his mind. He shook his head, and said,
it was a long journey, and he had no pecune to carry him thither, or
to subsist himself when he came there. We told him we believed it
was so, and therefore we had resolved to do something for him that
should let him see how sensible we were of the service he had done
us, and also how agreeable he was to us; and then I told him what
we had resolved to give here, which he might lay out as we would
do our own; and that as for his charges, if he would go with us we
would set him safe on shore (life and casualties excepted), either in
Muscovy or England, which we could at our own charge, except only
the carriage of his goods. He received the proposal like a man
transported, and told us he would go with us over the whole world;
and so we all prepared for our journey. However, as it was with us,
so it was with the other merchants; they had many things to do, and
instead of being ready in five weeks, it was four months and some
days before all things were got together.
438
ADVENTURES OF
It was the beginning of February, our style, when we set out from
Peking. My partner and the old pilot had gone express back to the
port where we had first put in, to dispose of some goods which we had
left there; and I, with a Chinese merchant whom I had some knowl-
edge of at Nanquin, and who came to Peking on his own affairs, went
to Nanquin, where I bought ninety pieces of fine damasks, with about
two hundred pieces of other very fine silks of several sorts, some
mixed with gold, and had all these brought to Peking against my
partner's return; besides this, we bought a very large quantity of
raw silk, and some other goods, our cargo amounting, in these goods
only, to about three thousand five hundred pounds sterling; which,
together with tea, and some fine calicoes, and three camels' loads of
nutmegs and cloves, loaded in all eighteen camels for our share, be-
sides those we rode upon; which, with two or three spare horses,
and two horses loaded with provisions, made us, in short, twenty-six
camels and horses in our retinue.
The company was very great, and, as near as I can remember,
made between three and four hundred horse, and upwards of one
hundred and twenty men, very well armed, and provided for all
events; for as the Eastern caravans are subject to be attacked by the
Arabs, so are these by the Tartars; but they are not altogether so
dangerous as the Arabs, nor so barbarous, when they prevail.
The company consisted of people of several nations; but there were
above sixty of them merchants or inhabitants of Moscow, though of
them some were Livonians; and to our particular satisfaction, five
of them were Scots, who appeared also to be men of great experience
in business, and of very good substance.
When we had traveled one day's journey, the guides, who were five
in number, called all the gentlemen and merchants, that is to say, all
the passengers except the servants, to a great council as they called'
it. At this council every one deposited a certain quantity of money,
to a common stock, for the necessary expense of buying forage on the
way, where it was not otherwise to be had, and for satisfying the
guides, getting horses, and the like; and here they constituted the
journey, as they called it, viz., they named captains and officers to
draw us all up, and give the word of command, in case of an attack,
and give every one their turn of command; nor was this forming us
into order any more than what we found needful upon the way, as
shall be observed.
The road all on this side of the country is very populous, and is
full of potters and earth-makers, that is to say, people that temper
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
439
the earth for the China-ware; and as I was coming along, our Portu-
gal pilot, who had always something or other to say to make us merry-
came sneering to me, and told me he would show me the greatest
rarity in all the country, and that I should have this to say of China,
after all the ill humored things I had said of it, that I had seen one
thing which was not to be seen in all the world beside. I was very
importunate to know what it was: at last he told me it was a gentle-
man's house built with China-ware. Well," says I,
(C are not the
materials of their buildings the product of their own country, and so
it is all China-ware, is it not?"—" No, no,” says he; “I mean it is a
house all made of China-ware, such as you call it in England, or, as
it is called in our country, porcelain." Well," says 1, "such a
thing may be; how big is it? Can we carry it in a box upon a
camel? If we can, we will buy it." "Upon a camel!" says the old
pilot, holding up both his hands; "why there is a family of thirty
people lives in it.”
(L
I was then curious, indeed, to see it; and when I came to it, it was
nothing but this: it was a timber house, or a house built, as they call
it in England, with lath and plaster; but all this plastering was really
China-ware, that is to say, it was plastered with the earth that makes
China-ware. The outside, which the sun shone hot upon, was glazed,
and looked very well, perfectly white, and painted with blue figures,
as the large China-ware in England is painted, and hard as if it had
been burned. As to the inside, all the walls instead of wainscot, were
lined with hardened and painted tiles, like the little square tiles we
call galley-tiles in England, all made of the finest China, and the
figures exceedingly fine, indeed, with extraordinary variety of colors,
mixed with gold; many tiles making but one figure, but joined so
artificially, the mortar being made of the sanie earth, that it was very
hard to see where the tiles met. The floors of the rooms were of the
same composition, and as hard as the earthen floors we have in use in
several parts of England; as hard as stone, and smooth, but not
burned and painted, except some smaller rooms, like closets, which
were all as it were paved with the same tile: the ceiling, and all the
plastering work in the whole house, were of the same earth; and,
after all, the roof was covered with tiles of the same, but of a deep
shining black. This was a China warehouse, indeed, truly and liter-
ally to be called so; and had I not been upon a journey, I could have
stayed some days to see and examine the particulars of it. They told
me there were fountains and fishponds in the garden, all paved on the
bottom and sides with the same; and fine statues set up in rows on the
walks, entirely formed of the porcelain earth, and burned whole.
440
ADVENTURES OF
As this is one of the singularities of China, so they may be allowed
to excel in it; but I am very sure they excel in their accounts of it;
for they told me such incredible things of their performance in
crockery-ware, for such it is, that I care not to relate, as knowing it
could not be true. They told me, in particular, of one workman that
made a ship with all its tackle, and masts and sails, in earthen-ware,
big enough to carry fifty men. If they had told me he launched it,
and made a voyage to Japan in it, I might have said something to it,
indeed; but as it was, I knew the whole of the story, which was, in
short, asking pardon for the word, that the fellow lied: so I smiled,
and said nothing to it.
This odd sight kept me two hours behind the caravan, for which the
Leader of it for the day fined me about the value of three shillings;
and told me, if it had been three days' journey without the wall, as
it was three days' within, he must have fined me four times as much,
and made me ask pardon the next council day: I promised to be more
orderly; and, indeed, I found afterward the orders made for keeping
all together were absolutely necessary for our common safety.
In two days more we passed the great China wall, made for a for-
tification against the Tartars: and a very great work it is, going over
hills and mountains in a needless track, where the rocks are impassa-
ble, and the precipices such as no enemy could possibly enter, or
indeed climb up, or where, if they did, no wall could hinder them.
They tell us its length is near a thousand English miles, but that the
country is five hundred in a straight measured line, which the wall
bounds, without measuring the windings and turnings it takes; it is
about four fathoms high, and as many thick in some places.
→
I stood still an hour, or thereabout, without trespassing our orders
(for so long the caravan was in passing the gate), to look at it on
every side, near and far off, I mean that was within my view; and the
guide of our caravan, who had been extolling it for the wonder of the
world, was mighty eager to hear my opinion of it. I told him it was
a most excellent thing to keep out the Tartars; which he happened
not to understand as I meant it, and so it took for a compliment; but
the old pilot laughed: "O, Senor Inglese," says he, “you speak in
colors." "In colors!" said I; "what do you mean by that ?" Why
you speak what looks white this way, and black that way; gay one
way and dull another. You tell him it is a good wall to keep out
Tartars; you tell me by that it is good for nothing but to keep out
Tartars. I understand you, Senor Inglise; I understand you; but
Senor Chinese understood you his own way." "Well," says I, "sen-
CC
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
441
hor, do you think it would stand out an army of our country people,
with a good train of artillery, or our engineers, with two companies
of miners? Would not they batter it down in ten days, that an army
might enter in battalia; or blow it up in the air, foundation and all,
that there should be no sign of it left ?" "Ay, ay," says he, "I know
that." The Chinese wanted mightily to know what I said, and I gave
him leave to tell him a few days after, for we were then almost out of
their country, and he was to leave us in a little time after this; but
when he knew what I said, he was dumb all the rest of the way, and
we heard no more of his fine story of the Chinese power and greatness
while he stayed.
After we passed this mighty nothing, called a wall, something like
the Picts' wall, so famous in Northumberland, built-by the Romans,
we began to find the country thinly inhabited, and the people rather
confined to live in fortified towns and cities, as being subject to the
inroads and depredations of the Tartars, who rob in great armies, and
therefore are not to be resisted by the naked inhabitants of an open
country. And here I began to find the necessity of keeping together
in a caravan as we traveled, for we saw several troops of Tartars
roving about; but when I came to see them distinctly, I wondered
more that the Chinese empire should be conquered by such contempt-
ible fellows; for they are a mere horde of wild fellows, keeping no
order, and understanding no discipline or manner of fight. Their
horses are poor lean creatures, taught nothing, and fit for nothing;
and this we found the first day we saw them, which was after we
entered the wilder part of the country. Our leader for the day gave
leave for about sixteen of us to go a hunting, as they call it, and what
was this but hunting of sheep; however, it may be called hunting too,
for the creatures are the wildest and swiftest of foot that ever I saw
of their kind; only they will not run a great way, and you are sure
of sport when you begin the chase, for they appear generally thirty
or forty in a flock, and, like true sheep, keep together when they fly.
In pursuit of this odd sort of game, it was our hap to meet with
about forty Tartars; whether they were hunting mutton as we were,
or whether they looked for another kind of prey, we know not; but
as soon as they saw us, one of them blew a kind of a horn very loud,
but with a barbarous sound that I had never heard before, and, by the
way, never care to hear again: we all supposed this was to call their
friends about them, and so it was; for in less than ten minutes a troop
of forty or fifty more appeared at about a mile distance; but our
work was over first, as it happened.
1
1
f
19*
442
ADVENTURES OF
One of the Scots merchants of Moscow happened to be among us,
and as soon as he heard the horn he told us that we had nothing to do
but to charge them immediately, without loss of time; and drawing
us up in a line, he asked if we were resolved. We told him we were
ready to follow him; so he rode directly toward them. They stood
gazing at us like a mere crowd, drawn up in no order, nor showing
the face of any order at all; but as soon as they saw us advance they
let fly their arrows, which, however, missed us very happily: it seems
they mistook not their aim, but their distance; for their arrows all
fell a little short of us, but with so true an aim, that had we been
about twenty yards nearer, we must have had several men wounded,
if not killed.
Immediately we halted, and though it was at a great distance, we
fired, and sent them leaden bullets for wooden arrows, following our
shot full gallop, to fall in among them sword in hand, for so our bold
Scot that led us directed. He was, indeed, but a merchant, but he
behaved with such vigor and bravery on this occasion, and yet with
such cool courage, too, that I never saw any man in action fitter for
command. As soon as we came up to them, we fired our pistols in
their faces, and then drew; but they fled in the greatest confusion
imaginable. The only stand any of them made was on our right,
where three of them stood, and, by signs, called the rest to come back
to them, having a kind of scimitar in their hands, and their bows
hanging to their backs. Our brave commander, without asking any
body to follow him, gallops up close to them, and with his fusee
knocks one of them off his horse, killed the second with his pistol,
and the third ran away; and thus ended our fight; but we had this
misfortune attending it, that all our mutton we had in chase got away.
We had not a man killed or hurt; but as for the Tartars, there were
about five of them killed; how many were wounded we knew not;
but this we knew, that the other party was so frightened with the
noise of our guns, that they made off, and never made any attempt
upon us.
We were all this while in the Chinese dominions, and therefore the
Tartars were not so bold as afterward: but in about five days we
entered a vast, great, wild desert, which held us three days and
nights' march; and we were obliged to carry our water with us in
great leathern bottles, and to encamp all night, just as I have heard
they do in the desert of Arabia.
I asked our guides whose dominion this was in; and they told me
this was a kind of border, that might be called no man's land,
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
443
being a part of Great Karakathay, or Grand Tartary; but, however,
it was all reckoned as belonging to China, but, that there was no care
taken here to preserve it from the inroads of thieves, and therefore it
was reckoned the worst desert in the whole march, though we were
to go over some much larger.
In passing this wilderness, which was at first very frightful to me,
we saw, two or three times, little parties of the Tartars, but they
seemed to be upon their own affairs, and to have no design upon us;
and so, like the man who met the devil, if they had nothing to say to
us, we had nothing to say to them; we let them go. Once, however,
a party of them came so near as to stand and gaze at us; whether it
was to consider if they should attack us or not, we knew not; but
when we were passed at some distance by them, we made a rear guard
of forty men, and stood ready for them, letting the caravan pass half
a mile or thereabouts before us: but after awhile they marched
off; only we found they saluted us with five arrows at their parting,
one of which wounded a horse, so that it disabled him, and we left
him, poor creature, in great need of a good farrier: they might shoot
more arrows, which might fall short of us, but we saw no more arrows
or Tartars that time.
We travelled near a month after this, the ways not being so good
as at first, though still in the dominions of the emperor of China, but
lay for the most part in villages, some of which were fortified, be-
cause of the incursions of the Tartars. When we were come to one
of these towns (it was about two days and a half journey before we
were come to the city of Naum), I wanted to buy a camel, of which
there are plenty to be sold all the way upon that road, and horses
also, such as they are, because so many caravans coming that way,
they are often wanted. The person that I spoke to, to get me a
camel, would have gone and fetched one for me; but I, like a fool,
must be officious, and go myself along with him: the place was about
two miles out of the village, where it seems they kept the camels and
horses feeding under a guard.
I walked it on foot, with my old pilot and a Chinese, being very
desirous of a little variety. When we came to the place, it was a low
marshy ground, walled round with a stone wall, piled up dry, with-
out mortar or earth among it, like a park, with a little guard of
Chinese soldiers at the door. Having bought a camel, and agreed for
the price, I came away, and the Chinese man that went with me led
the camel, when on a sudden came up five Tartars on horseback;
two of them seized the fellow and took the camel from him, while the
444
ADVENTURES OF
other three stepped up to me and my old pilot, seeing us, as it were,
unarmed, for I had no weapon about me but my sword, which could but
ill defend me against three horsemen. The first that came up stopped
short upon my drawing my sword, for they are arrant cowards; but
a second coming upon my left, gave me a blow on the head, which I
never felt till afterward, and wondered, when I came to myself, what
was the matter, and where I was, for he laid me flat on the ground;
but my never-failing old pilot, the Portuguese (so Providence, un-
looked for, directs deliverances from dangers which to us are unfore-
seen), had a pistol in his pocket, which I knew nothing of, nor the
Tartars either; if they had, I suppose they would not have attacked
us; but cowards are always boldest when there is no danger. The
old man seeing me down, with a bold heart stepped up to the fellow
that had struck me, and laying hold of his arm with one hand, and
pulling him down by main force a little toward him with the other,
shot him in the head, and laid him dead upon the spot. He then im-
mediately stepped up to him who had stopped us, as I said, and be-
fore he could come forward again, made a blow at him with a scimi-
tar, which he always wore, but missing the man, cut his horse in the
side of his head, cut one of the cars off, by the root, and a great slice
down by the side of his face. The poor beast, enraged with the
wound, was no more to be governed by his rider, though the fellow
sat well enough, too, but away he flew, and carried him quite out of
the pilot's reach and at so ne distance, rising upon his hind legs, he
threw down the Tartar, and fell upon him.
愛
​In this interval, the poor Chinese came in who had lost the camel,
but he had no weapon; however, seeing the Tartar down, and his
horse fallen upon him, away he runs to him, and seizing upon an
ugly ill-favored weapon he had by his side, something like a pole-
axe, but not a pole-axe either, he wrenched it from him, and made
shift to knock his Tartarian brains out with it. But my old man had
the third Tartar to deal with still; and seeing he did not fly, as he ex-
pected, nor come on to fight him, as he apprehended, but stand stock-
still, the old man stood still, too, and fell to work with his tackle, to
charge his pistol again; but as soon as the Tartar saw the pistol,
away he scoured, and left my pilot, my champion I called him after-
ward, a complete victory.
By this time I was a little recovered; for I thought when I first
began to wake, that I had been in a sweet sleep; but, as I said above,
I wondered where I was, how I came upon the ground, and what was
the matter. But a few moments after, as sense returned, I felt pain,
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
445
علي
though I did not know where; so I clapped my hand to my head, and
took it away bloody; then I felt my head ache; and then, in a mo-
ment, memory returned, and everything was present to me again. I
jumped upon my feet instantly, and got hold of my sword, but no
enemies in view; I found a Tartar lie dead. and his horse standing
very quietly by him; and, looking farther, I saw my champion and
deliverer. who had been to see what the Chinese had done, coming
back with his hanger in his hand; the old man, seeing me on my feet,
came running to me, and embraced me with a great deal of joy, being
afraid before that I had been killed; aud seeing me bloody, would see
how I was hurt; but it was not much, only what we call a broken
head; neither did I afterward find any great inconvenience from the
blow, for it was well again in two or three days.
We made no great gain, however, by this victory, for we lost a
camel and gained a horse; but that which was 1emarkable, when we
came back to the village, the man demanded to be paid for the camel;
I disputed it, and it was brought to a hearing before the Chinese judge
of the place. To give him his due, he acted with a great deal of
prudence and impartiality; and having heard both sides, he gravely
asked the Chinese man that went with me to buy the camel, whose
servant he was? 'I am no servant," says he, "but went with the
stranger." "At whose request ?" said the justice. "At the stranger's
request," says he. "Why, then," says the justice,
you were the
stranger's servant for the time; and the camel being delivered to his
servant, it was delivered to him, and he must pay for it.
(6
I confess the thing was so clear, that I had not a word to say; but,
admiring to see such just reasoning upon the consequence, and an
accurate stating of the case, I paid willingly for the camel, and sent
for another; but you may observe, I did not go to fetch it myself any
more, for I had had enough of that.
The city of Naum is a frontier of the Chinese empire; they call it
fortified, and, so it is, as fortifications go there; for this I will venture
to affirm, that all the Tartars in Karakathay, which, I believe, are
some millions, could not batter down the walls with their bows and
arrows; but to call it strong, if it were attacked with cannon, would
be to make those who understand it laugh at you.
We wanted, as I have said, above two days' journey of this city,
when messengers were sent express to every part of the road to tell
all travellers and caravans to halt till they had a guard sent for them ;
for that an unusual body of Tartars, making ten thousand in all, had
appeared in the way, about thirty miles beyond the city.
446
ADVENTURES OF
This was very had news to travellers; however, it was carefully
done of the governor, and we were very glad to hear we should have
a guard. Accordingly, two days after, we had two hundred soldiers
sent us from a garrison of the Chinese, on our left, and three hundred
more from the city of Naum, and with these we advanced boldly; the
three hundred soldiers from Naum marched in our front, the two
hundred in our rear, and our men on each side of our camels, with our
baggage, and the whole caravan in the centre; in this order, and well
prepared for battle, we thought ourselves a match for the whole ten
thousand Mogul Tartars, if they had appeared; but the next day, when
they did appear, it was quite another thing.
It was early in the morning, when, marching from a well-situated
little town, called Changu, we had a river to pass, which we were ob-
liged to ferry; and had the Tartars had any intelligence, then had
been the time to have attacked us, when the caravan being over, the
rear guard was behind; but they did not appear there. About three
hours after, when we were entered upon a desert of about sixteen
miles over, behold, by a cloud of dust they raised, we saw an enemy
was at hand; and they were at hand, indeed, for they came on upon
the spur.
The Chinese, our guard on the front, who had talked so big the day
before, began to stagger; and the soldiers frequently looked behind
them, which is a certain sign in a soldier that he is just ready to run
away. My old pilot was of my mind; and, being near me, called
out, "Senhor Inglese," says he, "those fellows must be encouraged,
or they will ruin us all; for if the Tartars come on, they will never
stand it." "I am of your mind," said I; "but what must be done ?"
"Done!" said he, "let fifty of our men advance, and flank them on
each wing, and encourage them; and they will fight like brave fel-
lows in brave company; but, without this, they will every man turn
his back. Immediately I rode up to our leader, and told him, who
was exactly of our mind; and accordingly fifty of us marched to the
right wing, and fifty to the left, and the rest made a line of rescue ;
and so we marched, leaving the last two hundred men to make a body
by themselves, and to guard the camels; only that, if need were, they
should send a hundred men to assist the last fifty.
In a word, the Tartars came on, and an innumerable company they
were; how many we could not tell, but ten thousand, we thought, was
the least; a party of them came on first and viewed our posture, tra-
versing the ground in the front of our line; and, as we found them
within gun-shot, our leader ordered the two wings to advance swiftly,
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
447
1
and give them a salvo on each wing with their shot, which was done;
but they went off, and I suppose back, to give an account of the re-
ception they were likely to meet with; and, indeed, that salute cloyed
their stomachs, for they immediately halted, stood awhile to consider
of it, and wheeling off to the left, they gave over their design, and
said no more to us for that time; which was very agreeable to our
circumstances, which were but very indifferent for a battle with such
a number.
Two days after we came to tho city of Naun, or Naum; we thanked
the governor for his care of us, and collected to the value of a hundred
crowns, or thereabouts, which he gave to the soldiers sent to guard us;
and here we rested one day. This is a garrison, indeed, and there
were nine hundred soldiers kept there; but the reason of it was, that
formerly the Muscovite frontiers lay nearer to them than they now do,
the Muscovites having abandoned that part of the country, which lies
from this city west for about two hundred miles, as desolate and unfit
for use; and more especially being so very remote, and so difficult to
send troops thither for its defence; for we had yet above two thousand
miles to Muscovy, properly so called.
After this we passed several great rivers, and two dreadful deserts;
one of which we were sixteen days passing over; and which, as I said,
was to be called no man's land; and on the 13th of April, we came to
the frontiers of the Muscovite dominions. I think the first town, or
fortress, whichever it may be called, that belonged to the Czar of
Muscovy, was called Arguna, being on the west side of the river Ar-
guna.
I could not but discover an infinite satisfaction that I was so soon
arrived in, as I called it, a Christian country, or, at least, in a courtry
governed by Christians; for though the Muscovites do, in my opinion,
but just deserve the name of Christians, yet such they pretend to be
and are very devout in their way. It would certainly occur to any
man who travels the world as I have done, and who had any power
of reflection, what a blessing it is to be brought into the world where
the name of God and Redeemer is known, adored and worshipped;
and not where the people, given up by Heaven to strong delusions,
worship the devil, and prostrate themselves to stocks and stones;
worship monsters, elements, horrid-shaped animals, and statutes or
images of monsters. Not a town or city we passed through but had
their pagods, their idols, and their temples, and ignorant people wor-
shiping even the works of their own hands. Now, we came where, ..
least, a face of the Christian worship appeared; where the knee was
1
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bowed to Jesus; and whether ignorantly or not, yet the Christian re-
ligion was owned, and the name of the true God was called upon and
adored, and it made my soul rejoice to see it. I saluted the brave
Scots merchant I mentioned above with my first acknowledgment of
this; and taking him by the hand, I said to him, “Blessed be God,
we are once again among Christians." He smiled, and answered,
"Do not rejoice too soon, countryman; these Muscovites are but an
odd sort of Christians; and but for the name of it, you may see very
little of the substance for some months farther of our journey."
"Well," says I, "but still it is better than paganism and worshiping
of devils." CL
Why, I will tell you," says he, "except the Russian
soldier in the garrisons, and a few of the inhabitants of the cities upon
the road, all the rest of this country, for above a thousand miles farther,
is inhabited by the worst and most ignorant of pagans; and so, indeed,
we found it.
Chapter Forty-Four.
Route Through Muscovy - Robinson and a Scots Merchant Destroy an Idol
The Whole Caravan in Great Peril from the Pursuit of the Pagans-Tobols-
ki-Muscovite Exiles-Departure from Tobolski - Encounter with a Troop of
Robbers in the Desert-Robinson Reaches Archangel, and Finally Arrives in
England.
Filt
E were now launched into the greatest piece of solid earth,
if I understand anything of the surface of the globe, that
is to be found in any part of the world; we had, at least,,
twelve thousand miles to the sea, eastward; two thousand
to the bottom of the Baltic sea, westward; and above three thousand,
if we left that sea and went on west, to the British and French chan-
nels; we had full five thousand miles to the Indian or Persian sea,
south; and about eight hundred to the Frozen sea, north. Nay, if
some people may be believed, there might be no sca, northeast, till we
came round the poles, and consequently into the northwest, and so had
a continent of land into America, the Lord knows where; though I
could give some reasons why I believed that to be a mistake.

As we entered into the Muscovite dominions a good while before we
came to any considerable towns, we had nothing to observe there but
this: first, that all the rivers run to the east, as I understood by the
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
449
charts, which some in our caravan had with them, it was plain all
those rivers ran into the great river Yamour, or Amour; which river,
by the natural course of it, must run into the East sea, or Chinese
Ocean. The story they tell us, that the mouth of this river is choked
up with bulrushes of a monstrous growth, viz.: three feet about, and
twenty or thirty feet high, I must be allowed to say, I believe nothing
of it; but, as its navigation is of no use, because there is no trade that
way, the Tartars, to whom it alone belongs, dealing in nothing but
cattle, so nobody, that ever I heard of, has been curious enough either
to go down to the mouth of it in boats, or come up to the mouth of it
in ships, as far as I can find; but this is certain, that this river run-
ning east, in the latitude of about fifty degrees, carries a vast con-
course of rivers along with it, and finds an ocean to empty itself in
that latitude; so we are sure of sea there.
Some leagues to the north of this river there are several consider-
able rivers, whose streams run as due north as the Yamour runs east,
and these are all found to join their waters with the great river Tartar-
us, named so from the northermost nations of the Mogul Tartars;
who, as the Chinese say, were the first Tartars in the world; and
who, as our geographers allege, are the Gog and Magog mentioned in
sacred story.
These rivers running all northward, as well as all the
other rivers I am yet to speak of, make it evident that the northern
ocean bounds the land also on that side; so that it does not seem ra-
tional in the least to think that the land can extend itself to join with
America on that side, or that there is not a communication between
the northern and eastern ocean; but of this I shall say no more; it
was my observation at that time, and therefore I take notice of it in
this place.
We now advanced from the river Arguna by easy and moderate
journeys, and were very visibly obliged to the care the Czar of Mus-
covy has taken to have cities and towns built in as many places as it
is possible to place them, where his soldiers keep garrison, something
like the stationary soldiers placed by the Romans in the remotest
countrys of their empire; some of which that I had read of were
placed in Britain, for the security of commerce, and for the lodging
travelers; and thus it was here; for wherever we came, though at
these towns and stations the garrisons and governors were Russian
and professed Christians, yet the inhabitants were mere pagans; sac-
rificing to idols, and worshiping the sun, moon, and stars, or all the
host of heaven; and not only so, but were, of all the heathens and
pagans that ever I met with, the most barbarous, except only that they
did not eat men's flesh, as our savages of America did.
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ADVENTURES OF
Some instances of this we met within the country between Arguna,
where we enter the Muscovite dominions, and a city of Tartars and
Russians together, called Nertzinskoi, in which is a continued desert
or forest, which cost us twenty days to travel over. In a village,
near the last of these places, I had the curiosity to go and see their
way of living, which is most brutish and insufferable; they had, I
suppose, a great sacrifice that day; for there stood out, upon an old
stump of a tree, an idol made of wood, frightful as the devil; at least,
as anything we can think of to represent the devil can be made; it
had a head not so much as resembling any creature that the world ever
saw; ears as big as goat's horns, and as high; eyes as big as a crown
piece; a nose like a crooked ram's-horn, and a mouth extended four-
cornered, like that of a lion, with horrible teeth, hooked like a parrot's
under bill; it was dressed up in the filthiest manner that you could
suppose; its upper garment was of sheep-skins, with the wool out-
ward; a great Tartar bonnet on the head, with two horns growing
through it; it was about eight feet high, yet had no feet or legs, nor
any other proportion of the parts.
This scarecrow was set up at the outer side of the village; and
when I came near to it, there were sixteen or seventeen creatures,
whether men or women I could not tell, for they made no distinction
by their habits, all lying flat upon the ground round this formidable
block of shapeless wood; I saw no motion among them any more than
if they had all been logs of wood, like the idol, and at first I really
thought they had been so; but, when I came a little nearer, they
started up upon their feet, and raised a howling cry, as if it had been
so many deep-mouthed hounds, and walked away, as if they were dis-
pleased at our disturbing them. A little way off from the idol, and
at the door of a tent or hut, made all of sheep-skins and cow-skins
dried, stood three butchers-I thought they were such; when I came
nearer to them, I found they had long knives in their hands; and in
the middle of the tent appeared three sheep killed, and one young bul-
lock or steer. These, it seems, were sacrifices to that senseless log of
an idol; the three men were priests belonging to it, and the seven-
teen prostrated wretches were the people who brought the offering
and were making their prayers to that stock.
I confess, I was more moved at their stupidity and brutish worship
of a hobgoblin than ever I was at anything in my life; to see God's
most glorious and best creature, to whom he had granted so many
advantages, even by creation above the rest of the works of his
hands, vested with a reasonable soul, and that soul adorned with
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
451
faculties and capacities adapted both to honor his Maker, and be
honored by him, sunk and degenerated to a degree so very stupid
as to prostrate itself to a frightful nothing, a mere imaginary ob-
ject, dressed up by themselves, and made terrible to themselves by
their own contrivance, adorned only with clouts and rags; and that
this should be the effect of mere ignorance, wrought up into hellish
devotion by the devil himself; who, envying to his Maker the homage
and adoration of his creatures, had deluded them into such sordid and
brutish things as one would think should shock nature itself!
But what signified all the astonishment and reflection of thoughts;
thus it was, and I saw it before my eyes, and there was no room to
wonder at it, or think it impossible; all my admiration turned to
rage, and I rode up to the image or monster, call it what you will,
and with my sword made a stroke at the bonnet that was on its head,
and cut it in two; and one of our men that was with me took hold of
the sheep-skin that covered it, and pulled at it; when, behold, a most
hideous outcry and howling ran through the village, and two or three
hundred people came about my ears, so that I was glad to scour for
it, for we saw some had bows and arrows; but I resolved from that
moment to visit them again.
Our caravan rested three nights at the town, which was about four
miles off, in order to provide some horses which they wanted, several
of the horses having been lamed and jaded with the badness of the
way, and long march over the last desert; so we had some leisure
here to put my design in execution. I communicated my design to
the Scots merchant of Moscow, of whose courage I had sufficient tes-
timony; I told him what I had seen, and with what indignation I had
since thought that human nature could be so degenerate; I told him,
if I could get but four or five men well armed, to go with me, I was
resolved to go and destroy that vile, abominable idol, and let them
see that it had no power to help itself; and consequently could not
be an object of worship, or to be prayed to, much less help them that
offered sacrifices to it.
He laughed at me :-says he, "Your zeal may be good, but what
do you propose to yourself by it?" "Propose!" said I; "to vindi-
cate the honor of God, which is insulted by this devil-worship." "But
how will it vindicate the honor of God," said he, "while the people
will not be able to know what you mean by it, unless you could
speak to them and tell them so? And then they will fight you, and
beat you too, I'll assure you; for they are desperate fellows, and
that especially in defense of their idolatry." "Can we not," said I,
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“do it in the night, and then leave them the reasons and the causes in
writing in their own language?" "Writing ?" said he; "why there
is not a man in five nations of them that knows anything of a letter,
or how to read a word any way." "Wretched ignorance!" said I to
him; “however, I have a great mind to do it; perhaps nature may
draw inferences from it to them, to let them see how brutish they are
to worship such horrid things." "Look you, sir," said he, "if your
zeal prompts you to it so warmly, you must do it; but, in the next
place, I would have you consider, these wild nations of people are
subjected by force to the Czar of Muscovy's dominion, and you do
this, it is ten to one they will come by thousands to the governor of
Nertzinskoi, and demand satisfaction; and if he cannot give them
satisfaction, it is ten to one but they revolt; and it will occasion a
new war with all the Tartars in the country."
26
[C
This, I confess, put new thoughts into my head for awhile, but I
harped upon the same string still; and all that day I was uneasy to
put my project in execution. Towards the evening the Scots mer-
chant met me by accident in our walk about the town, and desired to
speak with me; I believe," said he, "I have put you off your good
design; I have been a little concerned about it since: for I abhor
idolatry as much as you can do." "Truly," said I, "you have put it
off a little, as to the execution of it, but you have not put it out of
my thoughts; and I believe I shall do it before I quit this place,
though I were to be delivered up to them for satisfaction." "No
no,"
"said he: "God forbid they should deliver you up to such a crew
of monsters! They shall not do that neither; that would be mur-
dering you indeed." Why," said I "how would they use me?"
"Use you!" said he; "I'll tell you how they served a poor Russian
who affronted them in their worship, just as you did, and whom they
took prisoner, after they had lamed him with an arrow, that he could
not run away; they took him and stripped him stark-naked, and set
him upon the top of the idol-monster, and stood all round him, and
shot as many arrows into him as would stick over his whole body;
and then they burnt him, and all the arrows sticking in him, as a
sacrifice to the idol." "And was this the same idol ?" said I. "Yes,"
said he, "the very same." "Well," said I, "I will tell you a story,"
so I related the story of our men at Madagascar, and how they burnt
and sacked the village there, and killed man, woman, and child, for
their murdering one of our men, just as it is related before; and I
added, that I thought we ought to do so to this village.
He listened very attentively to the story; but when I talked of
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
453
doing so to that village, said he, "you mistake very much; it was
not this village, it was almost a hundred miles from this place; but
it was the same idol, for they carry him about in procession all over
the country." “Well,” said I, "then that idol ought to be punished
for it; and it shall," said I, "if I live this night out."
In a word, finding me resolute, he liked the design, and told me I
should not go alone, but he would go with me, but he would go first
and bring a stout fellow, one of his countrymen, to go also with us:
"and one," said he, "as famous for his zeal as you can desire any one
to be against such devilish things as these." In a word, he brought
me his comrade, a Scotsman, whom he called Captain Richardson;
and gave him a full account of what I had seen, and also what I in-
tended; and he told me readily, he would go with me if it cost him
his life. So we agreed to go, only we three. I had, indeed, proposed
to my partner, but he declined it. He said, he was ready to assist me
to the utmost, and upon all occasions, for my defense; but this was
an adventure quite out of his way: so, I say, we resolved upon our
work, only we three and my man-servant, and to put it in execution
that night about midnight, with all the secresy imaginable.
However, upon second thoughts, we were willing to delay it till the
next night, because, the caravan being to set forward in the morning,
we supposed the governor could not pretend to give them any satis-
faction upon us when we were out of his power. The Scots merchant,
as steady in his resolution for the enterprise, as bold in executing,
brought me a Tartar's robe or gown of sheep-skins, and a bonnet,
with a bow and arrows, and had provided the same for himself and
his countryman, that the people, if they saw us, should not determine
who we were.
All the first night we spent in mixing up some combustible matter
with aqua vitæ, gunpowder, and such other materials as we could get;
and, having a good quantity of tar in a little pot, about an hour after
night we set out upon our expedition.
*
We came to the place about eleven o'clock at night, and found that
the people had not the least jealousy of danger attending their idol.
The night was cloudy; yet the moon gave us light enough to see that
the idol stood just in the same posture and place that it did before.
The people seemed to be all at their rest; only, that in the great hut,
or tent, as we called it, where we saw the three priests whom we
mistook for butchers, we saw a light; and going up close to the door,
we heard people talking as if there were five or six of them; we
concluded, therefore, that if we set wildfire to the idol, these men
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ADVENTURES OF
would come out immediately, and run up to the place to rescue it
from the destruction that we intended for it; and what to do with
them we knew not. Once we thought of carrying it away and setting
fire to it at a distance, but when we came to handle it, we found it too
bulky for our carriage; so we were at a loss again. The second
Scotsman was for setting fire to the tent or hut, and knocking the
creatures that were there on the head, when they came out; but I
could not join with that; I was against killing them, if it were pos-
sible to avoid it "Well, then," says the Scots merchant, "I will tell
you what we will do: we will try to make them prisoners, tie their
hands, and make them stand and see their idol destroyed."
As it happened, we had twine or packthread enough about us,
which we used to tie our firelocks altogether with so we resolved to
attack these people first, and with as little noise as we could. The
first thing we did we knocked at the door, when, one of the priests
coming to it, we immediately seized upon him, stopped his mouth, and
tied his hands behind him, and led him to the idol, where we gagged
him that he might not make a noise, tied his feet also together, and
left him on the ground.
Two of us then waited at the door, expecting that another would
come out, to see what the matter was: but we waited so long till the
third man came back to us; and then nobody coming out, we knocked
again gently, and immediately out came two more, and we served
them just in the same manner, but were obliged to go all with them,
and lay them down by the idol some distance from one another ;
when, going back, we found two more were come out to the door, and
a third stood behind them within the door. We seized the two, and
immediately tied them, when the third stepping back, and crying out,
my Scots merchant went in after him, taking out a composition we
had made, that would only smoke and stink, he set fire to it and threw
it in among them; by that time the other Scotsman and my man,
taking charge of the two men already bound, and tied together also
by the arm, led them away to the idol, and left them there to see if
their idol would relieve them, making haste back to us.
When the furze we had thrown in had filled the hut with so much
smoke that they were almost suffocated, we then threw a small leather
bag of another kind which flamed like a candle, and following it in,
we found there were but four people, and, as we supposed, had been
about some of their diabolical sacrifices. They appeared, in short,
frightened to death, at least so as to sit trembling and stupid, and not
able to speak neither, for the smoke.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
455
?
In a word, we took them, bound them as we had done the others,
and all without any noise. I should have said we brought them out
of the house, or hut, first; for indeed we were not able to bear the
smoke any more than they were. When we had done this, we carried
them altogether to the idol: when we came there we fell to work
with him; and first we daubed him all over, and his robes also, with
tar, and such other stuff as we had, which was tallow mixed with
brimstone: then we stopped his eyes and ears and mouth full of gun-
powder; then we wrapped up a great piece of wildfire in his bonnet;
and then sticking all the combustibles we had brought with us upon
him, we looked about to see if we could find anything else to help to
burn him; when my Scotsman remembered that by the tent, or hut,
where the men were, there lay a heap of dry forage, whether straw
or rnshes I do not remember; away he and the other Scotsman ran
and fetched their arms full of that. When we had done this, we took
all our prisoners, and brought them, having untied their feet and un-
gagged their mouths, and made them stand up, and set them before
their monstrous idol, and then set fire to the whole.
We stayed by it a quarter of an hour, or thereabouts, till the pow-
der in the eyes, and mouth, and ears, of the idol blew up, and, as we
could perceive, had split and deformed the shape of it; and, in a
word, till we saw it burned into a mere block or log of wood; and
setting dry forage to it, we found it would be soon quite consumed ;
so we began to think of going away; but the Scotsman said, "No, we
must not go, for these poor deluded wretches will all throw themselves
into the fire, and burn themselves with the idol." So we resolved to
stay till the forage was burnt down too, and then came away and left
them.
After the feat was performed, we appeared in the morning among
our fellow travellers, exceedingly busy in getting ready for our
journey; nor could any man suggest that we had been anywhere but
in our beds, as travelers might be supposed to be, to fit themselves for
the fatigues of the day's journey.
But the affair did not end so. The next day came a great number
of the country people to the town gates, and in a most outrageous
manner demanded satisfaction of the Russian governor for the
insulting their priests, and burning their Cham Chi-Thaungu. The
people of Nertzinskoi were at first in a great consternation, for
they said the Tartars were already no less than thirty thousand
strong. The Russian governor sent out messages to appease them
and gave them all the good words imaginable; assuring them that
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ADVENTURES OF
he knew nothing of it, and that there had not a soul in his garrison
been abroad, so that it could not be from anybody there; but if
they could let him know who did it, they should be exemplarily pun-
ished. They returned haughtily that all the country reverenced
the great Cham Chi-Thaungu, who dwelt in the sun, and no mortal
would have dared to offer violence to his image but some Christian
miscreant; and they therefore resolved to denounce war against
him and all the Russians, who, they said, were miscreants and
Christians.
The governor, still patient, and unwilling to make a breach, or to
have any cause of war alleged to be given by him, the czar having
strictly charged them to treat the conquered country with gentleness
and civility, gave them still all the good words he could. At last
he told them there was a caravan gone toward Russia that morning,
and perhaps it was some of them who had done this injury; and that
if they would be satisfied with, he would send after them to inquire
into it. This seemed to appease them a little; and accordingly the
governor sent after us, and gave us a particular account how the
thing was; intimating withal, that if any in our caravan had done
it, they should make their escape; but that, whether we had done
it or no, we should make all haste forward that was possible; and
that in the meantime, he would keep them in play as long as he
could.
This was very friendly in the governor; however, when it came to
the caravan there was nobody knew anything of the matter; and as
for us that were guilty, we were least of all suspected. However,
the captain of the caravan for the time took the hint that the
governor gave us, and we travelled two days and two nights without
any considerable stop, and then we lay at a village called Plothus;
nor did we make any long stop here, but hastened on toward Jar-
awena, another of the Czar of Muscovy's colonies, and where we ex-
pected we should be safe. But upon the second day's march from
Plothus, by the clouds of dust behind us at a great distance, some of
our people began to be sensible we were pursued. We had entered
a great desert, and had passed by a great lake called Schaks Oser,
when we perceived a great body of horse appear on the other side of
the lake, to the north, we travelling west. We observed they went
away west, as we did, but had supposed we would have taken that
side of the lake, whereas we very happily took the south side; and
in two days more they disappeared again; for they, believing we were
still before them, pushed on till they came to the river Udda, a very
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
457
great river when it passes farther north, but when we came to it we
found it narrow and fordable.
The third day, they had either found their mistake, or had intelli-
gence of us, and came pouring in on us toward the dusk of the even-
ing. We had, to our great satisfaction, just pitched upon a place for
our camp, which was very convenient for the night; for as we were
upon a desert, though but at the beginning of it, that was above five
hundred miles over, we had no town to lodge at, and, indeed, ex-
pected none but the city of Jarawena, which we had yet two days'
march to. The desert, however, had some few woods in it on this
side, and little rivers, which ran all into the great river Udda; it was
in a narrow strait, between little but very thick woods, that we
pitched our little camp for that night, expecting to be attacked be-
fore morning.
Nobody knew but ourselves what we were pursued for; but as it
was usual for the Mogul Tartars to go about in troops in that desert,
so the caravans always fortify themselves every night against them,
as against robbers; it was therefore no new thing to be pursued.
But we had this night, of all the nights of our travels, a most ad-
vantageous camp; for we lay between two woods, with a little rivu-
let running just before our front, so that we could not be surrounded,
or attacked in any way but in our front or rear. We took care also
to make our front as strong as we could, by placing our packs, with
our camels and horses, all in a line on the inside of the river, and
felling some trees in our rear.
In this posture we encamped for the night; but the enemy was
upon us before we had finished our situation. They did not come on
us like thieves, as we expected, but sent three messengers to us to
demand the men to be delivered up to them that had abused their
priests, and burned their god Cham Chi-Thaungu with fire, that they
might burn them with fire; and upon this, they said, they would go
away, and do us no farther harm, otherwise they would destroy us
all. Our men looked very blank at this message, and began to stare
at one another, to see who looked with the most guilt in their faces;
but, nobody was the word; nobody did it. The leader of the cara-
van sent word he was well assured that it was not done by any of
our camp; that we were peaceable merchants, travelling on our busi-
ness; that we had done no harm to them or to any one else; and
that, therefore, they must look farther for their enemies who had in-
jured them, for we were not the people; so desired them not to dis
turb us, for if they did, we should defend ourselves.
#
20
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ADVENTURES OF
and a
They were far from being satisfied with this for an answer
great crowd of them came running down in the morning by break of
day to our camp; but seeing us in such an unaccountable situation,
they durst come no farther than the brook in our front, where they
stood, and showed us such a number that indeed terrified us very
much; for those that spoke least of them spoke of ten thousand.
Here they stood and looked at us awhile, and then setting up a great
howl, they let fly a great crowd of arrows among us; but we were
well enough fortified for that, for we sheltered under baggage, and
I do not remember that one of us was hurt.
Some time after this we saw them move a little to our right, and
expected them on the rear; when a cunning fellow, a Cossack of
Jarawena, in the pay of the Muscovites, calling to the leader of the
caravan, said to him "I'll go send all these people away to Siheilka ;"
this was a city four or five days' journey at least to the right, and
rather behind us. So he takes his bow and arrows, and getting on
horseback, he rides away from our rear directly, as it were back to
Nertzinskoi; after this, he takes a great circuit about, and comes di-
rectly on the army of the Tartars, as if he had been sent express to
tell them a long story, that the people who had burned the Cham
Chi-Thaungu were gone to Siheilka, with a caravan of miscreants, as
he called them, that is to say, Christians; and that they had resolved
to burn the god Schal-Isar, belonging to the Tongueses.
As this fellow was himself a mere Tartar, and perfectly spoke their
language, he counterfeited so well that they all took it from him, and
away they all drove in a most violent hurry to Siheilka, which, it
seems, was five days' journey to the north; and in less than three
hours they were entirely out of our sight, and we never heard any
more of them, nor whether they went to Siheilka or no. So we passed
away safely on to Jarawena, where there was a garrison of Musco-
vites, and there we rested five days, the caravan being exceedingly
fatigued with the last day's hard march, and with want of rest in the
night.
From this city we had a frightful desert, which held us twenty-three
days' march. We furnished ourselves with some tents here, for the
better accommodating ourselves in the night; and the leader of the
caravan procured sixteen carriages, or wagons of the country, for car-
rying our water and provisions; and these carriages were our defense
every night, round our little camp; so that had the Tartars appeared,
unless they had been very numerous indeed, they would not have been
able to hurt us.
K
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
459
We may well be supposed to want rest again after this long jour-
ney, for in this desert we neither saw house nor tree, and scarce a
bush, though we saw abundance of sable-hunters, who are all Tartars
of the Mogul Tartary, of which this country is a part: and they fre-
quently attack small caravans, but we saw no numbers of them to-
gether.
After we had passed this desert, we came into a country pretty well
inhabited; that is to say, we found our towns and castles, settled by
the Czar of Muscovy, with garrisons of stationary soldiers, to protect.
the caravans and defend the country against the Tartars, who would
otherwise make it very dangerous travelling; and his czarish majesty
has given such strict orders for the well guarding the caravans and
merchants, that if there are any Tartars heard of in the country, de-
tachments of the garrisons are always sent to see the travellers safe
from station to station. And thus the governor of Adinskoy, whom I
had an opportunity to make a visit to, by means of the Scots merchant,
who was acquainted with him, offered us a guard of fifty men, if we
thought there was any danger, to the next station.
I thought, long before this, that as we came nearer to Europe we
should find the country better inhabited, and the people more civilized,
but I found myself mistaken in both; for we had yet the nation of the
Tongueses to pass through, where we saw the same tokens of paganism
and barbarity as before, only as they were conquered by the Musco-
vites, they were not so dangerous; but for rudeness of manners, and
idolatry, no people in the world ever went beyond them. They are
clothed all in the skins of beasts, and their houses are built of the
same; you know not a man from a woman, neither by the ruggedness
of their countenances nor their clothes; and in the winter, when the
ground is covered with snow, they live underground in vaults, which
have cavities going from one to another.
If the Tartars had their Cham Chi-Thaungu for a whole village or
country, these had idols in every hut and every cave; besides, they
worship the stars, the sun, the water, the snow, and, in a word, every
thing they do not understand, and they understand but very little; so
that every element, every uncommon thing, sets them a sacrificing. I
met with nothing peculiar to myself in all this country, which I reckon
was, from the desert I spoke of last, at least four hundred miles, half
of it being another desert, which took us up twelve days' severe trav-
eling, without house or tree; and we were obliged again to carry our
own provisions, as well water as bread. After we were out of this
desert, and had travelled two days, we came to Janezay, a Muscovite
*
/
*
460
ADVENTURES OF
city or station on the great river Janezay (Yenisey), which, they told
us there, parted Europe from Asia.
Here I observed ignorance and paganism still prevailed, except in
the Muscovite garrisons; all the country between the river Oby and
the river Janezay is as entirely pagan, and the people as barbarous,
as the remotest of the Tartars; nay, as any nation, for aught I know,
in Asia or America. I also found, which I observed to the Muscovite
governors whom I had an opportunity to converse with, that the poor
pagans are not much wiser, or nearer Christianity, for being under the
Muscovite government; which they acknowledged was true enough;
but that, as they said, was none of their business; that if the czar ex-
pected to convert his Siberian, Tonguese, or Tartar subjects, it should
be done by sending clergymen among them, not soldiers: and they
added, with more sincerity than I expected, that they found it was not
so much the concern of their monarch to make the people Christians
as it was to make them subjects.
From this river to the great river Oby, we crossed a wild unculti-
vated country, barren of people and good management; otherwise it
is in itself a most pleasant, fruitful, and agreeable country. What in-
habitants we found in it are all pagans, except such as are sent among
them from Russia; for this is the country, I mean on both sides tho
river Oby, whither the Muscovite criminals that are not put to death
are banished, and from whence it is next to impossible they should ever
come away.
I have nothing to say of my particular affairs till I came to To-
bolski, the capital city of Siberia, where I continued some time on the
following occasion.
We had now been almost seven months on our journey, and winter
began to come on apace; whereupon my partner and I called a coun-
cil about our particular affairs, in which we found it proper, as we
were bound for England, and not for Moscow, to consider how to dis-
pose of ourselves. They told us of sledges and reindeer to carry us
over the snow in the winter time; and indeed, they have such things
that it would be incredible to relate the particulars of, by which means
the Russians travel more in the winter than they can in summer, as
in these sledges they are able to run night and day. The snow being
frozen, is one universal covering to nature, by which the hills, vales,
rivers and lakes are all smooth and hard as a stone, and they run upon
the surface, without any regard to what is underneath.
But I had no occasion to push at a winter journey of this kind; 1
was bound to England, not to Moscow, and my route lay two ways:
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
461
either I must go on as the caravan went, till I came to Jaroslaw, and
then go off west for Narva and the Gulf of Finland, and so to Dantzic,
where I might possibly sell my China cargo to good advantage; or I
must leave the caravan at a little town on the Dwina, whence I had
but six days by water to Archangel, and thence might be sure
of shipping either to England, Holland, or Hamburgh.
Now, to go any of these journeys in the winter would have been
preposterous: for as to Dantzic, the Baltic would have been frozen
up, and I could not get passage; and to go by land in those countries
was far less safe than among the Mogul Tartars; likewise, to go to
Archangel in October, all the ships would be gone from thence, and
even the merchants who dwell there in summer retire south to Moscow
in the winter, when the ships are gone, so that I could have nothing
but extremity of cold to encounter, with a scarcity of provisions, and
must lie in an empty town all the winter; so that, upon the whole, I
thought it much my better way to let the caravan go, and make pro-
vision to winter where I was, at Tobolski, in Siberia, in the latitude of
about sixty degrees, where I was sure of three things to wear out a
cold winter with, viz., plenty of provisions, such as the country afford-
ed, a warm house, with fuel enough, and excellent company.
I was now in a quite different climate from my beloved island,
where I never felt cold, except when I had my ague; on the contrary,
I had much to do to bear any clothes on my back, and never made
any fire but without doors, which was necessary for dressing my
food, &c. Now I made me three good vests, with large robes or gown
over them, to hang down to the feet, and button close to the wrists;
and all these lined with furs, to make them sufficiently warm.
As to a warm house, I must confess I greatly disliked our way in
England, of making fires in every room in the house in open chimneys,
which, when the fire was out, always kept the air in the room cold
as the climate; but taking an apartment in a good house in the town,
I ordered a chimney to be built like a furnace, in the center of six
several rooms, like a stove; the funnel to carry the smoke went up one
way, the door to come at the fire went in another, and all the rooms
were kept equally warm, but no fire seen, just as they heat the bag-
nios in England. By this means, we had always the same climate
in all the rooms, and an equal heat was preserved; and how cold
soever it was without, it was always warm within; and yet we saw
no fire, nor were ever incommoded with smoke.
The most wonderful thing of all was, that it should be possible to
meet with good company here, in a country so barbarous as that of
462
ADVENTURES OF
the most northerly parts of Europe, near the frozen ocean, within but
a very few degrees of Nova Zembla. But this being the country
where the state criminals of Muscovy, as I observed before, are all
banished, this city was full of noblemen, gentlemen, soldiers, and
courtiers of Muscovy. Here was the famous Prince Gall'tzen, the
old general Robostiski, and several other persons of note, and some
ladies. By means of my Scots merchant, whom, nevertheless, I parted
with here, I made an acquaintance with several of these gentlemen;
and from these in the long winter nights in which I stayed here, I re-
ceived several very agrecable visits.
→
It was talking one night with Prince-
one of the banished
ministers of state belonging to the Czar of Muscovy, that the dis-
course of my particular case began. IIo had been telling me abund-
ance of fine things of the greatness, the magnificence, the dominions,
and the absolute power of the emperor of the Russians; I interrupted
him, and told him I was a greater and more powerful prince than
even the Czar of Muscovy was, though my dominions were not so
large, or my people so many. The Russian grandce looked a little
surprised, and fixing his eyes steadily upon me, began to wonder what
I meant. I told him his wonder would soon cease when I had explained
myself. First, I told him I had absolute disposal of the lives and
fortunes of all my subjects; that, notwithstanding my absolute power,
I had not one person disaffected to my government, or to my person,
in all my dominions. He shook his head at that, and said there, in-
deed, I outdid the Czar of Muscovy. I told him that all the lands in
my kingdom were my own, and all my subjects were not only my
tenants, but tenants at will; that they would all fight for me to the
last drop; and that never tyrant, for such I acknowledged myself to
be, was ever so universally beloved, and yet so horribly feared by his
subjects.
After amusing him with these riddles in government for a while, I
opened the case, and told him the story at large of my living in the
island;
and how I managed both myself and the people that were
under me, just as I have since minuted it down. They were exceed-
ingly taken with the story, and especially the prince, who told me
with a sigh that the true greatness of life was to be masters of our-
selves; that he would not have exchanged such a state of life as mine
to be Czar of Muscovy; and that he found more felicity in the retire-
ment he seemed to be banished to there, than ever he found in the
highest authority he enjoyed in the court of his master, the czar; that
the heigth of human wisdom was to bring our tempers down to our
>
م
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
463
circumstances, and to make a calm within, under the weight of the
greatest storms without. When he came first hither, he said he used
to tear the hair from his head, and the clothes from his back, as others
had done before him; but a little time and consideration had made
him look into himself, as well as round him, to things without; that
he found the mind of man, if it was but once brought to reflect upon
the state of universal life, and how little this world was concerned in
its true felicity, was perfectly capable of making a felicity for itself,
fully satisfying to itself, and suitable to its own best ends and desires,
with but very little assistance from the world; the air to breathe in,
food to sustain life, clothes for warmth, and liberty for exercise, in
order to health, completed, in his opinion, all that the world could
do for us; and though the greatness, the authority, the riches, and
the pleasures which some enjoyed in the world, had much in them
that was agreeable to us, yet all those things chiefly gratified the
coarsest of our affections, such as our ambition, our particular pride,
avarice, vanity, and sensuality; all which, being the mere product of
the worst part of man, were in themselves crimes, and had in them
the seeds of all manner of crimes; but neither were related to, nor
concerned with, any of those virtues that constituted us wise men, or
of those graces that distinguished us as Christians; that being now
deprived of all the fancied felicity which he enjoyed in the full ex-
ercise of all those vices, he said he was at leisure to look upon the
dark side of them, where he found all manner of deformity, and was
now convinced that virtue only makes a man truly wise, rich, and
great, and preserves him in the way to a superior happiness in a
future state; and in this, he said, they were more happy in their
banishment than all their enemies were, who had the full possession
of all the wealth and power they had left behind them.
"Nor sir,”
says he, “do I bring my mind to this politically, by the necessity of
my circumstances, which some call miserable; but, if I know any-
thing of myself, I would not now go back, though the czar my master
should call me, and reinstate me in all my former grandeur; I say, I
would no more go back to it than I believed my soul, when it shall
be delivered from this prison of the body, and has had a taste of the
glorious state beyond life, would come back to the jail of flesh and
blood it is now enclosed in, and leave heaven, to deal in the dirt and
crime of human affairs."
Ile spoke this with so much warmth in his temper, so much carnest-
ness and motion of his spirits, that it was evident it was the true sense
of his soul; there was no room to doubt his sincerity. I told him I
464
ADVENTURES OF
once thought myself a kind of monarch in my old station, of which
I had given him an account; but that I thought he was not only a
monarch, but a great conqueror; for that he that has got a victory
over his own exorbitant desires, and the absolute dominion over him-
self, whose reason entirely governs his will, is certainly greater than
he that conquers a city. "But, my lord," said I, "shall I take the
liberty to ask you a question ?” "With all my heart," says he. "If
the door of your liberty was opened," said I, "would you not take
hold of it to deliver you from this exile ?" "Hold," said he, “your
question is subtle, and requires some serious, just distinctions, to give
it a sincere answer; and I will give it you from the bottom of my
heart. Nothing that I know of in this world, would move me to de-
liver myself from this state of banishment, except these two: first,
the enjoyment of my relations; and, secondly, a little warmer climate;
but I protest to you that to go back to the pomp of the court, the
glory, the power, the hurry of a minister of state; the wealth, the
gaiety, and the pleasures of a courtier; if my master should send
me word this moment that he restores to me all he banished me from,
I protest, if I knew myself at all, I would not leave this wilderness,
these deserts, and these frozen lakes, for the palace at Moscow.”
'But, my lord," said I, "perhaps you not only are banished from
the pleasures of the court, and from the power, authority, and wealth
you enjoyed before, but you may be absent too from some of the con-
veniences of life; your estate, perhaps, confiscated, and your effects
plundered; and the supplies left you here may not be suitable to the
ordinary demands of life." "Ah," says he, "that is as you suppose
me to be a lord, or a prince, &c.; so, indeed, I am; but you are now
to consider me only as a man, a human creature, not at all distin-
guished from another; and so I can suffer no want, unless I should,
be visited with sickness and distempers. However, to put the ques-
tion out of dispute, you see our manner; we are, in this place, five
persons of rank; we live perfectly retired, as suited to a state of ban-
ishment; we have something rescued from the shipwreck of our for-
tunes, which keeps us from the mere necessity of hunting for food;
but the poor soldiers, who are here without that help, live in as much
plenty as we, who go into the woods and catch sables and foxes; the
laboring of a month will maintain them a year; and, as the way
of
living is not expensive, so it is not hard to get sufficient to ourselves.
So that objection is out of doors."
(6
I have not room to give a full account of the most agreeable con-
versation I had with this truly great man; in all which he showed that
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
465
his mind was so inspired with a superior knowledge of things, so
supported by religion, as well as by a vast share of wisdom, that his
contempt of the world was really as much as he had expressed, and
that he was always the same to the last, as will appear in the story I
am going to tell.
I had been here eight months, and a dark, dreadful winter I thought
it; the cold so intense that I could not so much as look abroad with-
out being wrapped in furs, and a mask of fur before my face, or ra-
ther a hood, with only a hole for breath, and two for sight: the little
daylight we had was, as we reckoned, for three months, not above
five hours a day, and six at most; only that snow lying on the ground
continually, and the weather clear, it was never quite dark. Our
horses were kept, or rather starved, underground, and as for our ser-
vants, whom we hired here to look after ourselves and horses, we
had, every now and then, their fingers and toes to thaw and take care
of, lest they should mortify and fall off.
It is true, within doors we were warm, the houses being close, the
walls thick, the lights small, and the glass all double. Our food was
chiefly the flesh of deer, dried and cured in the season; bread good
enough, but baked as biscuits; dried fish of several sorts, and some
flesh of mutton and of the buffaloes, which is pretty good meat. All
the stores of provisions for the winter are laid up in summer, and
well cured: our drink was water, mixed with aqua-vitæ instead of
brandy; and for a treat, mead instead of wine, which, however, they
have excellent good. The hunters, who venture abroad all weathers,
frequently brought us in fine venison, and sometimes bear's flesh, but
we did not much care for the last. We had a good stock of tea, with
which we treated our friends, as above, and we lived very cheerfully
and well, all things considered.
It was now March, the days grown considerably longer, and the
weather at least tolerable; so the other travellers began to prepare
sledges to carry them over the snow, and to get things ready to be
going but my measures being fixed, as I have said, for Archangel,
and not for Muscovy or the Baltic, I made no motion; knowing very
well that the ships from the south do not set out for that part of the
world till May or June, and that if I was there by the beginning of
August, it would be as soon as any ships would be ready to go away;
and therefore I made no haste to be gone, as others did: in a word, I
saw a great many people, nay all the travellers, go away before me.
It seems, every year they go thence to Muscovy for trade, viz., to
carry furs, and buy necessaries, which they bring back with them to
20*
466
ADVENTURES OF
*
furnish their shops: also others went on the same errant, to Archan-
gel; but then they all being to come back again, above eight hundred
miles, went all out before me.
In the month of May I began to make all ready to pack up; and,
as I was doing this, it occurred to me that, seeing all these people
were banished by the Czar of Muscovy to Siberia, and yet, when they
came there, were left at liberty to go whither they would, why they
did not then go away to any part of the world, wherever they thought
fit; and I began to examine what should hinder them from making
such an attempt. But my wonder was over when I entered upon that
subject with the person I have mentioned, who answered me thus:
“Consider, first, sir," said he, "the place where we are; and, secondly
the condition we are in; especially the generality of the people who
are banished hither. We are surrounded with stronger things than
bars or bolts on the north side an unnavigable ocean, where ship
never sailed, and boat never swam; every other way, we have above
a thousand miles to pass through the Czar's own dominions, and by
ways utterly impassable, except by the roads made the government,
and through the towns garrisoned by his troops; so that we could
neither pass undiscovered by the road nor subsist any other way: so
that it is in vain to attempt it."
:
I was silenced, indeed, at once, and found that they were in a
prison every jot as secure as if they had been locked up in a castle
at Moscow: however, it came into my thoughts that I might cer-
tainly be made an instrument to procure the escape of this excellent
person; and that, whatever hazard I ran, I would certainly try if I
could carry him off. Upon this I took an occasion, one evening, to
tell him my thoughts. I represented to him that it was very easy
for me to carry him away, there being no guard over him in the
country; and as I was not going to Moscow, but to Archangel, and
that I went in the retinue of a caravan, by which I was not obliged
to lie in the stationary towns in the desert, but could encamp every
night where I would, we might easily pass uninterrupted to Archan-
gel, where I would immediately secure him on board an English ship,
and carry him safe along with me; and as to his subsistence, and other
particulars, it should be my care, till he could better supply him-
self.
He heard me very attentively, and looked earnestly on me all the
while I spoke; nay, I could see in his very face that what I said put
his spirits into an exceeding ferment: his color frequently changed,
his eyes looked red, and his heart fluttered, that it might be even
.ܚܔܔ
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
467
λ2
perceived in his countenance; nor could he immediately answer me
when I had done, and as it were hesitated what he would say to it:
but after he had paused a little, he embraced me, and said, "How un-
happy are we, unguarded creatures as we are, that even our greatest
acts of friendship are made snares unto us, and we are made temp-
ters of one another! My dear friend," said he, "your offer is so sincere,
has such kindness in it, isso disinterested in itself, and is so calculated
for my advantage, that I must have very little knowledge of the world
if I did not wonder at it, and acknowledge the obligation I have
upon me to you for it. But did you believe I was sincere in what
I have often said to you of my contempt of the world? Did you
believe I spoke my very soul to you, and that I had really obtained
that degree of felicity here that had placed me above all that the
world could give me? Did you believe I was sincere when I told
you I would not back, if I was recalled even to be all that I once
was in the court, with the favor of the Czar, my master? Did you
believe me, my friend, to be an honest man, or did you believe me to
be a boasting hypocrite ?" Here he stopped, as if he would hear what I
would say ; but, indeed, I soon after perceived that he stopped because
his spirits were in motion, his great heart was full of struggles, and
he could not got on. I was, I confess, astonished at the thing as
well as at the man, and I used some arguments with him to urge him
to set himself free; that he ought to look upon this as a door open-
ed by Heaven for his deliverance, and a summons by Providence,
who has the care and disposition of all events, to do himself good
and to render himself useful in the world.
He had by this time recovered himself: "How do you know, sir,”
said he, warmly, "but that, instead of a summons from Heaven, it may
be a feint of another instrument; representing in alluring colors to
me the show of felicity as a deliverance, which may in itself be my
snare, and tend directly to my ruin? Here I am free from the temp-
tation of returning to my former miserable greatness; there I am not
sure but that all the seeds of pride, ambition, avarice, and luxury,
which I know remain in nature, may revive and take root, and, in a
word, again overwhelm me; and then the happy prisoner, whom you
see now master of his soul's liberty, shall be the miserable slave of
his own senses, in the full of all personal liberty. Dear sir, let me
remain in this blessed confinement, banished from the crimes of life,
rather than purchase a show of freedom at the expense of the liberty
of my reason, and at the future happiness which I now have in my
view, but will, then, I fear, quickly lose sight of, for I am but flesh;
*
192x
468
a man, a mere man; nave passions and affections as likely to possess
and overthrow me as any man: O, be not my friend and tempter both
together!"
If I was surprised before, I was quite dumb now, and stood silent,
looking at him, and, indeed, admiring what I saw. The struggle in
his soul was so great, that though the weather was extremely cold, it
put him into a most violent sweat, and I found he wanted to give vent
to his mind; so I said a word or two, that I would leave him to con-
sider of it, and wait on him again, and then I withdrew to my own
'apartment.
About two hours after, I heard somebody at or near the door of
my room, and I was going to open the door, but he had opened it and
came in. "My dear friend," said he, "you had almost overset me,
but I am recovered. Do not take it ill that I do not close with your
offer; I assure you that it is not for want of sense or the kindness of
it in you; and I came to make the most sincere acknowledgment of
it to you; but I hope I have got the victory over myself."
"My
lord,” said I, “I hope you are fully satisfied that you do not resist the
call of Heaven.” "Sir," said he, "if it had been from Heaven, the
same power would have influenced me to have accepted' it: but I
hope, and am fully satisfied, that it is from IIeaven that I declined it;
and I have infinite satisfaction in the parting, that you shall leave me
an honest man still, though not a free man."
re
ADVENTURES OF
I had nothing to do but to acquiesce, and make professions to him
of my having no end in it but a sincere desire to serve him.
Пe em-
braced me very passionately, and assured me he was sensible of that,
and should always acknowledge it; and with that he offered me a
very fine present of sables, too much, indeed, for me to accept from a
man in his circumstance, and I would have avoided them, but he
would not be refused.
The next morning I sent my servant to his lordship with a small
present of tea, and two pieces of China damask, and four little wedges
of Japan gold, which did not all weigh above six ounces or there-
abouts, but were far short of the value of his sables, which, when I
came to England, I found worth near two hundred pounds. He ac-
cepted the tea, and one piece of the damask, and one of the pieces of
gold, which had a fine stamp upon it, of the Japan coinage, which I
found he took for the rarity of it, but would not take any more; and
he sent word by my servant that he desired to speak with me.
When I came to him, he told me I knew what had passed between
us, and hoped I would not move him any more in that affair; but
/
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
469
that, since I had made such a generous offer to nim, he asked me if I
had kindness enough to offer the same to another person that he
would name to me, in whom he had a great share of concern. I told
him that I could not say I inclined to do so much for any but himself,
for whom I had a particular value, and should have been glad to have
been the instrument of his deliverance; however, if he would please
to name the person to me, I would give him my answer.
He told me
it was his only son, who, though I had not seen him, yet he was in the
same condition with himself, and above two hundred miles from
him, on the other side the Oby; but that, if I consented, he would
send for him.
I made no hesitation, but told him I would do it. I made some
ceremony in letting him understand that it was wholly on his account;
and that seeing I could not prevail on him, I would show my respect
to him by my concern for his son; but these things are too tedious to
repeat here.
He sent away the next day for his son; and in about
twenty days he came back with the messenger, bringing six or seven
horses loaded with very rich furs, and which, in the whole, amounted
to a very great value. His servants brought the horses into the town,
but left the young lord at a distance till night, when he came incog-
nito into our apartment, and his father presented him to me, and, in
short, we concerted the manner of our travelling, and everything
proper for the journey.
I had bought a considerable quantity of sables, black fox skins, fine
ermines, and such other furs as are very rich, in that city, in exchange
for some of the goods I had brought from China: in particular for
the cloves and nutmegs, of which I sold the greatest part herc, and
the rest afterward at Archangel, for a much better price than I could
have got at London; and my partner, who was sensible of the profit,
and whose business more particularly than mine was merchandise,
was mightily pleased with our stay, on account of the traffic we made
herc.
It was the beginning of June when I left this remote place, a city,
I believe, little heard of in the world; and, indeed, it is so far out of
the road of commerce, that I know not how it should be much talked
of. We were now reduced to a very small caravan, having only
thirty-two horses and camels in all, and all of them passed for mine,
though my new guest was proprietor of eleven of them: it was most
natural also that I should take more servants with me than I had be-
fore; and the young lord passed for my steward; what great man I
passed for myself I know not, neither did it concern me to inquire.
470
ADVENTURES OF
We had here the worst and the largest desert to pass over that we
met with in our whole journey: I call it the worst, because the way
was very deep in some places, and very uneven in others; the best
we had to say for it was, that we thought we had no troops of Tartars
or robbers to fear, and that they never came on this side the river
Oby, or at least but very seldom; but we found it otherwise.
My young lord had a faithful Muscovite, or rather a Siberian ser-
vant, who was perfectly acquainted with the country, and led us by
private roads, so that we avoided coming into the principal towns
and cities upon the great road, such as Tumen, Soloy Kamskoi, and
several others; because the Muscovite garrisons which are kept there
are very curious and strict in their observation upon travellers, and
searching lest any of the banished persons of note should make their
escape that way into Muscovy; but, by this mean, as we were kept,
out of the cities, so our whole journey was a desert, and we were
obliged to encamp and lie in our tents, when we might have had very
good accommodation in the cities on the way: this the young lord was
so sensible of, that he would not allow us to lie abroad when we came
to several cities on the way, but lay abroad himself, with his servant,
in the woods, and met us always at the appointed places.
We were just entered Europe, having passed the river Kama,
which in these parts is the boundary between Europe and Asia, and
the first city on the European side was called Soloy Kamskoi, which
is as much as to say, the great city on the river Kama; and here we
thought to see some evident alteration in the people; but we were
mistaken for as we had a vast desert to pass, which is near seven
hundred miles long in some places, but not above two hundred miles
over where we passed it, so, till we came past that horrible place, we
found very little difference between that country and the Mogul Tar-,
tary: the people are mostly pagans, and little better than the savages
of America; their houses and towns full of idols, and their way of liv-
ing wholly barbarous, except in the cities, as above, and the villages
near them, when they are Christians, as they call themselves, of the
Greek church; but have their religion mingled with so many relics
of superstition, that it is scarce to be known in some places from mere
sorcery and witchcraft.
In passing this forest I thought, indeed, we must (after all our dan-
gers were to our imagination escaped, as before) have been plundered
and robbed, and perhaps murdered by a troop of thieves; of what
country they were I am yet at a loss to know, but they were all on
horseback, carried bows and arrows, and were at first about forty-five
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
471
in number; they came so near to us as to be within two musket shots,
and asking no questions surrounded us with their horses, and looked
very earnestly upon us twiee, at length they placed themselves just in
our way; upon which we drew up in a little line before our camels,
being not above sixteen men in all; and being drawn up thus, we
halted, and sent out the Siberian servant who attended his lord, to see
who they were; his master was the more willing to let him go, be-
cause he was not a little apprehensive that they were a Siberian troop
sent out after him. The man came up near them with a flag of truce,
and called to them, but though he spoke several of their languages,
or dialects of languages rather, he could not understand a word they
said; however, after some signs to him not to come nearer to them, at
his peril, the fellow came back no wiser than he went; only that by
their dress, he said, he believed them to be some Tartars of Kalmuck,
or of the Circassian hordes, and that there must be more of them upon
the great desert, though he had never heard that any of them were
seen so far north before.
About an hour after, they again made a motion to attack us, and
rode round our little wood to see where they might break in; but
finding us always ready to face them, they went off again, and we re-
solved not to stir for that night.
This was small comfort to us; however, we had no remedy; there
was on our left hand, at about a quarter of a mile distance, a little
grove, and very near the road; I immediately resolved we should
advance to those trees, and fortify ourselves as well as we could there;
for, first, I considered that the trees would in a great measure cover
us from their arrows, and, in the next place, they could not come to
charge us in a body; it was, indeed, my old Portuguese pilot who
proposed it, and who had this excellency attending him, that he was
always readiest and most apt to direct and encourage us in cases of
the most danger. We advanced immediately, with what speed we
could, and gained that little wood; the Tartars, or thieves, for we
knew not what to call them, keeping their stand, and not attempting
to hinder us. When we came thither, we found to our great satisfac-
tion that it was a swampy piece of ground, and on the one side a very
great spring of water, which running out in a little brook was, a little
farther, joined by another of the like size; and was, in short, the
source of a considerable river, called afterward the Wirtska; the
trees which grew about this spring were not above two hundred, but
very large, and stood quite thick, so that as soon as we got in we saw
ourselves perfectly safe from the enemy, unless they attacked us on
foot.
472
ADVENTURES OF
While we stayed here waiting the motion of the enemy some hours,
without perceiving they made any movement, our Portuguese, with
some help, cut several arms of trees half off, and laid them hanging
across from one tree to another, and in a manner fenced us in. About
two hours before night they came down directly upon us, and though
we had not perceived it, we found they had been joined by some more
of the same, so that they were near fourscore horse; whereof, how-
ever, we fancied some were women. They came on till they were
within half-shot of our Itttle wood, when we fired one musket without
ball, and called to them in the Russian tongue to know what they
wanted, and bade them keep off'; but they came on with a double fury
up to the wood side, not imagining we were so barricaded that they
could not easily break in. Our old pilot was our captain as well as
our engineer, and desired us not to fire upon them till they came
within pistol-shot, that we might be sure to kill; and that when we
did fire, we should be sure to take good aim; we bade him give the
word of command, which he delayed so long, that there were some
of them within two pikes' length of us when we let fly. We aimed
so true that we killed fourteen of them, and wounded several others,
as also several of their horses; for we had all of us loaded our pieces
with two or three bullets at least.
They were terribly surprised with our fire, and retreated immedi-
ately about one hundred rods from us, in which time we loaded our
pieces again, and seeing them keep that distance, we sallied out, and
catched four or five of their horses, whose riders we supposed were
killed; and coming up to their dead, we judged they were Tartars,
but knew not how they came to make an excursion of such an unusual
length.
We slept little, you may be sure, but spent the most part of the,
night in strengthening our situation, and barricading the entrances
into the wood, and keeping a strict watch. We waited for daylight,
and when it came, it gave us a very unwelcome discovery, indeed; for
the enemy, who we thought were discouraged with the reception they
met with, were now greatly increased, had set up eleven or twelve
huts or tents, as if they were resolved to besiege us; and this little
camp they had pitched upon the open plain, about three quarters of
a mile from us. We were, indeed, surprised at this discovery; and
now, I confess, I gave myself over for lost, and all that I had; the
loss of my effects did not lie so near me, though very considerable,
as the thoughts of falling into the hands of such barbarians at the latter
end of my journey, after so many difficulties and hazards as I had
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
473
gone through, and even in sight of our port, where we expected safety
and deliverance. As to my partner, he was raging, and declared that
to lose his goods would be his ruin, and that he would rather die than
bo starved; and he was for fighting to the last drop.
The young lord, as gallant as ever flesh showed itself, was for fight-
ing to the last also; and my old pilot was of the opinion that we
were able to resist them all in the situation we were then in, and thus
we spent the day in debates of what we should do; but towards
evening we found that the number of our enemies still increased, and
we did not know that by the morning they might be a still greater
number; so I began to inquire of those people we had brought from
Tobolski, if there were no private ways by which we might avoid them
in the night, and perhaps retreat to some town, or get help to guard
us over the desert. The Siberian, who was servant to the young lord,
told us if we designed to avoid them, and not fight, he would engage to
carry us off in the night, to a way that went north, towards the river
Petrou, by which he made no question but we might get away, and
the Tartars never the wiser; but, he said, his lord had told him he
would not retreat, but would rather choose to fight. I told him he
mistook his lord; for that he was too wise a man to love fight-
ing for the sake of it, and that I knew his lord was brave enough by
what he had shown already; but that his lord knew better than to
desire seventeen or eighteen men to fight five hundred unless an un-
avoidable necessity forced them to it; and that, if he thought it pos-
sible for us to escape in the night, we had nothing else to do but to
attempt it. He answered, if his lordship gave him such orders he
would lose his life if he did not perform it; we soon brought his
lord to give that order, though privately, and we immediately pre-
pared for the putting it in practice.
And, first, as soon as it began to be dark, we kindled a fire in our
little camp, which we kept burning, and prepared so as to make it
burn all night, that the Tartars might conclude we were still there;
but as soon as it was dark, and we could see the stars (for our guide
would not stir before), having all our horses and camels ready loaded,
we followed our new guide, who I soon found steered himself by the
north star.
After we had travelled two hours very hard, it began to be lighter
still; not that it was quite dark all night, but the moon began to
rise, so that, in short, it was rather lighter than we wished it to be;
but by six o'clock the next morning we were got above thirty miles,
having almost spoiled our horses. Here we found a Russian village,
474
ADVENTURES OF
named Kermazinskoy, where we rested, and heard nothing of the
Kalmuck Tartars that day. About two hours before night we set out
again, and travelled till eight the next morning, though not quite so
hard as before; and about seven o'clock we passed a little river,
called Kirtza, and came to a good large town inhabited by Russians,
called Ozomoys: there we heard that several troops of Kalmucks had
been abroad upon the desert, but that we were now completely out of
danger of them, which was to our great satisfaction. Here we were
obliged to get some fresh horses; and having need enough of rest, we
stayed five days; and my partner and I agreed to give the honest
Siberian who brought us thither the value of ten pistoles.
In five days more we came to Veuslima, upon the river Wirtzogda,
and running into the Dwina; we were there, very happily, near the
end of our travels by land, that river being navigable, in seven days'
passage to Archangel. From hence we came to Lawrenskoy the 3d
of July; and providing ourselves with two luggage boats, and a
barge for our own convenience, we embarked the 7th, and arrived all
safe at Archangel the 18th; having been a year five months and three
days on the journey, including our stay of eight months at Tobolski.
We were obliged to stay at this place six weeks for the arrival of the
ships, and must have tarried longer, had not a Hamburgher come in
above a month sooner than any of the English ships; when, after
some consideration that the city of IIamburgh might happen to be as
good a market for our goods as London, we all took freight with him;
and, having put our goods on board, it was most natural for me to
put my steward on board to take care of them: by which means my
young lord had a sufficient opportunity to conceal himself, never
coming on shore again all the time we stayed there; and this he did
that he might not be seen in the city, where some of the Moscow
merchants would certainly have seen and discovered him.
We then set sail from Archangel the 20th of August, the same
year; and after no extraordinary bad voyage, arrived safe in the Elbe
the 18th of September. Here my partner and I found a very good
sale for our goods, as well those of China as the sables, &c., of
Siberia; and dividing the produce, my share amounted to three
thousand four hundred and seventy-five pounds seventeen shillings
and threepence, including about six hundred pounds' worth of dia.
monds which I purchased at Bengal.
Here the young lord took leave of us, and went up the Elbe, in
order to go to the court of Vienna, where he resolved to seek pro-
tection, and could correspond with those of his father's friends who
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
475
were left alive. He did not part without testimonies of gratitude for
the service I had done him, and sense of my kindness to the prince
his father.
To conclude, having stayed near four months at Hamburgh, I came
from thence by land to the Hague, where I embarked in the packet,
and arrived in London the 10th of January, 1705, having been absent
from England ten years and nine months. And here I resolved to
prepare for a longer journey than all these, having lived a life of
infinite variety seventy-two years, and learned sufficiently to know the
value of retirement, and the blessing of ending our days in peace.
;
THE END.
Wha
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។
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ARETH, from his Baptism in Jordan to his Crucifixion on Calvary.
New edition, carefully revised and corrected by the author,
REV. J. H. INGRAHAM, LL.D., Rector of Christ Church, and
St. Thomas' Hall, Holly Springs, Miss. With five splendid
illustrations, one large 12mo., volume, cloth. Price, $1 25.
Full Gilt sides and edges. Price $2.00.
The same work in German. Izmo., cloth. Price, $1.25.
THE PILLAR OF FIRE;
OR, ISRAEL IN BONDAGE. Being an account of the Wonderful
Scenes in the Life of the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter, (Moses).
Together with Picturesque Sketches of the Hebrews under their
Task-masters. By REV. J. H. Ingraham, LL D., author of the
"Prince of the House of David." With steel Frontispiece.
Large 12mo., cloth. Price, $1 25; the same work, full gilt
sides and edges. Price, $2 oo.
THE THRONE OF DAVID;
From the Consecration of the Shepherd of Bethlehem, to the Re-
bellion of Prince Absalom. Being an illustration of the Splendor,
Power and Dominion of the Reign of the Shepherd, Poet,
Warrior, King and Prophet, Ancestor and type of Jesus, address-
ed by an Assyrian Ambassador, resident at the Court of Jeru-
salem, to his Lord and King on the Throne of Nineveh; where-'
in the magnificence of Assyria, as well as the magnificence of
Judea, is presented to the reader as by an eye-witness. By the
REV. J. H. INGRAHAM, LL.D., Rector of Christ Church and
St. Thomas' Hall, Holly Springs, Miss., author of the "Prince
of the House of David" and the "Pillar of Fire." With five
splendid illustrations. Large 12mo., cloth. Price $1 25; the
same work, full gilt sides and edges. Price, $2 00.
прода
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
The Sunny South;
OR,
THE SOUTHERNER AT HOME.
EMBRACING
Five years' experience of a Northern Governess in the Land of the
Sugar and the Cotton. Edited by PROFESSOR J. H. INGRAHAM,
of Miss. Large 12mo., cloth. Price, $1 25.
A BUDGET OF
HUMOROUS POETRY,
COMPRISING
9
Specimens of the best and most Humorous Productions of the
popular American and Foreign Poetical Writers of the day.
By the author of the "BooK OF ANECDOTES AND BUDGET OF
FUN." One volume, 12mo., cloth. Price $1 00.
rr
The World in a Pocket Book.
BY
WILLIAM H. CRUMP.
NEW AND REVISED EDITION, BROUGHT DOWN TO
1860.
This work is a Compendium of Useful Knowledge and General
Reference, dedicated to the Manufacturers, Farmers, Merchants,
and Mechanics of the United States-to all, in short, with whom
time is money—and whose business avocations render the acqui-
sition of extensive and diversified information desirable, by the
shortest possible road. This volume, it is hoped, will be found
worthy of a place in every household-in every family. It
may indeed be termed a library in itself. Large Izmo.
Price,
$1 25.
10
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
THE SPIRIT LAND.
12mo., cloth, with Mezzotint Engraving. Price $1.00.
"These pages are submitted to the public with the counsel of the wisest
and best of all ages, that amid the wiley arts of the Adversary, we should cling
to the word of God, the Bible, as the only safe and infallible guide of Faith
and Practice."
THE MORNING STAR; OR, SYMBOLS OF CHRIST.
By REV WM. M. THAYER, author of
"Pastor's Holiday Gift," &c., &c.
"The symbolical parts of Scriptures are invested with peculiar attractions.
A familiar acquaintance with them can scarcely fail to increase respect and
love for the Bible.”
"Hints for the Household,"
12mo., cloth. Price $1.00
SWEET HOME; OR, FRIENDSHIP'S GOLDEN ALTAR.
BY FRANCES C. PERCIVAL.
gilt back and centre.
Mezzotint Frontispiece, Izmo., cloth,
Price $1.00.
"The object of this book is to awaken the Memories of Home-to remind
us of the old Scenes and old Times."
THE DESERTED FAMILY;
Or, the WANDERINGS OF AN OUTCAST. BY PAUL CREYTON. Izmo.,
cloth. Price $1.00.
"An interesting story, which might exert a good influence in softening the
heart, warming the affections, and elevating the soul."
ANNA CLAYTON; OR, THE MOTHER'S TRIAL.
A Tale of Real Life. Izmo., cloth. Price $1.00.
"The principal characters in this tale are drawn from real life-imagina-
tion cannot picture deeper shades of sadness, higher or more exquisite joys,
than Truth has woven for us, in the Mother's Trial."
By METTA V. FULLER.
cloth, Price $1.00.
"FASHIONABLE DISSIPATION."
Mezzotint Frontispiece, 12m0., bound in
THE OLD FARM HOUSE.
By MRS. CAROLINE H. BUTLER LAING, with six splendid Illustra-
12m0., cloth, Price $1.00.
tions.
LIST OF BOOKS FUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
11
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"TO THE PURE ALL THINGS ARE PURE.
WOMAN AND HER DISEASES.
From the Cradle to the Grave; adapted exclusively to her instruc-
cion in the Physiology of her system, and all the Diseases of her
Critical Periods. By EDWARD H. Dixon, M.D. 12mo. Price
$1.00.
DR. LIVINGSTONE'S TRAVELS AND RESEARCHES
OF SIXTEEN YEARS IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH
AFRICA.
One volume, 12mo., cloth, fine edition, printed upon superior
paper, with numerous illustrations. Price $1.25. Cheap edi-
tion, price $1.00.
This is a work of thrilling adventures and hair-breadth escapes among
savage beasts, and more savage men. Dr. Livingstone was alone, and unaid-
ed by any white man, traveling only with African attendants, among different
tribes and nations, all strange to him, and many of them hostile, and alto-
gether forming the most astonishing book of travels the world has ever
seen. All acknowledge it is the most readable book published.
ANDERSSON'S EXPLORATIONS AND DISCOVERIES.
Giving accounts of many Perilous Adventures, and Thrilling Inci-
dents, during Four Years' Wanderings in the Wilds of South
Western Africa. By C. J. ANDERSSON, LL.D., F.R.S. With
an Introductory Letter, by J. C. FREMONT. One volume, 12mo.,
cloth. With Numerous Illustrations. Price, $1.25.
INDIA AND THE INDIAN MUTINY.
Comprising a Complete History of Hindoostan, from the earliest
times to the present day, with full particulars of the Recent
Mutiny in India. Illustrated with numerous engravings.
By
HENRY FREDERICK MALCOM. Large 12mo., volume of about
450 pages. Price, $1.25.
THE UNION TEXT BOOK.
CONTAINING SELECTIONS FROM THE WRITINGS AND SPEECHES OF
DANIEL WEBSTER. The Declaration of Independence, the
Constitution of the United States, Washington's Farewell Ad-
dress, &c., with Steel Portrait. Large 12mo., 504 pages, Cloth.
Price, $1.00.
ง
[2
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
SEVEN YEARS IN THE WILDS OF SIBERIA,
A Narrative of Seven Years' Explorations and Adventures in
Oriental and Western Siberia, Mongolia, the Kir his Steppes,
Chinese Tartary, and Part of Central Asia. By THOMAS
WILLIAM ATKINSON. With numerous Illustrations. 12mo., clcth,
price $1.25.
SIX YEARS IN NORTHERN AND CENTRAL AFRICA.
Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa, being a
Journal of an Expedition undertaken under the auspices of
H. B. M.'s Government, in the years 1849-1855. By HENRY
BARTH, Ph. D., D.C.L., Fellow of the Royal Geographical and
Asiatic Societies, &c., &c. Izmo., cloth, price $1.25.
THREE VISITS TO MADAGASCAR
During the years 1853, 1854, 1856, including a journey to the
Capital; with notices of the Natural History of the Country
and of the present Civilization of the People, by the Rev. WM.
ELLIS, F.H.S., author of "Polynesian Researches.” Illustrated
by engravings from photographs, &c. 12mo., cloth. $1.25.
CAPT. COOK'S VOYAGES ROUND THE WORLD.
One volume, 12mo., cloth. Price $1.00.
BOOK OF ANECDOTES AND BUDGET OF FUN.
Containing a collection of over One Thousand Laughable Sayings,
Rich Jokes, etc. 12mo., cloth, extra gilt back, $1.00.
"Nothing is so woll calculated to preserve the healthful action of the
human system as a good hearty laugh."
BOOK OF PLAYS FOR HOME AMUSEMENT.
Being a collection of Original, Altered and well-selected Tragedies,
Comedies, Dramas, Farces, Burlesques, Charades, Comic Lec-
tures, etc. Carefully arranged and specially adapted for PRIVATE
Representation, with full directions for Performance. By SILAS
S. STEELE, Dramatist. One volume, 12mo., cloth. Price $1.00.
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
T3
A HISTORY OF ITALY,
AND THE WAR OF 1859.
Giving the causes of the War, with Biographical Sketches of Sov-
ereigns, Statesmen and Military Commanders; Descriptions and
Statistics of the Country; with finely engraved Portraits of Louis
Napoleon, Emperor of France Frances Joseph, Emperor of
Austria; Victor Emanuel, King of Sardinia, and Garribaldi, the
Champion of Italian Freedom. Together with the official ac-
counts of the Battles of Montebello, Palestro, Magenta, Maleg-
nano, Solferino, etc., etc., and Maps of Italy, Austria, and all
the adjacent Countries, by
MADAME JULIE DE MARGUERITTES.
With an introduction by Dr. R. SHELTON MACKENZIE, one volume,
121o., cloth, price $1.25.
NOBLE DEEDS OF THE GREAT AND BRAVE OF ALL
AGES AND NATIONS.
Selected as examples for the emulation of Youth, with numerous
Illustrations. 12mo., Cloth, Gilt Back. Price, $1.00.
THE BOOK OF POPULAR SONGS.
Being a compendium of the best Sentimental, Comic, Negro, Nation-
al, Patriotic, Military, Naval, Social, Convivial, and Pathetic
Ballads and Melodies, as sung by the most celebrated Opera
Singers, Negro Minstrels, and Comic Vocalists of the day.
One volume, 12mo., cloth. Price $1.00.
THE AMERICAN PRACTICAL COOKERY BOOK;
Or, Housekeeping made easy, pleasant, and econmical in all its
departments. To which are added directions for setting out
Tables, and giving Entertainments. Directions for Jointing,
Trussing, and Carving, and many hundred new Receipts in
Cookery and Housekeeping. With 50 engravings. 12mo.,
cloth. Price $1.00.
зат
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LIST OF BOOKS FUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
RECORDS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
Containing the Military and Financial Correspondence of distin-
guished officers; names of the officers and privates of regiments,
companies and corps, with the dates of their commissions and
enlistments. General orders of Washington, Lee, and Green;
with a list of distinguished prisoners of war; the time of their
capture, exchange, etc.; to which is added the half-pay acts of
the Continental Congress; the Revolutionary pension laws; and
a list of the officers of the Continental army who acquired the
right to half-pay, commutation, and lands, &c. By T. W. SAF-
FELL. Large 12mo., $1.25.
THE ROMANCE OF THE REVOLUTION.
Being a history of the personal adventures, romantic incidents and
exploits incidental to the War of Independence-with tinted
illustrations. Large 12mo., $1.25.
THE QUEEN'S FATE.
A tale of the days of Herod.
tions. $1.00.
رز
12mo., cloth, with Steel Illustra-
"A recital of events, of an awe-arousing period, in a familiar and interest-
ing manner.
"LIVING AND LOVING.”
A collection of Sketches. By MISS VIRGINIA F. Townsend.
Large 12mo., with fine steel portrait of the author. Bound in
cluth. Price $1.00.
We might say many things in favor of this delightful publication, but we
deem it unnecessary. Ilusbands should buy it for their wives: lovers should
buy it for their sweet-hearts: friends should buy it for their friends.—Godey's
Lady's Book.
WHILE IT WAS MORNING.
By VIRGINIA F. TOWNSEND, author of "Living and Loving.",
12mo., cloth. Price $1.00.
THE ANGEL VISITOR; Or, VOICES OF THE HEART.
Izmo., cloth, with Mezzotint Engraving. Price $1.00.
"The mission of this volume is to aid in doing good to those in affliction."
L
I
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
15
THE LADIES' HAND BOOK
OF
FANCY AND ORNAMENTAL NEEDLE-WORK.
COMPRISING
Full directions with patterns for working in Embroidery, Applique,
Braiding, Crochet, Knitting, Netting, Tatting, Quilting, Tam-
bour and Gobelin Tapestry, Broderie Anglaise, Guipure Work,
Canvass Work, Worsted Work, Lace Work, Bead Work,
Stitching, Patch Work, Frivolite, &c. Illustrated with 262
Engraved Patterns, taken from original designs. By Miss
FLORENCE HARTLEY. One volume, Quarto Cloth. Price,
$1 25.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette,
AND
MANUAL OF POLITENESS.
A Hand Book for the use of Ladies in Polite Society. By
FLORENCE HARTLEY. Izmo., cloth. Price, $1 oo.
The Gentlemen's Book of Etiquette,
AND
MANUAL OF POLITENESS.
Being a Complete Guide for a Gentleman's Conduct in all his
relations toward Society. By CECIL B. HARtley. Izmo.
Price, $100
St
16
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
LECTURES FOR THE PEOPLE:
BY THE
REV. H. STOWELL BROWN,
Of the Myrtle Street Baptist Chapel, Liverpool, England.
First Series, published under a special arrangement with the author,
With a Biographical introduction by DR. R. SHelton Mackenzik.
With a splendidly engraved Steel Portrait. One vol., 414 pages.
Izmo., cloth. Price $1.00.
Mr. Brown's lectures fill an important place, for which we have no other
book. The style is clear, the spirit is kind, the reasoning careful, and the
argument conclusive. We are persuaded that this book will render more
good than any book of sermons or lectures that have been published in this
19th century.-Liverpool Mercury.
THE HOME BOOK OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE;
OR, THE LAWS AND MEANS OF PHYSICAL CULTURE, adapted to
practical use. Embracing a treatise on Dyspepsia, Digestion,
Breathing, Ventilation, Laws of the Skin, Consumption, how
prevented; Clothing, Food, Exercise, Rest, &c. By W. A.
ALCOTT, M. D. With 31 illustrations, Large 12mo. Price,
$1.25.
LIFE OF THE EMPRESS JOSEPHINE,
FIRST WIFE OF NAPOLEON I. Illustrated with Steel Portraits. By
J. T. LAURENS, author of "Heroes and Patriots of the South."
12mo. cloth. Price, $1.00.
LIVES OF THE HEROES OF THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTION.
Comprising the Lives of Washington and his Generals. The
Declaration of Independence. The Constitution of the United
States. The Inaugural, First Annual and Farewell Addresses
of Washington. With Portraits. 12mo., cloth. Price $1.00
COLUMBA; A TALE OF CORSICA.
By PROSPER MErimee. As a picture of Corsican life and manners,
Columba is unequalled. In one handsome volume. Price $1.00
•
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF A PASTOR'S LIFE.
By S. H. ELLIott.
One volume, 12mo., cloth. Price $1.00
"This is a well-written, highly instructive book. It is a story of the life
teachings, and life-trials of a good man, whose great aim was to elevate,
morally and intellectually, his fellow-men. Like many of his nature and
But his successes and
temperament, some of his views were Utopian.
failures, with the causes of these, are painted with a masterly hand. There
is unusual strength and vitality in this volume."
THREE PER CENT. A MONTH;
OR, THE PERILS OF FAST LIVING. A Warning to Young Men.
BY CHAS. BURDETT. One volume, 12mo., cloth. Price $1.00.
17
"The style of this book is direct and effective, particularly fitting the
impression which such a story should make. It is a very spirited and in-
structive tale, leaving a good impression both upon the reader's sensibilities
and morals.”
EVENINGS AT HOME;
OR, TALES FOR THE FIRESIDE. BY JANE C. CAMPBELL. One
volume, 12mo., cloth. Price $1.00.
"We know of no book in the whole range of modern fictitious literature
we would sooner select for a delightful and instructive companion."
RURAL LIFE;
Or, Prose and POETRY OF THE WOODS and FIELDS. BY HARRY
PENCILLER. One volume, cloth, 12mo. Price $1.00.
"Beautiful landscapes, family scenes and conversations, rural sketches of
woods and vales, of the beauties of verdant fields and fragrant flowers, of
the music of birds and running brooks, all described in an original and un-
studied manner, which cannot fail to delight every one whose character is
imbued with a love of nature.'
"}
JOYS AND SORROWS OF
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. BY ANna Leland.
By
cloth. Price $1.00
HOME;
One volume, 12mo.
"This is one of the most beautiful domestic stories we have ever read,
Intensely interesting, with a natural flow and easiness which leads the reader
imperceptibly on to the close, and then leaves a regret that the tale is done.”
ܐ܂
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LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
BEAUTY OF WOMAN'S FAITH;
A TALE OF SOUTHERN LIFE. One volume, 12mo., cloth. Price
$1 00.
"This volume contains the story of a French Emigrant, who first escaped
to England, and afterward settled on a plantation in Louisiana. It is charm-
ingly told, and the strength and endurance of woman's faith well illustrated.”
THE ORPHAN BOY;
Or, Lights and SHADOWS OF NORTHERN LIFE. By Jeremy Loud.
JEREMY LOUD.
One volume, 12mo., cloth. Price $1.00.
"This is a work illustrating the passions and pleasures, the trials and tri-
umphs of common life; it is well written and the interest is admirably sus
tained."
J
THE ORPHAN GIRLS;
A Tale of LifE IN THE SOUTH. By JAMES S. PEACOCK, M.D.,
of Mississippi. One volume, 12mo., cloth. Price $1.00.
"The style is fluent and unforced, the description of character well limned,
and the pictures of scenery forcible and felicitous. There is a natural con-
veyance of incidents to the dénouement, and the reader closes the volume with
an increased regard for the talent and spirit of tho author."
NEW ENGLAND BOYS;
OR, THE THREE APPRENTICES. By A. L. STIмson.
Izmo., Cloth. Price $1 oo.
THE KING'S ADVOCATE;
"This is a very agreeable book, written in a dashing independent style. The
incidents are numerous and striking, the charactors life-like, and the plot
sufficiently captivating to enchain the reader's attention to the end of the
volume."
OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A WITCH FINDER.
cloth. Price $1.00.
One volume,
One volume, 12m0.,
"This is a book so thoroughly excellent, so exalted in its character, so full
of exquisite pictures of society, and manifesting so much genius, skill, and
knowledge of human nature, that no one can possibly read it without admit-
ting it to be, in every way, a noble book. The story, too, is one of stirring
interest; and it either sweeps you along with its powerful spell, or beguiles
you with its tenderness, pathos and geniality."
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
19
SIBYL MONROE; OR, THE FORGER'S DAUGHTER.
By MARTHA RUSSELL.
One volume, 12mo., cloth. Price $1.00.
"It is a spirited, charming story, full of adventure, friendship and love, with
obaracters nicely drawn and carefully discriminated. The clear style and
spirit with which the story is presented and the characters developed, will
attract a large constituency to the perusal."
THE OPEN BIBLE;
As shown in the History of Christianity, from the time of our
Saviour to the Present Day. By VINCENT W. MILLNER. With
a view of the latest developments of Rome's hostility to the
Bible, as exhibited in the Sandwich Islands, in Tuscany, in
Ireland, France, &c., and an expose of the absurdities of the
Immaculate Conception, and the Idolatrous Veneration of the
Virgin Mary. By REV. JOSEPH F. BERG, D. D., author of
"The Jesuits,"
""Church and State," &c., &c. Illustrated with
12mo., cloth, gilt back. Price $1.00.
numerous Engravings.
LIFE OF CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES.
By the REV. JOHN FLEETWOOD. With a History of the Jews, from
the Earliest Period to the Present Time. Large 12mo., bound
in Cloth. Illustrated. Price $1.00.
Octavo edition, with steel engravings. Turkey Antique, $3.50.
BUNYAN'S PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.
Including, "Grace abounding to the Chief of Sinners." Large
12mo., 500 pages. Cloth. Beautifully Illustrated. Price $1.00.
Octavo edition, with steel engravings. Turkey Antique, $3.50.
SCRIPTURE EMBLEMS AND ALLEGORIES.
Being a series of Emblematic Engravings, with explanations and
religious reflections, designed to illustrate Divine Truth. By
REV. W. HOLMES. 12mo., cloth. Price $1.25.
HOME MEMORIES;
OR, SOCIAL HALF HOURS WITH THE HOUSehold.
Octavo, 400 pages. Illustrated with fine steel plates. Cloth,
Price $2.00. Turkey Antique, $3.50.
M
20
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
EVANS' POPULAR SPEAKER,
LYCEUM AND SCHOOL EXHIBITION DEclaimer.
Comprising a Treatise on Elocution and Gesture, with Illustrations,
and a choice collection of pieces in Prose and Verse, and selec
Dialogues, specially adapted for School and Lyceum Exhibitions,
and Private Representations. 12mo., cloth. Price $1.00.
PANORAMA OF THE OLD WORLD AND THE NEW;
Comprising a view of the present state of the Nations of the World,
their Names, Customs and Peculiarities, and their Political,
Moral, Social and Industrial Condition. Interspersed with
Historical Sketches and Anecdotes. By WILLIAM PINNOCK,
author of the Histories of England, Greece and Rome. Enlarged,
revised and embellished with several hundred Engravings,
including twenty-four finely colored Plates, from designs by
Croome, Devereux, and other distinguished artists. In one vol.
Octavo, over 600 pages, bound in embossed morocco, gilt back.
Price $2.75.
THRILLING INCIDENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
Being a selection of the most important and interesting events which
have transpired since the discovery of America to the present
time. Compiled from the most approved authorities, new edition
enlarged. Splendidly illustrated, 12mo., cloth. Price $1.00.
THE HOLY LAND, AND EGYPT, ARABIA PETRÆEA, &c.
Travels in Egypt, Arabia Petræea, and the Holy Land. By D.
Millard. A new and improved edition. Illustrated. 12mo.,
cloth, Price $1.00.
HUNTING SCENES IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA.
Comprising the Thrilling Adventures of Cumming, Harris, and
other daring Hunters of Lions, Elephants, Giraffes, Buffaloes,
and other Animals. With Illustrations. 12mo., cloth. Gilt
back. Price $1.00.
ده ای
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
21
THE BATTLE FIELDS OF THE REVOLUTION.
Comprising descriptions of the Different Battles, Sieges, and other
Events of the War of Independence. Interspersed with Char-
acteristic Anecdotes. Illustrated with numerous Engravings,
and a fine Mezzotint Frontispiece. By THOMAS Y. RHOADS,
Large 12mo., cloth. Price $1.25.
PERILS AND PLEASURES OF A HUNTER'S LIFE.
With fine colored plates. Large 12mo., cloth. Price $1.25.
From the table of contents we take the following as samples of
the style and interest of the work:
Baiting for an Alligator-Morning among the Rocky Moun-
tains-Encounter with Shoshonees-A Grizzly Bear-Fight
and terrible result-Fire on the Mountains-Narrow Escape
-The Beaver Region-Trapping Beaver-A Journey and
Hunt through New Mexico-Start for South America-Hunt-
ing in the Forests of Brazil-Hunting on the Pampas-A Hunt-
ing Expedition into the interior of Africa.
PETERSON'S FAMILIAR SCIENCE;
OR, THE SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION OF COMMON THINGS. Edited
by R. E. Peterson, Member of Academy of Natural Sciences.
Philadelphia. The object of this book is to explain scientifi-
cally, but in the 'simplest language, over two thousand questions
of the commonest phenomena of life. Best edition, 12mo.
Embossed Backs. Price, $1.00.
THRILLING ADVENTURES AMONG THE INDIANS.
By JOHN FROST, LL.D. Comprising the most remarkable Personal
Narratives of Events in the Early Indian Wars, as well as of
Incidents in the recent Indian Hostilities in Mexico and Texas.
Illustrated with over 300 engravings, from designs by W. Croome,
and other distinguished artists.
It contains over 500 pages.
12mo., cloth. Gilt back, $1.25.
PIONEER LIFE IN THE WEST.
Comprising the Adventures of Boone, Kenton, Brady, Clarke, the
Whetzels, and others, in their Fierce Encounters with the
Indians. With Illustrations, 12mo., cloth. Gilt back. Price
$1.00.
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22
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS.
McCULLOUGH'S TEXAN RANGERS.
The Scouting Expedition of McCullough's Texan Rangers, inclu-
ding Skirmishes with the Mexicans, and an accurate detail of
the Storming of Monterey, &c., with Anecdotes, Incidents and
Description of the Country, and Sketches of the lives of Hays,
McCullough and Walker. By S. C. Reid, Jr., of Louisiana, late
of the Texan Rangers. 12mo.,
12mo., cloth. Price $1.00.
THE DOOMED CHIEF.
OR, TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO. A Narrative of the Earliest
Border Warfare. By D. B. THOMPSON, author of "Gaut
Gurley," &c. 12mo., cloth. $1.00.
HUNTING SPORTS IN THE WEST.
Containing Adventures of the most celebrated Hunters and Trap-
pers of the West.
Illustrated with new designs. 12mo., cloth.
$1.00.
GAUT GURLEY
OR, THE TRAPPERS OF UMBAGOG. A Tale of Border Life. By D.
B. THOMPSON, author of " The Rangers; or, the Tory's Daugh-
ter,"
""Green Mountain Boys," &c. 12mo., cloth. Price $1 00.
THE RECOLLECTIONS OF A SOUTHERN MATRON.
Izmo., cloth.
By MRS. CAROLIne Gilman, of South Carolina.
Price $1.00.
"This volume is one of those books which are read by all classes at all
stages of life, with an interest which looses nothing by change or circum-
stances."
THE ENCHANTED BEAUTY.
AND OTHER TALES AND ESSAYS. BY DR. Wм. Elder. Izmo..
cloth. Price $1.00.
"This is a volume of beautiful and cogent essays, virtuous in motive, simple
in expression, pertinent and admirable in logic, and glorious in conclusion
and climax."
THE CHILD'S FAIRY BOOK.
By SPENCER W. CONE. Containing a choice collection of beauti-
ful Fairy Tales. Illustrated with Ten Beautiful Engravings,
Splendidly Colored. 12mo., cloth. Price $1.00.


:
Hubbard Pmay, Voyages
Robert E. Griffin
4360849 durning
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2-20-87
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