CORNELL
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
UNDERGRADUATE LIBRARY
DATE DUE
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Cornell University Library
PR 3403.A1 1900
Robinson Crusoe.
3 1924 014 149 938
Cornell University
Library
The original of tliis book is in
tine Cornell University Library.
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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924014149938
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Jiobinson Crusoe
IWAS born in the year 1632, in
[the city of York, of a good family,
[though not of that country, my
■ father being a foreigner of Bremen,
[named Kreutz^iaer, who settled first
I at Hull. He got a good estate by
[merchandise, and leaving ofF his
■trade, lived afterwards 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, Robinson Kreutznaer ; but by
the usual corruption of words in England, we are now called,
nay, we call ourselves, and write our name, Crusoe ; and so
my companions always called me.
I had two elder brothers, one of whom was lieutenant-
colonel, to an English regiment of foot in Flanders, formerly
commanded by the famous Colonel Ldckhart, and was killed
at the battle near Dunkirk 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 learning, 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 entreaties and persuasions of my mother and other friends,
that there seemed to be something fatal in that propension of
nature, tending 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 subject : he asked me what reasons, more
t-ftv
a Rpobiixsors^ Crusoe
mere wandering inclination, I had for leaving his house, and
my native country, where I might be well introduced, and had
a prospect of raising my fortune, by application and industry,
with a life of ease and pleasure. He tqld 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 enterprise, 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
state in the world, the most suited to human happiness ; not
exposed to the miseries and hardships, the labour and sufferings,
of the mechanic part of mankind, and not embarrassed 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 consequences 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 dis-
asters, 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 ex-
travagancies, on one hand, or by hard labour, want of necess.a-
ries, and mean and insufficient diet, on the other hand, bring
distempers upon themselves by the natural consequences of
their way of living ; that the middle station of life was calcu-
lated for all kind of virtues, and all kind of enjoyments ; that
peace and plenty were the handmaids of a middle fortune ;
that temperance, moderation, quietness, health, society, all
agreeable diversions, and all desirable pleasures were the bless-
ings attending the middle station of life ; that this way men
JisoJbirtsors^ Crusoe 3
went silently and smoothly through the world, and comfortably
out of it, not embarrassed with the labours 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 j 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 affec-
tionate 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 endeavour 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 land settle at home, as he directed ; so he would not have
so much hand in my misfortunes as to give me any encourage-
ment yo 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-iitni' 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 fooUsh step, God would
not bless me ; and I would have leisure, hereafter, to reflect
upon haying, 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
J -prophetic, 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
4 Rpobin^sor^ Crusoe
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, but to settle at home, according to my
father's desire. But, alas ! a few days wore it all off; and, in
short, to prevent any of my father's farther 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
ithought her a little pleasanter than ordinary, and told her, that
'my thoughts were so entirely bent upon seeing the world, that
jl should never settle to anything with resolution enough to go
jthrough 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 j 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 ^ to sea ; and if she
would speak to my father to let me make but one voyage
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 subject ; that he knew too well what was my inter-
est, to give his consent to anything so much for 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 destruction ; 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 afterwards, that she reported all the discourse to him ;
and that my father, after showing a great concern at it, said to
RsfoAiixson^ Crusoe s
her, with a sigh, " That boy might be happy, if he would stay
atJiome; 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 mean time I continued obstinately deaf to all
proposals of settling to business, and frequently expostulating
with my father and mother about their being so positively
determined against what they knew my inclination 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
piother 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 circum-
Istances or consequences, and in an ill hour, God knows.
kN the 1st of September, 1651, I went
• on board a ship bound for London.
I Never any young adventurer's misfor-
itunes, I believe, began younger, or con-
, tinned longer than mine. The ship had
\ no sooner got out of the Humber, than
I the wind began to blow, and the waves
I to rise, in a most frightful manner; 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 judgment of Heaven, for wickedly
leaving my father's house. All the good counsels of my
6 RDobtixsors^ Crusoe
parents, my father's tears, and my mother's entreaties, 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 abandon-
ment of my 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 any-
thing of the matter. I expected every wave would have
swallowed us up, and that 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 resolutions, 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.
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
sea-sick still : but towards night the weather cleared up, the
wind was quite over, and a charming fine evening followed;
the sun went down perfectly clear, and rose so the next morn-
ing ; and having little or no wind, and br smooth sea, the sun
shining upon it, the sight was, as I thought, the most delight-
ful that I ever saw.
I had slept well in the night, and was now no more sea-
sick, 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
RpoAirtsofx^ Crusoe 7
■■■^■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■laBH^BMHai^BI^^^HHi
companion, who had indeed enticed me away, came to me
and said, Well, Bob, clapping me oh the shoulder, how do
you do after it ? I warrant you 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 ; 't was a terrible storm. — A
storm, you fool ! replies he, do you call that a storm ? Why,
it was nothing at all; give us but a good ship, and sea-room,
and we think 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 '11 forget all that. D' ye see what charming
weather 't is now ? To make short this sad part of my story,
we went the way of all sailors ; the punch was made, and I
was made drunk with it ; and in that one night's wickedness I
drowned all my repentance, all my reflections upon my past
conduct, and all my resolutions for thd future. In a word, as
the sea was returned to its smoothness of surface and settled
calmness by the abatement of the storm, so the hurry of my
thoughts .heijog^ver, my fears and apprehensions of being swal-
-towed 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 reflec-
tion ; and serious thoughts did, as it were, endeavour 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 pr six days got as com-
plete a victory over conscience as any young sinner, that
resolved not to be troubled with it, could desire. But 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 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 wc were
obliged to come to an anchor, and here we lay, the wind con-
tinuing contrary, viz., at south-west, for seven or eight days,
during which time a great many shipsi from Newcastle came
8 RsioJbirtson^ Crusoe
into the same roads, as the common harbour 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 harbour, 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 everything 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 bettef 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 steer-
age, and cannot describe my temper. I could ill reassume
the first penitence, which I had so apparently trampled upon,
and hardened myself against ; I thought that the bitterness
of death had been past, and that this vvould be nothing, too,
like the first : ' but when the master himself came by me, as
I said just now, and said we should be all lost, I was dread-
fully frightened. I got up out of my cabin, and looked out,
but such a dismal sight I never saw ; the sea went mountains
high, and broke upon us every three or four minutes. When
I could look about, I could see nothing but distress around us ;
two ships, that rid near us, we found had cut their masts by
the board, being deeply laden ; and our men cried out that a
ship, which rid about a mile ahead, of us,.was foundered. Two
more ships being driven from their anchors, were run out of
jRsoJbirtsors^ Crusoe 9
the roads to sea, at all adventures, and that with not a mast
standing. The light ships fared the best, as not so much
labouring in the sea j 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
begged the master of our ship to let them cut away the fore-
mast, which he was very loath to do ; but the boatswain pro-
testing 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, 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 v?ho 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 account of my former
convictions, and the having returned from them to the resolu-
tions 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 condition, 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 advantage, 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 backwards 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
10 Rs>oJ}in,sors. Crusoe
worked very heartily. While this wis 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 iignal of distress. I,
who knew nothing what that meant, was so surprised, that
I thought the ship had broke, 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 eyeiybody 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 thrusting
me aside with his foot, let me lie, thinking I had been dead ;
and it was a great while before I came to myself.
We worked on ; but the water increasing in the hold, it
was apparent that the ship would founder; and though the
storm began to abate a little, yet as it was not possible she
could swim till we might run into a port, so the master con-
tinued 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
impossible for us to get on board, or for the boat to lie near
the ship's side ; till at last the men rowing very heartily, and
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 labour 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 towards 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 towards 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 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
HsoAiftson^ Crusoe "
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 labouring 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 tl^e strand, to assist us
when we should come near; but we made slow way towards
the shore ; nor were we able to reach it, till, being past the
lighthouse at Winterton, the shore falll offj:o.,)the westward,
towards Cromer, and so the land broke off a little the violence
of the wind. Here we got in, and, though not without much
difficulty, got all safe on shore, and walked afterwards on foot
to Yarmouth ; where, as unfortunate men, we were used with
great humanity, as well by the magistrates of the town, who
assigned us good quarters, as by the particular merchants and
owners of ships : and had money given us sufficient to carry
us either to London or back to Hull, as we thought fit.
Had I now had the sense to have gone back to Hull, and
have gone home, I 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 hqme, 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 unavoidable misery attending, and which it
was impossible for me to escape, could have pushed me for-
ward 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
12 Rs>obii\soix. Crusoe
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 ; telling 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 ought never to go to sea any more ; you ought to take
this for a plain and visible token, that, you are not to be a
seafaring man. — Why, sir ? said I ; will you go to sea no
more.? — That is another case, said he; it is my calling,
and therefore my duty; but as you made this voyage for
a trial, you see what a taste Heaven has given you of what
you are to expect if you persist. Perhaps this has all befallen
us on your account, like Jonah in the ship of the Tarshish. —
Pray, continues he, what are you, and on what account did
you go to sea .? Upon that I told him some of my story ; at
the end of which he burst out with a strange kind of passion.
What had I done, 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 thousand 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 afterwards 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 disasters 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 strug-
gles 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
Rs>oJbin,sof\. Orusoe ^3
mmmi^mmmmmmmimmmmmmmmmmmmmmmammm
at among the neighbours, 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, uncer-
tain what measures to take, and what course of life to lead.
An irresistible 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 con-
ceits 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 the
same time, I had learned the duty and office of a foremast-
man, 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 omit-
ting to lay some snare for them very early. But it was not
^4 RDobin.sors^ Crusoe
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 "faney-«),. my j^onversation, which was not at all
disagreeable at that time, arid~h[earing-ine-say'l"'had a mind
to see the world, told me, that if I would go the voyage
with him, I should be at no expense ; I should be his mess-
mate 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 considera-
bly ; for I carried about forty pounds in 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 integrity and honesty of my friend the captain ;
under whom I also got a competent knowledge of mathe-
matics 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
understood 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 excessive heat of the climate ; our principal trading
being upon the coast, from the latitude of fifteen degrees
north, even to the Line itself.
I WAS now set up for a Guinea trader;
^and my friend, to my great misfortune,
I dying soon after his arrival, I resolved
[to go the same voyage again ; and I
lembarked in the same vessel with one
Iwho was his mate in the former voyage,
[and had now got the command of the
Iship. 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 bad two hundred pounds left, and which I lodged
yith 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 towards the
danary Islands, or rather between those islands and the African
snore, was surprised, in the gray of the morning, by a
Turkish rover, of SaOee, 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, instead of athwart
our stern, as he intended, we brought eight of our guns to
bear on that side, and poured in a broadside upon him,
which made him sheer off again, after returning our fire
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 other quarter, he entered sixty
men upon our decks, who immediately fell to cutting and
hacking the sails and rigging. Wc plied them with small
shot, half-pikes, powder-chests, and such like, and cleared
i6 Rs>oJ}insors. Crusoe
our deck of them twice. However, ti? cut short this melan-
choly 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 business. 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 Heaven had
overtaken me, and I was undone, without redemption. But,
alas ! this was but a taste of the misery I was to go through,
as will appear in the sequel of this story.
As my new 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, he 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 bad 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 imagination, yet
I never had the least encouraging prospect of putting It in
practice.
/jpoJbirtsofx^ Crusoe ^7
After about two years, an odd circumstance presented it-
^self, 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 constantly, once or
:twice a week, sometimes oftener, if the weather was fair, to
takf 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 rpw the boat, we made him very merry, and I proved
very dexterous in catching fish, insomuch that sometimes
he V ould send me with a Moor, one of his kinsmen, and
^the ) outh, 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 laboured all day, and all
the next night, and when the morning came, we found we
had pulled ofFto sea, instead of pulling in for the shore, and
that we were at least two leagues from the shore : however,
we got well in again, though with a great deal of labour, 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 carpenter 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 coiFee.
18 RDoAittson^ Crusoe
We went frequently out with this boat a fishing, and as I
was most dexterous to catch fish for him, he never went with-
out me. It happened that he had appointed to go out in this
boat, either for pleasure or for fish, with two or three Moors
of some distinction in that place, and for whom he had pro-
vided extraordinarily, and had therefoje 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 everything to accommodate his guests : when, by
and by, my patron came on board alone, and told me his
guests had put ofi^ 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 command ; 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 any where, to get out of that place, was
my way.
My first contrivance was to make a pretence to speak to
this Moor, to get something for our 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 conveyed also a great lump of bees-
wax into the boat, which weighed above half a hundred weight
RDoJbiix^ofx. Crusoe 19
with a parcel of twine or thread, a hatchet, a saw, and a ham-
mer, all which were of great use to us' afterwards, especially
the i wax, to make candles. Another trick I tried upon him,
which he innocently came into also : his name was Ismael,
whdm they call Muley, or Moley : so I called to him ; Moley,
said f , our patron's guns are on board the boat, can you not
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 resolutions were, blow
which way it would, I would be gone from the horrid 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 hook I would not pull them up, that
he might not see them, I said to the Moor, This will not do ;
our master will not be thus served ; we must stand farther
oflF. He, thinking no harm, agreed ; a=nd being at the head
of the boat, set the sails ; and as I had the helm, I run the
boat liear a league farther, and then brought to, as if I would
fish. Vrhen giving the boy the helm, I stepped forward to
where the Moor was, and I took him by surprise, with my
arm utider his waist, and tossed him clear overboard into
the sea. He rose immediately, for he swam like a cork, and
called to me, begged to be taken in, and told me he would go
20
RDoJbirtsory^ Crusoe
all the world over with me. He swam so strong after the
boat, that he would have reached me very quickly, there be-
ing but little wind ; upon which I stepped into the cabin,
and fetching one of the fowling-pieces, I presented it at him,
and told him I had done him no hurt, and if he would be
quiet, I would do him none : But, said I, you swim well
enough to reach the shore, and the sea is 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 faith-
ful to me I will make you a great man ; biit 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 directly to sea with the boat, rather stretching to
windward, that they might think me gone towards the Strait's
mouth (as indeed any one that had been 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 savages of human kind ?
But as soon as it grew dusk in the evening, I changed my
course, and steered directly south and by east, bending my
course a little towards the east, that I might keep in with the
shore; and having a 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 Sallee,
RpoAirvsoTx^ Crusoe ai
quite beyond the Emperor of Morocco'l dominions, or indeed
of any other king thereabout j for we saw no people.
Yet such was the fright I had taken at the Moors, and the
dreadful apprehensions I had of falling into their hands, that
I would not stop, or go on shore, or come to an anchor, the
wind continuing fair, till I had sailed in that manner five
days; and then the wind shifting to the southward, I con-
cluded also that if any of our vessels were in chase of me,
they also would now give over : so I ventured to make to the
coast, and came to an anchor in the mouth of a little river; I
knew not what or where, neither what latitude, what country,
what nation, or what river. I neither saw, nor desired to see,
any people; the principal thing I wanted was fresh water.
We came into this creek in the evening, resolving to swim on
shore as soon as it was dark, and discover the country : but as
soon as it was quite dark, we heard such 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 thfe 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, wallow-
ing and washing themselves, for the pleasure of cooling them-
selves; and they made such hideous bowlings 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 creatures swimming towards our boat : we could
not see him, but we might hear him by his blowing, to be a
monstrous, huge, and furious beast. Xury said it was a lion,
and it might be so, for aught I know ; but poor Xury cried
aa RpoAirtsofx. Crusoe
to me to weigh the anchor and row away. No, says I,
Xury ; we can slip our f:able with a buoy to it, and go ofF to
sea : they cannot follow us far. I had no sooner said so, but
I perceived the creature (whatever it was) within two oars'
length, which something surprised me; however, I imme-
diately stepped to the cabin door, and taking up my gun, fired
at him ; upon which he immediately turned about, and swam
to the shore again.
But it is impossible to describe the horrible noises, and
hideous cries and bowlings 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 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 some-
where or other for water, for we had not a pint left in the
boat; when and where to get it was the point, Xuiy 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 affection, 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 was proper, and so waded to shore,
carrying nothing but our arms, and two jars for water.
I did not care to go out of sight of; the boat, fearing the
coming of canoes with savages down tKe 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 towards me, I
thought he was pursued by some savage, or frightened by
some wild beast, and I therefore ran forwards to help him ;
jRsoJbirtson^ Crusoe ^3
but when 1 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 colour, 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 afterwards that we need not take such pains
for water; for a little higher up the creek where we were, we
found the water fresh when the tide was out, which 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 human creature in that
part of the country.
As I had been one voyage to this coast before, I knew very
well that the islands of the Canaries, and the Cape de Verd
Islands also, lay not far from the coast. But as I had no in-
struments 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 towards them, 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.
By the best of my calculation, the place where I now was,
must be that country which, lying between the Emperor of
Morocco's dominions and the Negroes, lies waste, and unin-
habited, 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
barrenness ; and, indeed both forsaking it because of the pro-
digious numbers of tigers, lions, leopards, and other furious
creatures which harbour there : so that the Moors use it for
their hunting only, where they go like an army, two or three
thousand men at a time : 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 bowlings
and roaring of wild beasts by night.
24 Rpobirtsors^ Crusoe
Once or twice, in the day-time, I thought I saw the Pico
of TenerifFe, being the top of the moujitain TcneriiFe, in the
Canaries, and had a great mind to venture out, in hopes of
reaching thither ; but having 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 moje
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. 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 mouthful 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 ; 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 upon 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 imme-
diately, 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
RpoAiixsotx. Crusoe ^5
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 loose 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. However,
Xury could not cut off his head ; but he cut off a foot, and
brought it with him, and it was a monstrous great one. I
bethought myself, however, that perhaps the skin of him
might, one way or other, be of some value to us ; and I re-
solved 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 afterwards 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 into
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, anywhere 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 j
and in two or three places, as we sailed by, we saw people
stand upon the shore to look at us : we could also perceive
26 Rs)obin.soty^ Crusoe
they were quite black and stark naked. I was once inclined
to have gone on shore to them ; but Xuiy 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
country ; but we neither knew what the tone 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
maike 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
towards the sea ; whether it was the male pursuing the
female, or whether they were in sport or in rage, we could
not tell, any more than we could tell whether it was usual or
strange ; but I believe it was the lattef, because, in the first
place, those ravenous creatures seldom appear but in the night ;
and, in the second place, we found the people terribly fright-
ened, especially the women. The man that had the lance,
or dart, did not fly from them, but the test didj however, as
the two creatures ran directly into tlje water, they did not
seem to offer to fall upon any of the Negroes, but plunged
themselves into the sea, and swam about, as if they had come
for their diversion ; at last, one of them began to come nearer
RpoAiTtson^ Crusoe 27
our boat than I at first expected ; but I lay ready for him, for
I had 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 : imme-
diately he sunk down into the water, but rose instantly, and
plunged up and down, as if he was struggling for life, and so
indeed 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 hini on shore, and found
that it was a most curious leopard, spotted, and fine to an
admirable degree ; 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 favour from me ; which, when I make
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 upwards, to show that it was empty.
28 P^obirtsors^ Crusoe
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
women were as stark naked as the men.
I was now furnished with roots and corn, such as it was,
and water ; and leaving my friendly Negroes, I made forward
for about eleven days more, without offering to go near the
shore, till I saw the land run out a great length into the sea,
at about the distance of four or five leagues before me ; and
the sea being very calm, I kept a large offing, to make this
point. At length, doubling the pointy at about two leagues
from the land, I saw plainly land on t!he other side, to sea-
ward : then I concluded, as it was mqst 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
suddefl, 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 master's ships sent to pursue
us, when I knew we were gotten far enough out of their
reach. I jumped out of the cabin, and immediately saw, not
only the ship, but what she was, viz., that it was a Portuguese
ship, and, as I thought, was bound to the coast of Guinea,
for Negroes. But, when I 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 th^m ; 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
BsoAirtsofx^ Crusoe ^9
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 an-
swered 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 be-
lieve, that I was thus delivered, as I esteemed it, from such
a miserable, and almost 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, says
hi, I have saved your life on no other terms than I would be
g^d 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
owfr eountry,-4f— I-shoUrdlake 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. Englishman), says
he, I will carry you thither in charity, and these things will
help to buy your subsistence there, and your passage home
again.
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
I own possession, and gave me back an
'exact inventory of them, that I might
khave 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 obligation 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 Todos los Santos, or All Saints' Bay, in about
twenty-two days after. And now I was once more delivered
from the most miserable of all conditions of life ; and what
to do next with myself, I was now to consider.
The generous treatment the captain gave me, I can never
enough remember : he would take nothing of me for my
passage, gave me twenty ducats for the leopard's skin, and
RDoAirvsors^ Crusoe 31
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 : endeavouring,
in the mean time, to find out some way to get my money,
which I had left in London, remitted to me. To this pur-
pose, getting a kind of letter of naturalisation, I purchased
as much land that was uncured as my money would reach,
and formed a plan for my plantation and settlement -, such a
one as might be suitable to the stock which I proposed to
myself to receive from England.
I had a neighbour, 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 neighbour, because
his plantation lay next to mine, and we went on very socia-
bly 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 do wrong, that never did right, was
no great wonder. I had no remedy^ but to go on : I had
got into an employment quite remote to my genius, and
32 RDoI)irtsoT\. Crusoe
directly contrary to the life I delighted in, and for which I
forsook my father's house, and broke through all his good
advice : nay, I was coming into the very middle station, or
upper -degree of low life, which my father advised^ me tg/
before; 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 I had done : and I used often 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, in a wilderness, and at such a dis-
tance 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 con,verse with, but now
and then this neighbour; no work to be done, but by the
labour of my hands : and I used to say, I lived just like a
man cast away upon some desolate island, that had nobody
there but himself. But how just has it been ! and how
should all men reflect, that when they compare their present
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 un-
justly compared it with the life which I then led, in which,
had I continued, I had, in all probability, been exceeding
prosperous and rich !
I was, in some degree, settled in my measures for carrying
on the plantation, before my kind friend, the captain of the
ship that took me up at sea, went back ; for the ship re-
mained 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 LonSon, 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 pro-
curation here in form to me, with orders to the person who
has your money in London, to send your eiFects to Lisbon,
to such persons as I shall direct, and in such goods as are
jRsoJbiftsofx^ Crusoe 33
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 for but 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 miscarry, you may have the other half to
have recourse to for your supply. This was so wholesome
advice, and looked so friendly, that I could not but be con-
vinced 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 captain's widow a full account of all
my adventures ; my slavery, escape, and how I had met with
the Portuguese captain at sea, the humanity of his behaviour,
and what condition 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 repre-
sented 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 safe 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 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 consideration, except a little tobacco,
34 Rsohinsors^ Crusoe
which I would have him accept, being of my own produce.
Neither was this all : but my goods being all English manu-
factures, such as cloths, stuffs, baize, and things particularly
valuable and desirable in the country, I found means to sell
them to a very great advantage ; so that I might say, I had
more than four times the value of my first cargo, and was
now infinitely beyond my poor neighbour, I mean in the ad-
vancement of my plantation : for the first thing I did, I
bought me a Negro slave, and a European servant 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 neighbours : and these
fifty rolls, being each of above one hundred 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 beyond
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 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 reflec-
tions 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 contradic-
tion to the clearest views of doing myself good in a fair and
plain pursuit of those prospects, and those measures of life,
which nature and Providence concurred to present 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
RsoJbiftfSon^ Crusoe 35
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, and 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
^most four years in the Brazils, and beginning to thrive and
prosper very well upon my plantation, I had not only learned
the l^iguage, but had contracted an acquaintance and friend-
ship' among my fellow-planters, as well as among the mer-
chants *'of St. Salvador, which was our port : and that, in my
discourses among them, I had frequently given them an
accourilj of my two voyages to the coast of Guinea, the man-
ner of ittading with the Negroes there, and how easy it was to
purch^e on the coast for trifles — such as beads, toys, knives,
scissors, hatchets, bits of glass, and the like — not only gold
4ust, 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
byHhe asstentes, or permission of the kings of Spain and Portu-
gal, 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 musing very much upon what I had
discoursed with them of the last night, and they came to make
a secret proposal to me : and, after enjoining me to secrecy,
they told me that they had a mind to fit out a ship to go
to Guinea ; that they had all plantations as well as I, 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 Negroes when they came home, so they
desired to make but one voyage, to bring the Negroes on
shore privately, and divide them among their own plantations ;
36 jR^oJbiTtsors^ Crusoe
and, in a word, the question was, whether I would go their
supercargo in the ship, to manage the trading 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 had begun, for three or four years more, and
to have sent for the other hundred pounds from England ; and
who, in that time and with that little addition, could scarce
have failed of being worth three or four thousand pounds ster-
ling, and that increasing too ; for me to think of such a voy-
age, was the most preposterous thing that ever man, in such
circumstances, could be guilty of.
But I, that was born to be my own destroyer, could no
more resist the offer, than 1 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 mis-
carried. This they all engaged to do, and entered into
writings or covenants to do so : and I made a formal will,
disposing of my plantation and effects, in case of my death ;
making the captain of the ship that had saved my life, as
before, my universal heir; but obliging him to dispose of my
effects as I had directed in my will ; one-half of the produce
being to himself, and the other to be shipped 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 prudence to
have looked into my own interest, and have made a judgment
of what I ought to have done, and not to have done, I had
certainly never gone away from so prosperous an undertaking,
leaving all the probable views of a thriving circumstance, and
gone a voyage to sea, attended with all its common hazards, to
say nothing of the reasons I had to expect particular misfor-
tunes to myself.
R5)oJ}in.sof\^ Crusoe 37
But I was hurried on, and obeyed blindly the dictates of my
fancy, rather than my reason : and accordingly, the ship, being
fitted out, and the cargo fut-nished, 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, ''^ing the
sane day eight years that I went from my parents at Hull, in
ortier toact the rebel, to, their, .authority j and the fool to my
ow|n interest.
pur ship was about one hundred and twenty tons' burden,
carried six guns and fourteen men, besides the master, his boy,
and myself; we had on board no large cargo of goods, except
of such toys as were fit for our trade with the Negroes, such
as beads, bits of glass, shells, and odd trifles, especially little
looking-glasses, knives, 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. Augustino ; from
whence, keeping farther ofF at sea, we lost sight of land, and
steered as if we were bound for the isle Fernando de Noronha,
holding our course N.E. by N. and leaving those isles on the
east. In 'this course we passed the Line in about twelve days'
time, and were, by our last observation, in seven degrees
twenty-two minutes northern latitude, when a violent tornado,
or hurricane, took us quite out of our; knowledge : it began
from the south-east, came about to the north-west, and then
settled in the north-east ; 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, one
of our men died of the calenture, and one man and a boy
vvashed overboard. About the twelfth day, the weather abat-
38 Rpobiixsors^ Crusoe
ing a little, the master made an observation as well as he
could, and found that he was in about eleven degrees north
latitude, but that he was twenty-two degrees of longitude dif-
ference, west from Cape St. Augustino ; so that he found he
was got upon the coast of Guiana, or the north part of Brazil,
beyond the river Amazons, toward that of the river Orinoco,
commonly called 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 going directly back to the
coast of Brazil.
I was positively against that ; and looking over the charts
of the sea-coast of America with him, we concluded there was
no inhabited country for us to have recourse to, till we came
within the circle of the Carribee islands, and therefore resolved
to stand away for Barbadoes; which by keeping oflF 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 ; where-
as we could not possibly make our voyage to the coast of
Africa without some assistance, both to our ship and ourselves.
With this design, we changed our course, and steered away
N.W. by W. in order to reach some of our English islands,
where I hoped for relief: but our voyage was otherwise de-
termined ; 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 country.
In this distress, the wind still blowing very hard, one of our
men early in the morning, cried out, jland ! and we had no
sooner run out of the cabin to look out, in hopes of seeing
whereabouts in the world we were, than the ship struck upon
% sand, and in a moment, her motion being so stopped, the
^ea broke over her in such a manner, that we expected we
should all have perished immediately ; and we were immedi-
ately driven into our close quarters, to shelter us from the
vary foam and spray of the sea.
Ut is not easy for any one who has not been in the like
condition to describe or conceive the consternation of men in
jRsoJbinsors^ Crusoe 39
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 inhabited ; and as the
rage of the wind was still great, though rather less than at
first, we could not so much as hope to have the ship hold
many minutes without breaking in pieces, unless the wind,
by a kind of miracle, should immediately turn about. In a
word we sat looking upon one another, and expecting death
every moment, and every man acting accordingly, as pre-
paring 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 wind did a little abate,
yet the ship having thus struck upon the sand, and sticking
too fast for us to expect her getting off", we were in a dread-
ful condition indeed, and had nothing to do, but 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 doubtful thing ; however,
there was no room to debate, for we fancied the ship would
break in pieces every minute, and some told us she was act-
ually 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 side ; and getting all into her, we let her go,
and committed ourselves, being eleven in number, to God's
mercy, and the wild sea : for though the storm was abated
considerably, yet the sea went dreadfully high upon the shore,
and might be well 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 mak-
ing sail, we had none ; nor, if we had, could we have done
40 Rs>ohirtsor\. Crusoe
anything with it; so we worked at the 'oar towards the land,
though with heavy hearts, like men going to execution ; for
we all knew that when the boat came nearer to the shore,
she would be dashed in a thousand pieces by the breach of
the sea. However, we committed our souls to God in the
most earnest manner; and the wind driving us towards the
shore, we hastened our destruction with our own hands, pulling
as well as we could towards land.
What the shore was — whether rock or sand, whether steep
or shoal — we knew not; the only hope that could rationally
give us the least shadow of expectation, was, if we might
happen into some bay or gulf, or the mouth of some 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 we reckoned it, a raging wave, mountain-like, came
rolling astern of us, and plainly bade us expect the coup de
grace. In a word, it took us 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 we were all swallowed up in a moment.
Nothing can describe the confusion of thought which I felt,
when I sunk into the water; for though I swam very well,
yet I could not deliver myself from the waves so as to draw
my breath, till that wave having driven me, or rather carried
me, a vast way on towards 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 fqst, and endeavoured to
make on towards the land as fast as I could, before another
wave should return and take me up again ; but I soon found
it was impossible to avoid it ; for I saw the sea come after
me as high as a great hill, and as furious as an enemy which
I had no means or strength to contend with : my business
was to hold my breath, and raise myself upon the water, if I
could ; and so, by swimming, to preserve my breathing, and
RpoAirtsors^ Crusoe 41
pilot myself towards the shore, if possible; my greatest con-
cern now being, that the wave, as it would carry me a great
way towards the shore when it came on, might not carry me
back again with it when it gave back towards 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 towards 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 re-
lieved 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 be-
gan to return, I struck forward against the return of the
waves, and felt ground again with my feet. I stood still a
few moments, to recover breath, and till the water went from
me, and then took to my heels, and ran with what strength I
had farther towards 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 forwards as before, the 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, landed 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 body ; and had it
returned again immediately, I must have been strangled 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
resolved 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 abated, 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. swallow me up as to
42 Bso/)irtsoi\ Crusoe
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 were, 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 wonder now
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; I say, I do not
wonder that they bring a surgeon with it, to let him blood
that very moment they tell him of it, that the 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 deliverance; making a thousand gestures and motions,
whifh I cannot describe ; 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 afterwards,
or any sign of them, except three of their hats, one cap, and
two shoes that were not fellows.
I cast my eyes to the stranded vessel — when the breach
and froth of the sea being so big I could hardly see it, it lay
so far off — ^ and considered, Lord! how was it possible I
could get on shore ?
After I had solaced my mind with the comfortable part
of my condition, 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
perishing with hunger, or being devoured by wild beasts :
and that which was particularly afflicting to me was, that
Rf)obii\sof\. Crusoe 43
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 ravenous 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. I walked about a furlong
from the shore, to see if I could find any fresh water to
drink, which I did, to my great joy; and having drank, and
put a little tobacco into my mouth to prevent hunger, I went
to the tree, and getting up into it, endeavoured to place my-
self so as 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
occasion.
I HEN I waked it was broad day, the
'weather clear, and the storm abated, so
kthat the sea did not rage and swell as
[before; but that which surprised me
f most was, that the ship was lifted off
[in the night from the sand where she
ilay, by the swelling of the tide, and was
/driven up almost as far as the rock
'which I at first mentioned, where I had
been so bruised by the wave dashing- me 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 us.e.
When I came down from my apartment in the tree, I
looked about me again, and the first thing I found was the
boat ; which lay, as the wind and the sea had tossed her up,
upon the land, about two miles 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
mile of the ship : and here I found a fresh renewing of my
grief; for I saw evidently, that if we had kept on board, we
had; been all safe ; that is to say, we had all got safe on
shore, and I had not been so miserable, as to be left entirely
destitute of all comfort and company, as I now was. This
forced tears from my eyes again 5 hiit as there was little
relief in this, I resolved, if possible, tb 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 diffi-
culty was still greater to know how to get on board ; for as
RpoAirt^otx^ Crusoe 45
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 that 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 5 and,
first, I found that all the ship's provisions were dry and un-
touched by the water : and, being very well disposed to eat, I
went to the bread-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 before me. Now I wanted nothing
but a boat, to furnish myself with many things which I fore-
saw 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 ; I resolved to fall to work with
these, and flung as many 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, cross-
ways, I found I could walk upon it very well, but that it was
not able to bear any great weight, the pieces being too light ;
so I went to work, and with the carpenter's saw I cut a
spare topmast into three lengths, and added them to my raft,
with a great deal of labour and pains. But the hope of furnish-
ing myself with necessaries, encouraged me to go beyond what
I should have been able to have done upon another occasion.
46 Rpobiix^ors^ Crusoe
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 had 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 afterwards that the rats had eaten or spoiled it all. As
for liquors, I found several 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 them-
selves, 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 away ; as for my breeches, which were
only linen, and open-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, with-
out 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 very good fowling-pieces in the great cabin, and two
pistols ; these I secured first, with some powder-horns and a
small bag of shot, and two old rusty swords. 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
RDoJbiixson^ Crusoe 47
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 sale, oar, nor
rudder ; and the least capful of wind would have overset all
my navigation.
I had three encouragements : ist, A smooth, calm sea ;
zdly. The tide rising, and setting in to the shore ; 3dly, What
little wind there was blew me towards 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
indraft 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 errd 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 towards 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 posture I was in, but holding up
the chests with all my might, I stood in that manner near half
an hour, in which time the 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
48 RDobirtsoTK^ Crusoe
willing to be driven too high up the river ; hoping, in time,
to see some ship at sea, and therefore resolved to place myself
as near the coast as I could.
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 my
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 anchor, 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 ebbed 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,
northward. I took out one of the fowling-pieces, and one of
the pistols, and a horn of powder ; and f hus armed, I travelled
for discovery up to the top of that hill ; where after I had,
with great labour and difficulty, got up to the top, I saw my
fate, to my great affliction, viz., that I was in an island, envi-
roned every way with the sea, no land tp be seen, except some
rocks, which lay a great way off, and tvi'o small islands, less
than this, which lay about three leaguesto the west.
I found also that the island I was in was barren, and, as I
RpoJbiixson^ Crusoe 49
saw good reason to believe, uninhabited, except by wild
beasts, of whom, however, I saw none^ yet I saw abundance
of fowls, but knew not their kinds ; neither, when I killed
them, could I tell what was fit for food, and what not. At
my 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 the 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 one of them of any
kind that I knew. As for the creature I killed, I took it to
be a kind of a hawk, its colour and beak resembling it, but
it had no talons or claws more than common. Its flesh was
carrion and fit for nothing.
Contented with this discovery, I came back to my raft,
and fell to work to bring my cargo ou: 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 afterwards found, there was really
no need for those fears. However, as well as I could, I
barricadoed myself round with chests and boards that I had
brought on shore, and made a kind pf hut for that night's
lodging. As for food, I yet saw not which way to supply
myself, except that I had seen two or three creatures, like
hares, run out of the wood where I shot the fowl.
— I now began to consider that I might yet get a great many
things out of the ship, which would be useful to me, and par-
ticularly 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 possible.- And as I knew that
the first storm that blew"' must necessarily break her all in
pieces, I resolved to set all other things apart, till I got every-
thing out of the ship that I could get. Then I called a coun-
cil, that is to say, in my thoughts, whether I should take back
the raft ; but this appeared impracticable : so I resolved to go
as before, when the tide was down ; and I did so, only that I
stripped before I went from my hut ; having nothing on but a
4
50 Rpobirtsors^ Crusoe
chequered shirt, a pair of linen drawers, and a pair of pumps
on my feet.
I got on board the ship as before, and prepared a second
raft ; and having had experience of the first, I neither made
this so unwieldy, nor loaded it so hard, but yet I brought
away several things very useful to me : as, first, in the car-
penter's stores, I found two or three bags of 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 ;
particularly, two or three iron crows, and two barrels of mus-
ket 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 menu's clothes that I 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.
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 visitor; only
there sat a creature like a wild cat, upon one of the chests,
which, when I came towards it, ran away a little distance and
then stood still. She sat very composed and 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 stir away ; upon which I tossed her a bit of
biscuit, though, by the way, I was not very free of it, for my
store was not great ; however, I spared her a bit, 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 my second cargo on shore — though I was fain
to open the barrels of powder, and bring them by parcels, for
they were too heavy, being large casks — I went to work to
make me a little tent, with the sail, and some poles, which I
cut for that purpose ; and into this tent I brought everything
RDOJbiixsofx^ Crusoe 51
that I knew would spoil either with rain or sun ; and I piled
all the empty chests and casks up in a circle round the tent,
to fortify it from any sudden attempt either from man or
beast.
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 spreading one of the beds upon the ground,
laying my two pistols just at my head, and my gun at length
by me, I went to bed for the first time, and slept very quietly
all night, for I was very weary and heavy ; for the night
before I had slept little, and had laboured very hard all day, as
well to fetch all those things from the ship as to get them on
shore.
I had the biggest magazine of all kinds now that ever was
laid up, I believe, for one man : but I was not satisfied still;
■for while the ship sat upright in that posture, I thought I
'ought to get 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
and 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.
But that which comforted me still- more was, that, last of
all, after I had made five or six such voyages as these, and
thought I had nothing 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 sur-
prismg 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.
52 Rpobirtson^ Crusoe
I began with the cables, and cutting the great cable into
pieces such as I could move, I got two cables and a hawser
on shore, with all the iron work I could get ; and having cut
down the spritsail-yard, and the mizen-yard, and everything I
could, to make a 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 covej 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 myself, 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 expect 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 labour ; 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, and brought away what I could get.
I had been now thirteen days ashore, and had been eleven
times on board the ship ; in which time I had brought away
all that one pair of hands could well be .supposed capable to
bring ; though I believe verily, had the calm weather held, I
should have brought away the whole ship, piece by piece, 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, some
pieces of eight, some gold, and some silver.
I smiled to myself at the sight of this money ; O drug !
exclaimed, what art thou good for ? Thou art not worth
me, no, not the taking off the ground ; one of those knives
is worth all this heap : I have no man^ner of use for thee ;
e'en remain where thou art, and go to the bottom, as a creature
whose life is not worth saving. However, upon second
thoughts, I took it away ; and wrapping all this in a piece
es I
/isoJbiftson^ Crusoe 53
of canvas, I began to think of maVing 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 be-
gan, or otherwise I might not be able jo reach the shore at
alL Accordingly I let myself down into* the water, and swam
across the channel which laj between the ship and the sands,
and even that with difficulty enough, partly with the weight
of the things I had about me, and partly the roughness of the
tvater ; for the wind rose rerv hastily, and before it was quite
high water it blew a storm.
But I was got home to my httle tent, where I lay, with all
my weahh about me very secure. It Ijlew 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 satis&ctory reflection, viz., that I had lost no
time, nor abated no diligence, to get everything out of her,
that could be usefiil to me, and that, fiideed, there was httle
left in her that I vras able to bring aw^y, if I had more time.
I now gave over any more thoughts bf the ship, or of any-
thing out of her, except what might drive on shore, from her
wreck ; as indeed, divers pieces of her afterwards did ; but
those things were of small use to me.
My thoughts were now wholly employed about securing
myself against either savages, if any should appear, or wild
b^sts, if any were in the island : and I had many thoughts
of the method how to do this, and what kind of dwelling to
make, whether I should make me a c^ve in the earth, or a
tent upon the earth ; and, in short, I resolved upon both ; the
manner and description of which, it may not be improper
to give an account of.
I soon found the place I was in was not for my settlement,
particularly because it was upon a low, moorish ground, near the
sea, and I beUeved it would not be wholesome ; and more par-
ucularly because there was no fresh water near it: so I resolved
to find a more healthy and more convenient spot of ground.
I consulted several things in my situation, which I found
54 Rpo/yittsors^ Crusoe
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 Godsent any ship in sight,
I might not lose any advantage for my deliverance, of which I
was not willing to banish all my expectation yet.
In search for a place proper for this, I found a little plain
on the side of a rising hill, whose front towards this little
plain was steep as a house-side, so that nothing could come
down upon me from the top. On the side of this rock, there
was a hollow 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 hun-
dred yards broad, and about twice as long, and lay like a
green before my door j and, at the end of it, descended irregu-
larly every way down into the low ground by the seaside. 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, leaning against them, about two feet and
a half high, like a spur to a post ; and this fence was so strong,
that neither man nor beast could get into it or over it. This
cost me a great deal of time and labour, especially to cut the
piles in the woods, bring them to the place, and drive them
into the earth.
RDoJbifvson^ Crusoe 55
The entrance into this place I made to be not by a door,
but by a short ladder to go over the top ; which ladder, when
I was in, I lifted over after me ; and so I was completely
fenced in and fortiiied, as I thought, from all the world, and
consequently slept secure in the night, which otherwise I
could not have done ; though, as it appeared afterwards, there
was no need of all this caution against the enemies that I
apprehended danger from.
Y^WSiM
fNTO this fence, or fortress, with infi-
t nite labour, I cariried all my riches, all my
iprovisions, ammunition, and stores, of
|( which you have the account above ; and
il made a large tent, which, to preserve
I me from the rains, that in one part of
Jthe 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 repassed, 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
56 Rpobirtsors^ Crusoe
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 labour and many days, before all these 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 set-
ting 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 natur-
ally 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: O 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 the providing me food, as I thought, entirely depended.
I was nothing near so anxious about my own danger, though,
had the powder taken fire, I should never have known who
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 applied 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 4ess 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 up and down in holes among the
rocks, so that no wet might come to it, marking very carefully
where I laid it.
In the interval of time while this was doing, I went out 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
/isoJbiftsofv. Crusoe 57
me ; but then it was attended with this misfortane to me, viz.,
that they were so shy, so subtle, and so swift of foot, that it
was the most diiEcult 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 afterwards, I took this method — I always
climbed the rocks first, to get above them, and then had fre-
quently 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 me 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 up tame ; but it would not eat ; so I was forced to kill
it and eat it myself. These two supplied me with flesh a
great while, for I eat sparingly, and preserved my provisions
(my bread especially) as much as possibly I could.
Having 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 living,
vvhich, it may well be supposed, were not a few.
I had a dismal prospect of my condition ; for as I was not
cast away upon that island without being driven, as is said, by
a violent storm quite out of the course of our intended voy-
age ; 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 Heaven, that in this
58 Rpobirtsofy^ Crusoe
desolate place, and in this desolate manner, I should end my
life. The tears would run plentifully down my face when I
made these reflections ; and sometimes I would expostulate
With myself why Providence should thus completely ruin its
creatures, and render them so absolutely miserable ; so aban-
doned 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
these 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 subject 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 true; but, pray remember,
where are the rest of you ? Did not you come eleven of you
into the boat ? Where are the ten ? Why were not they
saved, and you lost ? Why were you singled out ? Is it
better to be here or there ? And then I pointed to the sea.
All evils are to be considered with the good that is in them,
and with what worse attends them.
Then it occurred to me again, how well I was furnished
for my subsistence, and what would have been my case if it
had not happened (which was a hundred thousand to one) that
the ship floated from the place where she first struck, and was
driven so near to the shore, that I had time to get all these
things out of her ; what would have been my case, if I had
been to have lived in the condition in wJiich I at first came on
shore,' without necessaries of life, or necessaries to supply and
procure them ? Particularly, said I aloud (though to myself),
what 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 suflicient 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 toler-
able view of subsisting, without any want, as long as I lived ;
for I considered, from the beginning, how I would provide for
the accidents that might happen, and for the time that was to
come, not only after my ammunition should be spent, but even
after my health or strength should decay.
JisoJbiitson^ Crusoe 59
I confess, I had not entertained any notion of my ammu-
nition being destroyed at one blast, I mean my powder being
blown up by lightning; 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 mdancholy 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 said, I first set foot upon this
horrid island ; when the sun being to us in its autumnal
equinox, was almost just over my head : for I reckoned my-
self, by observation, to be in the latitude of nine degrees
twenty-two minutes north of the Line.
[FTER I had been there about ten or
' twelve days, it came into my thoughts
) that I should lose my reckoning of time
I f6r want of books, and pen and ink, and
. should even forget the sabbath days from
'the working days : but, to prevent this,
\I cut it with my knife upon a large post,
fin capital letters? and making it into a
'great cross, I set it up on the shore
where I first landed, viz., " I came on shore here on the 30th
of September, 1659." Upon the sides of this square post I
cut every day a notch with my knife, and every seventh notch
was as long again as the rest, and every first day of the month
as long again as that long one ; and thus- 1 kept my calendar,
or weekly, monthly, and yearly reckoning of time.
But it happened, that among the many things which I
brought out of the ship, in the several voyages which, as
60 R^obirtsors^ Crusoe
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 mathe-
matical instruments, dials, perspectives, charts, and books of
navigation ; all of which I huddled together whether I might
want them or no : also I found three very good Bibles, which
came to me in my cargo from England, and which I had
packed up among my things ; some Portuguese books also, and,
among them, two or three popish prayer-books, and several
other books, all which I carefully secured. And I must not
forget, that we had in the ship a dog, and two cats, of whose
eminent history I may have 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 shore with my first cargo, and was
a trusty 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, not-
withstanding all that I had amassed together ; and of these,
this of ink was one ; as also a spade, pickjxe, 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
Iif>oAin.sof\. Crusoe ^^
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 any other employment, if that had been
over, at least that I could foresee, except" the ranging the island
to seek for food ; which I did, more or less, every day.
I now began to consider seriously my condition, and the
circumstance I was reduced to ; and I drew up the state of
my affairs in writing, not so much to leave them to any that
were to come after me (for I was like to have but few heirs),
as to deliver my thoughts from daily poring- upon them, and
afflicting my mind : and as my reason began now to master
my despondency, I began to comfort myself as well as I
could, and to set the good against the evil, that I might have
something to distinguish my case from worse ; and I stated
very impartially, like debtor and creditor, the comforts I
enjoyed against the miseries I suiFered, thus :
I am cast upon a horrible, desolate But I am alive ; and not drowned,
island, void of all hope of recovery, as all my ship's company were.
I am singled out and separated,
as it were, from all the world, to be
miserable.
But I am singled out too from all
the ship's crew, to be spared from
death ; and He that miraculously
saved me from death, can deliver
me from this condition.
I am divided from mankind, a But I am not starved, and perish-
solitaire j one banished from human ing in a barren place, affording no
society. sustenance.
I have no clothes to cover me.
But I am in a hot climate, where,
if I had clothes, I could hardly
wear them.
I am without any defence, or But I am cast on an island where
means to resist any violence of man I see no wild beasts to hurt me, as I
or beast. saw on the coast of Africa: and
what if I had been shipwrecked
there ?
6^ RpoAinsors^ Crusoe
I have no soul to speak to, or But God wonderfully sent the
relieve me. ship in near enough to the shore,
that I have got out so many neces-
sary things, as will either supply
ray wants, or enable me to supply
myself, even as long as I live.
Upon the whole, here was an unbounded testimony, that
there was scarce any condition in the world so miserable, but
there was something 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 condi-
tion, 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 and 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, as they lay in no order, so they took up all
my place; I had no room to turn myself: so I set myself to
enlarge my cave, and work farther into the earth ; for it was
a loose sandy rock which yielded easily to the labour I bestowed
on it : and when I found I was pretty safe as to the beasts of
prey, I worked sideways, to the right hand, 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.
/i£)oJbin.sof\. Crusoe ^3
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 without these I was not able to enjoy the few
comforts I had in the world ; I could riot 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, in time, by labour, application, i and
contrivance I found at last, that I wanted nothing but I could
have made, especially if I had had tool's. 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 labour.
For example, if I wanted a board, I had no other way but
to cut down a tree, set it on an edge before me, and hew it
flat on either side with my axe, till I had brought it to be as
thin as a plank, and then dub it smooth with my adze. It
is true, by this method, I could make but one board 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 labour
which it took me up to make a plank or board : but my time
or labour was little worth, and so it was as well employed one
w;ay 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 boards, as above, I made
large shelves, of the breadth of a foot, and a half, one over
another, all along one side of my cave, to lay all my tools,
nails, and iron work on ; and in a word, to separate every-
thing 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
64 Rpobiixsors^ Crusoe
my cave been seen, it looked like a general magazine of all
necessary things ; and I had everything so ready at my hand,
that it wfas a great pleasure to me to see all my goods in
such order, and especially to find my stock of all necessaries
so great.
And now it was that I began to keep a journal of every
day's employment ; for, indeed, at first, I was in too much
hurry, and not only as to labour, 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 escaped drowning,
instead of being thankful to God for my deliverance, having
first vomited, with the 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, exclaiming 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 5 but durst not sleep, for fear
of being devoured."
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 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 increase
my misery by my folly.
But, having gotten over these things in some measure, and
having settled my household stuiF 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 be told all these partic-
ulars over again) as long as it lasted; for, having no more
ink, I was forced to leave it oiF.
Tshe Uournal
lEPTEMBER 30th, 1659. I, Poor
fmiserable Robinson Crusoe, being ship-
I wrecked, 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 my-
kself 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 i. 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, asi they were : and that,
had the men been saved, we might perhaps have built us a
boat, out of the ruins of the 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,
66 fi^ohifxsors^ Crusoe
and then swam on board. This day also it continued raining,
though with no wind at all.
From the 1 1 St 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; during which time the ship broke in pieces (the
wind blowing a little harder than before) and was no more to
be seen, except the wreck of her, and that only at low water.
I spent this day in covering and securing the goods which
I had saved, that 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. Towards night I fixed upon a proper place, under a
rock, and marked out a semicircle for my encampment ; which
I rseolved 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 afterwards killed also, because it would
not feed.
November i. 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
RsoJbiixson^ Crusoe ^7
fence round me, a little within the pkce 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.
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 workman :
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 seals;
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, loth, and part of the lith (for the nth 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, omit-
ting my mark for them on my post, I forgot which was which.
Nov. 13. This day it rained ; which refreshed me exceed-
ingly, and cooled the earth : but it was accompanied with
terrible thunder and lightning, which frightened me dread-
fully, for fear of my powder. As soon as it was over I
68 Rpobiixsors^ Crusoe
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 three days I killed a
large bird that was good to eat ; but I knew not what to
call it.
Nov. 17. This day I began to dig behind my tent, into
the rock, to make room for my farther 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 work, and began to consider how to supply
these wants, and make me 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 noth-
ing effectually without it ; but what kind of one to make I
knew not.
Nov. 18. The next day, in searching the woods, I found
a tree of that wood, or like it, which, in the Brazils, they call
the iron tree, from its exceeding hardness : of this, with great
labour, and almost spoiling my axe, I cut a piece ; and brought
it home, too, with diiEculty 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 Eng-
land, 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 wheel-
barrow. A basket I could not make by any means, having
no such things as twigs that would bend to make wicker
ware; at least, none yet found out : and as to the wheel-
barrow, I fancied I could make all but the wheel, but that I
jRsoJbiftson^ Crusoe ^9
had no notion of; neither did I know how to get about it :
besides, 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 labourers carry mortar
in for the bricklayers. This was not so difficult for me as
the making the shovel : and yet this and the shovel, and
the attempt which I made in vain to make a wheelbarrow,
took me up no less than four days : I mean, always excepting
my morning 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 entirely 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 ware-
house, or magazine, a kitchen, a dining-room, and a cellar.
As for a lodging, I kept the tent : excfept that sometimes, in
the wet season of the year, it rained so hard that I could not
keep myself dry ; which caused me afterwards to cover all
my place within my pale with long poles, and in the form of
rafters, leaning against the rock, and load them with flags and
large leaves of trees, like a thatch.
December id. I began now to think my cave or vault
finished ; when on a sudden (it seems L had made it too large)
a great quantity of earth fell down from the top and one side ;
so much, that, in short, it frightened 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. II. 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
70 Rpolyiftson^ Orusoe
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 icnocked 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. 26. No rain ; and the earth much cooler than before,
and pleasanter.
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
j^ 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.
January i . 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 towards
the centre of the island, I found ther6 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 upon the dog : and he knew his danger too well,
for he would not come near them.
Jan. 3. I began my fence or wall; which, being still
Rf>oJbii\60t\. Crusoe 71
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 cave 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 credible what inexpressible labour 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 hereafter, 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, taking some young
ones, I endeavoured to breed 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 managing my household af&irs, I found myself wanting
in many things, which I thought at first it was impossible for
me to m^e ; 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
72 Rpobirtsors^ Crusoe
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
«^ater} so I gave that also over. In the next place, I was at
a great loss for candle ; so that as soon' as it was dark, which
was generally by seven o'clock, I was obliged to go to bed.
I remember the lump of beeswax with which I made candles
in my African adventure; but I had none of that now; the
only remedy I had was, that when I had killed the goat, I
saved the tallow; and with a little dish made of clay, which
I baked in the sun, to which I added a wick of some oakum, I
made me a lamp ; and this gave me light, though not a clear
steady light like a candle. In the middle of all my labours it
happened, that in rummaging 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 sup-
pose, when the ship came from Lisbon. What little remain-
der of corn had been in the bag was all devoured by the rats,
and I saw nothing in the bag but husks and dust : and 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 fortification, 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 inquir-
RDOjbirtsofx^ Crusoe 73
ing 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 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, because 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 that all this was nothing
but what was common ; though I ought to have been as
thankful for so strange and unforeseen a providence, as if it
had been miraculous ; for it was really the work of Provi-
dence, as to me, that should order or appoint that ten or twelve
grains of corn should remain unspoiled, when the rats had de-
stroyed 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, I 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
74 RpobiixsoTx^ Crusoe
myself the least grain of corn to eat, and even then but
sparingly, as I shall show afterwards 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 kind, or to the same purpose, viz.,
to make me bread, or rather food ; for I found ways to cook
it up without baking, though I did that also after 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 ; con-
triving to get into it, not by a door, but over the wall, by a
ladder, that there might be no sign of my habitation.
April 16. I finished the ladder; so I went up with the
ladder to the top, and then pulled it up 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 labour overthrown at once, and myself killed ; the case
was thus : — As I was busy in the inside of it behind my tent,
just at the entrance into my cave, I was terribly frightened
with a most dreadful surprising 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 falling in, as some of it had done before ; and for fear I
should be buried in it, I ran forward to my ladder, and not
thinking myself safe there neither, I got: over my wall for fear
of the pieces of the hill which I expected might roll down
upon me. I had no sooner stepped down upon the firm
ground, 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 over-
Iis>oJbin.sors^ Crusoe 75
turned 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 a half a mile from me, next the sea, fell
down with such a terrible noise as I never 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 stupefied ; and the motion of the earth made
my stomach sick, like one that was tbssed at sea : but the
noise of the falling of the rock awaked me, as it were ; and
rousing me from the stupefied 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.
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 seri-
ous religious thought ; nothing but the common I^rd, 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 covered 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 calm, and began
to rain very hard. All this while I sat upon the ground, very
much terrified and dejected : when, on a sudden, it came into
my thoughts that these winds and rain being the consequence
of the earthquake, the earthquake itself was spent and over,
and I might venture into my cave again. With this thought
my spirits began to revive ; and the rain also helping to per-
suade 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
76 RDohinson^ Crusoe
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 have drowned my cave. After I had
been in my cave for some time, and found no more shocks of
the earthquake follow, I began to be more composed. And
now, to support my spirits, which indeed wanted it very much,
I went to my little store, and took a smftll cup of rum; which,
however, I did then, and always, very sparingly, knowing I
could have no more when that was gone. It continued rain-
ing 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 liv-
ing 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 myself 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 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 mean time, It occurred 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 to
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, etc., in a circle as before, and set
up my tent in it when it was finished ; but that I would ven-
BsoJbinson^ Crusoe 77
ture to stay where I was till it was ready, and fit to remove to.
This was the 2ist,
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
bestowed upon a grand point of politics, or a judge upon the
life and death of a man. At length I contrived a wheel with
a string, to turn it with my foot, that I might have both my
hands at 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 perfection.
April 28, 29. These 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 heavy.
yAY I. In the morning, looking towards
'the seaside, the tide being low, I saw
something lie on the shore bigger than
I ordinary, and it looked like a cask :
'when I came to* it, I found a small
1 barrel, and two or three pieces of the
'wreck of the ship, which were driven
1 shore by the late hurricane; and
J looking towards 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 found it was a barrel of gunpowder; but it had taken
water, and the powder was caked as hard as a stone : however,
I rolled it 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 heaved up at least six feet ; and the stern (which
was broke to pieces, and parted from the rest, by the force of
the sea, soon after I had left rummaging 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 remov-
ing 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,
RpoJbiixsor^ Crusoe 79
for all the inside of the ship was choked up with sand. How-
ever, 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 fcut a piece of a beam
through, which I thought held some of the upper part or
quarter-deck together ; and when I had cut it through, I
cleared away the sand as well as I could from the side which
lay highest; but the tide coming in, I was obliged to give
over for that time.
May 4. I went a fishing, but caught not one fish that I
durst eat of, till I was weary of my sport ; when, just going
to leave off, I caught a young dolphin. I had made me a long ''^'
line of some rope-yarn, but I had no hooks ; yet I frequently
caught fish enough, as much as I cared to eat ; all which I
dried in the sun, and ate them dry.
May 5. Worked on the wreck : cut another beam asunder,
and brought three great fir planks ofF from the decks, which I
tied together, 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
of 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.
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
way into the body of the wreck, and felt several casks, and
loosened them with the crow, but could not break them up.
80 RDobin^sors^ Crusoe
I felt also a roll of English lead, and could stir it ; but it was
too heavy to remove.
May 10 to 14. Went every day to. the vi^reck, and got a
great many pieces of timber, and boards, or plank, and two or
three hundred weight of iron.
May 15. I carried two hatchets, to try if I could not cut
a piece off the roll of lead, by placing the edge of one hatchet,
and driving it with the other ; but as it lay about a foot and
a half in the water, I could not make any blow to drive the
hatchet.
May 16. It had blown hard in thq 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 me going to the 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.
May 24. Every day, to this day, I worked on the wreck ;
and with hard labour I loosened some things so much, with the
crow, that the first blowing tide several casks floated out, and
two of the seamen's chests : but the wind blowing from the
shore, nothing came to land that 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 continued this work
every day to the 15th of June, except the time necessary to get
food ; which I always appointed, during this part of my em-
ployment, to be when the tide was up, that I might be ready
when it was ebbed out ; and by this time I had gotten timber,
and plank, and iron work, enough to have built a good boat,
if I had known how : and I also got, at several times, and in
several places, near one hundred weight of the 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 afterwards ; but perhaps had paid dear enough for
them.
fij)oI}in.soi\. Crusoe si
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 savoury and pleasant that I ever tasted in my life : hav-
ing 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 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
apprehensions of my sad condition, to be sick, and no help :
prayed to God, for the first time since the storm oiF Hull ;
but scarce knew what I said, or why, my thoughts being all
confused.
June 22. A little better : but under dreadful apprehen-
sions of sickness.
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 victuals to eat, took
my gun, but found myself very weak v however, I killed a
she-goat, and with much difficulty got it home, and broiled
some of it, and ate. I would fain have stewed it, and made
some broth, but had no pot.
June 27. The ague again so violent that I lay 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 to drink. Prayed to God again, but was
light-headed ; and when I was not, I was so ignorant that I
knew not what to say : only lay and cried. Lord, look upon
me ! Lord, pity me ! Lord, have mercy upon me ! I sup-
pose 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,
6
8g Rpobirtson^ Crusoe
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 1 was sitting on the ground, on the outside of
my wall, where I sat when the storm blew after the earth-
quake, and that I saw a man descend from a great black
cloud, in a bright flame of fire, and light upon the ground :
he was all over as bright as a flame, so that I could but just
bear to look towards him : his countenance was 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 towards me, with a long spear or weapon in
his hand, to kill me ; and when he came to a rising ground,
at some distance, he spoke to me, or I heard a voice so ter-
rible that it is 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 horrors ; nor is' it any more possible
to describe the impression that remained 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 conversation with none but such as were, like
myself, wicked and profane to the last degree. I do not re-
member that I had, in all that time, one. thought that so much
as tended either to looking upward towards God, or inward
towards a reflection upon my own ways ; but a certain stu-
pidity of soul, without desire of good,' or consciousness of
evil, had entirely overwhelmed me; and I was all that the
most hardened, unthinking, wicked creature, among our com-
/tsoJbinson^ Crusoe ^3
mon sailors, can be supposed to be ; not having the least
sense, either of the fear of God, in danger, or of thankful-
ness to him, in deliverances.
In the relating what is already 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 behaviour against my father, or my present sins,
which were great ; or even as punishment for the general
course of my wicked life. When I was on the desperate
expedition 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 me, whither I should gq, or to keep me from
the danger which apparently surrounded me, as well from
voracious creatures as cruel savages : but I was quite thought-
less 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 I was delivered and
taken up at sea by the Portuguese captain, well used, and
dealt with justly, and honourably, 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 as far from remorse, or looking on it as a judg-
ment; 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 ecstasy, and some transports of soul, which, had
the grace of God assisted, might have come up to true thank-
fulness : 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 .goodness of the hand
vvhich had preserved me, and had singled me out to be pre-
served when all the rest were destroyed, or any inquiry why
Providence had been thus merciful to me : just the same com-
mon 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
84 RpoAiftsors^ Crusoe
over : and all the rest of my life was like it. Even when I
was, afterwards, on due consideration, made sensible of my
condition, — how I was cast on this dreadful place, out of the
reach of human kind, out of all hope of relief, or 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,
had, at first, some little influence upon me, and began to
affect me with seriousness, as long as I thought it had some-
thing miraculous in it ; but as soon as that part of the
thought was removed, all the impression 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 had 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 condition 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 nature 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, provoked 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 con-
Rs>oJbiTtsof\^ Crusoe ^s
victjons great upon my mind ; and the horror of dying in
suclfi a miserable condition, raised vapours 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 creature am I !
If I should be sick, I shall certainly die for want of help;
and what will become of me ? Then the tears burst out of
my eyes, and I could say no more for a good while. In this
interval, the good advice of my father came to my mind, and
presently his prediction, which I mentioned at the beginning
of this Storjf, viz., that if I did take this foolish Step, God
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 mercifully 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
parents to know the blessing of it. I left them to mourn
over my folly ; and now I am left to mourn under the con-
sequences 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 difficulties 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 distress. This was the
first prayer, if I may call it so, that I had made for many
years. But I return to my Journal.
»UNE 28. Having been somewhat re-
I freshed with the sleep I had had, and
kthe fit being entirely off, I got up; and
kthough the fright and terror of my
[dream was very great, yet I considered
'that the fit of the ague would return
p again the next day, and now was my
itime 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 bed : and to
take off the chill or aguish disposition of the water, I put
about a quarter of a pint of rum into it, and mixed them
together. Then I got me a piece of the goat's flesh, and
broiled it on the coals, but could eat veiy little. I walked
about ; but was very weak, and withal very sad and heavy-
hearted in the sense of my miserable condition, dreading the
return of my distemper the next day. At night, I made my
supper of three of the turtle's eggs, which I roasted in the
ashes, and ate, as we call it, in the shell : and this was the
first bit of meat I had ever asked God's; blessing to, as I could
remember, 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 went out without that) ; so I went but a little
way, and sat down upon the ground, looking 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
JRsoJbiit^ors^ Crusoe ^7
made all these things, he guides and governs them all, and
all things that concern them ; for the power that could make
all things, must certainly have power to guide and direct
them : if so, nothing can happen in the great circuit of
his works, either without his knowledge or appointment.
And if nothing happens without his knowledge, he knows
that I am here, and am in this dreadful condition : and if
nothing happens without his appointment, he has appointed
all this to befall me. Nothing occurred to my 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 hap-
pens 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 that 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 man-of-war ; devoured by the wild beasts on the coast
of Africa ; or drowned here^ when all the crew perished but
thyself? Dost thou ask what 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.
I went, directed by Heaven, no doubt; for in this chest I
88 R^obirtsors^ Crusoe
found a cure both for 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 inake 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 moiith; which, indeed, at
first, almost stupefied 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 opera-
tion, 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 shall
glorify me." These words were very apt to my case : and
made some impression upon my thoughts at the time of read-
ing them, though not so much as they did afterwards ; 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
apprehension 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 impres-
sion 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 before I lay down, I did what I never had done
/if)o/)in,sof\. Crusoe ^9
in all my life 5 I kneeled down, and prayed to God to fulfil
the promise to me, that if I called uppn him in the day of
trouble, he would deliver me. After my broken and imper-
fect 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 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 recrossing 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 be/ore, 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 vyell 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 ; however, I was
not so well the next day, which was the ist 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
90 RDoAirtson^ Crusoe
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 impossi-
bility 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 deliv-
ered, 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 ? Have 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 knelt
down, and gave God thanks aloud for my recovery from my
sickness.
July 4. In the morning I took the- Bible : and beginning
at the New Testament, I began seriously to read it ; and im-
posed upon myself to read a while every morning and every
night ; not binding myself to the number of chapters, but as
long as my thoughts should engage me. 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
repentance, when it happened providentially, the very same
day, that, reading the scripture, 1 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
ecstasy of joy, I cried out aloud, Jesus,„thou son of David !
Jesus, thou exalted Prince and Saviour! give me repentance !
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
HsoJbirtsofx. Crusoe 9^
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, hut my being delivered
from the captivity I was in ; for though I was indeed 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 com-
parison 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, 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 walking 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 weakening 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
92 RpoIyirtsoTx^ Crusoe
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 danger-
ous 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, fuUy to my mirjd, I had a great desire
to make a more perfect discovery of the island, and to see what
other productions I might find, which I yet knew nothing of.
It was 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 rny 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 under-
standing 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 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 cultivation, 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 had 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.
KpoJbiftsofx. Crusoe 93
The next day, the i6th, I went up the same way again ;
and after going something farther 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 particularly 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 spar-
ingly of them ; remembering 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 indeed 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,! took my first con-
trivance, 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 t>f the valley ; 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 at 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 it, I might have it in inheritance as completely
as any lord of a manor in England. I saw here abundance of
cocoa-trees, and orange, lemon, and citron trees, but all wild.
94 RpoAirtsors^ Crusoe
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 afterwards 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 knew 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. Accordingly, 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 devoured. By this I concluded
there were some wild creatures thereabouts which had done
this, but what they were I knew not. However, as I found
there was no laying them up in heaps, and no carrying them
away in a sack ; but that one way they would be destroyed,
and the other way they would be crushed with their own
weight ; I took another course. I then gathered a large
quantity of the grapes, and hung themi 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 pleasant-
ness of the situation ; the security from storms on that side ;
the water and the wood ; and concluded that I had pitched
RpoAirtsofx. Crusoe 95
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 place equally
safe as where I was now situate ; if possible, in that pleasant
fruitful part of the island.
This thought ran long in my head ;. and I was exceeding
fond of it for some time, the pleasantness of the place tempt-
ing me ; but when I came to a nearer view of it, I considered
that I was now by the seaside, 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
enamoured 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 sur-
rounded 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 sea^
coast house. This work took me up till the beginning of
August.
I had but newly finished my fence, and began to enjoy my
labour, when the rains came on, and made me stick close to my
first habitation : 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 in-
deed were excellent good raisins of the sun ; so I began to
take them down from the trees ; and it was very happy that I
96 RDobiixson^ Crusoe
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 sooner
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 mid-
dle 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, 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 afterwards came to be so pestered with
cats that I was forced to kill them like Vermin, or wild beasts,
and to drive them from my house as much as possible.
From the 14th of August to the 26th, incessant rain ; so
that I could not stir, and was now very careful not to be
much wet. In this confinement, I began to be straitened for
food ; but venturing out twice, I 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 wals now regulated 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 towards one side, till I came to the
outside of the hill ; and made a door, or way out, which
came beyond my fence or wall; and so I came in and out
this way. But I was not perfectly easy at lying so open : for
as I had managed myself before, I was in a perfect enclosure ;
whereas now, I thought I lay exposed; and yet I could not
/isoJbinson^ Crusoe 97
perceive 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 t6 the unhappy anni-
versary of my landing ; I cast up the notches on 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 sabbath-day ; for as at first I had no sense
of religion upon my mind, I had, after some time, omitted to
distinguish the weeks, by making a longer notch than ordinary
for the sabbath-day, and so did not really know what any of
the days were : but now having cast up the days, 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 reckon-
ing. A little after this, my ink beginning to fail me, I con-
tented myself to use it more sparingly, and to write down
only the most remarkable events of my Mfe, without continu-
ing a daily memorandum of other things.
The rainy season and the dry season began now to appear
regular to me, and I learned to divide them so as to provide
for them accordingly ; but I bought all my experience before
I had it ; and 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 themselves. 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. Accordingly, I dug a piece of ^-
ground, as well as I could, with my wooden spade ; and divid-
ing 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
7
98 /JDoAirtsofv. Crusoe
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 afterwards
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^oister
piece of ground to make another trial in; and I lug up a
piece of ground near my new bower,; and sowed the rest of
my seed in February, a little before the vernal equinoj:. 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 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 m^de a little- discovery,
which was of use to me afterwards. As soon as the rains
were over, and the weather 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 of
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
thereabouts, were all shot out and grown with long branches,
as much as a willow-tree usually shoots the first year after
lopping its head ; but I could not tell what tree to call it
that these stakes were cut from. I )vas 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
/JsoAiitson^ Crusoe 99
complete shade, sufficient to lodge under all the dry season.
This made me resolve to cut some rnore stakes, and make
me a hedge like this, in a semicircle round 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 afterwards
served for a defence also ; as I shall observe in its order.
\FOUND now that the seasons of the
ryear might generally be divided, not into
\summer and winter as in Europe, but
finto the rainy seasons and the dry
^seasons, which were generally thus :
iFrom the middle of February to the
^middle of April, rainy ; the sun being
ithcn 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,
The rainy seasons 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 ex-
perience, the ill consequences of being abroad in the rain,
I took care to furnish myself with provisions beforehand,
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
100 Rpobirtsors^ Crusoe
I had no way to furnish myself with but by hard labour 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 of excellent advantage to me now, that when I was
a boy, I used to take great delight in standing at a basket-
maker's in the town where my father lived, to see them
make their wicker-ware; and being, as boys usually are,
very officious to help, and a great observer of the manner
how they worked those things, and sometimes 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 1 could, several baskets ; both
to carry earth, or to carry or lay up anything as I had occa-
sion for. Though I did not finish them very handsomely,
yet I made them sufficiently serviceable for my purpose :
and thus, afterwards I took care never to be without them;
and as my wicker-ware decayed, I njade 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
Rpohiixson^ Cr^usoe ^°^
ship, and 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, I found a con-
trivance 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 busi-
ness' took me up more time than it could be imagined I
could spare.
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 seashore, 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 perhaps was all inhabited by
savages, where, if I should have landed, I had been in a
worse condition than I was now. I therefore acquiesced
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
102 /i^oJbtrtson^ Crusoe
savages ; for they are cannibals, or men-eaters, and fail not
to murder and devour all human beiiigs that fall into their
hands.
With these considerations, walking very leisurely forward,
I found this side of the island, where I now was, much pleas-
anter 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 recovered it,
I brought it home ; but it was some years before I could make
him speak ; however, at last I taught him to call me by my
name very familiarly. 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
these 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 com-
pany ; and though my case was deplorable enough, yet I had
great cause for thankfulness ; as I was; not driven to any ex-
tremities 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 discoveries I could make, that I came weaty
enough to the place where I resolved to sit down for the
night ; and then I either reposed myself in a tree, or sur-
rounded 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 worat 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
RsfoAiixson^ Orusoe "°3
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 spar-
ing 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. However, I travelled along the
seashore towards the east, I suppose about twelve miles ; and
then setting up a great pole upon the shore for a mark, I con-
cluded I would go home again ; and that the next journey I
took should be on the other side of the island, east from my
dwelling, and so round till I came to my post again : of which
in its place.
I took another way to come back than that I went, think-
ing 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 mistaken ; 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 hap-
pened 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 uncomfort-
able, 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 exceed-
ing hot, and my gun, ammunition, hatchet, and other things
very heavy.
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 possi-
Ible to get a kid or tv?o, and so raise a
I breed of tame goats, which might supply
me when my powder and shot should be all spent. I made a
collar for this little creature, and 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 settlement to me, compared to that ;
and it rendered eveiything about me so comfortable, that I
resolved I would never go a great way from it again, while
it should be my lot to stay on the island.
I reposed myself here a week, to rest and regale myself
after my long journey ; during which, most of the time was
taken up in the weighty affair of making a cage for my Poll,
who began now to be 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
BsoJbiftson^ Crusoe '°5
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 continually 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 afterwards.
The rainy season of the autumnal equinox was now come,
and I kept the 30th of September in t|ie same solemn man-
ner 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 thankful acknowledg-
ments 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 deficiencies of my solitary
state, and the want of human society,- 'by his presence, and
the communications of his grace to my soul: supporting,
comforting, and encouraging me to depend upon his provi-
dence 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 circum-
stances, than the wicked, cursed, abominable life I led all
the past part of my days : and now I changed both my sor-
rows 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 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
106 Rpobiixsors^ Crusoe
would break out upon me like a storm, and make me wring
my hands and weep like a child : sometimes it would take
me in the middle of my work, and I would immediately
sit down and sigh, and look upon the ground for an
hour or two 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 : " immediately it occurred that these
words were to me; why else should they be directed in
such a manner, just at the moment when I was mourning
over my condition, as one forsaken of God and man ? Well
then, said I, if God does not forsake me, of what ill con-
sequence can it be, or what matters it, though the world
should forsake me; seeing on the other hand, if I had all
the world, and should lose the favour and blessing of God,
there would be no comparison in the loss ?
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 endeavour to be contented with, thou
wouldest 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 providences, 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 Eng-
land, without any order of mine, to pack it up among my
UpoJbiixsoix^ Crusoe '°7
goods ; and for assisting me afterwards- to save it out of the
wreck of the ship.
Thus, and in this disposition of mind, I began my third
year; and though I have not given the jreader the trouble of
so particular an 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 the Scriptures, which
I constantly set apart some time for, thrice every day :
secondly. Going abroad with my gun for food, which gen-
erally took me up three hours every rnorning, 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 considered, 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 sup-
posed 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 after-
noon.
To this short time allowed for labour, I desire may be
added the exceeding 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 sawyers,
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, because 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 Hght 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
108 Rs>oI)itvsor\^ Crusoe
inches thick, and smooth on both sides. Any one may judge
the labour of my hands in such a piece* of work ; but labour
and patience carried me through that, and many other
things ; I only observe this in 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 labour, and required a prodigious time to
do alone, and by hand. Notwithstanding this, with patience
and labour I went through many things ; and, indeed, every-
thing that my circumstances made necessary 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 for them was not great ; for, as I
observed, my seed of each was not above the quantity of
half a peck, having lost one whole crop by sowing in the
dry season : but now my crop promised very well ; when,
on a sudden, I found I was in danger of losing it all again
by 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 Tuin 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 fovvls, 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.
This touched me sensibly, for I foresaw that in a few days
they would devour all my hopes ; that I should be starved, and
never be able to raise a crop at all ; and what to do I could
not tell : however. I resolved not to lose my corn, if possible,
though I should watch it night and day. In the first place, I
went among it, to see what damage was already done, and
found they had spoiled a good deal of it ; but that as it was
yet too green for them, the loss 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 me in the conse-
quence ; 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 impos-
sible to imagine that this should have such an effect as it had ;
for the fowls not only never came 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, I
reaped my corn.
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^ tny way, for I cut nothing off 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 harvest-
no Rs>oI}in,son^ Crusoe
ing, 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 fore-
saw that, in time, it would please God to supply me with
bread ; and yet here I was perplexed again ; for I neither knew
how to grind, or make meal of my corn, or indeed how to
clean it and part it ; nor if made into meal, how to make bread
of it ; and if how to make it, yet I knew not how to bake it :
these things being added to my desire of having a good quantity
for store, and to secure a constant supply, I resolved not to taste
any of this crop, but to preserve it for seed against the next
season ; and, in the mean time, to employ all my study and
hours of working to accomplish this great work of providing
myself with corn and bread.
It might be truly said, that now I worked for my bread.
It is a little wonderful, and what I believe few people hav€
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 discourage-
ment, 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 observed 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 the sooner,
but made my work the harder, and performed it much worse.
However, this I bore with, and was content to work it out
with patience, and bear with the badness of the performance.
When the corn was sown, I had no harrow, but was forced to
go over it myself, and drag a great heavy bough of a tree over
it, to scratch it, as it may be called, rather than rake or harrow
it. When it was growing and grown, I' have observed already
how many things I wanted to fence it, secure it, mow or reap
it, cure and carry it home, thresh, part it from the chafF, and
save it ; then I wanted a mill to grind it, sieves to dress it :
Rpobiftson^ Crusoe "^
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 advantage 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 ha*d a greater quantity by
me, I had the next six months to apply myself wholly, by
labour and invention, to furnish myself with utensils proper for
the performing all the operations necessary for making corn fit
for my use.
' UT now I was to prepare more land ;
kfor I had seed enough to sow above an
I 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
iheavy, and required double labour to
I 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, v/hen I could not go 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
112 Rs)obiixsors^ Crusoe
at work, I diverted myself with talking to my parrot, 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
preparing corn, meal, etc., 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 many awkward ways I took to raise this pastil ;
what odd, misshapen, ugly things I made ; how many of
them fell in, and how many fell out, the clay not being stiff
enough to bear its own weight ; how many cracked by the
over violent heat of the sun, being set out too hastily ; and
how many fell in pieces with only removing, as well before
as after they were dried ; and, in a word, how, after having
laboured hard to find the clay, to dig it, to temper it, to bring
it home, and work it, I could not make above two large earthen
ugly things (I cannot call them jars) in about two months'
labour.
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 httle room to spare, I- stuffed it full of the
rice and barley straw ; and these two pots being to stand al-
ways 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
/JDoAiftsofx^ Crusoe "3
as little round pots, flat dishes, pitchers, 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. 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 round it, with a great heap of embers under
them. I plied the fire with fresh fuel round the outside, and
upon the top, till I saw the pots in the inside red-hot quite
through, and observed that they did not crack at all : when I
saw them clear red, I let them stand in that heat about five or
six hours, till I found one of them, though it did not crack,
did melt or run ; for the sand which was mixed with the clay
melted by the violence of the heat, and would have run into
glass, it I had gone on ; so I slacked, my fire gradually, till
the pots began to abate of the red colour ; and watching them
all night, that I might not let the fire abate too fast, in the
morning I had three very good, I will not say handsome, 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 earthenware 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 equad to mine, when I found I had made
8
114 Rpobiixsors^ Crusoe
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 ; 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 as perfectly unqualified for a stonecutter as
for any whatever ; neither had I any tools to go about it with.
I spent many a day to find out a great stone big enough to
cut hollow, and make fit for a 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 sufficient 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 labour, 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
RpoAiixsofx. Crusoe "s
goats' hair, but neither knew how to weave it nor spin it ;
and had I known how, here were no tools to work it 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 make three small sieves, proper enough for the work ;
and thus I made shift for some years : how I did afterwards,
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 ex-
pedient 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 I 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 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 cover-
ing them with the earthen pot, drew the embers all round the
outside of the pot, to keep in and add to the heat ; and thus,
as well as in the best oven in the world, I baked my barley
loaves, and became, in a little time, a 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 welj 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 thresh it on, or instrument to
thresh it with.
ii6 Rsobirtsors^ Crusoe
And now, indeed, my stock of corn increasing, I really
wanted to build my barns bigger : I wanted a place to lay
it up in ; for the increase of the corn now yielded me so
much, that I had of the barley about twenty bushels, and of
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 oi«:e 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, etc.
|LL the while these things were doing,
lyou may be sure my thoughts ran many
.times upon the prospect of land which
)I had seen from^ the other side of the
jisland ; 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.
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 perhaps such as I might have reason to think far
worse than the lions and tigers of Africa ; that if I once came
in their power, I should run a hazard of more than a thousand
to one of being killed, and perhaps of being eaten ; for I had
heard that the people of the Caribbean coast were cannibals,
or man-eaters ; and I knew, by the latitude, that I could not
jRsoJbiftsofx. Crusoe "^
be far ofF from that shore. Then supposing they were not
cannibals, yet that they might kill me, as they had many
Europeans 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 considered well of, and did cast
up in my thoughts afterwards, took up none of my apprehen-
sions 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 shoulder-of-mutton sail, with which I sailed above a
thousand miles on the coast of Africa : but this was in vain :
then I thought I would go and look at bur 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
irhpossible 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 towards the water ; so I was forced to give it over :
and yet, though I gave over the hopes of the boat, my desire
to venture over the main increased, rather than diminished, as
the means for it seemed impossible.
Its /jpoJbinson^ Crusoe
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 make, 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 consider-
ing 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 avail me, if, after I had chosen my
tree, and with much trouble cut it dow^i, 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 had the least reflection upon
my mind of my circumstances while I was making this boat,
I should have immediately 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 into my head j 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
RstoAirtsotx. Crusoe "9
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 mto branches. It was
not without infinite labour that I felled this tree } I was twenty
days hacking and hewing at the bottoni, 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 k and
dub it to a proportion, and to something like the bottom of
a boat, that it might 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 labour, till I had brought it to be a very handsome peri-
agua, 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 labour too. It lay about one
hundred yards from the water, and not more ; but the first in-
convenience was, it was up hill towards the creek. Well, to
take away this discouragement, I resolved to dig into the sur-
face of the earth and so make a declivity ; this I 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 it,
and calculate how deep it was to be dug, how broad, how the
lao Rpobiixsors^ Crusoe
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 reluc-
tancy, 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 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 wicked-
ness 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 rnight 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
/isoJbiftsofx. Crusoe ^^'
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 farther good to us than for our use ; and that what-
ever 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. I had no room
for desire, except it was for things which I had not, and they
were comparatively 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
sixpenny worth of turnip and carrot seed from England, or for
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 seasons ; and if I had had the drawer full
of diamonds, it had been the same case., — they would have
been of no manner of value to me because of no use.
1 had now brought my state of life to be much more com-
fortable 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 admired 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 com-
forts, that I cannot express them ; and which I take notice of
here, to put those discontented people in mind of it, who can-
122 P^obin,sot\^ Crusoe
not enjoy comfortably what God has given them, because they
see and covet something 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 to 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 had wanted for tools to work, weapons for
defence, and gunpowder and shot for getting my food.
I spent whole hours, I may say whole days, in represent-
ing to myself, in the most lively colours, 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 1 had killed a goat or a fowj, by any contri-
vance, 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
Providence to me, and very thankful for my present condition,
with all its hardships and misfortunes ; and this part also I
cannot but recommend to the reflection of those who are apt,
in their misery, to say. Is any affliction like mine ? Let them
consider how much worse the cases of some people are, and
their case might. have been, if Providence had thought fit.
I had another reflection, which assisted me also to comfort
my mind with hopes ; and this was, comparing my present
condition with what I had deserved, and had therefore reason
to expect from the hand of Providence. I had lived a dread-
ful 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 endeavours to infuse an
early religious awe of God into my mind, a sense of my duty,
Rs>oJbiftsof\^ Crusoe "3
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 ter-
rors are always before them ; I say, falling early into the sea-
faring 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 dangers, 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 tending toward it.
S(i 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 deliv-
erances 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 receiving the cargo from England,
and the like) I never had once the vyrords. Thank God, so
much as on my mind, or in my mouth j 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 consid-
ered what particular providences had attended me since my
coming into this place, and how God had dealt bountifully
with me, — had not only punished me less than my 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 resignation 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 punishment of my sins ;
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
124 R^oAiftson^ Crusoe
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; arid that I could hardly
have named a place in the uninhabitable 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 affliction on one
hand, so I found no ravenous beasts, no furious wolves or
tigers, to threaten my life ; no venomous or poisonous crea-
tures, 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; a^d I
wanted nothing to make it a life of comfort, but to make my-
self 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.
I had now been here so long, that many things which 1
brought on shore for my help were either quite gone, or very
much wasted, and near spent.
My ink, as I observed, had been gone for some time, all
but a very little, which I eked out with 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 remarkable
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 curiosity.
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 afterwards 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 afterwards, 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
Rs)oAii\sof\. Crusoe "s
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, I mean the biscuit which I brought out of the ship :
this I had husbanded 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 already 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 frequently
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 headache presently, by darting so directly
upon my head, without a cap or 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
126 RsobirLsors^ Crusoe
I had ; so I set to work a tailoring, or rather, indeed, a botch-
ing, for I made most piteous work of it. However, I made
shift to make two or three new waistcoats, which I hoped
would serve me a great while : as for breeches, or drawers, I
made but a very sorry shift indeed, till afterwards.
I have mentioned that I saved the skins of all the 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 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 wafiting 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 happened to rain, the hair
of my waistcoat and cap being upperrriost, 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 I 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 upwards, so that it cast off the rain like
a pent-house, and kept off the sun so effectually, that I could
HsoAirtsors^ Crusoe ^^7
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 my-
self 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 myself, whether thus con-
versing 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 ?
CANNOT say that after this, for five
ft' years, any extraordinary thing happened
J to me, but I lived on in the same
course, in the same posture and place,
just as before ; the chief things I was
I employed in, besides my yearly labour
.of planting my barley and rice, and
Icuring my raisins, of both which I
'always kept up just enough to have
sufficient stock of one year's provision beforehand : I say,
besides this yearly labour, and my daily pursuit of going out
with my gun, I had one labour, 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
128 Rsiobin,sors^ Crusoe
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 labour, in hopes of having a boat to go ofF
to sea at last.
However, though my little periagua- was finished, yet the
size of it was not at all answerable to the 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 ; accord-
ingly, 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 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, necessaries, ammu-
nition, etc., 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 accord-
ingly, I victualled my ship for the voyage, putting in two
dozen of loaves (cakes 1 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
HsoJbiftson^ Crusoe ^^^9
shot for killing more, and two large watchcoats, of those
which, as I mentioned before, I had saved out of the seamen's
chests ; these I took, one to lie upon, and the other to cover
me in the night.
It vi^as the sixth of November, in the sixth year of my
reign, or my captivity, which you please, that I set out on this
voyage, and I found it much longer than I expected; for
though the island itself was not very large, yet when I came
to the east side of it, I found a great ledge of rocks lie 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 go 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,
climbing 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 hill where I stood, I
perceived a strong, and indeed a most furious current, which
ran to the east, and even came close to the point ; and I took
the more notice of it, because I saw there might be some dan-
ger 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, 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 farther distance,
and I saw there was a strong eddy under the shore : so I had
nothing to do but to 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.
^30 Rpobittsors^ Crusoe
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 myself 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 farther and farther 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
tossed it into the boat ; and I had a great jar of fresh water,
that is to say, one of my earthen pots ; but what was all this
to being driven into the vast ocean, where, to be sure, there
was no shore, no main land or island, for a thousand leagues
at least?
And now I saw how easy it was for the providence of God
to make 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 j and all the happiness my
heart could wish for was to be but 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 un-
thankful temper, and how I had repined at my solitary con-
dition ; 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, ngr know how to value
what we enjoy, but by the want 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
RpoJbiixson^ Cru6oe ^31
ever recovering it again. However, I forked hard, till indeed
my strength w^as almost exhausted, and kept my boat as much
to the northward, that is, towards the side of the current
which the eddy lay on, as possibly I could ; when about noon,
as the sun passed the meridian, 1 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 was got at
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 towards 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 north-east, so the other returned by the repulse of
the rocks, and made a strong eddy, which ran back again to
the north-west, with a very sharp strearh.
They who know what it is to have a reprieve brought to
them upon the ladder, or to be rescued from thieves just going
to murder them, or who have been in such-like extremities,
may guess what my present surprise of joy was, and how
gladly I put my boat into the stream of this eddy ; and the
wind also freshening, how gladly I spread my sail to it, run-
ning cheerfully before the wind, and with a strong tide or eddy
under foot.
This eddy carried me about a league in my way back
again, directly towards the island, but about two leagues more
to the northward than the current which carried me away at
first : so that when I came near the island, I found myself
132 Rs>oAirtsors^ Crusoe
open to the northern shore of it, that isi to say, the other end
of the island, opposite to that which I went out from.
When I had made something more than a league of way
by the help of this current or eddy, I found it was spent, and
served me no farther. 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 disaster stretching out, as is described before,
to the southward, and casting 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
north-west ; 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 some trees, and laid me
down to sleep, being quite spent with the labour and fatigue
of the voyage.
I was now at a great loss which way to get home with my
boat : I had run so much hazard, and knew too much 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
Rs>oAin.sors^ Crusoe ^33
till it came to a very little rivulet or brook, where I found a
very convenient harbour for my boat, and where she lay as if
she had been in a little dock made on gurpose for her. Here
I put in, and having stowed my boat very safe, I went on
shore, to look about me, and see where 1 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 voyage as I had been upon,
and I reached my old bower in the evening, 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 paddling as it is called, the first part of the day, and" with
walking the latter part, that I did not wake thoroughly ; but
dozing between sleeping and waking, thought I dreamed
that somebody spoke to me ; but as the voice continued to
repeat Robin Crusoe, Robin Crusoe, at last I began to wake
more perfectly, and was at first 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 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 the parrot, and that
indeed it could be nobody else, it was a good while before I
could compose myself. First, I was amazed how the crea-
^34 RDobin,sors^ Crusoe
ture 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 there; but supposing the current
ran with the same force against the shore at the east as it
passed by it on the other, I might run the same risk of being
driven down the stream, and carried by the island, as I had
been before of being carried away from it ; so, with these
thoughts, I contented myself to be without any boat, though
it had been the product of so many months' labour to make
it, and of so many more to get it into tne 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 con-
dition, and fully comforted in resigning myself to the dis-
positions of Providence, I thought I lived really very happily
in all things except that of society.
I improved myself in this time in all the mechanic ex-
ercises 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
Rpohirtson^ Crusoe ^35
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 earthen-ware, 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 afterwards, 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 convenient for my laying things up
in, or fetching things home. For example, if I killed a goat
abroad, I could hang it up in a tree, flay it, dress it, and cut
it in pieces, and bring it home in a basket ; and the like by
a turtle ; I could cut it up, take out the eggs, and a piece or
two of the flesh, which was enough for me, and bring them
home in a basket, and leave the rest behind me. Also large
deep baskets 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.
I began now to perceive my powder abated considerably;
this was a want which it was impossible for me to supply,
and I began seriously to consider what I must do when I
should have no more powder, that is to say, how I should
do to kill any goats. I had, as 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 in my heart to kill her, she
died at last of mere age.
[EING now in the eleventh year of
, my residence, and as I have said, my
L 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 dug 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
discouraging : however, I altered my traps ; and, not to
trouble you with particulars, going one morning to see my
traps, I found in one of them a large old he-goat, and in one
of the 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 busi-
ness, 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 afterwards, 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
BsoJbinson. Crusoe ^37
water to drink, and then a little corn, he would have been as
tame as one of the kids ; for they are mighty sagacious,
tractable creatures, 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 diiBculty
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 my-
self with goat's flesh when I had no powder or shot left, breed-
ing 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 drills 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 mad-
ness of it so great as to the compass, for if it was ten miles
about I was like to have time enough to do it in ; but I did
not consider that my goats would be as wild in so much com-
pass as if they had had the whole islaijd, and I should have
so much room to chase them in, that I should never catch
them.
'38 RpobiixsoTx^ Crusoe
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 : which, as it would
maintain as many as I should have in any reasonable 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, beside 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 into, to take them as I wanted, and gates out of one
piece of ground into another.
But this was not all ; for now I not only had goat's flesh
to feed on when I pleased, but milk too ; a thing which,
indeed, in the beginning, 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 butter 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 afterwards. How mercifully can our Creator treat his
creatures, even in those conditions in which they seemed to
HsoAiitson. Crusoe ^39
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 ; 1 had the lives of all
my subjects at my absolute command ; I could hang, draw,
give liberty, and take it away ; and nq rebels among all my
subjects.
Then to see how like a king I dined too, all alone, attended
by my servants : Poll, as if he had been my favourite, was
the only person permitted to talk to me. My dog, 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 favour.
But these were not the two cats which I brought on shore
at first, for they were both of them dead, and had been
interred near my habitation by my own hand ; but one of
them having multiplied by I know not what kind of creature,
these were two which I had preserved tame ; whereas the rest
ran wild in the woods, and became indeed troublesome to me
at last ; for they would often come into my house, and plunder
me too, till at last I was obliged to shoot them, and did kiU
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 like to have too much.
I was something impatient, as I have, observed, to have the
use of my boat, though very loath to run any more hazards ;
and therefore sometimes I sat contriving ways to get her about
the island, and at other times I sat myself down contented
enough without her. But I had a strange uneasiness in my
mind to go down to the point of the island, where, as I have
said, in my last ramble, I went up the hill to see how the
shore lay, and how the current set, that I might see what I
140 Rpobin^sors^ Crusoe
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 w^as, it must either have fright-
ened him, or raised a great deal of laughter ; and as I fre-
quently 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, them, like buskins, to
flap over my legs, and lace on either side like spatterdashes,
but of a most barbarous shape, as indepd 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 a frog on either side of this, instead of a sword
and dagger, hung a little saw and a hatchet ; one on one side,
and one on the other. I had another belt, not so broad, and
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
powder, in the other my shot. At niy back I carried my
basket, and on my shoulder my gun ; and over my head a
great clumsy ugly goat's skin umbrella, but which, after all,
was the most necessary thing I had about me, next to my gun.
As for my face, the colour 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
RpoAtTtson^ Crusoe "41
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 mustachios
or whiskers, I will not say they were long enough to hang my
hat upon them, but they were of a length and shape monstrous
enough, and such as, in England, would have passed for
frightful.
But all this is by the bye ; for, as to my figure, I had so few
to observe me that it was of no manner of consequence ; so I
say no more to that part. In this kind of figure I went my
new journey, and was out five or six days. I travelled first
along the seashore, directly to the placed 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 t^e land ; a nearer way,
to the same height that I was upon before; when looking
forward to the point of the rocks which lay out, and which I
was obliged to double with by 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 understand this, and resolved to spend some
time in the observing it, to see if nothing from the sets of the
tide had occasioned it ; but I was presently convinced how it
was, viz., that the tide of ebb, setting from the west, and
joining with the current of waters from some great river on
the shore ; must be the occasion of this current ; and that
according as the wind blew more forcibly from the west, or
from the north, this current came nearer, or went farther from
the shore : for waiting thereabouts 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 shore ; whereas, in my case, it set
close upon the shore, and hurried me and my canoe along with
it, which, at another time, it would not have done.
This observation convinced me, that I had nothing to do
but to observe the ebbing and the flowing of the tide, and I
might very easily bring my boat about the island again : but
142 RpoAirt^on^ Crusoe
when I began to think of putting it into practice, I had such
a terror upon my spirits at the remembrance of the danger I
had been in, that I could not think of it again with any
patience ; but, on the contrary, I took up another resolution,
which was more safe, though more laborious ; and this was,
that I would build, or rather make me» another periagua or
canoe 5 and so have one for one side of the island, and one
for the other.
You are to understand, that now I had, as I may call it,
two plantations in the island ; one, my little fortification, or
tent with the wall about it, under the rock, with the cave
behind me, which, by this time, I had enlarged into several
apartments or caves, one within another. One of these,
which was the driest and largest, and had a door out beyond
my wall or 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 stores 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 my habitation behind them.
Near this dwelling of mine, but a little farther 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 plantation there also : for, first, I had my little bower,
as I called it, which I kept in repair ; that is to say, I kept
the hedge which encircled it in constantly fitted up to its usual
height, the ladder standing always in the inside : I kept the
trees, which at first were no more than my stakes, but were
now grown very firm and tall, 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
/JsoJbirtsofx. Crusoe ^43
of this I had my tent always standing, being a piece of a sail
spread over poles, set up for that purpose, and which never
wanted any repair or renewing ; and under this I had made me
a squab or couch, with the skins of thecreatures I had killed,
and with other soft things 5 and a blanket laid on them, such
as belonged to our sea bedding, which I had saved, and a great
watchcoat to cover me ; and here, wherjever 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 labour, 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 afterwards, when
those stakes grew, as they all did the next rainy season, made
the enclosure strong like a wall, — indeed, stronger than any
wall.
This will testify for me that I was not idle, and that I
spared no pains to bring to pass whatever appeared necessary
for my comfortable support ; for I considered the keeping up
a breed of tame creatures thus at my hdnd would be a living
magazine of flesh, milk, butter, and cheese for me as long as I
lived in the place, if it were to be forty years ; and that keep-
ing them in my reach depended entirely upon my perfecting
my enclosures to such a degree, that I inight be sure of keep-
ing them together; which, by this method, indeed, I so effectu-
ally 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 prin-
cipally depended 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
riot only agreeable, but medicinal, wholesome, nourishing, and
refreshing to the last degree.
As this was also about half-way between my other habita-
tion and the place where I had laid up my boat, I generally
144 RDoAirtsors. Crusoe
stayed and lay here in my way thither '. for I used frequently
to visit my boat } and I kept all things about or belonging to
her, in very good order: sometimes I v/ent 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 incident. But now I
come to a new scene of my life.
|T happened one day, about noon,
I going towards my boat, I was exceed-
lingly surprised with the print of a
fman'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
Jnothing, 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 it
came thither, I knew not, nor could I in the least imagine ;
but, after innumerable fluttering thoughts, like a man per^ctly
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 de-
scribe how many various shapes my affrighted imagination
/JsoAirtsofx. Crusoe '45
represented things to me in, how many wild ideas were found
every moment in my fancy, and what strange unaccountable
whimsies came into my thoughts by the way.
When I came to my castle (for so I think I called it ever
after this), I fled into it like one pursued; whether I went
over by the ladder, as first contrived, or went in at the hole
in the rock, which I had called a door, I cannot remember;
no, nor could I remember the next morning ; for never
frightened hare fled 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 occa-
sion of my fright, the greater my apprehensions were ; which
is something contrary to the nature of such things, and
especially to the usual practice of all creatures in fear; but
I was so embarrassed with my own frightful ideas of the
thing, that I formed nothing but dismal imaginations to my-
self, even though I was now a great way oiF it. Sometimes
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 f Where was the vessel
that brought them ? What marks weire 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 the 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 thousand 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 defaced 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 pres-
146 /ls>oJbinsor\^ Crusoe
ently 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 perhaps 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.
Thus my fear banished all my religious hope, all that former
confidence 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 re-
proached 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 enjoy-
ing the crop that was upon the ground ; and this I thought 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 checker-work 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 exem-
plified in me, at this time, in the most lively manner imagin-
able ; for I, whose only affliction was that I seemed banished
KsoJbiftsofx. Crusoe '^^
from human society, that I was alone, circumscribed by the
boundless ocean, cut ofF from mankind, and condemned to
what I called silent life; that I was as one whom Heaven
thought not worthy to be numbered 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 appearance 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 afterwards, when I had
a little recovered my first surprise. I considered that this was
the station of life the infinitely wise an.d 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
to 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 con-
demn me to what punishment he thought fit; and that it
was my part to submit to bear his indignation, because I had
sinned against him. I then reflected, that as God, who was
not only righteous, but omnipotent, h^d thought fit thus to
punish and afflict me, so he was able to deliver me ; that if
he did not think fit to do so, it was my unquestioned 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 cogi-
tations on this occasion I cannot omit. One morning early,
lying in my bed, and filled with thoughts about my danger from
the appearances of savages, I found it discomposed me very
much ; upon which these words of the Scripture came into
my thoughts : " Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I
148 Rpobiixsors^ Crusoe
will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." Upon this,
rising cheerfully out of my bed, my heart was not only com-
forted, 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 I not come that way
from the boat, as well as I was going that way to the boat ?
Again, I considered 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 stories 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 sottie 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, 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
RpobirvsorK, Crusoe '49
life, it would have made any one think I was haunted with
an evil conscience, or that I had been lately niost terribly
frightened; and so, indeed, I had. However, as I went
down thus two or three days, and having seen 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
persuade 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 own 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.
Both these things filled my head with new imaginations, and
gave me the vapours again to the highest degree, so that I
shook with cold like one in an ague ; and I went home again,
filled with the belief that some man or men had been on shore
there ; or, in short, that the island was inhabited, and I might
be surprised before I was aware ; and what course to take for
my security I knew not.
O, 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 pro-
posed to myself was, to throw down my enclosures, and turn
all my tame 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 bower and tent, that they might not
see any vestiges of habitation, and be prompted to look
farther, in order to find out the persons inhabiting.
These were the subject of the first night's cogitations after
I was come home again, while the apprehensions which had
so overrun miy mind were fresh upon me, and my head was
full of vapours, as above. Thus fear of danger is ten thou-
sand times more terrifying than danger itself when apparent
to the eyes ; and we find the burden of anxiety greater, by
150 RDoI)irtsor\^ Crusoe
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 Philistines 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 distress, and resting upon his provi-
dence, as I had done before, for my defence and deliverance ;
which, if I had done, I had at least been more cheerfully sup-
ported under this new surprise, and perhaps carried 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 amuse-
ment 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 before. And now I began
to think sedately ; and, upon the utmost debate 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 sometime come boats ofF from
the shore, who, either with design, 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 soo'n as ever they could,
seeing they had never thought fit to fix here upon any occa-
sion ; 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
went 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
/JpoJbinson. Crusoe 'S'^
large as to bring a door through again, which door, as I said,
came out beyond where my fortification joined to the rock:
upon maturely considering this, therefore, I resolved to draw
me a second fortification, in the same manner of a 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 men-
tion : 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 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 in-
side 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 1 could fire all the seven guns in two
minutes' time : this wall I was many a weary month in finish-
ing, 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 ; insomuch, 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 anything 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
^52 Rpobirtsors^ Crusoe
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 sug-
gest 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 sug-
gested to me.
While this was doing, I was not altogether careless of my
other af&irs : 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 sufEcient 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 advan-
tage 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 place 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 hap-
pened 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 labour, I thought was the most
rational 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 is observed, I almost lost myself once before,
endeavouring to come back that way from the eastern part of
the island. Here I found a clear piece of land, near three
acres, so surrounded with woods, that it was almost an en-
closure by nature ; at least, it did not want near so much labour
to make it so as the other pieces of ground I had worked so
hard at.
; 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
lenough 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
labour I was at the expense of purely from my appre-
hensions 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 uneasiness, 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 man. And this I must observe, with grief
too, that the discomposure of my mind had too great im-
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 application to my Maker, at least
not with the sedate calmness and resignation of soul which
I was wont to do : I rather prayed to God , as under great
affliction and pressure of mind, surrounded with danger, and
in expectatio^i every night of being murdered and devoured
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 dreadi of mischief impend-
^54 /jpojbinson^ Crusoe
ing, 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 an-
other private place to make such another deposit ; when, wan-
dering more to the west point of the inland 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 remote,
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 before, I was presently
convinced that the seeing the print of a man's foot was not
such a strange thing in the island as I imagined : and, but
that it was a special providence that I was cast 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 at sea, to shoot over to that side of the island for har-
bour; 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 customs,
being all cannibals, they would kill and eat them ; of which
hereafter.
When I was come down the hill to the shore, as I said
above, being the south-west point of the island, I was per-
fectly confounded and amazed ; nor is it possible for me to
express the horror of my mind, at seeing the shore spread
with sculls, hands, feet, and other bones of human bodies ;
/JDoJbinson^ Crusoe '55
and, particularly, I observed a place where there had been a
fire made, and a circle dug in the earth, like a cockpit, where
I supposed the savage wretches had sat down to their inhuman
feastings upon the bodies of their fellow-creatures.
I was so astonished with the sight of these things, that I
entertained no notions of any danger to myself from it for a
long while : all my apprehensions were buried in the thoughts
of such a pitch of inhuman, hellish brutality, and the horror of
the degeneracy of human nature, which, though I had heard of
it often, yet I never had so near a vie.w 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 I could
not bear to stay in the place a moment ; so I got me up the
hill again with all the speed I could, and walked on towards
my own habitation.
When I came a little out of that part of the 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 miserable condition, been comforted with the knowledge
of Himself, and the hope of His blessing, which was a felicity
more than sufficiently equivalent to all the misery which I had
suffered or could suffer.
In this frame of thankfulness, I went home to my castle,
and began to be much easier now, as to the safety of my cir-
cumstances, 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 footsteps of human creature there be-
156 Rpobirtson^ Crusoe
fore; and I might be eighteen years more as entirely concealed
as I was now, if I did not discover myself to them, which I
had no manner of occasion 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 wretched
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 knew what would have been my lot.
Time, however, and the satisfaction I had that I was in no
danger of being discovered by these people, began to wear ofF
my uneasiness about 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 to hunt any more about the woods, or shoot at them;
and if I did catch any of them after this, it was by traps and
snares, as I had done before : so that for two years after this,
I believe I never fired my gun 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 fur-
Rs>oJbiix60i\. Crusoe '57
bished 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 formidable fellow to look at when I went abroad, if you add
to the former description of myself, the- particular of two pis-
tols, 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, excepting these cautions, to be reduced to my former
calm sedate way of living. All these things tended to show
me more and more, how far my condition was from being
miserable, compared to some others ; nay, to many other par-
ticulars of life, which it might have pleased God to have made
my lot. It put me upon reflecting how little repining 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 be always comparing them
with those which are better, to assist their murmurings and
complainings.
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 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 in-
tervened, I had undertaken it, and perhaps brought it to pass
too ; for I seldom gave anything over without accomplishing
158 fij)oI)iftsors^ Crusoe
it^ when once I had it in my head to begin it. But my inven-
tion now ran quite another way ; for, night and day, I could
think of nothing but how I might destroy some of these mon-
sters in their cruel, bloody entertainment, 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, wish 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 made their fire, and putting, in five or six pounds
of gunpowder, which, when they kindled their fire, would
consequently take fire, and blow up all that was near it ; but
as, in the first place, I should be unwilling to waste so much
powder upon them, my store being now within the quantity
of one barrel, so neither could I be sure of its 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 frequently to the place
itself, which was now grown more familiar to me : but while
RsfoJbirtsors^ Crusoe ^59
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
barbarous 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 shore, convey myself, unseen, into some
thickets of trees, in one of which there 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, as that it would be
next to impossible 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 ordinary 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 ammuni-
tion 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
imagination, 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 ob-
serve any boats upon the sea, coming near the island, or
standing over towards 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 discovery : 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 vigour 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
i6o Rpobin^sors^ Crusoe
in my thoughts, any further than my passions were at first
fired by the horror I conceived at the unnatural 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
passions; and, consequently, were left, and perhaps had been
so for some ages, to act such horrid things and receive such
dreadful customs, as nothing but nature, entirely abandoned by
Heaven, and actuated by some hellish degeneracy, could have
run them into. But now, when, as I have said, I began to be
weary of the fruitless excursion, which I had made so long
and so far every morning in vain, so my opinion of the action
itself began to alter; and I 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 executioner
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
were, the executioners of his judgments one upon another.
How far these people were offenders against me, and what
right I had 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 people 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 it 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 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 thpse Christians were murderers
who often put to death the prisoners taken in battle ; or more
frequently, upon many occasions 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
HsoJbifisotx. Crusoe ^^^
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 millions of these people :
who, however they were idolaters and barbarians, 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 butch-
ery, a bloody and unnatural 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 hu-
manity, 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 conclude I had taken wrong measures in
my resolutions to attack the savages ; 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 prevent ; 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 afterwards, if but one of them escaped to tell their
country-people what had happened, they would come over
again by thousands to revenge the death of their fellows, and
I should only bring upon myself a certain destruction, which
162 RooAirtsofx^ Crusoe
at present, I had no manner of 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 to leave the least signal to them to guess
by that there were any living creatures upon the island, I mean
of human shape. Religion joined in with this prudential reso-
lution, and I was convinced now, many ways, that I was per-
fectly out of my duty when I was laying all my bloody
schemes for the destruction of innocent creatures, I mean in-
nocent as to me. As to the crimes they were guilty of to-
wards one another, I had nothing to do with them ; they were
national, and I ought to leave them to the justice of God, wJio
is the governor of nations,, and knows how, by national pun-
ishments, 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 not been suffered to do a thing which I now
saw so much reason to believe would have been no less a sin
than that of wilful murder, if I had committed it ; and I gave
most humble thanks on my knees to God, that had thus de-
livered me from blood-guiltiness ; beseephing him to grant me
the protection of his providence, that I might not fall into the
hands of the barbarians, or that I might not lay my hands on
them, unless I had a more clear call from Heaven to it, in
defence of my own life.
( 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
Isee whether there were any of them
I 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 provoked, 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 the island, and carried it down to the east end
of the whole island, where I ran it into a little cove, which I
found under some high rocks, and where I knew, by reason
of the currents, the savages durst not, at least would not,
come with their boats, upon any account whatever. With
my boat I carried away everything that I had left there be-
longing 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
anchor 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 cellj other than upon my constant employment,
viz., to milk my she-goats, and manage my little flock in the
virood, 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 finding anything here, and consequently never
wandered off from the coast ; and I doubt not but they might
have been several times on shore after my apprehensions of
i64 Rpobiixsor^ Crusoe
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 everywhere, 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 pur-
suing 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 thinking 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 dan-
gers, and had kept from me 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 con-
templation which often had come to my thoughts in 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), as 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
afterwards 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 ruined and lost. Upon these, and many
jRs>o/)irtsof\. Crusoe ^^s
like reflections, I afterwards made it a certain rule with me,
that whenever I found those secret hints or pressings of mind,
to doing or not doing any thing that presented, 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
examples 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 in-
visible intelligence they will. That I shall not discuss, and
perhaps cannot account for ; but certainly they are a 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 very remarkable instances in the remainder of my
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 concern that was now upon me, put an end to all in-
vention, and to all the contrivances that I had laid for my
future accommodations and conveniences. 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 si;ick 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
Intolerably 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 removed that part of my business which re-
quired fire, such as burning of pots and pipes, etc., 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
166 R*)oI}in.sof\^ Crusoe
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 abun-
dant reason to ascribe all such things now to Providence) I
was cutting down some thick branches of trees to make char-
coal; and, before I go on, I must observe the reason of my
making this charcoal, which was thus : Iwas afraid of making
a smoke about my habitation, as I said before ; and yet I
could not live there without baking nly bread, cooking my
meat, etc.; 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 danger 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 brushwood, 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
farther into the place, and which was perfectly dark, I saw
two broad shining eyes of some 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 re-
flection. However, after some pause, I recovered myself, 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 the stick flaming in my hand : I
had not gone three steps in, but I was almost as much fright-
ened 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
Rpobiixson^ Crusoe '^7
it put me into a cold sweat ; and if I had had a hat on my
head, I will not answer for it, that my- hair might not have
lifted it ofF. But still plucking up my spirits as well as I could,
and encouraging myself a little with considering that the
power and presence of God was everywhere, and was able to
protect me, upon this I stepped forward again, and by the light
of the firebrand, holding it up a little over my head, I saw
lying on the ground a most monstrous, frightful, old he-goat,
just making his will, as we say, and gasping for life, and dying,
indeed, of mere old age. I stirred him a little to see if I
could get him out, and he essayed to get up, but was not able
to raise himself; and I thought with myself he might even lie
there j for if he had frightened me, so he would certainly
fright any of the savages, if any of them should be so hardy
as to come in there while he had any life in him.
I was now recovered from my surprise, and began to look
round me, when I found the cave was but very small, that is
to say, it might be about twelve feet over, but in no manner
of shape, neither round nor square, no hands having ever been
employed in making it but those of mere Nature. I observed
also that there was a place at the farther side of it that went
in further, but was so low that it required 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 can-
dles and a tinder-box, which I had made of the lock of one
of the muskets, with some wild-fire in the pan.
Accordingly, the next day I came provided with six large
candles of my own making (for I made very good candles
now of goat's tallow, but was hard set for candle-wick, using
sometimes rags or rope-yarn, and sometimes the dried rind of
a weed like nettles) ; and going into 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 had got through the strait, I
found the roof rose higher up, I believe near twenty feet ; but
never was such a glorious sight seen in the island, I dare say,
as it was, to look round the sides and roof of this vault or
i68 R^obirtsors^ Crusoe
cave ; the wall reflected a hundred thousand lights to me from
my two candles. What it was in the rock, whether dia-
monds, 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 or grotto of its kind, as could ,be ex-
pected, 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 creature to be seen, neither was
there any damp or wet on the sides or. roof: the only difli-
culty in it was the entrance ; which, however, as it was a
place of security, and such a retreat as I wanted, I thought
that was a convenience ; so that I was really rejoiced at the
discovery, and resolved, without any delay, to bring some of
those things which I was most anxious about to this place j
particularly, I resolved to bring hither my magazine of pow-
der, and all my spare arms, viz., two fo.wling-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
removing 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 that the water had penetrated about three
or four inches into the powder on every side, which caking
and growing hard, had preserved the inside like 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 discovery
to me at that time ; so I carried all away thither, never 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 dis-
covery : and I found it much easier to dig a great hole there,
RpoMixson^ Crusoe ^^
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 capitulated for spending the rest of my
time there, even to the last moment, till I had laid me down
and died, like the old goat in the cave. I had also arrived to
some little diversions and amusements,' which made the time
pass a great deal more pleasantly with me than it did before ;
as, first, I had taught my Poll, as I noted before, to speak ;
and he did it so familiarly, and talked so articulately and plain,
that it was very pleasant to me : for I believe no bird ever
spoke plainer ; and he lived with me no less than six-and-
twenty years ; how long he might have lived afterwards I
know not, though I know they have a' notion 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 for my cats,
they multiplied, 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 gone, and afi:er some time con-
tinually driving them from me, and letting them have no pro-
vision with me, they all ran wild into the woods, except two
or three favourites, which I kept tame, and whose young, when
they had any, I always drowned ; and these were part of my
family. Besides these, I always kept two or three house-
hold kids about me, whom I taught to feed out of my hand ;
and I had two more parrots, which ta,lked pretty well, and
would all call Robin Crusoe, but none like my first; nor,
indeed, did I take the pains with any of them that I had done
with him. I had also several tame sea-fowls, whose names I
knew not, that I caught upon the shore, and cut their wings ;
and the little stakes which I had planted before my castle wall
being now grown up to a good thick grove, these fowls all
lived among these low trees, and bred there, which was very
agreeable to me : so that, as I said above, I began to be very
170 Rpohiixsoty^ Crusoe
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 observation 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 the affliction we are fallen into. I could give many ex-
amples of this in the course of my unaccountable life, but in
nothing was it more particularly remarkable than in the cir-
cumstances of my last years of solitary residence in this island.
• T was now the month of December,
as I said above, in my twenty-third
year ; and this being the southern sol-
stice (for winter I cannot call it), was
the panicular time of my harvest, and
[required my being pretty much abroad
i.in the fields ; when going out pretty
[early in the morning, even before it
•was thorough daylight, I was surprised
with seeing a light of some fire upon the shore, at a distance
from me of about two miles, towards the end of the island
where I had observed some savages had been, as before ; and
not on the other side, but, to my great affliction, it was on my
side of the island.
I was indeed 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 ap-
prehensions I had that if these savages, in rambling over the
island, should find my corn standing or cut, or any of my
RDoAift^ofx. Crusoe ^^i
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 forti-
fication, 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 set-
ting 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 taken on
purpose, I laid me down flat on my belly on the ground, and
began to look for the place. I presently found there was no
less than nine naked savages, sitting 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 tell.
They had two canoes with them, which they had hauled up
upon the shore ; and as it was then the tide of ebb, they
seemed to me to wait for the return of the flood to go away
again. It is not easy to imagine what cljnfusion this sight put
me into, especially seeing them come on my side of the
island, and so near me too ; but when I considered their com-
ing must be always with the current of the ebb, I began,
afterwards, 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 ob-
servation, I went abroad about my harvest work with the
more composure.
^72 Rpobin^sory^ Crusoe
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 dis-
covered the first appearance of all ; and as soon as I got
thither, which was not in less than two hours (for I could not
go apace, being so loaden with arms as I was), I perceived
there had been three canoes more of savages 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,
especially 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 fifteen
months before any more of them came on shore there again ;
that is to say, I neither saw them, nor any footsteps or signals
of them, in all that time ; for, as to the rainy seasons, then they
are sure not to come abroad, at least not so far : yet all this
while I lived uncomfortably, by reason of the constant appre-
hensions 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 ro9m to shake off that
expectation, or those apprehensions.
During all this time I was in the murdering humour, and
took up most of my hours, which should have been better em-
ployed, in contriving how to circumvent and fall upon them,
KsfoJbift^ofx^ Crusoe ^73
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 crea-
tures ; and if I did at any time venture abroad, it was not
without looking round me with the greatest care and caution
imaginable. And now I found, to my great comfort, how
happy it was that I provided for a tame flock or herd of
goats : for I durst not, upon any account, fire my gun, es-
pecially 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 hundred canoes with them, in a few days, and then I
knew what to expect. However, I wore out a year and three
months more before I ever saw any more of the savages, and
then I found them again, as I shall soon observe. It is true,
they might have been there once or twice, but either they
made no stay, or at least I did not 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.
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 troubles overwhelmed my mind ;
and in the night, I dreamed often of killing the savages, and
of the reasons why I might justify the doing of it. 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 cal-
endar would reckon, for I marked all upon the post still ; I
say, it was on the sixteenth of May that it blew a very great
storm of wind all day, with a great deal of lightning and
thunder, and a very foul night it was after it. I knew not
what was the particular occasion of it, but as I was reading in
174
RDohirtsofv. Crusoe
the Bible, and taken up with very serious thoughts about my
present condition, I was surprised with the noise of a gun, as
I thought, fired at sea. This was, to be sure, a surprise quite
of a different nature from any I had mft 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 j 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 that 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 some ship in dis-
tress, and that they had some comrade, or some other ship in
company, and fired these guns for signals of distress, and to
obtain help. I had the presence of mind, at that minute,
to think that though I 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 dis-
tinguish, no, not with my glass ; the distance was so great,
and the weather still something hazy also ; at least it was so
out at sea.
I looked frequently at it all that day, and soon perceived
that it did not move ; so I presently cdncluded that it was a
ship at anchor ; and being eager, you may be sure, to be satis-
fied, I took my gun in my hand, and ran towards the south
side of the island, to the rocks where I had formerly been
carried away with the current ; and getting up there, the
weather by this time being perfectly clear, I could plainly see,
to my great sorrow, the wreck of a ship, cast away in the
R5>oAin.sors^ Crusoe ^75
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 recovering from the most desperate,
hopeless condition that ever I had been in, in all my life.
Thus, what is one man's safety is another man's destruction ;
for it seems these men, whoever they were, being out of their
knowledge, and the rocks being wholly under water, had been
driven upon them in the night, the wind blowing hard at E.N.E.
Had they seen the island, as I must necessarily suppose they
did not, they must, as I thought, have endeavoured to have
saved themselves on shore by the help of their boat ; 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 them-
selves into their boat, and endeavoured 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 some-
times to throw it overboard with their oivn hands : other times
I im^ined 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 hurried 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 j and that perhaps, they might' by this time be starv-
ing, and in a condition to think of eating one another.
As all these were but conjectures at best, so, in the con-
dition I was in, I could do no more than look on upon the
misery of the poor men, and pity them ; which had still this
good effect 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
176 RDobiixso7\. Crusoe
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 suppose 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 possibility
only of their being taken up by another ship in company; and
this was but mere possibility indeed, for 1 saw not the least
sign or appearance of any such thing. I cannot explain, by
any possible energy of words, what a strange longing or hank-
ering of desires I felt in my soul upon this sight, breaking out
sometimes thus — O that there had been but one or two, nay,
or but one soul saved 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.
rHERE are some secret moving springs
I in the affections, which, when they are
.set a going by some object in view,
por, though not in view, yet rendered
' present to the mind by the power of
; imagination, that motion carries out the
isoul by its impetuosity, to such violent,
reager 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 desires were so moved by it.
As>oJbiftsof\^ Crusoe ^77
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 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 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, realising 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 to direct me so
much 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 more value than the first.
It was now calm, and I had a great mind to venture out in
my boat to this wreck, not doubting but I might find some-
thing 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
178 Rstobiixsors^ Orusoe
bottle of rum (for I had still a great deal of that left), and a
basket of raisins j and thus loading 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 wa's a great bag of rice,
the umbrella to set up 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 cheese : all which, with great labour and sweat, I carried
to my boat ; and praying to God to direct my voyage, I put
out ; and rowing, or paddling, the canoe along the shore,
came at last to the utmost point of the island on the north-
east 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
distance, and which were very terrible to me, from the re-
membrance of the hazard I had been in before, and my heart
began to fail me ; for I foresaw that if I were driven into
either of those currents, I should be carried a great way out
to sea, and perhaps out of my reach, «r 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 voyage : when, as I was musing, I could
perceive that the tide was turned, and the flood come 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 I could,
how the sets of the tide, or currents, lay when the flood came
ill, 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 suffi-
ciently 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
JRsoIiiftson^ Crusoe ^79
the current of the ebb set out close by the south point of the
island, so the current of 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 morn-
ing, to set out with the first of the tide ; and reposing myself
for the night in my canoe, under the great watchcoat I men-
tioned, 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 directly
for the wreck, and in less than two hours I came up to it. It
was a dismal sight to look at ; the ship, which, by its building,
was Spanish, stuck fast, jammed in between two rocks ; all
the stern and quarter of her were beaten to pieces with the
sea ; and as her forecastle, 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 bow-
sprit 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
found 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 is indeed probable,
that when the ship struck, it being in a storm, the sea broke
so high, and so continually over her, that the men were not
able to bear it, and were strangled with the constant rushing
in of the water, as much as if they had been under water.
Besides the dog, there was nothing left in the ship that had
life } nor any goods, that I could see, but what was spoiled by
i8o Rsobirtson^ Crusoe
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 be-
longed 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 Mexico,
and so perhaps to Spain. She had, no doubt, a great treasure
in her, but of no use, at that time, to anybody j and what be-
came 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 occasion 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 morn-
ing I resolved to harbour 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 extraordinary kind, arid 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
RsoJbinsofx. Crusoe ^^'
salt water had not hurt them ; and two more of the same
which the water had spoiled. I found some very good shirts,
which were very welcome to me ; and about a dozen and a half
of white linen handkerchiefs and coloured neck-cloths; 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 found there three great bags of pieces-of-
eight, which held about eleven hundred, pieces in all j and in
one of them, wrapped up in a paper, six doubloons 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 no 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 in-
deed got two pair of shoes now, which I took ofF the feet of
the two drowned men whom I saw in the wreck, and I found
two pair more in one of the chests, which were very welcome
to me ; but they were not like our English shoes, either for
ease or service, being rather what we call pumps than shoes.
I found in this seaman's chest about fifty pieces-of-eight in
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 and 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 harbour, where I laid her up, and made
i82 R^o/)in.sof\^ Crusoe
the best of my way to my old habitation, where I found every-
thing safe and quiet. I began now to repose myself, live after
my old fashion, and take care of my family affairs ; and, for a
while, I lived easy 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 with-
out so many precautions, and such a load of arms and ammu-
nition as I always carried with me if I went the other way,
I lived in this condition near two years more ;, but my un-
lucky head, that was always to let me- know it was born to
make my body miserable, was all 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 an-
other voyage to the wreck, though my reason told me that
there was nothing left there worth the hazard of my voyage ;
sometimes for a ramble one way, sometimes another ; and I
believe verily, if I had had the boat that I went from Sallee
in, I should have ventured to sea, bound anywhere, I knew
not whither. I have been, in all my circumstances, a memento
to those who are touched with the general plague of mankind,
whence, for aught I know, one-half of their miseries flow ; I
mean that of not being satisfied with the station wherein God
and nature hath placed them : for, not to look back upon my
primitive condition, 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 condition ; for had that Provi-
dence, which had so happily seated mh 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 there, 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 in-
/JpoAirtsofX. Crusoe ^^3
creasing, 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 reflection 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 of the reader, 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 to the wreck, my frigate laid up and secured under
water, as usual, and my condition restored to what it was be-
fore ; I had more wealth, indeed, than I had before, but was
not at all the richer : for 1 had no more use 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, no 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 whirled through that great thoroughfare of the brain, the
memory, in this night's time : I ran over the whole history
of my life in miniature, or by abridgment, as I may call it, to
my coming to this island, and also of 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
i84 Rpobiixsors^ Crusoe
had lived in, ever since I had seen th© 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 danger was the same,
arid 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 government of mankind, such narrow bounds to his sight
and knowledge of things ; and though he walks in the midst
of so many thousand dangers, the sight of which, if discovered
to him, would distract his mind and sink his spirits, he is kept
serene and calm, by having the events of things hid from his
eyes, and knowing nothing of the 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 Jiow I had walked
about in the greatest security, 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 mc 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
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 protection I acknowledged, with great
humility, all these unknown deliverances were due, and
without which I must inevitably have fallen into their merci-
less 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 j but as
this ended in some (at that time) fruitless speculations, it oc-
Rs>oAii\sof\. Crusoe ^^s
curred to me to inquire what part of the world these wretches
lived in ? how far ofF the coast was from whence they came ?
what thev ventured over so far from home for f 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 be-
come 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, without any possi-
bility of delivering myself; and if I should not fall into their
hands, what I should do for provision, or whither I should
bend my course : none of these thoughts, I say, so much as
came in my way ; but my mind was wholly bent upon the
notion of my passing over in my boat to the main land. I
looked upon my present condition 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 disap-
pointments 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 deliverance. I was agitated wholly by
these thoughts : all my calm of mind, in my resignation to
Providence, and waiting the issue in the dispositions 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,
i86 Rs>obiixsof\^ Crusoe
and such an impetuosity 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 fervour 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 didl not, nor of anything
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, wh,om 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 j and I thought, in my sleep, that he came running into
my little thick grove before my fortification, to hide himself;
and that I, seeing him alone, and not perceiving that the
others sought him 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 j 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 pro-
visions, and whither not to go for fear of being devoured ;
what places to venture into, and what to shun. I waked
with this thought; and was under such inexpressible impres-
sions of joy at the prospect of my escape in my dream, that
the disappointments which I felt upon coming to myself, and
finding that it was no more than a drekm, were equally ex-
travagant the other way, and threw me into a very great dejec-
tion 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 those thoughts still were
/JDoAinsofx^ Crusoe '^7
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 attempt,
and might miscarry : but, on the other hand, I had greatly
scrupled the lawfulness of it to myself, ahd 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 reasons 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 thoughts of shedding human blood for my de-
liverance were very terrible 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 myself, 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 resolved, if possible, to get one of those savages into
my hands, cost what it would. My next thing was to con-
trive 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 shore, 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 south-west 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 eager I was for it : in a word,
I was at first so careful to shun the sight of these savages, 'and
i88 Rs)oI}if\sof\^ Crusoe
avoid being seen by them, as I was now eager to be upon them.
Besides, I fancied 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 pre-
vent their being able at any time to da me any hurt. It was
a great while that I pleased myself with this affair ; but noth-
ing still presented ; all my fancies and schemes came to noth-
ing, for no savages came near me for a great while.
J BOUT a year and a half after I enter-
'tained these notions (and by long mus-
fing had, as it were, resolved them all
linto nothing for want of an occasion to
, put them into execution), I was sur-
prised, one morning early, with seeing
Ino 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
come four or six, or sometimes more, in a boat, I could not
tell what to think of it, or how to take my measures, to attack
twenty or thirty men single-handed ; so lay still in my castle,
perplexed and discomforted : however,- 1 pjit 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 per-
ceive me by any means. Here I observed, by the help of my
perspective glass, that they were no less than thirty in num-
/JDoJbiftsor^ Crusoe ^89
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 per-
spective, two miserable wretches dragged from the boats, where,
it seems, they were laid by, and were now brought out for the
slaughter. I perceived one of them immediately 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 im-
mediately, 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 seeing him-
self a little at liberty, and unbound, nature inspired him with
hopes of life, and he started away from them, and ran with
incredible swiftness along the sands, directly towards me, I
mean towards that part of the coast where my habitation was.
I was dreadfully frightened, I must acknowledge, when I per-
ceived 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 cer-
tainly 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.
There was between them and my castle the creek, which I
mentioned 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 savage 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,
190 P^obit%,sors^ Crusoe
and ran on with exceeding strength and swiftness. When
the three persons came to the creek, I found that two of them
could swim, but the third could not, and that, standing on the
other side, he looked at the others, buf went no farther, and
soon after went softly back again ; whigh, 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 was that fled 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 a
companion or assistant, and that I was called plainly by Provi-
dence 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 ob-
served 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 the 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 towards
the two that followed : then rushing at once upon the fore-
most, 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 have
easily known what to make of it. Having knocked this fel-
low down, the other who pursued him stopped, as if he had
been frightened, and I advanced apace towards him : but as I
came nearer, I perceived presently he had a bow and arrow,
and was fitting it to shoot at me ; so I was then necessitated
to shoot at him first, which I did, and killed him at the first
shot. The poor savage who fled but had stopped, though he
saw both 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 came 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 for-
ward, which he easily understood, and came a little way ; then
RpoAiixson^ Crusoe ^q'
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 pleasaJitly, 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 recovered himself so far as to sit up
upon the ground, and I perceived that my savage began to be
afraid ; but when I saw that, I presented my other piece at
the man, as if I would shoot him : upon this my savage, for so
I call him now, made a motion to me to lend him my sword
which hung naked in a belt by my side, 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 reasan to believe, never saw a sword in
his life before, except their own wooden swords : however, it
seems, as I learned afterwards, they make their wooden swords
so sharp, so heavy, and the wood is so hard, that they will cut
off heads even with them, aye 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,
192 Rpobiftson^ Crusoe
with the head of the savage that he had killed, just before me.
But that which astonished him most was to know how I killed
the other Indian so far ofF : so pointing to him, he made signs
to me to let him go to him ; so I bade him go, as well as I
could. When he came to him, he stood like one amazed,
looking at him, turning him first on one side, then on the
other, looked at the wound the bullet had made, which it
seems, was just in his breast where it had made a hole, and
no great quantity of blood had followed, but he had bled in-
wardly, for he was quite dead. He took up his bow and
arrows, and came back ; so I turned to go away, and beck-
oned him to follow me, 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. Here I
gave him bread and a bunch of raisins to eat, and a draught of
water, which I found he was indeed in great distress for, by
his running ; and having 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 la^rge, tall, and well-shaped,
and, as I reckon, about twenty-six years of age. He had a
very good countenance, not a fierce and surly aspect; but
seemed to have something very manly in his face ; and yet
he had all the sweetness and softness of an 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 5 and a great vivacity and sparkling sharpness in his
lisfoJbiftsoix. Crusoe "93
eyes. The colour of his skin was not quite black, but very
tawny ; and yet not an ugly, yellow, nauseous tawny, as the
Brazilians and Virginians, and other natives of America are,
but of a bright kind of a dun olive-colour, that had in it some-
thing very agreeable, though not very dasy to describe. His
face was round and plump ; his nose small, not flat like the
Negroes ; a very good mouth, thin lips, and his fine teeth
well set, and 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 him-
self down again upon the ground, with- all the possible signs
of an humble, 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, and sets my foot upon his head, as I
he had done before ; and after this made all the signs to me I
of subjection, servitude, and submission imaginable, to let me I
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 began 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 rnilk 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, I beckoned to him to come with me, and let him
know I would give him some clothes : at which he seemed
very glad, for he was stark naked. As we went by the place
where he had 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 eat them. At this I appeared very angry, expressed my
abhorrence of it, made as if I would vomit at the thoughts of
"3
194 Upobirtsors^ Crusoe
it, and beckoned with my hand to him, to come away, which
he did immediately, with great submission. 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 canoes : 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 courage, and consequently more curiosity, I took my man
Friday with me, giving him the sword in his hand, with the
bow and arrows at his back, which I found he could use very
dexterously, making him carry one gun for me, and I two for
myself; and away we marched to the place where these crea-
tures had been, for I had a mind now to get some fuller intel-
ligence 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 ground 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 under-
stand that they brought over four prisoners to feast upon ; that
three of them were eaten up, and that he, pointing to himself,
was the fourth ; that there had been a great battle between
them and their next king, whose subjects, it seems, he had
been one of, and that they had taken a great number of pris-
oners -, all 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.
I caused Friday to gather up all the skulls, bones, flesh, and
whatever 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 abhor-
Rpohiixson^ Crusoe ^95
rence, at the very thoughts 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.
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 mentioned which I found in the wreck ; and
which, with a little alteration, 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 tolerable good tailor); and I
gave him a cap, which I made of hare's skin, very convenient
and fashionable enough ; and thus he 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 awkwardly in those clothes at first ; wearing the drawers
was very awkward to him, and the sleeves of the waistcoat
galled his shoulders, and the inside of his arms ; but 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
196 RDoJbinson^ Crusoe
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 faithful, loving, sincere
servant than Friday was to me ; without passions, sullenness,
or designs, perfectly obliged and engaged — his very affections
were tied to me, like those of a child to a father; and I dare
say, he would have sacrificed his life for the saving 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 precautions, 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 provi-
dence, and in the government of the works of his hands, to
take from so great a part of the world of his creatures the best
uses to which their 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 sentiments 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 ; and that when he pleases to offer them occa-
sions 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 presented, how mean a use
we make of all these, even though we have these powers en-
lightened 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 Jike 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 sov-
ereignty 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
HsoJbirtson^ Crusoe ^97
just, so it could not be, but if these creatures were all sen-
tenced 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 ac-
knowledge to be just, though the foundation was not dis-
covered 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 de-
lighted with him, and made it my business to teach him every-
thing that was proper to make him useful, handy, and helpful v
but especially to make him speak, and understand me when I
spoke ; and he was the aptest scholar that ever was ; and par-
ticularly was so merry, so constantly diligent, and so pleased
when he could but understand me, or make me understand
him, that it was very pleasant to me to talk to him. 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.
J FTER I had been two or three days
returned to my castle, I thought that,
in order to bring Friday ofF from his
I horrid way of feeding, and from the
relish of a cannital's stomach, I ought
[to let him taste other flesh ; so I took
'him out with me one morning to the
Lwoods. I went, indeed, intending to
'kill a kid out o'f 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 1 5 stand still; and
198 Rs)oAittsoT\^ Crusoe
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. He 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 embracing my knees, said
a great many things I did not understand j but I could easily
see the meaning was, to pray me not to kill him.
I soon found a way to convince him that I would do him
no harm ; and taking him up by the hand, laughed at him,
and pointing to the kid which I had killed, beckoned to him
to run and fetch it, which he did ; and while he was wonder-
ing, 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 little what I would do, I called him to me again, pointed at
the fowl, which was indeed a parrot, though I thought it had
been a hawk ; I say, pointing 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 fright-
ened again, notwithstanding all I had said to him ; and I
found he was the more amazed, because he did not see me put
anything into the gun, but thought that there must be some
wonderful fund of death and destruction in that thing, able to
kill man, beast, or bird, or anything 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 afterwards learned
of him, was to desire it not to kill him. Well, after his as-
tonishment was a little over at this, I pointed to him to run
BsoAiftson^ Crusoe ^99
and fetch the bird I had shot, which he did, but stayed 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 ignorance about the gun before, I took this ad-
vantage to charge the gun again, and ndt to let him see me do
it, that I might be ready for any other mark that might pre-
sent ; but nothing more oiFered at that time ; so I brought
home the kid, and the same evening I took the skin ofF, and
cut it out 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 seemed to
nauseate it, and would spit and sputter at it, washing his mouth
with fresh water after it ; on the other hand, I took some
meat 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 boiled meat and broth, I was re-
solved 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 atross on the top, and
tying the string to the cross-stick, letting the meat turn con-
tinually. This, Friday admired very much : but when he
came to taste the flesh, he took so many ways to tell me how
well he liked it, that I could not but understand him ; and at
last he told me, 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 to beating some corn out,
and sifting it in the manner I used to do, as I observed before ;
and he soon understood 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 that I let him see me make my
200 jfiDobiixsors^ Crusoe
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 to 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 labour upon me on his account than I had for my-
self; and that he would work the hardpr 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 be-
fore, that is to say, about speech. Besides the pleasure of
talking to him, I had a singular satisfaction in the fellow him-
self: 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 inclina-
tion 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, always get the better in
fight ; and so we began the following discourse : —
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 ?
Rf>oJbin,sors^ Cru6oe ^°^
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 talce one, two, great thousand.
Master. But why did not your side recover you from the
hands of your enemies, then ?
Friday. They run one, two, three, and me, and make go
in the canoe ; my nation have no canoe that time.
Master. Well, Friday, and what does your nation do with
the men they take .? Do they carry them away and eat them,
as these did ?
Friday. Yes, my nation eat mans too ; eat all up.
Master. Where do they carry then! ?
Friday. Go to other place, where they think.
Master. Do they come hither ?
Friday. Yes, yes, they come hither; come other else
place.
Master. Have you been here with them ?
Friday. Yes, I 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 cour-
age to carry him to that side, being the-same I formerly men-
tioned, 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. He 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 be no more
than the sets of the tide, as going out or coming in ; but I
afterwards understood it was occasioned by the great draft and
202 R*)ol}irLsoT\^ Crusoe
reflux of the mighty river Oroonoko, in the mouth or gulf of
which river, as I found afterwards, our island lay ; and that
this land which I perceived 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 could get no other name than Caribs :
from whence I easily understood, that these were the Carib-
bees, which our maps place on the part of America which
reaches from the mouth of the river Oroonoko to Guiana,
and onwards 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.
|FTER Friday and I became more in-
rtimately acquainted, and that he could
k understand almost all I said to him, and
[speak pretty fluejitly, though in broken
^English, to me, I acquainted him with
I my own history, or at least so much of
lit as related to my coming to this place ;
I 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
occasions.
I described to him the country of Europe, particularly Eng-
land, which I came from ; how we lived, how we worshipped
God, how we behaved to one another, and how we traded in
ships to all parts of the world. I gave him an account of the
wreck which I had been on board of, and 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 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. Me see such boat like come to place
at my nation. I did not understand him a good while ; but, at
last, when I had examined 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,
ao4 R^oAirtson^ Orusoe
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 better 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, he said ; the boat full of white mans. I
asked him how many ? He told upon his fingers seventeen.
I asked him then what became of them ? He told me. They
live, they dwell at my nation.
This put new thoughts into my head ; for I presently im-
agined 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 themsel\fes in their boat, and
were landed upon that wild shore among the savages. Upon
this, I inquired of him more critically what was become of
them ; he assured me they lived still there ; that they had
been there about four years ; that the savages let them alone,
and gave them victuals to live on. I asked him how it came
to pass they did not kill them, and eat them ? He said. No,
they make brother with them ; that is, as I understood him, a
truce ; and then he added. 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, from 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 towards the main land, and, in a kind of
surprise, falls a jumping and dancing, aAd 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 country,
there my nation ! I observed an extraordinary sense of plea-
sure appeared in his face, and his eyes sparkled, and his coun-
tenance discovered 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
Hs>oJbirtson^ Crusoe ^°5
easy about my new man, Friday, as I was before ; and I made
no doubt but that if Friday could get back to his own nation
again, he would not only forget all his religion, but all his obli-
gation to me, and would be forward enough to give his coun-
trymen 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 ene-
mies, when they were taken in war. But I wronged the poor
honest creature very much, for which I was very sorry after-
wards. However, as my jealousy increased, and held me
some weeks, I was a little more circumspect, and not so
familiar and kind to him as before ; in which I was cer-
tainly in the wrong too ; the honest, grateful creature having
no thought about it, but what consiste'd with the best prin-
ciples, both as a religious Christian, and as a grateful friend,
as appeared afterwards to my full satisfaction.
While my jealousy of him lasted, you may be sure I was
every day pumping him, to see if he would discover any of
the new thoughts which I suspected were in him : but I found
everything he said was so honest and so innocent, that I could
find nothing to nourish my suspicion ; and, in spite of all my
uneasiness, he made me at last entirely his own again ; nor
did he, in the least, perceive that I was uneasy, and therefore
I could not suspect him of deceit.
One day, walking up the same hill, but the 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 nation ? — 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 Rooked 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 be willing to learn. He added, they
learned much of the bearded mans that came in the boat.
Then I asked him if he would go back to them. He smiled
205 B^oAiftsoix. Crusoe
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 on shore there
in distress.
From this time, I confess I had a mind to venture over, and
see if I could possibly join with 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 from
thence, being upon the continent, and a good company to-
gether, better than I could from an isFand 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 ac-
cordingly I carried him to my frigate, which lay on the other
side of the island, and having cleared it of water (for I always
kept it sunk in 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 say-
ing 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 made, but which I could not get into the water. He said
that was big enough : but then, as I had taken no care of it,
and it had lain two or three-and-twenty years there, the sun
had split and dried it, that it was in a manner 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 de-
sign of going over with him to the continent, that I told him
we would go and make one as big as that, and he should go
home in it. He answered not one word, but looked very
Rpobiixson^ Crusoe ^°7
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 meant? I told him
I was not angry with him at all. No angry ? says he, repeat-
ing the words several times ; Why send Friday home away
to my nation ? — Why, says I, Friday, did not you say you
wished you were there ? — Yes, yes, says he, wish be both
there ; no wish Friday there, no master there. In a word, he
would not think of going there without 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 knowest 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 affec-
tion 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 his 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 it. But still I found a strong incli-
nation 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
208 R^obiixsors^ Crusoe
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
colour and smell. Friday was for 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 labour
we finished it, and made it very handspme ; 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 knew
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 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 imagining that I should ever
have this kind of use for them, I did not doubt but they were
jRj)o/}iitson^ Crusoe ^^9
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 Eng-
land 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., rig-
ging 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,
considering the many dull contrivances 1 had for it that failed,
I think it cost me almost as much labour as making the boat.
After all this was done, I had my man Friday to teach as
to what belonged to the navigation of my boat ; for, though
he knew very welJ how to paddle a canoe, he knew nothing
what belonged to a sail and a rudder; and was the most
amazed when' he saw me work the boat to and again in the
sea by the rudder, and how the sail gibbed, and filled this way,
or that way, as the course we sailed changed ; I say, when he
saw this, he stood like one astonished and amazed. However,
with a little use, I made all these things familiar to him, and
he became an expert sailor, except that, as to the compass I
could make 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,
J4
210 Rs>obit%,sors^ Crusoe
my habitation being quite of another kind than in all the rest
of the time. I kept the anniversary of my landing here with
the same thankfulness to God for his mercies as at first ; and
if I had such cause of acknowledgment at first, I had much
more so now, having such additional testimonies of the care of
Providence over me, and the great hopes I had of being effec-
tually 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 mean time, 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 sea :
and to keep the rain off, we laid a great many boughs of
trees, so thick, that she was as well thatched as a house ;
and thus we waited for the months of November and Decem-
ber, in which I designed to make my adventure.
When the settled "season began to come in, as the thought
of my design returned with the fair weather, I was preparing
daily for the voyage, and the first thing I did was to lay by
a certain quantity of provisions, being the stores for our
voyage, and intended, in a week or a 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
Friday, and bid him go to the sea-shore, 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
/iso/)iftsof\. Crusoe 2"
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. O 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 frightened ! 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 eat 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 eat 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 Ij again ; our guns will
fright them that we do not kill. So I asked him whether, if
I resolved to defend him, he would defend me, and stand by
me ; and do just as I bid him. He said. Me die, when you
bid die, master. So I went and fetched a good dram of rum
and gave him ; for I had been so good a husband of my rum,
that I had a great deal left. When he. 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 myself, I took my perspective
glass, and went up to the side of the hill, to see what I could
discover ; and found quickly, by my glass, that there was one-
and-twenty savages, three prisoners, and three canoes; and
that their whole business seemed to be the triumphant
banquet upon these three human bodies; a barbarous feast
indeed ! but nothing 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
ai2 Rs>oJbirtsors^ Crusoe
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
told him ; and, in the mean time, not to speak a word. In
this posture, I fetched a compass to my right hand of near a
mile, as well to get over the creek as to get into the wood,
so that I might come within shot of them before I should be
discovered, which I had seen, by my glass, it was easy to do.
While I was making this march, my former thoughts
returning, I began to abate my resolution : I do not mean
that I entertained any fear of their number; for, as they
were naked, unarmed wretches, it is 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 the'm, 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, when-
ever he thought fit, he would take the cause into his own
hands, and, by national vengeance, punish them, as a people,
for national crimes ; but that, in the mean time, 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
RpoAiixson^ Crusoe ^^3
those very particular people, and it was lawful for him to
attack them ; but I could not say the same with respect to
myself. These things were so warmly pressed upon my
thoughts all the way as I went, that I resolved I would only
go and place myself near them, that I might observe their
barbarous feast, and that I would act. then as God should
direct : but that, 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 following close at my
heels, I marched till I came to the skirt of the wood, on the
side which was next to them, only that one corner of the
wood lay between me and them. Hexe 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
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 his feet tied with flags,
or things like rushes, and that he was an 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 1 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.
I HAD now not a moment to lose, for
Inineteen of the dreadful wretches sat
jupon the ground, all close-huddled to-
f gether, and had just sent the other two
Jto butcher the poor Christian, and bring
ihim, perhaps limb by limb, to their fire ;
[and they were stooping down to untie
Jthe 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 im-
mediately know which way to run, or which way to look, for
they knew not from whence their destruction 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 Fri-
day 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 called swan-shot, or
small pistol-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.
jRsoJbiftson^ Crusoe "5
Now, Friday, says I, laying down the^ischarged 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 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 towards the poor victim, who
was, as I said, lying upon the beach, or shore, between the
place where 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 in a terrible fright to the sea-side,
and had jumped into a canoe, and three more of the rest
made the same way. I turned to Friday, and bade him step
forwards, 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.
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 Portuguese
tongue, what he was. 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 he did ; and I gave him a
piece of bread, which he ate. Then I asked him what coun-
tryman he was : and he said, Espagniole ; and being a little re-
covered, let me know, by all the signs he could possibly make,
how much he was in my debt for his deliverance. Signer, said
I, with as much Spanish as I could make up, we will talk after-
wards, but we must fight now : if you have any strength left,
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 vigour 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.
2i6 Rpohirtson^ Crusoe
so the poor creatures were so much frightened with the noise
of our pieces, that they fell down for mei-e 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 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 my-
self to load all the rest again, and bade them come to me
when they wanted. While I was loading these pieces, there
happened a fierce engagement between the Spaniard and one
of the savages, who made at him wijth 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 dispatched 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 had plunged himself into the sea, and swam, with all his
might, ofF to those two who were left in the canoe, which
Rpohiixsoix. Crusoe "^
three in the canoe, with one wounded, that we knew not
whether he died or no, were all that escaped our hand« 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 i two killed by Friday in the boat 5 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 their 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 theif escape, lest, carrying
the news home to their people, they should come back per-
haps with two or three hundred of the canoes, and devour us
by mere multitude ; so I consented to pursue them by sea,
and running to one of their canoes, I jumped in, and bade
Friday follow me; but when I was in the canoe, I was sur-
prised 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 matter; 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, believ-
ing, 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 ;
2i8 Rsiobiixsors^ Crusoe
and then sung and jumped about again,- like a distracted crea-
ture. 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 extravagancies of his affec-
tion after this ; for he went into the boat, and out of the boat,
a great many times : when he went in to 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 stifT
with the binding, and chafed and rilbbed 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 blowing so hard all night, and that from
the north-west, which was against them, that I could not sup-
pose their boat could live, or that they ever reached their own
coast.
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 :
Rpobirtson^ Crusoe "q
I say, he ran at such a rate, that he was out of sight, as it were,
in an instant ; and though 1 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, be-
cause 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 w?tter 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 =1 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 tht 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 countenance ; but was so weak, notwithstand-
ing 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 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 lain himself down to ease his limbs, so
220 R^obirt^ors^ Crusoe
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 Spaniard 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 he went. He told me. Go fetch more boat : so away
he went like the 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 nie 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 Friday knew
not what to do.
To remedy this, I went to work in my thoughts, and calling
to Friday to bid them sit down on the bank while he came to
me, I soon made a kind of hand-barrow to lay them on, and
Friday and I carried 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 resolved 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 : ahd 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 coun-
try was my own mere property, so that I had an undoubted
Hs)o/)iftsor\. Crusoe ^^^
right of dominion. Secondly, my people were perfectly sub-
jected ; I was absolutely lord and lawgiver ; they all owed
their lives to me, and were ready to lay down their lives, if
there had been occasion for it, for me. It was remarkable,
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 : how-
ever, I allowed liberty of conscience throughout my dominions.
-^— But this is by the 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, hav-
ing 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 interpreter, 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 and fetch our muskets and
other fire arms, which, for want of time, we had left upon the
place of battle : and, the next day, I qrdered him to go and
bury the dead bodies of the savages, whiph lay open to the sun,
and would presently be offensive. I also ordered him to bury
the horrid remains of their barbarous feast, which I knew were
pretty much, and which I could not think of doing myself;
nay, I could not bear to see them, if I went that way ; all
which he punctually performed, and effaced the very appear-
ance 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
222 Rs)oAifxson^ CTusoe
new subjects : and, first, I set Friday to inquire of his father
what he 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 resist. 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 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,Mf 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 heavenly spirits, or furies, come
down to destroy them, and not men ivith weapons. This,
he said, he knew ; because he heard them all cry out so, in
their language one to another ; for it w^s 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 under-
stood since, by other hands, the savages never attempted to go
over to the island afterwards, 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 en-
chanted island would be destroyed by fire, from the gods. This,
however, I knew not ; and therefore was under continual ap-
prehensions 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 ; but like-
wise 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, hav-
jRsoJbirt^oiv. Crusoe ^^3
ing 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 the
particulars of their voyage, and found they were a Spanish ship,
bound from the Rio de la Plata, to the Havana, being directed
to leave 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 es-
caped through infinite dangers and hazards, and arrived, almost
starved, on the cannibal coast, where they expected to have
been devoured every moment. He told me they had some
arms with them, but they were perfectly useless, for that they
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 receive a proposal from me,
which might tend towards 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 obligations 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 instrument of their deliverance, and
that they should afterwards make me their prisoner in New
Spain, where an Englishman was certain to be made a sacri-
fice, 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 persuaded, if they were all here, we might,
with so many hands, build a bark large enough to carry us all
224 B^oJbirtsoTx^ Crusoe
away, either to the Brazils, southward, oi^ to the islands, or Span-
ish 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 candour and ingenuous-
ness, 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, he 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 absolutely under my leading, as their commander
and captain ; and that they should swear upon the holy
sacraments and gospel, to be true 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 purpose. Then he told me he would first swear to me
himself, that he 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. He 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 possible, and to send the old savage and this Span-
iard 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 but be very
well satisfied in it ; and, by his advice, put off the deliver-
ance of his comrades for at least half a* year. The case was
BsoJbiftson^ Crusoe ^^s
thus : He had been with us now about a month, during
which time, I had let him see 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 suiEcient 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 countrymen, 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
spare 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, other-
wise than out of one difficulty into anotjler. You know, says
he, the children of Israel, though they rejoiced at first for
their 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 satisfied 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 trimmed 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, in-
deed, did we leave ourselves barley sufficient for our own
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 suf-
ficient to put us out of fear of the savages if they had come,
unless their number had been very great, we went freely all
over the island, whenever we found occasion : and as here we
15
226 Rs>oAin,sor\^ Crusoe
had our escape or deliverance upon our thoughts, it was im-
possible, 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 im-
parted 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 single planks, and I 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 labour 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 Fri-
day 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 season 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
barrel's ; 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.
It was now harvest, and our crop in good order : it was not
the most plentiful increase I had seen io the island, but how-
ever, it was enough to answer our end ; for from twenty-two
bushels of barley we brought in and threshed out above two
hundred and twenty bushels, and the like in 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 victualled 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 magazine 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
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.
1 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 Injure, 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 attempts,
and wherever they went, would be entirely under and sub-
jected to his command ; and that this should be put in writ-
ing, 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 savage, 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 voyage, 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 at full, by my ac-
count in the month of October ; but as for an exact reckon-
ing of days, after I had once lost it, I 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 after-
wards examined my account, I found I had kept a true reck-
oning of years.
228 Rs>oI}irLsors^ Crusoe
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 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 sur-
prised, when turning my eyes to the sea, I presently saw a
boat about a league and a half distance, 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 southernmost 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 ap-
prehensive of anything, and to take my view the plainer with-
out being discovered. I had scarce set my foot upon the hill,
when my eye plainly discovered a ship lying at an 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 obser-
vation, 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 describe ; but yet I had some secret
doubts hang about me — I cannot tell from whence they came,
bidding me 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
RDohin.60f\^ Crusoe ^^9
distress ; and that if they were really English, it was most
probable that they were here upon no gpod design ; and that I
had better continue as I was, than fall into the hands of
thieves and murderers.
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 observations
of things can deny ; that they are certain discoveries of an
invisible world, and a converse of spirits, we cannot doubt ;
and if the tendency of them seems 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 ?
The present question abundantly confirms me in the justice
of this reasoning ; for had I not been made cautious by this
secret admonition, come it from whence it will, I had been
undone inevitably, and in 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 land-
ing ; 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 iny castle, and perhaps-
have plundered me of all I had. Wheh they were on shore,
I was fully satisfied they were Englishfnen, at least most of
them ; one or two I thought were Dutch, but it did not prove
so ; there were in all eleven men, whereof three of them I
found were unarmed, and, as I thought, bound ; and when the
first four or five of them were jumped on shore, they took
those three out of the boat as prisoner-s ; one of the three I
could perceive using the most passionate gestures of entreaty,
affliction, and despair, even to a kind of extravagance ; 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
230 Rpobittson^ Crusoe
not what the meaning of it should be. Friday called out to
me in English, as well as he could, O master! you see Eng-
lish mans eat prisoner 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 j I
am afraid they will murder them indeed, but you may be sure
they will not eat them.
All this while I had no thought of what the matter really
was, but stood trembling with the horror of the sight, expect-
ing 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 fire-arms 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 seamen,
I observed the fellows run scattering about the island, as if
they wanted to see the country. 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 noth-
ing 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
JiDoAinsoix. Crusoe 231
not leave his creatures so absolutely destitute, but that, in the
worst circumstances, they have always something to be thank-
ful for, and sometimes are nearer their deliverance than they
imagine, nay, are even brought to their deliverance by the
means by which they seem to be brought to their destruction.
^T was just at the top of high water
t when these people came on shore ; and
ipartly while they rambled about to see
/what kind of a place they were in, they
Ihad carelessly stayed till the tide was
[spent, and the water was ebbed consid-
jerably away, leaving their boat aground.
'They had left two men in the boat,
who, as I found afterwards, 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
being a soft oozy sand, almost like a quicksand. In this con-
dition, like true seamen, who are perhaps the least of all man-
kind given to forethought, 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 '11 float 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 farther than to my place of ob-
servation, 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
232 Rpobiixsors^ Crusoe
ten hours before the boat could float again, and by that time it
would be dark, and I might be at more liberty to see their mo-
tions, and to hear their discourse, if they had any. In the
mean time, I fitted myself up for a battle, as before, though
with more caution, knowing I had to do with another
kind of enemy than I had at first. I 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
gave him three muskets. My figure, indeed, was very fierce ;
I had my formidable goats' 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 at-
tempt till it was dark : but about two o'clock, being the heat
of the day, I found that, in short, they were all gone strag-
gling 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 mrle 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 con-
dition ; 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 savy me, I called aloud to
them in Spanish, What are ye, gentlemen ? They started up
at the noise ; but were ten times more confounded when they
saw me, and the uncouth figure that I made. They made 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 did not expect it. — He must be sent directly
from Heaven then, said one of 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. — 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 distress. I saw you when you
landed ; and when you seemed to make supplication to the
jRpQjbiftsors^ Crusoe ^33
brutes that came with you, I saw one of them lift up his sword
to kill you.
The poor man, with tears running down his face, and trem-
bling, 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 better clothed, and armed after an-
other 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 ammunition ;
tell us freely, can we serve you ? What is your case ? — Our
case, said he, sir, is too long to tell yoii, 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 upon not to murder me ; and at last have set me
on shore in this desolate place, with these two men with me,
one my mate, the other a passenger, where we expected to
perish, believing the place to be uninhabited, and know not
yet what to think of it. — Where are jhese brutes, your ene-
mies ? 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 seen us, and heard you speak ; if
they have, they will certainly murder us all. — Have they any
fire-arms ? said I. He answered they had only two pieces,
one of which they left in the boat. Well, then, said 1, 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 se-
cured, he believed all the rest would return to their duty. I
asked him which they were ? He told me he could not at
that distance 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 willingly went back with me, tiU the woods
covered us from them.
Look you, sir, said I, if I venture upon your deliverance,
are you willing to make two conditions with me ? He antici-
pated my proposals, by telling me, that both he and the ship,
234 Rpohittsotx^ Crusoe
if recovered, should be wholly directed and commanded by me
in everything 5 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 the same. Well, says
I, my conditions arc 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 in your hands, you will, upon all oc-
casions, give them up to me, and do no prejudice to me or
mine upon this island ; and, in the mean time, 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 thatbthe invention or faith
of man could devise, that he would comply with these most
reasonable demands ; and, besides, would owe his life to me,
and acknowledge it upon all occasions, as long as he lived.
VVell 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 testimonies 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 was not killed at the first volley, and offered to
submit, 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 f
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
BsoJbiftsofx. Crusoe ^35
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 shot at the men they knew, that one of
them was killed on the spot, and the other very much wounded ;
but not being dead, he started up on 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 afterwards in carrying her back to Jamaica, from whence
they came. They gave him all the protestations of their sin-
cerity 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 (happily for them) parted from the rest, came back
upon hearing the guns fired, and seeing the captain, who be-
fore 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 particularly at the wonderful manner of
236 Rs>ohirtsor\^ Crusoe
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 rnore. After this com-
munication was at an end, I carried 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 contriv-
ances I had made, during my long, long inhabiting that
place.
All I showed them, all I said to them, was perfectly amaz-
ing ; 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 planted near twenty years, and the
trees growing much faster than in England, was become a
little wood, and so thick, that it was impassable in any part
of it, but at that one side where 1 had reserved my little wind-
ing 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 aay of the English colo-
nies ; 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 resolved on speedily, as weH 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, wonder-
jRsoJbiftsofx^ Crusoe ^7
ing what was become of their comrades, and of the boat,
would ceitainlj come oa shore in thor other boat to look
for them; and that then, perhaps, thejr might come armed,
and be too strong for us : this he allowed to be rational.
Upon this, I told him the first thii^ we had to do was to
stave the boat, which la^ upon the beach, so that the^ might
not carrv' her off; and taking eyeiything out of her, leave her
so &r useless as not to be fit to swim : accordingly we went
on board, took the arms which were left on board out of her,
and whatever else we found there, which was a bottle of
brandy, and another of rum, a few bispiit-cakes, a horn of
powder, and a great lump of sugar in a piece of canvas (the
sugar was five or six pounds) ; all which was very welcome to
me, especially the brandy and sugar, of; which I had none left
for many years.
W^hen vre had earned all these things on shore (the oais,
mast, sail and rudder of the boat was carried awav hefonc, as
above), we knocked a great hole in her bottom, that if thev
had come strong enough to master us, yet they could not carry
oS 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 the boat, I did. not much question to
make her fit a^in to cany us to the Leeward Islands, and call
upon our Mends the Spaniards in mv way ; for I had them still
in mv thoughts.
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 ofiF at higji-water mark, and be-
sides, 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 qn 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
fruitless, and they found the boat did not stir, we saw them,
by the help of my glasses, hoist another boat out, and row
towards 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.
238 R^oAirLsors^ Crusoe
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 ; because 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 characters of all the men in
the boat, of whom, he said, there were three very honest fel-
lows, 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 enter-
prise ; and terribly apprehensive he was that they would be too
powerful for us. I smiled at him, and told him that men in
our circumstance were past the operation 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 con-
sequence, whether death or life, would Be sure to be a deliv-
erance. 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 pre-
served 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 hon-
est 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
are our own, and shall die or live as they behave to us. As
I spoke this with a raised voice and cheerful countenance, I
found it greatly encouraged him ; so we set vigorously to our
business.
We had, upon the first appearance of the boat's coming
from the ship, considered of separating our prisoners ; and
we had, indeed, secured them effectually. Two of them, of
whom the captain was less assured than ordinary, I sent with
Friday, and one of the three delivered men, to my cave, where
BsoJbiitson^ Crusoe ^'sq
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 continued
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
without mercy. They promised faithfully to bear their con-
finement 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 senti-
nel 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 recommendation, and upon their solemnly
engaging to live and die with us ; so with them and the three
honest men we were seven men well armed ; and I made no
doubt we should be able to deal well enough with the ten that
were coming, considering that the captain had s^d 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 awhile 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; andlthose 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,
a4o RpoAirtson^ Crusoe
as they told afterwards, they resolved to go all on board again
to their ship, and let them know that the men were all mur-
dered, and the long-boat staved ; accordingly, they immediately
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 w6 should have recov-
ered ; but he was quickly as much frightened the other way.
They had not been long put ofF with- the boat, but we per-
ceived them all coming on shore again; but with this new meas-
ure 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 disappointment to us, for now we were at a
loss what to do ; as our seizing those seven men on shore
would be of no advantage to us, if we let the boat escape ;
because they would then row away to the ship, and then the
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 towards 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 aboard. 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 towards the
north-east 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
/JDoJbiftsors^ Crusoe ^^
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.
The captain made a very just proposal to me upon this con-
sultation of theirs, viz., that perhaps they would all fire a vol-
ley again, to endeavour 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 bloodshed, I liked this pro-
posal, provided it was done while we were near enough to
come up with them before they could load their pieces again ;
but this even did not happen ; and we lay still a long time,
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 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 uneasy, when, after long con-
sultations, we saw them all start up and. march down towards
the sea ; it seems they had such dreadful apprehensions 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 go towards the shore, I imag-
ined 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 presently thought of a stratagem
to fetch them back again, and which answered my end to a
tittle. I ordered Friday and the captain's mate to go over the
little creek westward, towards the place where the savages
came on shore when Friday was rescued, and as they came
to a little rising ground, at about a half 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
i6
242 Rpobirtson^ Crusoe
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 hallooed : and they presently heard them, and answering,
run along the shore westward, towards' the voice they heard,
when they were presently 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 observed that the boat
being gone a good way into the creek, and, as it were, in a
harbour 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 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
shore was between sleeping and waking, and going to start
up ; the captain, who was foremost, ran in upon him, and
knocked him down ; and then called obt to him in the boat
to yield, or he was a dead man. There needed very few ar-
guments to persuade a single man to yield, when he saw five
men upon him, and his comrade 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 therefore, was easily per-
suaded not only to yield, but afterwards to join very sincerely
with us. In the mean time, 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 themselves 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 several hours after Friday came back to me
before they came back to their boat ; and we could hear the
Rpohirvson^ Crusoe ^^43
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 thfem leave to fall upon
them at once in the dark ; but I was willing to take them at
some advantage, so to spare them, and kill as few of them as
I could ; and especially I was unwilling to hazard the killing
of any of our men, knowing the others were very well armed.
I resolved to wait, to see if they did not separate ; and, there-
fore, 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 boat-
swain, who was the principal ringleader of the mutiny, and
had now shown himself the most dejected and dispirited of
all the rest, came walking towards 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 pa-
tience to let him come so near as to bei 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
244 RDoAirvsofx^ Crusoe
man was shot in the body, and fell just by him, though he
did not die till an hour or two after ; a«d 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, general-
issimo ; 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
condition 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 captain 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 cap-
tain; 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.
I PON this Will Atkins cried out,
' For God's sake, captain, give me
I quarter ; what have I done ? They.
I have all been as bad as I: 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 bar-
•barously, in tying his hands, and giving
him injurious language. However, the captain told him he
must lay down his arms at discretion, and trust to the gov-
ernor'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 myself and one more out
of sight for reasons of state.
Our next work was to repair the boat, and think of seiz-
ing the ship : and as for the captain, now he had leisure to
parley with them, he expostulated -with them upon the
villainy 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 be^ed 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 governor 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, except Atkins, whom
he was commanded by the governor to advise to prepare for
death, for that he would be hanged in the morning.
246 R^obirtsor<. Crusoe
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 them, that they might not see what
kind of a governor they had, and called the captain to me ;
wh^n I called, as at a good distance, one of the men was
ordered to speak again, and say to the captain. Captain, the
commander calls for you ; and presently the captain replied,
Tell his excellency I am just a-coming. This more per-
fectly amused 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 resolved to put it in execution
the next morning. But, in order to execute it with more
heart, and to be secure 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 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 behaviour.
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
JJDoAiitson^ Crusoe ^47
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 captain, and promised, with the deepest impre-
cations, 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 ; 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, and see .what I can do
to bring him to consent to it. So he brought me an account
of the temper he found them in, and that he verily believed
they would be faithfu}. However, that we might be very
secure, I told him he 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 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
248 Rs)oJbin,son^ Crusoe
in the cave, I resolved to keep them fast, but Friday went in
twice a day to them, to supply them with necessaries i and I
made the other two carry provisions to a certain distance,
where Friday was to take it.
When I showed myself to the two hostages, it was with
the captain, who told them I was the person the governor had
ordered to look after them ; and that it was the governor's
pleasure 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 of one, and man them.
He made his passenger 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 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 fprecastle of the
ship, and the scuttle which went down into the cockroom,
making 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 fire-arms in
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
HsoJbiitsotx^ Crusoe ^49
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 more 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 near two o'clock in the morning. Having thus heard
the signal plainly, I laid me down ; and it having been a day
of great 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 belong to her. I cast my eyes to the ship, and
there she rode within 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 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 qordial, 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 ecstasy as I, only
250 RDobirtsors^ Crusoe
not under any surprise, as I was ; and hp 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 remotest corner of the worlfl, 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 we had talked a while, the captain told me he had
brought me some little refreshment, such as the ship aiForded,
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 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
/isoJbinson^ Crusoe ^51
any one may imagine, 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 suqh 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 considering whether we might venture to take
them away with us or no, especially two of them, whom we
knew to be incorrigible and refractory tg 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 justice 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 Fri-
day 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, pinioned
as they were, to the 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 villainous
behaviour to the captain, and how they had run away with
the ship, and were preparing to commit farther robberies, but
that Providence had ensnared them in their own ways, and
that they were fallen into the pit wl^ich they had dug for
others. I let them know that by my direction the ship had
been seized ; that she lay now in the rbad ; and they might
see, by and by, that their new captain had received the reward
of his villainy, 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 not execute them as pirates, taken in the
fact, as by my commission they could not doubt but I had
authority so to do.
25g /^oJbirtsoTx. Crusoe
One of them answered in the name of the rest, that they
had nothing to say but this, that when they were taken, the
captain promised them their lives, and they humbly implored
my mercy. But I told them I knew not what mercy to show
them : for as for myself, I had resolvedto 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 spme 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
favour, 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 into
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 prepare my things, and desired him to go on
board, in the mean time, and keep all right in the ship, and
send the boat on shore next day for me j 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 thern I thought they had
made a right choice ; that if the captain had carried them
Rsobiixson^ Crusoe ^53
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 : accord-
ingly, 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 gr^es ; 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 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 else, 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 directions to milk and fatten them,
and to make both butter and cheese : in a word, I gave them
every part of my own story, and told them I. should prevail
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 had 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 pretended
to have no power without me ; but after some difficulty, and
after their solemn promises of amendment, they were taken on
254 Rpobirtsors^ Crusoe
board, and were some time after soundly whipped and pickled j
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 parrots ; also I forgot not to take the money I for-
merly 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 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 nth of June, in the year 1687, having been
thirty-five years absent.
I HEN I came to England, I was as per-
Ffect a stranger to all the world as if I had
I never been known there. My benefac-
[tor and faithful steward, whom I had
»left my money in trust with, was alive,
tbut had had great misfortunes in the
^world ; was become a widow the second
ne, and very lo.w in the world. I
I made her very easy as to what she owed
me, assuring her I would give her no trpuble ; but on the con-
trary, in gratitude for former care and faithfulness to me, I re-
lieved 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 hfelp her, as shall be ob-
served in its proper place. I went down afterwards into York-
shire ; but my father and mother were dead, and all the family
extinct, except that I found two sisters, and two of the children
of one of my brothers ; and as I had been long ago given over
for dead, there had been no provision iliade 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 set-
tling in the world.
I met with one piece of gratitude, indeed, which I did not
expect J and this was, that the master of the ship whom I had
so happily delivered, and by the same means saved the ship
and cargo, having given a very handsome account to the own-
ers of the manner how I had saved the lives of the men, and
the ship, they invited me to meet them, and some other mer-
chants 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 towards settling
me in the world, I resolved to go to Lisbon, and see if I might
^56 RpoAiftson^ Crusoe
not come by some information 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 accompanying
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, and as soon
brought myself to his remembrance, vvhen 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 about nine years ; but that he could assure me
that when he came away my partner was living ; but the trus-
tees, whom I had joined with him to take 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 pro-
duce 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 con-
version of the Indians to the Catholic faith ; but that if I ap-
peared, or any one for me, to claim the inheritance, 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 proviedore, 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 received my moiety. I asked him if
/JDoJbirtsors^ Crusoe ^57
he knew to what height of improvement 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 in the moiety.
He told me he could not tell exactly to what degree the plan-
tation was improved, but this he knew, that my partner was
grown exceeding rich upon the enjoying his part of it ; and
that, to 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, amounted 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 hon-
est 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 sum 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 ac-
count, 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, etc.
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 intermeddle 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 posses-
sion 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, perhaps, may not be so acceptable to you as the rest ;
and that is, believing you were lost, and all the world believing
so also, your partner and trustees did offer to account with me,
17
258 Rs>oAinsor\^ Crusoe
in your name, for six or eight 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 afterwards it pro-
duced : however, says the old man, I. shall give you a true
account of what I have received in all, and how I have dis-
posed 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 delivered in goods, viz., tobacco in roll, and
sugar in chests, besides rum, molasses, etc., which is the con-
sequence of a sugar-work ; and I found, by this account, that
every year the income considerably increased ; 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 writings 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 ? He told me he
Rpobiixson^ Crusoe ^59
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 hundred of the moidores, and called for a pen and
ink to give him a receipt 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 afterwards
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 ex-
pect, 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 immediately to appropriate the
profits to my use : and as there were ships in the river of
Lisbon just ready to go away to Brazil, he made me 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 acquaintance at the place ; and then pro-
posed my staying with him till an account came of the return.
Never was anything more honourable than the proceedings
upon this procuration ; for in less than seven months I re-
ceived 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 bal-
anced with my old Portugal captain, being for six years : the
balance appeared to be one thousand one hundred and seventy-
four moidores in my favour.
Secondly, There was the account of four years more, while
they kept the effects in their hands, before the government
260 UpoAirtsors^ Crusoe
claimed the administration, as being thcefFects 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 received the profits for above fourteen years; but not
being to account for what was disposed of by the hospital, very
honestly declared he had eight hundred and seventy-two moi-
dores 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, dongratulating 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 of acres that it contained,
how planted, how many slaves there were upon it, and making
two and twenty crosses for blessings, told me 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 posses-
sion of my own ; and, in the mean time, 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 ship that he had sent thither, and who, it seems, had
made a better voyage than I. He 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 sur-
prise 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 somethiiig of the real cause of
my illness being known, he ordered me to be let blood ; after
which I had relief, and grew well : but I verily believe, if I
had 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 enjoyment 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 Heaven, 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 dis-
charge 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.
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
a62 Rs>ojbit%.son^ Crusoe
hide my money in, or a place where it might lie without a lock
or key, till it grew mouldy and tarnished, before any body
would meddle with it ; on the contrary, I knew not where to
put it, or whom to trust with it. My aid patron, the captain,
indeed, was honest, and that was the 6nly 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 had 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 to 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 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, naturalised 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 openly of the religion
of the country all the while I was among them, so neither
BsoAirtson^ Crusoe ^^3
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 them, I began to regret my having professed
myself a papist, and thought it might n'ot 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 eiFects behind me ; so I resolved, at
last, to go to England with it, where.; if I arrived, I con-
cluded I should make some acquaintance, or find some rela-
tions 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 hundred
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 pext a letter of thanks
to my two trustees, with all the acknowledgment that so much
justice and honesty called for; as for sending them any pres-
ent, they were far above having any occasion for it. Lastly,
I wrote to my partner, acknowledging his industry in the im-
proving 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 should hear from me more particu-
larly ; 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 some Italian silks
for his wife and two daughters, for such the captain's son
informed me he had ; with two pieces of fine English broad-
cloth, the best I could get in Lisbon^ five pieces of black
baize, and some Flanders lace of a good value.
Having thus settled my affairs, sold my cargo, and turned
264 Rsiobirtson^ Crusoe
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 time; and though I could give no
reason for it, yet the difficulty increased upon me so much,
that though I had once shipped my baggage, in order to go,
yet I altered my mind, and that not opce, but two or three
times.
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.
Having 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 pleasantdr 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
RpoAirtsoix^ Orusoe ^65
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 honour to c^Il 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 some time to see the court of
Spain, and to see what was worth observing ; but it being
the latter part of the summer, we hastened away, and set out
from Madrid about the middle of October ; but when we came
to the edge of Navarre, we were 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, in-
deed ; 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, indeecf, was it more painful
than surprising, to come but ten days before out of Old
Castile, where the weather was not only waiTn, but very
hot, and immediately to feel a wind from the Pyrenean
mountains, so very keen, so severely cpld, as to be intolera-
ble, and to endanger the benumbing and perishing of our
fingers and toes.
Poor Friday was really frightened when he saw the moun-
tains 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
266 RDohir\,^oT\^ Crusoe
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 Pampe-
luna ; when seeing the winter coming on, and no likelihood
of its being better, for it was the severest winter all over Eu-
rope that had been known in the memory of man, I proposed
that we should all go away to Fontarabia, and there take ship-
ping 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
sufficiently to protect ourselves from wiM 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, we were told, we were in most
danger from, especially on the French side of the mountains.
He 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.
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 come into
the plain country, we found ourselves in a warm climate
again, where the country was pleasant, and no snow to be
seen ; but on a sudden turning to his left, he approached the
/tsoJbiftsors^ Crusoe ^^7
mountains another way ; and though it is true the hills and
precipices looked dreadful, yet he made so many tours, such
meanders, and led us by such winding ways, that we insensi-
bly 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.
bT was about two hours before night,
fwhen our guide being something before
.us, and not just in sight, out rushed
kthree monstrous wolves, and after them
fa bear, out of a hollow way, adjoining
' to a thick wood ; two of the wolves
rmade at the guide, and had he been far
I 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 ride up, and see what was the matter. As soon as Fri-
day came in sight of the man, he hallooed out as loud as the
other, O master ! O master ! but, like a bold fellow, rode
268 R^obirt^otK. Crusoe
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 respecting 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, indeed, 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 pro-
digious 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 him 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 for him, the greatest diversion imagina-
ble. As the bear is a heavy, clumsy creature, and does not
gallop as the wolf does, who is swift and light, so he hSs
two particular qualities, which generally are the rule of his
actions : first, as to men, who are not his proper prey (he
RsoJbiixson^ Crusoe ^^9
does not usually attempt them, except they first attack him,
unless he be excessively 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 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, arid 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 nor 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 from 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, mon-
strous one it was, the biggest by far that ever I saw. We
were all a little surprised when we saw him ; but when Fri-
day saw him, it was easy to see joy and courage in the fellow's
countenance ; O, O, O ! says Friday, three times, pointing to
him ; O master ! you give me te leave, me shakee te hand
with him ; me makee you good laugh.^
I was surprised to see • the fellow so well pleased : You
fool, says I, -he will eat 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
Kke the wind.
The bear was walking softly on, and offered to meddle
with nobody, till Friday coming pretty near, calls to him as
270 RDobiirsoTK. Crusoe
if the bear could understand him, Hark ye, hark ye, says Fri-
day, me speakee with you. We followed at 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 heels 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 answered 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' comes after him, tak-
ing 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 run towards 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 making 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 suddsn, 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 upon 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 distance ; the first thing he
did, he stopped at the gun, smelt to 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 seeing the bear get up the tree, we all rode
near to him.
When we came to the tree, there vvas Friday got out to
the small end of a large branch, and the bear got about half
RpoAiixson^ Crusoe ^71
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 ag^in, as if he had sup-
posed 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 farther ; 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, O 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 we thought he de-
pended upon shaking the bear off; and we found the 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, sliding 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 you shoot him ? — No shoot, says
Friday, no yet : me no shoot now, me no kill ; me stay, give
you one more laugh ; and, 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 cau-
872 RDoJbJTtsors^ Crusoe
tiously, looking behind him every step, 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 juncture, and just before he could set his hind-foot on the
ground, Friday stepped up close to him, clapped the muzzle
of his piece into 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 mountaihs ; and the ravenous
creatures, as we heard afterwards, were come down into the
forest and plain country,- pressed by hunger, to seek for food,
and had done a great deal of mischief in the villages, where
they surprised the country people, killed a great many of
their sheep and horses, and some people 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
/is>oJbinsof\. Crusoe ^73
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 eating 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 towards us, all in a body,
and most of them in a line, as regularly as an army drawn up
by an experienced 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 con-
tinued to advance upon us ; and then that those who had fired
at first should not pretend to load their fusees again, but stand
ready every one with a pistol, for we were all armed with a
fusee and a pair of pistols each man j so we were, by this
method, able to fire six volleys, half of us at a time. How-
ever, at present we had no necessity : for upon firing the first
volley, the enemy made a full stop, being terrified as well with
the n6ise as with the fire } four of them being shot in the head,
18
274 Rpobirtsors^ Crusoe
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 creatures were terrified 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 gallop, 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 little but 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 howling 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 for-
ward, 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 opening 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 at 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
entrance where the horse came out, we found the carcasses of
another horse and of two men, devoured by the ravenous crea-
tures ; and one of the men was no doubt the same whom we
heard fire the gun, for there lay a gun just by him fired off;
/isoJbiitson^ Crusoe ^^5
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 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 suppose 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 theta
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 groveling kind of noise, and
mounted the piece of timber, which, as I said, was our breast-
work, 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 continual firing, for they came
on like devils, those behind pushing on 'those before.
When we had fired a second volley of our fusees, we
thought they stopped a little, and I hoped they would have
gone off; but it was but a moment, for others came for-
ward again : so we fired two volleys of our pistols ; and I be-
lieve in these four firings we had killed seventeen 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 un-
charged pistol close to the powder, set it on fire : those that
were upon the timber were scorched with it ; and six or seven
276 fi^oAirtson^ Crusoe
of them fell or rather jumped in among us, with the force and
fright of the fire : we despatched 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 struggling on the ground,
and fell a cutting them with our swtords, which 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 threescore 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 pre-
serve 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 Thoulouse, where we found a warm climate, a fruit-
ful, pleasant country, and no snow, no wolves, nor anything
like them ; but when we told our story at Thoulouse, they
told us it was nothing but what was ordinary in the great
forest at the foot of the mountains, especially 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 our-
selves, and the horses in the middle, they blamed us exceed-
ingly, and told us it was fifty to one but we had been all
JRsfoJbiixson^ Crusoe ^77
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 excessive 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 had 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 all together, and left our
horses, that 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. For
my part, I was never so sensible of danger in my life ; for
seeing above three hundred devils come roaring and open-
mouthed to devour us, and having nothing to shelter us, or re-
treat 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 off, with much more advantage than I can. I
travelled from Thoulouse to Paris, and without any consider-
able 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 exchange which I brought with me having been very
currently paid.
My principal guide and privy counsellor was my good an-
cient 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 beginning, and now to the end, in
the unspotted integrity of this good gentlewoman.
278 Rs)obiixsoTs^ Orusoe
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 remitted 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 thou-
sand eight hundred pieces of eight for the estate, reserving the
payment of a hundred moidores a year to himself during his
life, and fifty moidores afterwards 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 dissuaded me from it, and so far prevailed
with me, that for almost seven years, she prevented my run-
ning abroad ; during which time I took my two nephews, the
children of one of my brothers, into my care : the eldest hav-
ing something of his own, I bred up as a gentleman, and gave
him a settlement of some addition to his estate, after my de-
cease. The other I put out to a captajn of a ship ; and after
five years, finding him a sensible, bold, enterprising young fel-
low, I put him into a good ship, and sent him to sea ; and this
young fellow afterwards drew me in, old as I was, to further
adventures myself.
In the mean time, I in part settled' myself here; for, first
of all, I married, and that not either to my disadvantage or
dissatisfaction, and had three 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 account 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
BsoJbiixsor^ Crusoe ^79
flesh," was never more verified than in the story of my life.
Any one wrould think that, after five years' aifliction, and a
variety of unhappy circumstances, which few men, if any, ever
went through before, and after near seven years of peace and
enjoyment in the fulness 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 con-
densed, 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 increas-
ing ; for having no great family, I could not spend the income
of what I had, unless I would set up for an expensive way of
living, such as a great family, servants, equipage, gaiety, and
the like, which were things I had no notion of, or inclination
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 fefFect upon me, or at
least not enough to resist the strong inclination I had to go
abroad again, which hung about me like, a chronical distemper.
In particular, the' desire of seeing my 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 conversation tiresome, for I could talk of nothing else :
all my discourse ran into it, even to impertinence ; and I saw
it in myself.
kHAVE often heard persons of good
fjudgment say, that all the stir people
Wake in the world about ghosts and ap-
fparitions is owing to the strength of
^imagination, and the powerful operation
Jof fancy in their minds ; that there is
\no such thing as a spirit appearing, or
la ghost walking, and the like : that peo-
Vple's poring afFectionately upon the past
conversation of their deceased friends, so realises it to them,
that they are capable of fancying,' upon some extraordinary cir-
cumstances, that they see them, talk to them, and are answered
by them, when, in truth, there is nothing but shadow and vapour
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
vapours, 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 vapours, or what eise 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 with 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 repre-
sented to me. One time, in my sleep, I had the villainy of
the three pirate sailors so lively related to me by the first
Spaniard and Friday's father, that it was surprising ; they told
me how they barbarously attempted to murder all the Span-
iards, 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 realised
BsoAiftson^ Crusoe ^^^
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 Spaniard 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
literally and specifically true ; but the general part was so true,
the base, villainous behaviour of these three hardened rogues
was such, and had been so much worse than all I can de-
scribe, that the dream had too much similitude of the fact ; and
as I would afterwards have punished them severely, so, if I had
hanged them all, I had been much in the right, and even
should have been justified both by the laws 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 agreeable 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 seriously one night, that she believed
there was some secret powerful impulse 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 Here she found mfe 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 per-
ceived that her heart was too full, and some tears stood in her
eyes. 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 hindrance, I will go with you : for though I think
it a most preposterous thing for one of your years, and in your
condition, yet if it must be, said she, again weeping, I would
282 Rs>obiixsors^ Crusoe
not leave you ; for if it be of Heaven, you must do it ; there
is no resisting it : and if Heaven made it your duty to go, he
w^ill also make it mine to go with you, or otherwise dispose of
me, that I may not obstruct it.
This affectionate behaviour of my wife's brought me a little
out of the vapours, 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, aiter 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 adven-
tures fit only for youth and poverty to run into ?
With those thoughts I considered my new engagements ;
that I had a wife, one child born, aijd 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 declin-
ing 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 from Heaven, 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 con-
quered it ; composed myself with such arguments as occurred
to my thoughts, and which my present 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 any-
thing 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 improve-
ment ; and it was many ways suited to my inclination, which
delighted in cultivating, managing, planting, and improving of
land ; and particularly, being an inland country, I was re-
moved from conversing among sailors, and things relating to
remote parts of the world.
RpoJbiixson^ Crusoe ^^3
In a word, I went down to my farm, settled my family,
bought me ploughs, harrows, a cart, waggon, horses, cows,
and sheep, and setting seriously to work, became, in one
half year, a mere country gentleman ; my thoughts were
entirely taken up in managing my servants, cultivating the
ground, enclosing planting, etc. ; 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 no articles : I could pull up or cut down as I
pleased ; what I planted was for myself, and what I improved
w^as for my family; and having thus left ofF the thoughts of
wandering, I had not the least discomfort 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 recommended
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 frpm care,
Age has no pain, and youth no snare."
But, in the middle of all this felicity, one blow from unseen
Providence 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 disposi-
tion, 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 me. 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 particu-
lar 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 centre 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 instructions, a friend's
counsel, or all my own reasoning powers could do. I was
284 Rpobirtsors^ Crusoe
happy in listening to her tears, and in being moved by her
entreaties ; 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.
I was as much a stranger in it, in mythoughts, as I was in
the Brazils, when I first went on shore there ; and as much
alone, except as to the assistance of seryants, 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 labouring 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 labour spent their strength in daily struggling
for bread to maintain the vital strength they laboured 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
wearisome life, and a wearisome life the only occasion of
daily bread.
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 favour 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, far at least hoped for,
on this side the grave.
But my sage counsellor was gone ; I was like a ship with-
out a pilot, that could only run afore the wind : my thoughts
ran all away again into the old alFair ; 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
HsoAiftson^ Crusoe ^^s
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 London ; and in a few months after I did so.
When I came to London, I was still as uneasy 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 perfectly useless in God's crea-
tion, and it is not one farthing's matter to the rest of his
kind whether he be dead or alive. This also was the thing
which, of all other circumstances of life, was the most my
diversion, 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 concur-
rence of second 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 wan-
dering was returned upon me, and I knetv 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 circumstances 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
286 fi^oJbirtsoTv. Crusoe
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 project 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 per-
ceiving that I was not so much displeased with the prop)osal,
he recovered himself, I hope it may not be an unlucky pro-
posal, 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.
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 farther 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 again 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 condition 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 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 needless
R5>oJbin.son^ Crusoe ^^7
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 voyage ; 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 pro-
vision 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, whatever 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 de-
served, for no mother 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 her for it.
My nephew was ready to sail about the beginning of Jan-
urary 1694—5; and I, with my man Friday, went on board in
the Downs the 8th ; having, besides that sloop which I men-
tioned above, a very considerable cargo of all kinds of necessary
things for my colony ; which, if I did not find in good condi-
tion, 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 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 dexterous at making
wheels, and hand-mills to grind corn, was a good turner, 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 v/ith my nephew,
but afterwards consented to stay on our new plantation ; and
proved a most necessary, handy fellow as could be desired, in
288 R<)ohirt6ors^ Crusoe
.^■— — -■ ,
many other businesses besides that of his trade : for, as I
observed formerly, necessity arms us for all employments.
My cargo, as near as I can recollect, for I had not kept ac-
count 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 fcr wearing, amounted to above two hundred
pounds, including some beds, bedding, and household stuff,
particularly kitchen utensils, with pots, kettles, pewter, brass,
etc., and near a hundred pounds more in iron work, nails, tools
of every kind, staples, hooks, hinges, 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 extrem-
ities I was providing for, I carried a hundred barrels of powder,
besides swords, cutlasses, and the iron part of some pikes and
halberds : so that, in short, we had a large magazine 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 that 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 it at
first : and I, who had never made but one voyage, viz., my
first voyage to Guinea, in which I might he said to come
back again as the voyage was at first designed, began to
think the same ill fate attended me ; aiid that I was born to
jRsoJbinson^ Crusoe 289
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 wind-
bound two-and-twenty days ; but we had this satisfaction
with the disaster, that provisions were here exceeding cheap,
and in the utmost plenty; so that while we lay here, we
never touched the ship's stores, but rather 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.
jE set out on the 5th of February from
I Ireland, and had a very fair gale of
I wind for some days. As I remember,
I it might be about the 20th of February,
(in the evening late, when the mate,
I having the watch^ came into the round-
I house, and told us he saw a flash of
Ifire, and heard a gun fired j 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 be 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 that it could not be far oiF, we stood
19
290 Rsohirtsors^ Crusoe
directly towards 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
rriuch 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 circumstances 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 j that, if
possible, we might give notice to them that there was help for
them at hand, and that they might endeavour to save them-
selves in their boat ; for though we could see the flames of the
ship, yet they, it being night, could see nothing of us.
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 a 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 j 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.
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 wi^nd being against them ;
that they saw our ship, and did their utmost to let us see them.
jRsoAtTtsofy. Crusoe ^q^
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 fn, 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 un his crying out for
help, was as every body 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 afterwards getting in between
the timbers, and within the ceiling of t:he 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 service to them, other than to get some fresh
water and provisions into her, after they had secured their
lives from the fire. They ■ had, indeed, small hope of their
lives by getting into these boats, at that distance from any
land ; only, as they said well, that they were escaped 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
compass ; 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 provi-
sion 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 Newfoundland,
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
gga R^oI}in.sot\^ Crusoe
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 hope-
less 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
surprised 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 inexpressible joy, they found
we saw them.
It is impossible for me to express the several gestures, the
strange ecstasies, the variety of postures, which these poor
delivered people ran into, to express the joy of their souls
at so unexpected a deliverance. 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 extravagancies
in it : there were some in tears j 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 with their feet, others wringing
their hands 5 some were dancing, some smging, some laughing,
more crying ; many quite dumb, not kble to speak a word ;
others sick and vomiting ; several swooning, and ready to
faint ; and a few were crossing themselves, and giving God
thanks.
BsoAinsofx. Crusoe ^93
I would not wrong them neither; there might be many
that were thankful afterwards, but the passion was too strong
for them at first, and they were not able to master it : they
were thrown into ecstasies, 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 particular circumstance of that nation they belonged to :
I mean the French, whose temper i§ 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 ecstasies poor Friday, my trusty
savage, was in, when he found his father in the boat, came
the nearest to it ; and the surprise of the master and his
two companions, whom I delivered from the villains that set
them on shore in the island, came a little way towards 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 extravagancies 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 immediate 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 obliged 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 appli^id
294 RpoAirtson^ Orusoe
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 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 iirst, 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 tifne 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
ecstasy 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 creature that ever was
in it : the surgeon would not bleed him again in that condi-
tion, 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 thank-
fulness for his deliverance, in which I unhappily and
unseasonably disturbed him, really thinking he had been in
a swoon, but he spoke calmly, thanked me, told me he 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 aiFection, but with
tears in his eyes, thanked me, that had, under God, given
Mm, and so many miserable creatures, their lives. I told
Rpobirtsor^ Crusoe ^95
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 ; laboured to compose them ; persuaded, entreated,
argued, reasoned with them; and diJ his utmost to keep
them within the exercise of their 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 he useful to these into whose hands it may fall, for the
guiding themselves in all the extravagancies 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 extrava-
gancies 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 extravagancies
among our new guests, for the first day ; but when they had
been retired, lodgings 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
kindness shown them, was wanting ; the French, it is known,
are naturally apt enough 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 nioney, 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
296 R^obiixsors^ Crusoe
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 afterwards ; 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 be-
ing sold to a Mahometan excepted ; and perhaps a Portuguese
is not a much better master 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 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 5
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 perhaps were directed
by Heaven on purpose for their deliverance, yet it was impos-
sible for us wilfully to change our voyage on their particular
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 homeward 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
jRsoJbinson^ Crusoe ^97
a very great consternation, 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 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, from whence they came.
I thought this was but a reasonable request on their part,
and therefore I inclined to agree to it ; for, indeed, I consid-
ered, that to carry this whole company to the East Indies
would not only be an intolerable 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 necessary 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 condi-
tion ; and the nature of the thing, as well respecting ourselves
as the poor people, obliged us to set them on shore somewhere
or other for their deliverance : so I consented that we would
carry them to Newfoundland, if wind and weather would per-
mit ; and if not, that I would carry them to Martinico, in the
West Indies.
HE wind continued fresh easterly, but
the weather pretty good ; and as the
winds had continued in the points be-
tween 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, that they durst take 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 New-
foundland ; 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 afterwards to carry them to France, if they
could get provisions to victual themselves with. When I say
all the French went on shore, I should remember, that the
young priest I spoke of, hearing 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 readily agreed to, for I
wonderfully liked the man, and had very good reason, as will
appear afterwards : also four of the seamen entered themselves
on our ship, and praved 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 humanity 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, 1694-5, 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,
RDoJbirtson^ Crusoe ^99
we found she had lost her main topmast, foremast, and bow-
sprit ; 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 Bar-
badoes, 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 indif-
ferent case for good artists to bring the ship home. They had
been already nine weeks at sea, and had met with another
terrible storm, 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 ex-
pected to have seen the Bahama islands, but were then driven
away again to the south-east, by a strong gale of wind at
N.N.W,, the same that blew now : and having 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 endeavouring 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 deplorable 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
300 R^obiixsors^ Crusoe
led me (the weather being fair, and the wind abated) to go on
board the ship. The second mate, wbo, upon this occasion,
commanded the ship, had been on board our ship, and he told
me, indeed, they had three passengers 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 ojirselves togive 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 Virginia, 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 poor wretches looked 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 declared 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
immediately ; 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 mean time, 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 greediness,
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 re-
jRsoAiitson^ Crusoe 30^
lating 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 neglected, 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 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 repbrt, 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 orders, and kept a good guard at the cook-
room door ; and the man he placed there, after using all pos-
302 Rpobiixsors^ Orusoe
sible persuasion to have patience, kept them ofF by force :
however he caused some biscuit-cakes to be dipped 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 little at a time. But it was all
in vain ; and had I not come on board, and their own com-
mander 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 fofce, 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 neg-
lected 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 would have said they should take care of him.
However, the mate, who was exceedingly moved with the
sight, endeavoured to get some of the broth into her mouth,
and, as he said got two or three spoonfuls down ; though I
question whether he could be sure of it or not : but it was too
late, and she died the same night.
jRsoJbin.son^ Crusoe 3°3
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 glovp in his mouth, having
eaten up 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 extraordinary,
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
afterwards, 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 ex-
perience, 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 considerable time after, as shall appear
presently.
Whoever shall read these memorandums must be desired
to consider, 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 a ship that had no masts : however, as
their captain begged of us to help him to set up a main top-
mast, and a kind of topmast to his jury foremast, we did, as it
were, lie by him for three or four days j and then having given
304
RDobirtsors^ Crusoe
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 ; 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 per-
haps in as bad circumstances almost as those we found him in,
that is to say, starving in the world. He said it mattered not
whither he went, if he was but 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 thankful
for it, let us carry them where we would. The surgeon rep-
resented the case so affectionately to me, that I yielded, and
we took them both on board, with all their goods, except eleven
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, obliging 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 deliver a letter
which I wrote to him, and all the goods he had belonging' 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,
jRsoJbiftsors^ Crusoe 305
and so far from any land, that I am of opinion the first storm
she met with afterwards she might founder in the sea ; for she
was leaky and had damage 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,
etc., on the rest of our voyage; but to shorten my story, for
the sake of what is to follow, shall observe, that I came to my
old habitation, the island, on the loth 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 east side
of the island, as coming from the Brazils, so now, coming
in between 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 Oronoco, 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 conti-
nent 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 in-
habited something 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 Frenchman's shallop, which we
had found a convenient boat, and therefore kept her with thpir
3o6 RpoAittsors. Crusoe
very good will, at length I came fair oij' 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.
IS soon as I saw the place, I called for
Friday, and asked him if he knew
I where he was ;* he looked about a
little, and presently clapping his hands,
cried, O yes, O there, O yes, O there,
I pointing to our old habitation, and fell
[dancing and capering like a mad fel-
I low ; and I had much ado to keep him
ifrom 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 fathjer ? No, 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 see, 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 suppose, because I could
RDoJbiitsoix. Crusoe 307
not hit the place ; for the fellow was right, as I found upon
inquiry the next day 5 and there were five or six men all to-
gether, 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 had 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 me. We had besides about
sixteen men well armed, if we had found any new guestsi
there which we did not know of; but we had no need of
weapons.
As we went on shore upon the tide of 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 afterwards. 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 em-
braced him, kissed him, stroked his face, took him up in his
arms, set him down upon a tree, and lay down by him ;
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
3o8 Pj)oI}irLSOf\^ Crusoe
dog laugh the next day to see how* his pission 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 of what had happened to
him abroad, to divert him. In short, if the same filial aiFec-
tion 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 towards the boat, attended by one more, car-
rying a flag of truce also ; and he not only did not know me at
first, but he had no thoughts, no notion of its 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 per-
fectly hear, came forward and embraced me ; telling me he
was inexcusable not to know that face again, that he had once
seen as if 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 beckoning to the person that
attended him, bade him go and call out his comrades. He then
asked me if I would walk to my oldi 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
JJsoJbirtsofx^ Crusoe 309
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 need enough of it, when
they had given me an account how they had passed their time
since their arriving in the island, especially after they had the
misfortune to find that 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 disappointment he was under when he came back
to the island and found I was not there.
As to the three barbarians (so he called them) that were left
behind, and of whom, he said, he had a long story to tell me,
the Spaniards all thought themselves much better among the
savages, only that their number was so small; and, says he,
had they been strong enough, we had been long ago in purga-
tory ; and with that he crossed himself on the breast. 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 pre-
servation, 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 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 villains, 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 gu,ess what nation they
were of; but he made all clear, both to them and me. First
310 RpoAirtsors^ Crusoe
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 of noble-
men, and I a monarch or great conqueror : their behaviour
was to the last degree obliging and courteous, 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 account I have already given, that I cannot but com-
mit them, with great delight, to the reading of those that come
after me.
I shall no longer trouble the story With a relation in the
first person, which will put me to the expense of ten thou-
sand said /'j, and said he's^ and he told Trie's^ and / 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 my con-
versing with them and with the place.
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
companions that he left behind him, in order to save them
from the like calamity that he had been in, and in order
to succour them for the present ; and that, if possible, we
might together find some way for our deliverance afterwards.
When I sent them away, I had no visible appearance of,
or the least room to hope for, my own deliverance, any more
RsoJbiixson^ Crusoe 3"
than I had twenty years before ; much less had I any fore-
knowledge of what afterwards 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 prin-
cipal 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 deliv-
erance, and in what manner he was furnished for carrying
them away, it was like a dream to them, and their astonish-
ment, he said, 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 them-
selves, took a just share of the joy of their deliverance, and
immediately prepared to come away with him.
Their first business was to get canoes : and in this they
were obliged 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 periaguas, on pretence of going out a
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 provi-
312 Rs)obin.sors^ Crusoe
sions, 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 in 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, ungov-
erned, disagreeable villains behind me, that 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 admission 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 fa-
ther together, managed all their affairs : but as for the Eng-
lishmen, 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 themselves, neither would they
let the others eat. The differences, nevertheless, were at
first but trivial, and such as are not worth relating, but at
last it broke out into 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,^:he first relation of
/JsaJbiftsor^ Crusoe 313
it came from the Spaniards themselves, whom I may call the
accusers, yet when I came to examine 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 appeased till the
captain, rousing up his courage, and taking us all to his
assistance, parted them by force, and making two of the
most refractory 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 England, and have them hanged
there for mutiny, and running away with the ship. This, it
seems, though the captain did not intend to do it, frightened
some other men in the ship ; and sonie 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 gaol,
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 honour's word to them, they
appeared easy, and the more so when I caused the two men
that were in irons to be released 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 or 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 com-
panions 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 neither
314 RDoAifxson^ Crusoe
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, an3 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 arc not yet come.
When the Spaniards came first on shore, the business be-
gan 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.
Here they built them two huts, one to lodge in, and the
other to lay up their magazines and stores in ; and the Span-
iards 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, fur-
nished him to do.
HEY were going on in this little thriv-
ing posture, when the three unnatural
rogues, their own countrymen too, in
mere humour, and to insult them, came
and bullied them, and told them the
island was theirs ; that the governor,
meaning me, had given them the pos-
session 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 de-
manded ; 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
customs of landlords, grant a long lease ; and desired they would
get a scrivener to draw the writings. One of the three, curs-
ing 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 fire-
brand, 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.
The fellow was in such a rage at the honest man's thrust-
ing 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 we^e 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 quarrej with the stock of his
3i6 Rs>obirt3ors^ Crusoe
musket, and that before the other two could come to help
him ; and then seeing the rest come at them, they stood to-
gether, and presenting the other ends of their pieces to them,
bade them stand off.
The others had fire-arms 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, indeed, lay down their arms, but
seeing him so resolute, it brought thern to a parley, and they
consented to take their wounded man w4th them and be gone ;
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 effect-
ually, 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 re-
venge, 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, shoot-
ing 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 resolved to fight them all three,
the first time they had a fair opportunity. 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 Spaniards 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 an-
swered that they wanted to speak with ehem.
It happened that the day before, two of the Spaniards,
having been in the woods, had seen one of the two English-
men, whom for distinction, 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 destroyed their
BsoJbirtson^ Crusoe 3^7
corn that they had laboured so hard jto bring forward, and
killed the milch goat and their three kid's, 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
labour, 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 v-ery briskly, what had
they to do there ? that they came on shore without leave ;
and that they should not plant or build upon the island ; it
was none of their ground. Why, says the Spaniard, very
calmly, Senhor Inglese, they must not starve. The English-
man 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 t 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 Englishman answered, the island was theirs ; the gov-
ernor had given it to them, and no man had anything to do
there but themselves ; and with that swbre 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 — nie's in the proper in-
tervals 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 '11 demolish their castle, I '11
warrant you ; they shall plant no colony in our dominions.
Upon this they went all trooping away, with every man a
ai8 RstoJbinson^ Crusoe
gun, a pistol, and a sword, and muttered some insolent things
among themselves, of what they would do to the Spaniards
too, when opportunity offered ; but the Spaniards, it seems,
did not so perfectly understand them as to know all the par-
ticulars, only that, in general, they threatened them hard for
taking the two Englishmen's part.
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 themselves. The case was this ;
they had resolved to stay till midnight, and so take the poor
men when they were asleep, and, as they acknowledged after-
wards, 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 onie 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, Atkins,
who, it seems, was the forwardest man,, called out to his com-
rade. Ha, Jack, here 's the nest, but, 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 household-stufF in pieces, and threw every-
thing about in such a manner, that the poor men afterwards
found some of their things a mile off their habitation. When
they had done this, they pulled up all the young trees which
RpoAittson^ Crusoe 3'^
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 ; so, that, had they met,
there certainly would have been bloodshed among them ; for
they were all very stout, resolute fellows, 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 afterwards, 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' jnto, 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 tofhim, 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 ear, and he bled pretty
much. The blood made the Spaniard believe he 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 resolving 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
320 Rpobiixsor^ Crusoe
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 country-
men, 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 dne 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.
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 fire-arms. But the Spaniards,
despising their threatening, 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. However, 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 sup-
posed that they had provocation 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 punishment at
all.
The Spaniards, indeed, despised them, and especially, having
thus disarmed them, made light of their fhreatenings ; but the
two Englishmen resolved to have their remedy against them,
what pains soever it cost to find them out. But the Spaniards
Bj>oJbiitson^ Crusoe 3"
interposed here too, and told them, that as they had disarmed
them, they could not consent that they (the two) should pur-
sue them with fire-arms, and perhaps kill them. But, said the
grave Spaniard, who was their governor, we will endeavour to
make them do you justice, if you will leave it to us ; for there
is no doubt but 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 defence. The two Englishmen yielded to this very awk-
wardly, 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 destroyed.
In about five days' time the three vagrants, tired with wan-
dering, 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 walking 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 had acted so unnaturally by their
countrymen, and so very grossly by them (the Spaniards), that
they could not come to any conclusion without consulting the
two Englishmen and the rest ; but, however, they would go
to them, and discourse about it, and they should know in half
an 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 mean time, 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 labour, and a design to murder them ;
322 P^obiixsors^ Orusoe
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 obliged the two Englishmen
not to hurt the three while they were naked and unarmed, so
they now obliged the three to go and rebuild their fellows' two
huts, one to be of the same, and the other of larger dimensions,
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 in
the same state as they found it, as near as they could ; for en-
tirely 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
provisions 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 inso-
lent and troublesome as before : but, however, an accident
happened presently upon this, which endangered the safety of
them all ; and they were obliged to lay by all private resent-
ments, 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 tumultuous ; his mind ran upon
men fighting and killing of one another, but he was broad awake,
Rpohiixsoix^ Crusoe 3^3
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
themselves, and not in hammocks and ship beds, as I did, who
was but one, so they had little to do, v^hen 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 darkl, he could see little or
nothing ; and besides, the trees which I jiad 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 re-
turned 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 for what.
Having 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 cer-
tainly some mischief working near us ; and presently he asked
him. Where are the Englishmen ? — 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
persuaded, from my own experience. I am satisfied our spirits,
embodied have a converse with, and receive intelligence from,
the spirits unembodied, and inhabiting the invisible world ; and
this friendly notice is given for our advaiitage, if we knew how
to make use of it. Come, says he, let us go and look abroad ;
and if we find nothing at all in it to justify the trouble, I '11
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 up to the top of the hill
324 RpoAirtson^ Crusoe
where I used to go ; but they being strong, and a good com-
pany, 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, un-
concerned 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 discovery of there being any inhabitant upon the
place; and when by any occasion they came to know it,
they felt it sd effectually, that they that got away were scarce
able to give any account of it ; for we disappeared 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 en-
counter, who jumped into the boat ; of *vhom 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 accident, 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 them-
selves, 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 fellows, giving them an account of the im-
minent 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
HsoJbinson^ Crusoe 325
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 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 starving 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 very cave itself. Could they have seen
the savages all together in one body, and at a distance from their
canoes, they resolved, 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 afterwards, were of two different nations.
After having mused a great while on the course they should
take, and beating their brains in considering their present cir-
cumstances, 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 concerning them ; as what they came for,
what they intended to do, and the like. The old man readily
undertook it ; and stripping himself quite 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 battle in their own country ; and that both sides hav-
ing 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 great rage at one another, and were so near, that he
326 Rpohirtsors^ Crusoe
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 per-
ceive, 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 be seen : he told them their
safety consisted 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 English-
men ; their curiosity was so importunate upon their pruden-
tials, 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 peo-
ple'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 anyone of those that fled should
run into the grove before their dwelling for shelter, and
thereby involuntarily discover the place; and that, by con-
sequence, 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.
jRj>oJbirtson. Crunsoe 327
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 con-
querors 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 them-
selves into a body together, gave two screaming shouts,
which they supposed was by way of triumph, and so the
fight ended : and the same day, about three o'clock in the
afternoon, they also marched to their canoes. And thus
the Spaniards had their island again free to themselves, their
fight was over, and they saw no more 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 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 ;
328 UDoJbifvson^ Crusoe
the sight had filled them with horror, and the consequences
appeared terrible to the last degree, especially upon sup-
posing 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 naturalised 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 j 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 ;
much less of religion, civilising, and re<lucing 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 them 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 circum-
stances ; and the first thing that came under their considera-
tion, 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
RpoJbiixsotx^ Crusoe 3^9
manifestly to their advantage, they should not rather move
their habitation, and plant in some 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 con-
clude 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 sec-
ond 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 how-
ever they resolved not to change their habitation, yet they
agreed, that as I had carefully covered it iirst with a wall or
fortification, and then with a grove of trees, so seeing their
safety consisted entirely in their 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 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
330 Rpolyirtsors^ Crusoe
any landing thereabout : these stakes also being of a wood
very forward to grow, as I have note4 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 planta-
tion : 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 penetratp it, but with a little
army to cut it all down ; for a little dog could hardly get be-
tween 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, leaving no way, not so much as for them-
selves 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 afterwards 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 lis-
tened 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 retirement, and had no more visits from the savages.
They had indeed an alarm given them one morning, which
put them into a great consternation ; fof some of the Span-
iards 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 giv-
ing the alarm to their comrades, thdy kept close all that day
Rpobittsofx. Crusoe 33"
and the next, going out only at night to make their observa-
tion : but they had the good luck to be mistaken ; for wher-
ever the savages virent, they did not land that time on the
island, but pursued some other design.
And now they had another broil with the three English-
men, 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 en-
treating 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 in-
tended 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 above their corn-
land) knocked the brute down. Another of the Englishmen
running at the same time to help his comrade, 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 fire-arms, '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
332 Pj)obiixsot\^ Crusoe
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 ^o the society ought to
be expelled out of it ; but as they were Englishmen, and that
it was to the generous kindness of an Englishman that they
all owed their preservation and deliverance, he would use them
with all possible lenity, and would leave them to the judg-
mrtit of the other two Englishmen, who were their country-
men.
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 galloiys : and with that he
gives an account how Will Atkins, one of the three, had pro-
posed to have all the five 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 will kill us ? And what
would you get by killing us ? And what must we do to
prevent 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 sniiling. 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 alii the company. This
hairbrain carriage obliged them to consider seriously 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 particu-
larly it should be he that had twice attempted to commit mur-
der with his hatchet ; and, indeed, there was some reason to
believe he had done it, for the poor savage was in such a mis-
erable condition with the wound he had received, that it was
thought he could not live. But the governor Spaniard still
lisoJbiitson^ Crusoe 333
said no ; it was an Englishman that had saved all their lives,
and he would never consent to put an Englishman 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 Span-
iard, that there was no gainsaying it ; and as merciful coun-
sels are most apt to prevail, where they are so earnestly
pressed, so they all came into it : but then 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
danger. After a long debate, it was agreed, first, that they
should be disarmed, 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 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 would shoot them wherever they
could find them.
The governor, a man of great humanity, musing upon the
sentence, considered a little upon it ; and' turning to the two
honest Englishmen, said. Hold ; 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 pro-
visions : 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
334 RDobiixsotx^ Crusoe
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 refrac-
tory, 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 j 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 con-
trived them in a manner like 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 goats'-skins, for beds and cov-
ering, which were given them ; and upon giving their words
that they would not disturb the rest, or injure any of their
plantations, they gave them hatchets, and what other tools
they could spare ; some peas, barley, and rice, for sowing ;
and, in a word, anything they wanted, except arms and
ammunition.
They lived in this separate condition about six months, and
had got 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 Spaniards to help them, which they very readily
JRsoJbiitsofx^ Crusoe 335
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 vil-
lainy 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 labori-
ous life they led, and that without hope of bettering their cir-
cumstances : and a whim. took them, that they would make a
voyage to the continent, from 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
laborious part of their work for them.
The project was not so preposterous, if they had gone no
farther ; 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 opinion, they seemed to be under a blast
from Heaven ; for if we will not allow a visible curse to pur-
sue visible crimes, how shall we reconcile the events of things
with the divine justice ? It was certainly an apparent ven-
geance on their crime of mutiny and piracy that brought them
to the state they were in ; and they showed not the least re-
morse for the crime, but added new villainies to it, such as the
piece of monstrous cruelty of wounding a poor slave, because
he did not, or perhaps 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 wher.e no surgeon or medi-
cine could be had for his cure ; and what was still worse, the
murderous intent, or, to do justice to the crime, the inten-
tional murder, for such to be sure it was, as was afterwards
the formed design they all laid, to murder the Spaniards in
cold blood, and in their sleep.
to
came
UT I leave observing,
the story. — The three
down to the Spaniards
and in very humble terms desired to
be admitted to speak with them ; the
Spaniards very readily heard what they
and return
fellows
one mornmg,
had to
say,
which was this : — That
jthey were tired 6f living in the manner
Fthey did; and that they were not handy
enough to make the necessaries they wanted, and that having
no help, they found they should be starved ; but if the Span-
iards would give them leave to take one of the canoes which
they came over in, and give them arms^ and ammunition pro-
portioned to their defence, they would go over to the main
and seek their fortunes, and so deliver them from the trouble
of supplying them with any other provisions.
The Spaniards were glad enough to get rid of them, but
very honestly 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
be starved, or murdered, and
prophecy, tell them they would
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 were 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 would
give 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 condition to defend themselves : and that though
they could ill spare their fire-arms, 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
Rs>oI)in.sor\. Crusoe 337
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 fifteen or twenty men, and therefore was rather
too big for them to manage ; but as thtfy 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 goats'-
skins dried, which they had sewed on laced together; 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
comfortably 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, be-
hold, after two-and-twenty days' absence, one of the English-
men, being abroad upon his planting work, sees three strange
men coming towards him at a distance,- with guns upon their
shoulders.
Away runs the Englishman, as if he was bewitched, comes
frightened 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 English-
man ; they are men in clothes, with arms. — Nay, then, says
the Spaniard, why are you concerned ? If they are not sav-
ages, they must be friends ; for there is no Christian nation
upon earth but will do us good rather than harm.
While they were debating thus, came the three English-
men, 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
338 Rpohirtsors^ Crusoe
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 in-
quiring 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 pre-
paring 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 an-
other 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 fiei;ce 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 had a feast of
that kind ; and they told them about two moons 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
lisoJbiitson^ Crusoe 339
the next morning at sun-rising they would bring some for
them ; and, accordingly, the next morning, they brought down
five women, and eleven men, and gave them to the English-
men, 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 tliem; 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 particu-
larly pleased with; and then tying the poor creatures' hands,
behind them, they dragged the prisoners into 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 have expected that they should have gone to work
with them, have killed two or three of them the next morning,
and perhaps have invited 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 under-
stood not one word they could say, they put ofF with their boat,
and came back towards 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 endeavoured to have some communi-
cation 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 imme-
diately 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
340 Bj)oJ)irtsof\^ Crusoe
so not be fat enough to kill. If they looked at one of them
more particularly, the party presently concluded it was to sec
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-
favoured, 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, leven in London itself,
having pleasant agreeable countenances, and of a very modest
behaviour : especially when they came afterwards to be clothed
and dressed, as they called it, though that dress was very in-
different, it must be confessed ; 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 behaviour, of the most calm, sedate tempers, and per-
fect good humour, 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 circum-
stances that human nature could be supposed to be, viz., to be
expecting every moment to be dragged out, and have their
Rpobiixsor^ Crusoe 341
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, Fri-
day's father, to go in, and see, first, if he knew any of them,
and then if he understood 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 5
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 another that, anything that lay next, to
carry on their shoulders, to intimate that they were willing to
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 intended 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 gov-
ernor 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 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
that takes her, and should be his wife ; I mean, says he.
342 RooMrtson^ Crusoe
while he continues here, and that none else shall have any-
thing 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 Englishmen
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 Friday's father lived in my old habitation, which they
had enlarged exceedingly 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 one 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 chose; and it was worth observing, that he that chose
first took her that was reckoned 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 business 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 fetched out one by one, the terrors of their condition
returned upon them again, and they firmly believed they
RpoAirtson^ Crusoe 343
were now going to be devoured. Accordingly, when the
English sailor came in and fetched out one of 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 possi-
ble for the Englishman to satisfy them that they were not to
be immediately murdered, till they fetched the old man, Fri-
day's father, who immediately 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, house-
hold 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
before ; 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
arc, 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 tem-
per and humour, for all the five were most willing, quiet,
passive, 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 make, to the honour of a dili-
gent application, on one hand, and to the disgrace of a sloth-
ful, 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
344 RpobiixsorK^ Crusoe
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 culti-
vation, of the planting, 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 came to the place, nothing was
to be seen but wood : and though they had twice had their
plantation demolished, once by their own countrymen, and
once by the enemy, as shall be shown in its place, yet they
had restored all again, and everything was thriving and flour-
ishing 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 labour
of their hands, and where, when the mischief which followed
happened, they secured their wives and children, so as they
could never be found ; they having, by sticking innumerable
stakes and poles of the 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 civilised by their settlement, compared to
what they were before, 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 idle-
ness. 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 here 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,
Rf>obin.son^ Crusoe 345
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 Solo-
mon's words in another place, " that the diligent hand maketh
rich ; " for everything grew and thrived, and they had plenty
within and without ; they had more tame cattle than the
others, more utensils and necessaries 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 husbands' victuals very nicely and well ;
whereas the others could not be brought to understand it :
but then the husband, who, as I say, had been cook's mate,
did it himself. But as for the husbands of the three wives,
they loitered about, fetched turtles' eggs, and caught fish
and birds ; in a word, anything but labour, 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 I now come to a scene different from all that had hap-
pened 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 business 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 inhabitants 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 show themselves, only placing a scout in a
proper place, to give notice when the boats went to sea again.
346 RpoAirtsors^ Crusoe
This was, without doubt, very r^ht; but a disaster
spoiled all these measures, and made it known among the
savages that there were inhabitants 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 nation whatsoever, in
any foreign country, who were so universally modest, tem-
perate, virtuous, so very good-humourfed, 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. Their temper and calmness had ap-
peared 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 consulta-
tion, 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
/if>o/)in.son^ Crusoe 347
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 country work, such as the keeping the goats, the
planting the corn, etc. ; and afterwards they carried them to
the habitation of the two Englishmen.
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 sav^es who came on
shore three or four weeks afterwards ; 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 peoi>le 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 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
348 Rs>obirtsof\^ Crusoe
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 before 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 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 milch goats were kept,
and drove them all out ; leaving 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 Spaniards with all speed, to give
them the alarm, and desire speedy help ; and, in the mean
time, they took their arms and what ammunition they had,
and retreated towards the place in the wood where their
wives were sent ; keeping at a distance, yet so that they
might see, if possible, which way the savages took.
Rpobiixsor^ Crusoe 349
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 flaming up together, to their great
grief and mortification ; for they had a very great loss, to
them irretrievable, at least for some tiifle. 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 farther ; believing, as it afterwards happened,
that the farther they strolled the fewer would be together.
• 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
ftook their standing, resolving to see
^ there what might offer. They had
! not stood there long, before two of the
•savages appeared running directly that
way, as if they already had notice where they stood, and were
coming up to attack them ; and a little way farther 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,
350 R^obiftson^ Crusoe
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 country 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 defend
themselves, fire excepted, as long as their ammunition lasted,
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
towards 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 resolved 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
being 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 dis-
tinctly, 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 marks-
man to miss his aim ; for as the savages kept near one another,
jRsoJbinson^ Crusoe 35'
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 in 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 sensible of the 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 aiiother, 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 mis-
erable enough ; and here the poor ignorant creatures, not
sensible that they were within reach of the same mischief,
stood all of a huddle over the wounded man, talking, 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 killed 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 any-
thing 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
fellows, without some apprehensions 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 together among them ; and
352 RpoAirtson^ Crusoe
singling out, by agreement, which to aint 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 ; ^nd 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 runa-
way savage, that had been the cause of all the mischief, and
of another that was hurt in the knee, and- put them out of their
pain : then the man that was hurt not at all came and kneeled
down to them, with his two hands held up, and made pite-
ous moans to them, by gestures and signs for his life, but
could not say one word to them that they could understand.
However, they made signs to him to sit down at the foot of a
tree hard by ; and one of the Englishmen, with a piece of
rope twined, which he had by great chance in his pocket, tied
his two hands behind him, and there ihky left him : and with
what speed they could made after the other two, which were
gone before, fearing they, or any more 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 ; how-
ever, they had the satisfaction to see them cross over a valley
towards the sea, quite the contrary way from that which led
to their retreat, which they were afraid- of; and being satis-
fied 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 pilace
where their wives were, to see if all was well there, and to
Rpobirtson^ Crusoe 353
make them easy, who were in fright enough, to be sure ; for
though the savages were their own countryfollc, 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 indeed 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, there-
fore, everything very safe, only the worflen 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 was 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 abso-
lute necessity to do so for their own preservation. However,
the Spaniard governor would not consent 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 Span-
iards to guard them, and give them foo^ 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 en-
couraged, 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
23
354 Rs>oAirLsor\^ Crusoe
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 thence 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, towards their ruined plantation ; but a little before
they came thither, coming in sight of the sea-shore, they saw
plainly the savages all embarked again in their canoes, in order
to be gone. They seemed sorry, at fii-st, 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 improvements destroyed, the rest all agreed to come and
help them to rebuild, and to assist them with needful sup-
plies. Their three countrymen, 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 noth-
ing 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 seeing 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 had 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
BsoJbiitsorc Crusoe 355
being killed that had affirmed it, they had no other witness to
confirm it to them. •
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 had either forgot their former bad luck, or 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 eastern-
most 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 concealed was their only safety
before, and would be much more so now, while the number
of their enemies was so great, they therefore resolved, 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 Span-
iards ; 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 their coming. As they guessed, so it hap-
pened ; these new invaders leaving their canoes at the east
end of the island, came ranging along the shore, directly
towards the place, to the number of two hundred and fifty,
as near as our men could judge. Ouf 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
356 Rs>oAin.son^ Crusoe
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, of a long staff, like a
quarter-staff, with a great spike of ir6n fastened Into each
end of it, and by his side a hatchet ; also every one of our
men had a hatchet. Two of the women could not be pre-
vailed upon but they would come into t}ie fight, and they had
bows and arrows, which the Spaniard had taken from the
savages when the first action happened, which I have spoken
of, where the Indians fought with one another ; and the
women had hatchets too.
The Spaniard governor, whom I described so often, com-
manded the whole : and Will Atkins, who, though a dread-
ful fellow for wickedness, 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 Atkins, who
now proved a most useful fellow, with six men, was planted
just behind a small thicket of bushes, as; an advanced 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 throng, he orders three of his men
to fire, having loaded their muskets with six or seven bullets
a piece, about as big as large pistol-bullets. How many
they killed or wounded they knew not, but the consterna-
tion and surprise was inexpressible among the savages; they
were frightened 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.,
jRsoJbin.son^ Crusoe 357
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 had 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 behind ; 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-Englishmen,
with their arrows, as they did, afterwards 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 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 Spaniards, 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
Englishman 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 find-
ing 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 mere loss of blood.
The Spaniard governor having drawn his little body up
358 /JDoJbinson^ Crusoe
together upon a rising ground, Atkins, though he was
wounded, would have had them march ^'^^ charge again all
together at once: but the Spaniard replied, Senhor Atkins,
you see how their wounded men fight; let them 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 afterwards 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 opportu-
nity to do ; for one of the Englishmen, in whose quarter
it was where the fight began, led them around between the
woods and the sea-side westward, and then turning short
south, they came so near where the thickest of them lay,
that, before they were seen or heard, 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 the two
women, who, by the way, fought desperately. They divided
the fire-arms 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.
Having thus formed their little army, they marched out from
among the trees, and came up to the teeth of the enemy.
jRsoJbiftson^ Crusoe 359
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 them 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 mor-
tally wounded in the 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 all together to the
sea-side where they landed, and where their canoes 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 were fled, and see what posture they were in.
This necessarily led them over the 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 de-
light in his misery. However, there was no need to give any
orders in this case ; for their own savages, who were their
servants, despatched these poor creatures with their hatchets.
At length, they came in view of the place where the more mis-
360 RDobiixso7\^ Crusoe
erable 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 towards 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
Spaniard 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 heartily beateh as to be dispirited and
discouraged, and so he might manage 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 ad-
vanced swiftly towards them, they all ran screaming and yelling
away, with a kind of howling noise, which our men did not
understand, 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 deso-
late 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 ad-
vantage 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 five 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 men than with 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
AsoAirtson^ Crusoe 361
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 that 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 In-
dians 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 that they would be gone, and never
come there again. But our men were now satisfied that they
had no way to preserve themselves, ors to save their colony,
but effectually to prevent any of these people from ever going
home again : depending 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 de-
stroyed 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, con-
sider, 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 under foot, tore up the vines and grapes, being just then
almost ripe, and did our men an inestiAiable 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
362 R^obirtsors^ Crusoe
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.
The extremity and distress they were reduced to was great
and indeed deplorable ; but, at the same time, our men were
also brought to very bad circumstances by them : for though
their retreats were preserved, 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
arrow, which struck him on the side of his head, just under
the temples, so that he never spoke more : and it was very re-
markable, that this was the same barbarous fellow that cut the
poor savage slave with his hatchet, and who afterwards
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 farther part of the island, south-west, 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 re-
duced 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 labour.
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
JisoJbinson^ Crusoe 363
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 afterwards 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 gentleman-like, generous-minded man that 1 ever
met with in my life ; and he proposed, if possible, to take one
of them alive, and bring him to understand what they meant,
so far as to be able to act as interpreter, 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 violence 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
country, 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 begged to have some foqd given them ; upon
which, twelve Spaniards and two Englishmen, well armed,
with three Indian slaves and old Friday, marched to the
place where they were. The three Indian slaves carried
them a large quantity of bread, some rice boiled up to cakes
364 /JDoJbinsoTv. Crusoe
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 Vl'ere 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 plSnt 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 towards the sea before them,
on the south-east 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 lengthi
Our men taught them to make wooden spades, such as I
made for myself, and gave among theni- twelve hatchets and
three or four knives ; and there they lived, the most subjected
innocent creatures that ever were heard of.
, After this, the colony enjoyed a perfect tranquillity with
respect to the savages till I came to revisit them, which was
about two years after ; not but that, now and then, some
canoes of savages came on shore for their triumphal, unnatu-
ral feasts ; but as they were of several 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 coun-
trymen ; 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 hap-
pened to them rill my return, at least, that was worth notice.
The Indians or savages were wonderfully civilised by them,
and they frequently went among them ; but forbade, on pain
of death, any one of the Indians coniing 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 theu:
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,
RpoMixsor^ Crusoe 36s
couches, and abijndance 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 furnished them with knives, scissors, spades, shovels,
pick-axes, 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 hand-
somely, raddling or working it up like basket-work all the
way round : which was a very extraordinary piece of inge-
nuity, and looked very odd, but was an exceeding good fence,
as well against heat as against ail 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 industrious, 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 1 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 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 knowedge 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 worked it up between the rafters with basket-work, so
firm, and thatched that over again so ingeniously with rice-
366 Rpobirtsors^ Crusoe
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 storehouse, twenty feet wide, and about thirty
feet long, and through that into another, not quite so long : so
that in the outer circle were ten handsome rooms, six of
which were only to be come at through tjie apartments of the
inner tent, and served as closets 0F-1«tiring rooms to the
respective chambers of the inner circle ; and four large ware-
houses, 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 world, nor a house or tent so neatlj^ contrived, much less
so built. In this 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
RpoAiixsofx. Crusoe 367
everything, I mean as to the corn, milk, grapes, etc., 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 sea-
men, viz., swearing by his name; nor were their poor igno-
rant 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. Xhere 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 afterwards by my means,
or, at least, in consequence of my coming among them.
lAVING thus given an account of the
Icolony in general, and pretty much of
Imy runagate English, I must say some-
jthing of the Spaniards, who were the
I main body of the family, and in whose
'stoiy there are some incidents also
remarkable enough,
I had a great many discourses with
Sthem 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 abandoned 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 them-
selves 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 deliverance, but rather
added to the affliction than proposed a remedy ; and upon
this he repeated a Spanish proverb, which though I cannot
repeat in 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
Rs)oAin.6or\^ Oru6oe 369
called it ; and how I had made a condition which in its cir-
cumstances 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 it was remarkable that Englishmen
had a greater presence of mind, in their, distress, than any
people that he ever met with : that their unhappy 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 supplies I had providentially
thrown into my hands, by the unexpected driving of the ship
on shore, was such a help as would have encouraged 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 compliment, 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 had the com-
mon sense to have put off to sea again, and gone to another
island a little farther, they had found provisions, though with-
out 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 multitudes, 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
24
370 RsioJ)iixsof\^ Crusoe
herbs, which they understood not, and which had no sub-
stance in them, and which the inhabitants gave them sparingly
enough : and who could treat them no better, unless they
would turn cannibals, and eat men's flesh, which was the
great dainty of their country.
They gave me an account how many ways they strove to
civilise 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 instructors
of others but those who could live without them.
They gave me dismal accounts of the extremities they
were driven to ; how sometimes they were many days with-
out any food at all, the island they were upon being in-
habited by a sort of savages that lived more indolent, and
for that reason were less supplied with the necessaries 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 gov-
erning 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, and the
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 fire-arms with
them, had they not had the disaster to lose their ammuni-
tion, 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
jR£>oAin.60t\, Crusoe 371
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, notwith-
standing 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 re-
lieved : that at first they thought he had been killed ; but
when they afterwards 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 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 oiF, with some others, as I gave an account before.
They described most affectionately how they were sur-
prised 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.
372 Rs>oJbirtsoTv^ Crusoe
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 extravagancies, they had no way to
describe them, but by telling me they bordered upon lunacy,
having no way to give vent to their passions 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 af-
fected me, and called to my mind Friday's ecstasy when he
met his father, and the poor people's ecstasy 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 condition in which I left them. It was their
opinion, and mine, too, that 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 before; 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
RpoMfysors^ Crusoe 373
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 particular necessary employments
which they were bred to, being artificers, to assist them in
those things in which at present they were in want.
They were all together when I talked thus to them ; and
before I delivered 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 mis-
understandings and jealousies.
Will Atkins, with abundance of frankness and good-humour,
said, they had met with affliction enough to make them all
sober, and enemies 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 humour
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 any-
thing 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, and thought he merited as much to be trusted with
374
RDoMttson^ Crusoe
arms, and supplied with necessaries, as any of them : and they
had testified their satisfaction in him, by committing the com-
mand to him, next to the governor himself; and as they had
entire confidence in him, and all his countrymen, 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 assurance, that they would never have any in-
terest separate from one another.
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 punchbowl, 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, afterwards made them up 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 men-
tioned 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
jRsoJbinson^ Crusoe 375
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 toi them ; and that hav-
ing such a correspondent as I was in so remote 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, particularly 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 immediately, 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, bed-
steads, cupboards, lockers, shelves, and everything they wanted
of that kind. But, to let them see how nature made arti-
ficers at first, I carried the carpenters 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 pick-
axe, a crow, a broad axe, and a saw ; always appointing, that
as often as any were broken or worn out, they should be sup-
plied, without grudging, out of the general stores that I left
behind. Nails, staples, hinges, hammers, chisels, knives, scis-
376 Rs)oI)in,sor\^ Crusoe
sors, 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 ac-
count whatever ; 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 starved to death, and the maid also ; she was a sober,
well-educated, religious young woman, and behaved so inof-
fensively, 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
neither business nor acquaintance in the East Indies, or rea-
son 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, pal-
lisadoed 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 i 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
HsoJbinson^ Crusoe 377
so hid, in any part of the world : for I verily believe a thou-
sand 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 dis-
cover 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 afterwards above 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, con-
taining 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 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- 1 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 him-
self 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 mentioned before.
And now I speak of marrying, it brings me naturally to say
something 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 begin, I must (to set him out in just
colours) represent in terms very much to his disadvantage, in
the account of Protestants : as, first, that he was a Papist ;
378 jRso/^irtson^ Crusoe
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 exem-
plary 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 exceedingly in his conversation ; and he first began with
me about religion in the most obliging manner imaginable.
Sir, says 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 opportunity of free
conversation. Now, sir, you see by my habit what my pro-
fession 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
endeavours, on all occasions, to bring all the souls I can to the
knowledge of the truth, and to embrace the Catholic doctrine ;
but as I am here under your permission^ and in your family, I
am bound, in justice to your kindness,*as well as in decency
and good manners, to be under your government ; and there-
fore I shall not, without your leave, enter into any debate on
the points of religion in which we may not agree, farther than
you shall give me leave.
I told him his carriage was so modest, that I could not but
acknowledge it ; that it was true, we were such people as they
called heretics, but that he was not the first Catholic I had
conversed with without falling into inconveniences, or carry-
ing 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 without 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
Rs>obin,6or^ Crusoe 379
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 also to defend his own opinions as well as he could j 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 him, in his office as 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 behaviour, 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 thathe had been abroad in
the world ; and particularly 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 Por-
tuguese 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 Ma-
deiras; but the master of the Portuguese 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 re-
solved not to go to the Madeiras, but to load salt at the isle of
May, and to go away to Newfoundland. He had no remedy
in this exigence but to go with the ship, and had a pretty good
voyage as far as the Banks (so they call the place where they
380 Rs>obin.^otK Crusoe
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 vessel
proceeded no farther : 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 farther of the same person.
But I shall not make digression into other men's stories,
which have no relation to my own : I rgturn to what concerns
our affairs in the island.
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 Eng-
j lishmen's colony, at the farthest part of
I the island; I say, he came to me, and
[told me with a very grave countenance,
ithat he had for two or three days de-
I sired an opportunity of some discourse
with me, which he hoped would not be displeasing to me, be-
cause he thought it might in some measure correspond with
my general design, which was, the prosperity of my new col-
ony, 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 turning 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 assis-
RDoJb iixsorx^ Crusoe 381
tances and wonderful 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 readi-
ness, to have heard me, you would havfe 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 deliv-
erances ; and I hope, on your behalf, that you are in the way
of God's blessing, as your design is exceeding 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 Israel, 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, aaid bore the weight of
that punishment.
I was sensibly touched with his discourse, and told him his
inference 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 interrupted him, and begged him to go on : and
in the mean time, because 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, says 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 afterwards,
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
382 Rs>obii\sors^ Crusoe
neglecting to do what he has commanded, or by doing what
he has expressly forbidden ; and let our different religions
be what they will, this general principlle is readily owned by
all, that the blessing of God does not ordinarily follow pre-
sumptuous 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
commands. It is not your men being: Protestants, whatever
my opinion may be of such, that dischlarges me from being
concerned for their souls, and from endeavouring, if it lies
before me, that they should live in as little distance from
enmity with their Maker as possible, e'specially 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.
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 endeavours
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, siys he, you have here
four Englishmen, who have fetched wcftnen 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 between them : and I know
also, sir, what the Spaniard governor has told you, I mean,
RpoAirtson, Crusoe 383
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 sacra-
ment 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 obliga-
tion 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 abstain from all other women, to engage
in no other contract while these subsist, and, on all occa-
sions, 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, those men may when they please of when occasion pre-
sents, abandon these women, disown their children, leave
them to perish, and take other women, and marry them
while these are living : and here he added, with some warmth.
How, sir, is God honoured in this unlawful liberty ? and how
shall a blessing succeed your endeavours in this place, how-
ever good in themselves, and however 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 stiuck 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 upon
the spot, yet a formal contract 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
384 RpoAirtson^ Crusoe
had lived so many years with them now, that if it was adul-
tery, it was past remedy ; they could do nothing in it now.
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 entirely
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 suffer thern 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 mistake 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, even by your own laws, so your
way may be as well before God, and as valid among men ; I
mean, by a written contract signed by both man and woman,
and by all the 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 sin-
cerity of 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 re-
lation 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 marrying
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 scru-
ple to let him marry them all, which I knew well enough
would be granted to be as authentic and valid in England as
BsoJbiftson^ Crusoe 385
if they were married by one of our own clergymen. What
was afterwards done in this matter I shall speak of by
itself.
I then pressed him to tell me what was the second com-
plaint which he had to make, acknowledging that I was very
much his debtor for the first, and thanked him heartily for
it. He told me he would use the sanle freedom and plain-
ness in the second, and hoped I would take it as well ; and
this was, that notwithstanding these English subjects 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 toler-
able understanding, and capable of instruction, yet they had
not, to this hour, taught them anything of the Christian
religion, no, not so 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 unac-
countable neglect, and what God woujd certainly call them
to 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 ac-
knowledge 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 reli-
gion : 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.
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
2S
386 R^oJ}inson^ Crusoe
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 fol-
lowed on this account I shall mention 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 plain-
ness 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
knowledge ought to be propagated by all possible means,
and upon all possible occasions. It is on this principle that
our church sends missionaries into Persia, India, China ; and
that our clergy, even of the superior sort, willingly engage
in the most hazardous voyages, and the most dangerous
residence among murderers and barbarians, to teach them
the knowledge of the true God, and to bring them over to
embrace the Christian faith. Now, sir, you have such an
opportunity here to have six or seven and thirty poor sav-
ages 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.
Rf>oI)in.son^ Crusoe 387
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, I had not so much as entertained a
thought of this in my heart before, 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. — No, no, said I, I am ofFended with no-
body 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
^reed 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 un-
able 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 delivered. 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
388 Rstojbirtsors^ Crusoe
thing, indeed, to be an instrument in God's hand to convert
thirty-seven heathens to the knowledge 6f 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 profession, how
is it then that you do not rather offer yourself to undertake 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, 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 eyes sparkled like iire, his face glowed, and
his colour 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 considerable while before I could
tell what to say to him ; for I was really surprised 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 considera-
tion of an attempt on those poor people, 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. — Doubt-
less it was, said he j 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
/isoJbinson. Crusoe 389
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 instrument 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 honour me
with putting me into this work, for which I will pray for you
all the days of my life, I have one humble petition 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 interpreter
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 Ii
could not think of parting with him, and that for many rea-
sons : he had been the companion of my travels j 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 Protestant, it
would quite confound him to bring him to embrace another
profession ; and he would never, while his eyes were open,
believe 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 sudden 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 with 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 consent, 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 ra-
tional access to these poor people, seeing he did not under-
stand 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 understood, and he
390 Pj)obin.so7\^ Crusoe
should serve him as an interpreter. So he was much better
satisfied, and nothing could persuade him but he would stay
and endeavour 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 all together, 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 very sensible of, and
very thankful for, I began to talk to them of the very scan-
dalous life they led, and gave them a 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 con-
ditions to me, and showed that two of them were widowers,
and the other three were single men or bachelors. I asked
them with what conscience they could take those women,
and lie with them as they had done, call them their wives,
and have so many children by them, and not he lawfully
married to them ?
They all gave me the answer I expected, viz., that there
was nobody to many them ; that they agreed before the gov-
ernor 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, 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 themselves. I therefore told them
that, unless I was assured of their honest 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
jRsoJbinson^ Crusoe 391
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, espe-
cially 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 their wives were as vir-
tuous and as modest, and did, to the utmost of their skill, as
much for them and for their children, as any women could
possibly do ; and they would not part with them on any ac-
count : 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 with
me at that moment, but was not far of; so, to try him farther,
I told him I had a clergyman with me, and, if he was sincere,
I would have him married next morning, and bade him con-
sider 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 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 com-
panions. I desired the French gentleman not to say anything
to them till the business was thorough 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 hear I had a clergyman in my company,
and they were very willing to give me the satisfaction I de-
sired, and to be formally married as soon as I pleased; for
they were far from desiring to part with their wives, and
392 RDobitvsors^ Crusoe
that they meant nothing but what was Very honest when they
chose them. So I appointed them to meet me the next
morning, and, in the mean time, they should let their wives
know the meaning 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 morning, 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 inter-
preter. But the seriousness of his behaviour to them, and
the scruples he made of marrying the women because they
were not baptised 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.
Indeed, 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 abso-
lutely 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 indiflferent 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 niarry, 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
jRs)oJbin.sorK^ Crusoe 393
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 baptised ; and yet that
he did not see that there was time left to endeavour to per-
suade the women to be baptised, or to profess the name of
Christ, whom they had, he doubted, heard nothing of, and
without which they could not be baptised. 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 endeavours 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 savages ; nor was it consistent with
the principles of the Christian religion, and was indeed
expressly forbidden in God's law.
They heard all this very attentively, and I delivered it very
faithfully 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 distinguished between what I
said from myself, and what were the clergyman'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 believe all this, and are such wicked fellows as we
indeed arc. Why, sir, 't is enough to give them a surfeit of
religion at first hearing ; folks must have some religion
394 Rs)oI)in,son^ Crusoe
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 riot 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 punishes the bad ; and that we are to
be judged by him at last for all we do here ? You are not so
ignorant but even 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 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. O, said the
priest, tell him there is one thing wijl 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 repent, and then he will be so much the
better qualified to instruct his wife ; hC" 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 merciful Being,
and with infinite goodness and long-sufFering forbears to
punish these that offend ; waiting to be gracious, and willing
not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should return
and live : that oftentimes he suffers wicked men to go a long
time, and even reserves damnation to the general day of
retribution : that it is a clear evidence of God and of a future
state, that righteous men receive not their reward, or wicked
jRs)o/)in.soiy^ Crusoe 395
men their punishment, till they come into another 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.
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 suf-
fering 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) 't is 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 't is top late, and that is too
true.
I told the clergyman, word for word, what he said : the
poor zealous 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 passion. 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
it 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
Jate; Christ will give him repentance; But pray, says he.
396 Rpohirt^ors^ Crusoe
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 be too late for any man to receive mercy ? Does
he think he is able to sin beyond the power or reach of
divine mercy ? Pray tell him, there may be a time when
provoked 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 tha.t it is never too late
to repent.
I told Atkins all this, and he heard me with great earnest-
ness ; 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
endeavours 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, 't is all we can do ; we are bound to accept their good
words ; but, believe me, sir, said he, whatever you may 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 our-
selves. I know a man, who, having nothing but a summary
notion of religion himself, and being wicked and profligate
to the last degree in his life, made a thorough reformation in
himself by labouring to convert a Jew. If that poor Atkins
Rpohiixson^ Crusoe 397
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 endeavour 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 At-
kins 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 somewiiere 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 my-
self, 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, etc. — 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 could not hear him ;
it was too far for that. He did not continue kneeling half a
minute, but comes and sits down by his wife, and talks to
her again ; we perceived then the woman very attentive, but
whether she said anything to him, we could not tell. While
the poor fellow was upon his knees, I could see the tears run
plentifully down my clergyman's cheeks, and I could hardly
forbear myself; but it was a great affliction to us both that
398 R^obirtsors^ Crusoe
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 enibrace her most pas-
sionately ; another time we saw him take out his handker-
chief 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 him-
self awhile, that we might see an end of the scene, which
to me, I must confess, was the most affecting that ever I
saw in my life. Well, he strove with himself for a while,
but was in such raptures to think that the poor heathen
woman was become a Christian, that he was not able to con-
tain himself; he wept several times, then throwing up his
hands and crossing his breast, said over several things ejacu-
latory, and by way of giving God thanks for so miraculous
a testimony of the success of our endeavours ; 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
observe what was before us, which he did for a time, the
scene not being near ended yet ; for aft«r the poor man and
his wife were risen again from their kSnees, 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 fre-
quently lifting up her hands, laying her hand to her breast,
and such other postures as express the greatest seriousness
and attention : this continued about halfi a quarter of an hour,
and then they walked away ; so we could see no more of
Jif>o/)irtsof\^ Crusoe 399
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, however
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 df 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 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 Cath-
olic 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 candour, thus : Sir,
I am a Catholic of the Roman church, and a priest of the
order of St. Benedict, 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 circum-
stances 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
400 R^obiixsoix. Orusoe
method he, who is all-wise, is pleased to direct. In the mean
time, sure you will allow it consists witb me, as a Roman, to
distinguish far between a Protestant and a pagan ; between
one that calls on Jesus Christ, though in a way which I da
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 rejoice, therefore,
when I see this poor man, who, you say, has been a profli-
gate, and almost a murderer, kneel down and pray to Jesus
Christ, as we suppose he did, though not fully enlightened ;
believing 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 believ-
ing, 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.
WAS astonished at the sincerity and
temper of this pious papist, as much
' as I was oppressed by the power of his
reasoning ; and it presently occurred to
I my thoughts, that if such a temper was
[universal, we ^ight all be Catholic
,^^,1 Christians, whatever church or par-
^nrticular profession we joined in ; that a
Ul^Sspirit 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.
However, I talked to him another wafy, 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 what theyw'ould doih
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 : observ-
ing this, I asked my clergyman 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
What was
Atkins,
your
said I,
father ?
prithee what education had you ?
26
4og RpoAiftson^ Crusoe
W. A. A better man than ever I shall be : 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 de-
spised all education, 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. Ha ! a murderer !
Here the priest started (for I interpreted every word as he
spoke) and looked pale : 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 ever gave,
or child could receive.
R. C. Well, I did not ask you about your father, to extort
this confession : 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 are 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 back upon our lives, the sins against our in-
dulgent parents are certainly 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.
RsoMixson^ Crusoe 403
W, A. You bear it, master 1 I dare say you know nothing
of it.
R. C. Yes, Atkins; every shore, every hill, nay, I may
say every tree in this island, is witness to the anguish of my
soul for my ingratitude 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 with what he had
said, and thought that instead of my going about to teach
and instruct him this man was made a teacher and instructor
to me in a most surprising and unexpected manner.
I laid all this before the young clergyman, who was
greatly aiFected 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 peni-
tent, here 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 ex-
press it ; but let her have said what she will, and though I
404 Rs>obirLsor\^ Crusoe
cannot give you an account of it, this I can tell you, that I
have resolved to amend and reform my life.
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 sermon, indeed, if she has wrought this upon
you.
W. A. Why, I first told her of 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 other-
wise 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 tiegal descent.
R. C. You talk like a civilian. Will. Could you make her
understand what you meant by inheritance and families ?
They know no such things among the savages, but marry
anyhow, without regard to relation, consanguinity, or fam-
ily ; 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 relations, they may not be so exact as we are ;
but she tells me they never touch one another in the near re-
lationship you speak of.
R. C. Wellj 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 iii
your country ?
RsoJbirtson^ Crusoe 405
W. A. Yes, my dear, God is in every country.
Wife. No your God in my country j 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 laughed a little at her expression of God not
making her country.
Wife. No laugh ; why laugh me i 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 for ever in heaven.
Wife. Why you no tell me long ago ?
W. A. That 's true indeed ; but L 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 ? No 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, ng say O to him, no be
good mans ?
W. A. That is true, he might strike me dead ; and I
ought to expect it, for I have been a wicked wretch, that is
4o6 RpobirL^orOOrusoe
true ; but God is merciful, and does not deal with us as we
deserve.
Wife. But then do you 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 believ-
ing 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 damn ?
W. A. Yes, yes, hears it all.
Wife. Where be then the much great power strong ?
W. A. He 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 wicked; then he no good himself, or no great able.
W. A. Yes, yes, my dear, he is infinitely good and in-
finitely great, and able to punish too; and sometimes, to
show his justice and vengeance, he lets fly his anger to
RpoAiixsoTx^ Crusoe 407
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 goodness ; 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 deformed myself and abused his goodness, and made
myself an abominable 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 untaught 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 believe 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 heqrt.
Wife. Why then he know what I say to you now j he
know me wish to know him ; how shall he know who makee
me ?
W. A. Poor 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.
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
4o8 Rpobirt^oty^ Crusoe
God to enlighten her mind with the saving knowledge of
Jesus Christ, and 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 hf her again, and their
dialogue went on. — This was the tiiAe when we saw him
kneel down, and hold up his hands.
Wife. What you put down the knee for ? What you
hold up the hand for ? What you say ? Who you speak to ?
What is all that ?
W. A. My dear, I bow my knees ill token of my submis-
sion 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, and your un-
derstanding, that you may know himi, and be accepted by
him.
Wife. Can he do that too ?
W. A. Yes, he can ; he can do all things.
Wife. But now he hear what you say ?
W. A. Yes ; he has bid us pray to him, and promised to
hear us.
Wife. Bid you pray ? When he bid you ? How he bid
you ? What, you hear him speak ?
W. A. No, we do not hear him speak ; but he has
revealed himself 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 he told it her thus :
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 inex-
pressible grief that he had not a Bible.
Rpohiixsoty, Crusoe 409
Wife. But how you makee me know that God teachee
them to write that book ?
W. A. By the same rule that we know him to be God.
Wife. What rule ? What way you know him ?
W. A. Because he teaches and commands nothing but
what is good, righteous, and holy, and tends to make us per-
fectly good, as well as perfectly happy ; and because he for-
bids, and commands us to avoid, all that is wicked, that is
evil in itself, or evil in its consequence.
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 ; me 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 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 life 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 had told her wicked
men would be, after death.
This was a strange account, and very^ affecting to us both,
but particularly to the young clergyman; he was indeed
wonderfully surprised 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 ; how^
410 Rs>oAirtson^ Crusoe
ever, he turned himself to me, and toM 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 ex-
plained himself, viz., that she ought to be baptised. I agreed
with him in that part readily, and was for going about it pres-
ently. No, no ; hold, sir, said he ; though I would have her
be baptised 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 religious 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 those 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 apprehen-
sions 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 labour would not
be lost upon her.
Accordingly, I called her in, and placing myself as inter-
preter between 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 knowl-
edge, all the sincerity of a Christian, \Yithout the error of a
Roman Catholic ; and that I took him to be such a clergyman
as the Roman bishops were, before the church of Rome as-
sumed spiritual sovereignty over the coijsciences of men. In
a word, he brought the poor woman to e;pibrace 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
RpoAirtsotx. Crusoe 4"
of understanding, scarce to be imagined, much less to be ex-
pressed ; and, at her own request, she was baptised.
When he was preparing to baptise 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 dif-
ference among us in that very religion which we were instruct-
ing the other in. He told me that as he had no consecrated
chapel, nor proper things for the office,,! 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 dish-
ful 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,) " I baptise thee in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
■Ghost :" so that none could know anythihg by it what religion
he was of. He gave the benediction afterwards 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 repented if he did not forsake his crimes :
represented to him how God had honoured him with being the
instrument of bringing his wife to the knowledge of the Chris-
tian religion, and that he should be careful he did not dis-
honour 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 cast away. He sajd a great many good
things to them both ; and then recommending them to God's
goodness, gave them the benediction again, I repeating every-
thing to them in English ; and thus ended the ceremony. I
think it was the most pleasant and agreeable day to me that
ever I passed in my whole life.
But my clergyman had not done yet; his thoughts hung
412 Rpobin.'Soty^ Crusoe
continually upon the conversion of th6 thirty-seven savages,
and fain he would have stayed upon the island to have under-
taken it } but I convinced 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 absence to his satisfac-
tion ; 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 Englishmen 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 an3rthing of
that kind rashly, or because he found himself in this solitary
circumstance. I represented to him that he had some consid-
erable substance in the world, and good friends, as I under-
stood 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 seven-and-twenty years old, and he not being seventeen
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 cir-
cumstance 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 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 voyage I was going was so
exceeding long and hazardous, and would carry him quite out
of the reach of all his friends ; 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.
RDoJbifvson^ Crusoe 4^3
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, to let them know how good I
had been to him, and in what part of the world, and what cir-
cumstances I had left him in ; and he promised me that when-
ever 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 prettily delivered, considering his youth,
and was the more agreeable to me, because he told me posi-
tively 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
suitable. 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 imperti-
nently forward, when it was not her busimess : 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.
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 gentleman made to give him a small property in the
island, put me upon parcelling it out amongst them, that they
might not quarrel afterwards about their situation.
This sharing out the land to them I left to Will Atkins,
who was now grown a sober, grave, managing fellow, per-
414 Rs>oI)irtsoT\^ Crusoe
fectly reformed, exceedingly 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 sealed
to them, setting out the bounds and situation of every man's
plantation, and testifying that I gave thpm thereby severally a
right to the whole possession and inheritance of the respec-
tive 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 themselves ; only I made them promise me to
live in love and good neighbourhood 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-
aiid-thirty Indians live in a nook of the island, independent,
and, indeed, unemployed : for, excepting the providing them-
selves food, which they had difficulty enough to do some-
times, 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
remove, and either plant for themselves, or take them into
their several families as servants, to be maintained for their
labour, but without being absolute slaves ; for I would
not admit them to make them slaves by force, by any means ;
because they had their liberty given thtm by capitulation, as
it were articles of surrender, which they ought not to break.
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 employed as servants in the several families
Bj>oI}ii\sor^ Crusoe 4^5
we had settled ; and thus my colony was in a manner settled,
as follows : — The Spaniards possessed my original habitation,
which was the capital city, and extended 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 always eastward. The Eng-
lish lived in the north-east part, where Will Atkins and
his comrades began, and came on southward and south-west,
towards 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 satisfac-
tion, and told him that now I thought it was put in a fair
way ; for the savages being thus divided among the Chris-
tians, 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 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 prom-
ise 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 Saviour Jesus Christ; and they likewise promised us
that they would never have any differences or disputes one
with another about religion.
4i6 RpoAirLSory^ Crusoe
When I came to Will Atkins's house (I may call it so, for
such a house, or such a piece of baskel-work, I believe, was
not standing in the world again), there I found the young
woman I have mentioned above, and Will Atkins's wife, were
become intimates ; and this prudent, religious young woman,
had perfected the work Will Atkins had begun : and though
it was not above four days after what I had related, yet the
new-baptised 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 amongst 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.
I took one of the Bibles in my pocket, and when I came
to Will Atkins's tent, or house, and found the young wornan
and Atkins's baptised wife had. been discoursing of religion
together, for Will Atkins told it me 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 incapa-
ble 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
RpoAirtson^ Crusoe 417
Atkins, I have brought you an assistant that perhaps you
had not before. The man was so confounded that he was
not able to speak for some time ; but recovering himself, he
takes it with both his hands, and turning to his wife, Here,
my dear, says he, did I not tell you ouii God, though he lives
above, could hear what we said ? Here '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 transports of passionate Joy, that between the
joy of having it, and giving 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 be-
lieved 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 persuaded 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 impose upon the new convert, in her first and
more ignorant understanding of things, and begged her to ex-
plain 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 uninjustifiable 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 standing rule to us all for the well
27
4i8 RDobin.sot\^ Crusoe
instructing children, viz., that parents should never give over
to teach and instruct, nor ever despair of the success of their
endeavours, let the children be ever so refractory, or, to ap-
pearance, insensible of instruction ; for, if ever God, in his
providence, 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 laid
asleep, but, some time or other, they may find the benefit of
it. Thus it was w^ith this poor man : however ignorant he
was of religion and Christian knowledge, he 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 and blessing of it to nations, families, and per-
sons : but he never entertained 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 occa-
sion, 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 sa many things of this
young woman, I cannot omit telling one story more of
her and myself, which has something iif it very informing and
remarkable.
I have related to what extremity the poor young woman
was reduced, 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 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 :
RpobirtsofK^ Crusoe 419
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 1= had received no food
at all, I found myself, towards 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 great 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 nourishment ; but there being no sub-
stance 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, con-
fused, and inconsistent dreams, and rather dozing than sleep-
ing, I awaked ravenous and furious with hunger ; and I
question, had not my understanding 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.
4ao RpoAirtson^ Crusoe
mi^mmmi^amH^mmmm^mmi^m^mmmmmmmmammii^mm
and struck my face against the comer of a pallet bed, in
which my mistress lay, and, with the blow, the blood gushed
out of my nose ; and thb 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, aild the violence of the
flame or fever I was in abated, anrf so did the ravenous
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 towards the night it went off, with a kind of car-
nest wishing or longing for food, something like, as I sup-
pose, 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 :i draught
of water without sugar, and all stayed with me ; and 1 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 myself dying, being light with vapours from an
empty stomach j I recommended my soul then to God, and
earnestly wished that somebody would throw me into the
sea.
All this while my mistress lay by m«, 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 mas-
ter, who would not have taken it, but she obliged him to eat
it ; and I believed it saved his life.
Towards the morning I slept again ; and when I awoke,
I fell into a violent passion of crying, and after that had a
second fit of violent hunger : I got up ravenous, and in a
most dreadful condition ; had my mistress been dead, as
much as I loved her, I am certain I should have eaten a
piece of her flesh with as 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
Rpobiixsors^ Crusoe 421
my nose the day before : I ran to it, and swallowed it with
such haste, and such a greedy appetite, as if I wondered no-
body 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 re-
freshed for some hours after. This was the fourth day ; and
thus I held it till towards 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 lunatic,
then crying, then ravenous again, and so every quarter of an
hour 5 and my strength wasted exceedingly ; at night I laid
me down, having no comfort but in the hope that I should
die before morning.
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 1 lay till morning, when I was
surprised with the cries and lamentations of my ypung
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 nothmg but the tortures of
death can imitate ; and in this condition I was when I heard
the seamen above cry out, A sail ! a sail ! and halloo and
jump about as if they were distracted.
I was not able to get off from the bed, and my mistress
much less ; and my young master was so sick, that I thought
he had been expiring 5 so we could not open the cabin door
or get any account what it was that occasioned such confu-
sion ; nor had we any conversation with the ship's company
for two days, they having told us that they had not a mouth-
ful of anything to eat in the ship ; and this they told us
afterwards, they thought we had been dead. It was this dread-
ful condition we were in when you were sent to save our lives ;
42a /ipo/}irtsor\^ Crusoe
and how you found us, sir, you know as well as I, and
better too.
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 entertaining to me. I am the rather apt to believe
it to be a true account, because 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 supposed to feel the extremity some-
thing 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 prevented it by eating one another; and that
even, as their case stood, would have served them but a
little while, they being five 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 divi-
sions 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 extraordinary, for the sanie reason : I thought it
was enough to qualify them for a defpnsive 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
RpoAiftsor^ Crusoe 423
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
circumstances, and in a flourishing condition, and went on
board my ship again 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
promised to send them some cattle, such as sheep, hogs, and
cows J as the two cows and calves which I brought from
England, we had been obliged, by the leiigth of our voyage, to
kill them at sea, for want of hay to feed them.
HE next day, giving them a sulute of
five guns at parting, we set sail, and
arrived at the bay of All Saints, in the
I Brazils, in about twenty-two days,
' meeting nothing remarkable in our
I passage but this : that about three
Fdays after we had sailed, being be-
Lcalmed, 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, towards
evening, the sea smooth, and the weather calm, we saw the
sea, as it were, covered towards the land with something very
black ; not being able to discover what it was, till after some
424 RpoAirtson^ Crusoe
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 't is an army, and a fleet too ; for I believe
there are a thousand canoes, and you may see them paddle
along, for they are coming towards 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 devoured. I must
confess, considering we were becalmed^ and the current set
strong towards the shore, I liked it the worse ; however, I
bade them not 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
towards us ; so I gave order to come to an anchor, and furl
all our sails : as for the savages, I told them they had nothing
to fear but fire, and therefore 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 endeavour to fix to the outside of the ship.
In this posture we lay by for them, and in a little while
they came up with us j but never was such a horrid sight
seen by Christians : though my mate was much mistaken in
his calculation of their number, yet when they came up we
reckoned about a hundred and twenty-six ; some of them had
sixteen or seventeen men in them, some more, and the least
six or seven.
When they came nearer to us, they seemed to be struck
with wonder and astonishment, as at a sight which doubtless
they had never seen before; nor could they, at first, as we
afterwards 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
Rs>o/)insor\^ Crusoe 4^5
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 understood 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 car-
penter 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 afterwards 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 engage 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 guris 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 the foremost or
nighest boat to us, turned their canoes from us, and stooping
down, showed us their naked forms, accompanied with many
indecent jestures and extravagancies : whether this was a
defiance or challenge we know 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, poor fellow, they let fly about three hundred of their
arrows, and, to my inexpressible 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
426 Rsobiixsor\^ Crusoe
companion, that I immediately ordered five guns to be loaded
with small shot, and four with great, ajnd 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 of 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 canoes split and overset in all, and the
men all set a swimming : the rest, frightened out of their
writs, 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 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
/isoJbiitson^ Crusoe 427
he would starve himself to death : but I took a way to cure
him } for I made them take him and turn him 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 one 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 dis-
consolate 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. Afterwards,
we inquired what country he came from, but could make
nothing of what he said ; for his speech was so odd, all gut-
turals, 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 per-
ceive 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 theif kings to fight a great
battle. When he said kings, we asked.him how many kings ?
He said they were five nation (we could not make him under-
stand the plural j), 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 those natives, as also those of Africa,
when they learn English, 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
428 P^obiixsors^ Crusoe
them of it; nay I coiild 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 leave of him : Poor honest Friday ! We buried
him with all the decency and solemnity possible, by putting
him into a coffin, and throwing him into the sea ; and I
caused them to lire eleven guns for him : and so ended the
life of the most grateful, faithful, honest, and most affectionate
servant, that man ever 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 north-eastermost 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.
Never ship came to this port that had less business than I
had, and yet it was with great difficulty that we were ad-
mitted 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
favour ; but my partner remembering that I had given five
hundred moidores to the priory of the monastery of the Au-
gustines, 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 absolutely
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 broad-cloths, 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
RpoMrtson^ Crusoe ^^^
me on board a present of fresh provision, wine, and sweet-
meats, worth above thirty moidores, including 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
broad-cloth, English stuffs, lace, and fine hoUands : also I
delivered him about t'he 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 plantation.
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 afterwards. I got him soon loaded with the 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 Inqui-
sition ; 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 planta-
tion, 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,
430
R:>obiixsors^ Crusoe
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 daugh-
ters, on board our ship, till the sloop put out to go to sea ;
and then, having put all their goods on board some time be-
fore, we put them on board the sloop after she was got out
of the bay.
Our seamen was 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 fori 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 stone-horse. 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 re-
membered that the poor prosecuted man had two daughters^
and that there were but five of the Spaniards that wanted ;,
the rest had wives of their own, though" in another country.
All this cargo arrived safe, and, as you may easily suppose,
was very welcome to my old inhabitants, who were now,
with this addition, between 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 dis-
course about it ; and whoever reads the rest of my memo-
randums 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 j not satisfied with prosperity beyond expec-
RpoAirtson^ Crusoe 431
tation, 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. Had I taken a small vessel from England, and
gone directly to the island ; had I loaded her, as I did the
other vessel, with all the necessaries 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 Eng-
land ; had I carried over cannon and ammunition, servants,
and people to plant, and taken possessipn of the place, forti-
fied and strengthened it in the name of England, and in-
creased 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 sup-
ply ; 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
myself 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 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 command 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 afterwards 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
43g Rpobirvsors^ Crusoe
but 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 had some skirmishes with them ; and
that they begged of him to write to me to think of the prom-
ise I had made to fetch them away, that they might see their
country again before they died.
But I was gone a wildgoose chase, indeed ! and they that
will have any more of me must be coritent to follow me into
a new variety of follies, hardships, and wild adventures,
wherein the justice of Providence 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 voyage I went.
I shall only add a word or two concerning my honest
popish clergyman : for let their opinion of us, and all other
heretics in general, as they call 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
sincerity and pious intentions on his own part ; and I am
firmly of opinion, 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, 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
Christian saints. But this by the by.
A ship being ready to sail for Lisbon, my pious priest
asked me leave to go thither ; being still, as he observed,
/i£>oJbin,sof\. Crusoe 433
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 thank-
ful 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 south-east, 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.
|E stayed at the Cape no longer than
fwas needful to take in fresh water, but
J made the best of our way for the coast
[of Coromandel. We were indeed in-
^formed that a French man-of-war of
kfifty guns, and two large merchant ships,
kwere gone for the Indies; and as I
kknew we were at war with France, I
ihad some apprehensions of them ; but
they went their own way, and we heard no more of them,
28
434 R^obittsors^ Crusoe
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 fur-
nished ourselves with provisions ; and I, who was always too
curious to look into every nook of the w^orld 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
people, 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 coun-
try, 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 con-
dition of the truce, that you are not to pass beyond their three
poles, towards them, nor they to come past your three poles,
or boughs, towards you; so that you are perfectly secure
within the three poles, and all the space between your poles
and theirs is allowed like a market for. free converse, trafiic,
and commerce. 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.
KpoJbiixson^ Crusoe 435
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 provi-
sions, 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.
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 murdered ; 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 immediately 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 oftly live 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.
436 Rs>oI)in,soT\^ Crusoe
that we were glad to barricade the side of the boat up
with 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
any 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 pelt-
ing 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 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 in 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 per-
ceiving the posture we lay in, and that we fired towards 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 tlie while lying close
behind the barricade 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
/i£>oJbin.son^ Crusoe 437
time to examine 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 sea-
man 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 iri 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 the misthief, who paid dear
enough for his black mistress, for we could not hear what
became of him for 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 commaiid, 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
438 Pj)obin.sors^ Orusoe
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 behind 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 fell over a dead bo'dy. 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 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 com-
manded 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
BsoJbinson. Crusoe 439
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 re-
fused, began to grumble, and say that they were not under my
command, and they would go. Come, Jack, says one of the
men, will you go with me ? I '11 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 wouU take care, etc. ; so
away they went. I entreated 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 a 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 poleaxes ; besides all which
they had among them thirteen hand-grenadoes : bolder fel-
lows, 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 cir-
440 Rs>o/}irtsors^ Crusoe
cumstance, 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 above twelve
or thirteen houses ; and where the towri was, or how big, they
knew not. They consulted, therefore, what to do, and were
sometime 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
these 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 be a good guide to them ; for, they said, the cow cer-
tainly belonged to the town before them, or to the town be-
hind 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 Avas 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 coun-
cil, 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 ven-
ture upon them : but while they were animating one another
Rs>oJbiTtsof\. Crusoe 441
to the work, three of them, who were d little before the rest,
called out aloud to them, and told them that they had found
Tom JeiFry : they all ran 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 before, that they swore to one another they would be re-
venged, 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 w'ild-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 poleaxe; 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 grenado, 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 i another apartment in
the house, where the prince or king, or whatever he was, and
442 Rpobiixsors^ Crusoe
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 en0ugh, 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 com-
bustible stuff, that they could hardly bear the street between
them ; and their business was to follow the fire, for the surer
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 halloaing one to another to re-
member 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 fire-arms ; 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 the
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, etc.,
and told him I and the two men would go, and only see if
RpoAiixson^ Crusoe 443
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 rather 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 per-
suade 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 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
killing man, woman, and child ; and I had read of Count
Tilly sacking the city of Magdeburg, and cutting the throats
of twenty-two thousand 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 t^e ruins of a hut or
house, or rather the ashes of it, for the house was consumed ;
and just before it, plain enough to be 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 altogether barbarous,
and of a fury something beyond what was human, that 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
444 Rpobin.'Sors^ Crusoe
every one of them put to the worst of deaths. But 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
confusion. We advanced a little way farther ; and, behold, to
our astonishment, three naked women, and crying in a 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 murder them as well as those
that pursued them, they set up a most dreadful shriek, espe-
cially 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, 1 had made our
men kill them all : however, 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, as 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 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.
Rs>oI>in.sor\. Crusoe 445
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 perceived 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 com-
manded 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 cap-
tain ! I am glad you are come ; we ai^e not half done yet ;
villainous hell-hound dogs ! I '11 kill as many of them as poor
Tom has hairs upon his head : we have sworn to spare none
of them ; we '11 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,
Barbarous 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 minute. — 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 hither ; and with that he showed
me the poor fellow hanging, with his throat cut.
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 tlie men I carried with
446 /ls>obin,sot\^ Crusoe
me saw the sight, as I had done, I had as much to do to re-
strain them as I should have had with the others ; nay, my
nephew himself fell in with them, and |told me, in their hear-
ing, that he was only concerned for fear of the men being
overpowered ; and as to 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 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 ac-
cident I missed the place, and came directly to the sea-side;
and by the time I got to the sea-side it was broad day ; immedi-
ately 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 fire-arms, and saw a great smoke ; this, as I under-
stood afterwards, was our men falling 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 surprised, and so frightened,
that I believe a hundred of them would have fled at the sight
Rpobirt^on^ Crusoe 447
of but five of our men; nor in all this terrible 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 every-
where 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 enterprise. 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 : he 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 according 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 debauched a young
448 /is)o/)irtson^ Crusoe
woman of theirs, who came down to them innocently, and on
the faith of the public capitulation.
The boatswain defended this quarreji- when we were after-
wards on board. He said it was true that we 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 fight them now, we might also be
in a capacity to do ourselves justice upon them in an extraor-
dinary 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 villainous 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 amongst heathens and bar-
barians : but it is impossible 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 boatswain very warmly told
me, he thought I went farther in my Censures than I could
show any warrant for in Scripture ; and referred to Luke xiii.
4, where our Saviour 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 these five men who were now lost were of those who went
on shore to the massacre of Madagascar, so I always called it,
JRsoJbin.sorv. Crusoe 449
though our men could not bear to hear the word massacre with
any patience.
But my frequent preaching to them oh the subject had worse
consequences 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
farther with him, or any of his affairs, he would leave the
ship 5 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 confessed I had all along opposed the mas-
sacre 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 exercise any authority, 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 ac-
countable 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. being willing to see
the place, I went on shore with the supercargo, in the ship's
boat to divert myself ; and towards 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
29
450 Rpobirvsors^ Crusoe
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 mutiny in the ship ; and entreated him to go im-
mediately 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 vio-
lence with me, which, if I had not gone on shore, they would
otherwise have done, to oblige me to have gone ; they there-
fore thought fit to tell him, that as they shipped themselves to
serve in the ship, under his command, they would perform 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 towards the mainmast, which was, it seems, the signal
agreed on between them, at which all the seamen, being got
together there, cried out. One and all! one and all I
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. H? used some arguments
with them to show them the unreasonableness and injustice
of the thing : but it was all in vain ; 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 mc, and did not know how I might take it : so he began to
talk smartly to them ; told them that I was a very consider-
able owner of the ship, and that, in justice, he could not put
jRsoAiitson^ Crusoe 451
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 invited the boatswain to go with him,
and perhaps they might accommodate 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 captain, 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.
I was very glad to see my nephew, I must confess 5 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 noth-
ing 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 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 importunity, and had seht 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 con-
sider what course I should steer.
IWAS now alone in the most remote
I part of the world, as I think I may
icall it, for I was near three thousand
^leagues by sea farther ofF from England
Ithan I was at my island ; only, it is
[true, I might travel here by land over
I the great Mogul's country to Surat,
'might go from thence to Bassora by
sea, up the gulf to 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 over-
land into France ; and this put togetl^,er 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 Eng-
land. But as I came 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 favour
of the captains of the ships, or the Company's factors, and to
both I was an utter stranger.
Here I had the mortification 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 that would not agree with their villainy
on shore. Indeed, this was next door tt) it, both ways ; how-
ever, my nephew left me two servants, or rather one compan-
ion 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 he
said to run rashly upon anything, I stayed here above nine
months considering what course to take, and how to manage
/if>oJbiftsor^ Crusoe 453
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 somc' 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 thou-
sand pounds, we will hire a ship here, the first we can get to
our minds ; you shall be captain, I '11 be merchant, and we '11
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 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. I will not say but that I might, "by my
loose unhinged circumstances, be the fitter to embrace a pro-
posal 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 element, ram-
bling was, and no proposal for seeing any part of the world
which I had never seen before could possibly come amiss to me.
454 Pj)oI}irtsors^ Crusoe
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 fore-
mastmen. 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 Slam, 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 innumerable 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 have been tempted to have stayed here, and sought
Rpohifysors^ Crusoe 455
no farther for making any fortune : but what was all this to a
man upwards 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 ca'U it restless desire, for
it was so. When I was at home, I was restless to go 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 was never 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
were the most just, and the most suited to the end of a mer-
chant'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 kept
himself to the nature of the thing, and would have been con-
tent 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 reso-
lution imaginable which way to go. In the interval of these
consulations, 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 thereabouts ; places, indeed, where the Dutch
trade, but islands belonging partly to the Spaniards ; though
456 RDobin.sors^ Crusoe
we went not so far, but to some other,, where they have not
the whole power, as they have at Batavia, Ceylon, etc.
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 satisfac-
tion 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 db not remember, and
came home in about five months. We sold our spice, which
was chiefly cloves and some nutmegs, to the Persian mer-
chants, who carried them away to the gulf; and making near
five of one, we really got a great deal of money.
My friend, when we made up this account, smiled at me :
Well, 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 nothing to do, and spending our time in staring
at the nonsense and ignorance of the Pagans I — 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 came in a Dutch ship from Batavia : she was a
coaster, not an European trader, of about two hundred tons
burthen ; 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 Europe, 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
a while, 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
Rpobiixsor^ Oru6oe 457
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 afterwards 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
homewards 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 cap-
tain 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
ntien, 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 j for we never
inquired anything of the seamen, who: would certainly have
faltered in their account, contradicted one another, and per-
haps 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 himself 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
458 R^oJyirtsors^ Crusoe
to the south-east for cloves, etc. : 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 coun-
try, trading from port to port, backward and forward, and
with very good success, and was now 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 dif-
ficult 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 Eng-
lish 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 Englishman, and
he was it seems, a gunner' s-mate on 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,. and I to you, but I have something to tell
you that very nearly concerns 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 con-
cerns 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 intend 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
jRsoJbiftsotx. Crusoe 459
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 discourse, 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 explain 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, says he, if you think yourself secure, you must take
your chance ; I am sorry your fate should blind you against
good advice : but assure 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
afterwards. I thought, sir, added he, I should have met with
a better reception than this, for doing you a piece of service
of such importance. — I 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 villainous 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 ? Gan you give me no
further light into it ? — I can tell you but part of the story,
sir, says he ; 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 was 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.
460 Rs)oAirtsof\^ Crusoe
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 hon-
estly, 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.
I consented to this readily, and went immediately on board,
and the two men with me. As soon as f came to the
ship's side, my partner, who was on board, came out on the
quarter-deck, and called to me, with a great deal of joy, O
ho ! O ho ! we have 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 ;
but all hands to work, and weigh without losing a minute.
/JDoJbtitson^ Crusoe 461
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 blow-
ing, 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. 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 our men to be called up, and told them there was
a design to seize the ship, and to 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 we could, and then fire 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 had not materials
to break open our bulk-heads, or get in upon us.
The gunner had, in the mean time, 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 hand ; 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 English) 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
462 Rsfobitvsor^ Crusoe
in our white flag, they having made no answer to it, and
hung out a red flag, and fired at them with shot. Notwith-
standing 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.
It was all one ; they crowded after us', and endeavoured to
come 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 fore-
most boat, and oifered 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, run 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 com-
plete 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,
RpoAiixson^ Crusoe 463
which we had kept close by our side, with orders to pick up
some of the men, if they could, and save them from drown-
ing, and immediately come on board the ship with them,
because we saw the rest of the boats began to come up.
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.
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 whither we were going : so we
stood out to sea eastward, quite out of,, the course of all Eu-
ropean ships, whether they were bound to China or any-
where 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 tqld 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,
464 Rpobirtsors^ Orusoe
which were gone a cruising in her ; an4 that they had already
talcen 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 pre-
possession against us beforehand, it had been in vain for us
to have defended ourselves, or to hope for any good quarter
at their hands; and especially considering that our accusers
had been our judges, and that we could have expected nothing
from them but what rage would have dictated, and an
ungoverned 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 to be hanged first and judged afterwards.
I was some time of my partner's opinion ; but after a
little more 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 Batavia as the Eng-
lish elsewhere ; that if we should be taken, as it were, run-
ning away, we should even condemn ourselves, and there
would want no more evidence to destroy us. I also asked
the English sailor's opinion, who said he was of my mind,
and that we should certainly be taken. This danger a little
startled my partner, and all the ship's conipany, and we immedi-
ately 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 above fifty
leagues off from the usual course to the eastward. This,
Rpobiixsoix. Crusoe 465
however, put us to some inconvenience ; for, first, the winds,
when we came to that distance from the shore, seemed 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 victuals 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 vigour.
I must confess, I was now very uneasy, and thought my-
self, including the late escape from the long-boats, to have
been in the most dangerous condition that ever I was through
my past life ; for whatever ill circumstances I had been
in, I was never pursued for a thief before : nor had I ever
done anything that merited the name of dishonest or fraud-
ulent, 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 con-
dition 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 describing 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 afterwards to Macao, a town
once in possession of the Portuguese, and where still a great
many European families resided ; and particularly the mis-
sionary 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 strait-
ened for provisions, we came within sight of the coast very
early in the morning ; and upon reflection on the past cir-
cumstances we were in, and the danger if we had not escaped,
30
466 /is>o/)inson^ Crusoe
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 deliverance ; 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 colours 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 wjth enemies both one
way and the other. The place we were in was wild and
barbarous ; the people thieves, even by occupation or profes-
sion ; 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 northw&rd ; and by our boat
we coasted north-east, 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 surrounded 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 Hsh 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 shipwrecked upon their coast, they pres-
ently make the men all prisoners or slaves ; and it was not
long before we found a piece of their 'kindness this way, on
the occasion following.
I have observed above, that our ship sprung a leak 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 Dutc^ and English ships in
the bay of Siam ; yet as we did not find the ship so perfectly
tight and sound as we desired, we resolved, while we were at
RsoJbin.sof\. Crusoe 467
this place, to lay her on shore, and take out what heavy
things we had on board, and clean her bottom : and, if pos-
sible, to find out where the leaks were. Accordingly, having
lightened the ship, and brought all our guns and other move-
ables 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 towards the shore, and not seeing our men,
who were at work on her bottom with stages, and with their
boats, on the ofi^-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 aw^y 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, and they discovered us all hard at work on the outside of
the ship's bottom and side, washing, and graving, and stop-
ping, 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
that 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 endeavouring 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
endeavouring to save some of our goods ; upon this they
took it for granted we all belonged to* them, and away they
468 Rs>oI)in,sors^ Crusoe
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 imihediately 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 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 long--boat, 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 understood 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 mean time, 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 attempted to enter the boat. But this was doing
little towards resisting thirty or forty men, who fearless,
because ignorant of their danger, began to throw themselves
into the long-boat, 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 carpenter 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 en-
tered the boat just where this fellow stood, being in the fore-
RsfoJbiixsor^ Crusoe 469
sheets; 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 howl-
ing and crying, that I never heard a v^orse noise ; for it is
worth observing, that though pain naturally makes all people
cry out, yet every nation has a particular way of exclamation,
and makes noises as different from one another as their
speech. I cannot give the noise those creatures made 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 before, but, as we got this victory without any
bloodshed, e;£cept 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 nec-
essary wickedness in nature), yet I thought it was a sad life,
when we must be always 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 injuring
me ; and I believe all considering p'eople who know the
value of life would be of my opinion, if they entered seriously
into the consideration of it.
But to return to my story ; — All the while this was doing,
my partner and I, who managed the rest of the men on board,
had with great dexterity brought the ship almost to rights.
470 B^oAirtsorx^ Crusoe
and having got the guns into their places again, the gunner
called to me to bid our boat get out of the way, for he would
let ily among them. I called back agaih to him, and bid him
not oiFer 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 terri-
fied with what they had met with in their first attack, that
they would not come on again ; and sorne 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 enter-
prise, finding it was not as they expected. Thus we got
clear of their merry fight, and 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 mean time, lying
at anchor at some distance from the shore, we were not so
much concerned, 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 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 sup-
posed, but a little before ; so we kept on N.E. towards 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 Philippine islands, and this
we did that we might not fall into the way of any of the
European ships ; and then we steered ijorth, till we came to
the latitude of 22 deg. 30 min., by which means we made the
island of Formosa directly, where we came to an anchor, in
order to get water and fresh provisions, which the people
Fsobiftson^ Crusoe 471
there, who were very courteous and civil in their manners,
supplied us with willingly, and dealt very fairly and punctu-
ally 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 religion
always civilises 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 entirely ruined.
Being now come to the latitude of thirty degrees, we re-
solved 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 an European ship, came to offer his service, which, indeed,
we were glad of, and took him on board ; upon which, with-
out asking us whither we would go, he dismissed the boat he
came in, and sent it back.
I thought it was now so much in our choice to make the
old man carry us whither we would, that I began to talk to
him about carrying 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 would sell
our cargo, and purchase China wares, calicoes, raw silks, tea,
wrought silks, etc., and so would return by the same course
we came. He told us our best port had been to have put
in at Macao, where we could not have failed of a market for
our opium to our satisfaction, 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
472 Rs>ohin.soi\^ Crusoe
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.
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 afterwards ?
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 condition to fight
them ; all the ships they trade with into those parts being 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 under 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 merchants, 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 confusion 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
at my talk ; pray be pleased to go which way you think fit,
and, depend upon it, I '11 do you all the service I can. — Why,
senhor, said I, it is true, I am a little unsettled in my reso-
lution at this time, whither to go in particular j and I am
li^oJbinson^ Crusoe 473
something more so for what you said about 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 con-
cerned, I do not know that there have been any pirates 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
assured she is 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 captain and some of his men had been
murdered by the Malayans, at or near the island of Sumatra. — •
What ! said I, seeming to know nothing of the matter, did
they murder the captain ? — No, said he, I don't understand
that they murdered him ; but as they afterwards 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 '11 give him
no quarter. — But, said I to him, you say the pirate is gone
out of the 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 discov-
ered there by some Dutchmen who belonged 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 the foremost
boats had been well seconded by the rest, they had certainly
taken 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 follow, 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 seamen, but to hang
them all up at the yard-arm. — What ! said I, will they exe-
474 RpoJbiTtson^ Crusoe
cute thetn right or wrong ; hang them first, and judge them
afterwards ? — O sir, says the old pilot, there is no need to
make a formal business of it with such rogues as those ; let
them tie them back to back, and set them a diving, 't 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 Nanquin, 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, senhor, those captains of the
English and Dutch ships are a parcel of rash, proud, insolent
fellows, that neither know what belongs to justice, 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 Dutch-
man served us. I told him the reasons I had to believe the
story of killing the master by the Malayans 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 had 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 defence, to answer for.
The old man was amazed at this relation, and told us we'
were very much in the right to go away \o the north ; and that
if he might advise 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 pot get so good a ship,
RpoAiix^or^ Crusoe 475
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. He 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
know the ship so well, I may, perhaps, if I follow your meas-
ures, be instrumental to bring some holiest 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 this was the ship, and so innocent men may
probably be overpowered and murdered, — Why, says' the old
man, I '11 find out a way to prevent 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 had 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.
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 south-west
point of the great gulf of Nanquin ; where, by the way, I
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 exi-
gency, and he was as much at a loss as I was, and would very
gladly have been safe on shore almost anywhere : however, I
was not in such perplexity neither, but I asked the old pilot if
there was no creek or harbour which I might put into and pur-
sue 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
476 Rpobiixsoix. Crusoe
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. He con-
fessed, 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
merchandises.
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 remember 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 cor-
responded with called it by a different name from that which
our Portuguese pilot gave it, and pro;lounced 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 oc-
casions the people of the country were very civil to us, and
brought us abundance of things to sell to us, I mean of pro-
visions, plants, roots, tea, rice, and sopie 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 ac-
knowledge, 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
heightening every danger, representing the English and Dutch
Rpobirtson^ Crusoe 477
captains to be men incapable of hearing reason, or of dis-
tinguishing 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 enterii^ into such and such
ports ; and even our very manner, the force we had, the
number of men, the few arms, little ammunition, short pro-
visions ; 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 tlie 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, Portuguese, and Indians, and but
two Dutchmen on board. These, and many other particular
circumstances, might have made it evident to the understand-
ing 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 vapours ; it bewil-
dered our understandings, and set the imagination at work to
form a thousand terrible things that perhaps might never hap-
pen. We first supposed, as indeed everybody else had re-
lated 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 de-
fence. 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 certainly the same,
and that some of the seamen among them knew her, and had
been on board her ; and, secondly, that when we had intelli-
gence at the river of Cambodia that they were coming down
to examine 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 satisfied of the contrary ; and, as I often
478 R^obin.sors^ Crusoe
said, I know not but I should have been apt to have taken
those circumstances for evidence, if the tables vi^ere turned,
and my case was theirs ; and have made no scruple of cutting
all the crew to pieces, without believing, or perhaps consider-
ing, what they might have to offer in their defence.
But let that be how it will, these were our apprehensions ;
and both my partner and I scarce slept a night without dream-
ing of halters and yard-arms, that is to say, gibbets ; of fight-
ing, and being taken ; of killing, and being killed : and one
night I was in such a fury in my dream, fancying the Dutch-
men 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 griev-
ously, 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 extremity 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 all together.
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 j 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 satisfaction ; 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 diiSculties, and Was at last come, as it
Rs>oJbirt6orv. Crusoe 479
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 me 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 retribu-
tion ; and that I ought to submit to this, just as 1 would to
a shipwreck, if it had pleased God to have brought such a
disaster upon me.
In its turn, natural courage would sometimes take its place,
and then I would be talking myself up to vigorous resolu-
tions ; 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 lipon
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 pre-
vailed, I was sure to put myself into a kind of fever with the
agitation 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.
The greater weight the anxieties and perplexities of these
480 R^oJbin.fSon^ Crusoe
things were to our thoughts while we were at sea, the greater
was our satisfaction 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 ware-
house 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 pilfering 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 away, 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 con-
verting the people to Christianity ; but we thought they
made but poor work of it, and made them but sorry Chris-
tians when they had done : however, that was none of our
business. One of these was a Frenchman, 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 agreeable company ; the other two were
BsoJbinson^ Crusoe 481
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 oppor-
tunity. 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 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 oftentimes death itself, with the most vio-
lent tortures, for the sake of this work.
But to return to my story. This French priest. Father
Simon, was appointed, it seems, by ordpr 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 great-
est 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 him ; 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
31
482 RDobiixsors^ Crusoe
any pleasure. — O, says he, you may perhaps be good Cath-
olics in time ; my business here is to convert heathens, and
who knows but I may convert you too ? — Very well, Father,
said I, so you will preach to us all the way ? — I will not be
troublesome to you, says he ; our religkin does not divest us
of good manners : 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, we 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 that 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 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 j we had something else before us
at first, for we had all this while our ship and our merchan-
dise 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 circum-
stance, 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 Portuguese 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
RDoAin.6on^ Crusoe ^^3
first proposed to him ; but in a few days after he came to me,
with one of the missionary priests for his interpreter, and told
me he 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 if I would let the same men who were in the ship navi-
gate her, he would hire the ship to go to Japan ; and would
send them from thence to the Philippine islands with another
loading, which he would pay the freight of before they went
from Japan, and 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 enter-
tain 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 discharge us there. He 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
proposal, and going myself; but my partner, wiser than my-
self, persuaded me from it, representing the dangers, as well
of the seas as of the 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 knoiv 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 undertook 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 should be as much
mine as I pleased. I was really loath to part with him ; but
considering the prospect of advantage, which was really con-
484 RDobiix^oix^ Crusoe
siderable, 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 resolve not to go to
sea in it again : if your steward (so he called my man) will
venture the 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 fpr 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, obliging 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, trafficking 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 on his own account;
and with some money, and some spices of his own which he
brought with him, he went back to the Manillas to the Span-
iards, 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 Aca-
pulco 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 5
and having there also obtained allowance to travel by land
to Porto Bello, he found means, somehow or other, to get to
HsoJbiftson^ Crusoe 485
Jamaica, with all his treasure; and about eight years after
came to England exceeding rich, of which I shall take notice
in its place : in the mean time, I return to our particular
affairs.
Being now to part with the ship and ship's company, it
came before 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 considerable service, and de-
served well at our hands ; though, by the 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 confessed afterwards that nothing
else but the hopes 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 liked very well,
and resolved to wait ; besides, as our particular persons were
486 R^oJbirtson^ Crusoe
not obnoxious, so if any English or Dutch ships came thither,
perhaps we might have an opportunity to load our goods, and
get passage to some other place in India, nearer home. Upon
these hopes we resolved to continue here ; but, to divert our-
selves, 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 exactly straight, and
cross one another in direct lines, whichi gives the figure of it
great advantage. But when I come to compare the miserable
people of these countries with ours, their fabrics, their man-
ner 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 cere-
monies, the government, the manufacturers, 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 in-
finite variety ? What are their ports,i supplied with a few
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 expect
such things among them. And this, indeed, is the advantage
with which all their greatness and power is represented to us ;
otherwise, 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
HsoJbifvson. Crusoe 487
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 themselves, 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 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 disci-
plined, 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 dis-
tance inconceivably great from Muscovy, and the Muscovite
empire in a manner as rude, impotent, and ill governed as they,
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 growing prince) fallen this way, in-
stead 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 thfeir strength and their
grandeur, so their navigation, commerce, and husbandry are
488 RstoAirtson. Crusoe
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 math-
ematics, 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 com-
mon 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 a clattering with all the drums and kettles in the
country, to fright the monster away, just as we do to hive 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 ; 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.
WAS now, as near as I can compute,
in the heart of China, about thirty de-
grees north of the line, for we were re-
turned from Nanquin : I had, indeed, a
mind to see the city of Peking, which
^ I had heard so much of, and Father
J Simon importuned 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
BsoAiftson^ Crusoe ^^q
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 find-
ing the way, for we got leave to travel in the retinue of one of
their Mandarins, a kind of viceroy or principal magistrates in
the province where they reside, and who take great state upon
them, travelling with great attendance, and with great homage
from the people, who are sometimes greatly impoverished by
them, being obliged to furnish provisions for them and all
their attendants in their journeys. Thaf which I particularly
observed, as to our travelling with his baggage, was this, that
though we received sufficient provisions both for ourselves 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 travelling in the
retinue of the Mandarin, though it was a very great kind-
ness to us, was not such a mighty favour in him, but was a
great advantage to him, considering there were about thirty
other people travelled in the same manner besides us, under the
protection of his retinue ; for the country furnished all the pro-
visions for nothing to him, and yet he took our money for them.
We were twenty-five days travelling 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 our own, but not so to these
poor wretches, who know no other. TThe 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 degree ridiculous, as well as the contempt
of all the world but themselves.
490 Rpobiixsors^ Oru^oe
I must confess, I travelled more pleasantly afterwards in
the deserts and vast 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, imperious, insolent people, in
the midst of the grossest simplicity and ignorance ; and my
friend Father Simon and I used to be very merry upon these
occasions, to see the beggarly pride df these people. For
example, coming by the house of a country gentleman, as
Father Simon called him, about ten leagues oiF the city of
Nanquin, we had first of all the honour to ride with the master
of the house about two miles ; the state he rode in was a
perfect Don Quixotism, being a mixture of pomp and poverty.
His habit was very proper for a scaramouch, 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 honour 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 belaboured 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 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, some-
thing like the palmetto, which efi^ectually. 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
jRf>oI}irtson^ Crusoe 491
tafFety vest with the other; while the great fat brute thought
it below him to employ his own hands in any of those famil-
iar 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 teniper, 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 5 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 honour
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 worship'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, etc., that we could scarce
see anything but their feet and the 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 say, threw me in ; the place
was not deep, but it wetted me all over. I mention it,
because it spoiled my pocket-book, wherein I had set down
the names of several people and places which I had occasion
492 RpQjbJTxsors^ Crusoe
to remember, and which, not taking due care of, the leaves
rotted, and the words were never aft^r to be read, to my
great loss as to the names of some places I touched at in this
journey.
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 dili-
gent ; 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 com-
pany, and to use him as an interpreter, for he understood the
language of the country, and spoke good French, and a little
English ; and, indeed, this old man was a most useful imple-
ment 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 Eng-
lish, 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 afterwards without a
ship, without a horse, without pecune : so he called money,
being his broken Latin, of which he had abundance to make
us merry with. In short, he told us there was a great cara-
van of Muscovite and Polish 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 acquaintance 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,
BsoJbiitsotx. Crusoe 493
■■■liaHaMOTIMB^BHIiii^MHpilHiMMMMM^Bi
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 he thought of the pilot's news, and whether it would suit
with his affairs ? 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 England, if he pleased; nor, indeed, were we to be es-
teemed over generous 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 for us on shore ; and his pro-
curing for us the Japan merchant was some hundreds 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, ex-
cept only a horse to carry his goods. Having settled this be-
tween 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 re-
solved he should not go back at all ; that as we had resolved
to go to Europe 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
494 /JDoJbinson^ Crusoe
how agreeable he was to us : and then I told him what we had
resolved to give him 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 he would 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 jour-
ney. 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.
It was the beginning of February, our style, when we set
out from Peking. My partner and the old pilot had gone ex-
press 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 knowledge 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 amount-
ing, in these goods only, to about three thousand five hundred
pounds sterling ; which, together with tea, and some fine cal-
icoes, and three camels' loads of nutmegs and cloves, loaded in
all eighteen camels for our share, besides 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 re-
member, made between three and four hundred horse, and up-
wards 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
Rpobiixsor^ Orusoe 495
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 travelled 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 neces-
sary 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 form-
ing us into order any more than what we found needful upon
the way, as shall be observed.
The road all sides of the country is very populous, and
is full of potters and earth-makers, that- is to say, people that
temper the earth for the China-ware ; and as I was coming
along, our Portugal 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-humoured
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 gentleman's
house built with China-ware. Well, says I, are not the ma-
terials 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 I, 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.
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
496 p^obin.sors^ Crusoe
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 exceeding fine, indeed, with extraor-
dinary variety of colors, mixed with gold ; many tiles making
but one figure, but joined so artificially, the mortar being made
of the same 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 roorns, 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 ware-
house, indeed, truly and literally 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 foun-
tains 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.
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 hsave 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.
R^oI)ir\.sof\^ Crusoe 497
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 j and, indeed,
I found afterwards 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 fortification against the Tartars : and a very great work
it is, going over hills and mountains in a needless track, where
the rocks are impassable, 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 lakes : 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 took it for a compliment;
but the old pilot laughed : O, Senhor Inglese, say he, you
speak in colours. — In colours ! 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 5 you tell me by
that it is good for nothing but to keep out Tartars. I under-
stand you, Senhor Inglese ; I understand you, but Senhor
Chinese understood you his own way. — Well, says I, senhor,
do you think it would stand out an army of our country peo-
ple, 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 a battalia ; or blow it up in the
air, foundation and all, that there should be no sign of it left ?
32
498 RDo/}iTtsof\^ Crusoe
— 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 Iitt;le 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, some-
thing 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 travelled, 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 contemptible 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 tlie 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, always 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 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
lisoJbiftsofx^ Crusoe 499
forty or fifty more appeared at about a mile distance ; but our
work was over first, as it happened.
One of the Scots merchants of Moscow happened to be
amongst us, and as soon as he heard the horn he told us that
we had nothing to do but to charge them immediately, with-
out 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 towards 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 hap-
pily : 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, fol-
lowing our shot full gallop, to fall in among them sword in
hand, for so our bold Scot that led us directed. He was, in-
deed, but a merchant, but he behaved with such vigour 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 imagi-
nable. 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 com-
mander, without asking anybody to follow him, gallops up
close to them, and with his fusee knocks one of them off his
horse, killed the second with his pistdl, 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 were
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
500 R^obiix^ors^ Crusoe
therefore the Tartars were not so bold as afterwards : 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, 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 fright-
ful 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 a while 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 em-
peror of China, but lay for the most part in villages, some
of which were fortified, because 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 to 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
RsoMixson^ Crusoe sqi
horses also, such as they are, because so many caravans
coming that way, they are often wanted. The person that I
spoke 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, without 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 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 airrant cowards } but a
second coming upon my left, gave me a blow on the head,
which I never felt till afterwards, 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, unlooked for, directs
deliverances from dangers which to us are unforeseen), had
a pistol in his pocket, which I knew nothing of, nor the
Tartars neither ; 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
d<!)wn by main force a little towards him with the other,
shot him in the head, and laid him dead upon the spot.
He then immediately stepped up to him who had stopped
us, as I said, and before he could come forward again, made
a blow at him with a scimitar which he always wore, but
pissing the man, cut his horse in the side of his head, cut
502 /is)o/}insors^ Crusoe
one of the ears 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 car-
ried him quite out of the pilot's reach and at some distance,
rising upon his hind legs, threw down the Tartar, and fell
upon him.
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-favoured weapon he had
by his side, something like a pole-axe but not a pole-axe
neither, 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 expected, nor come on to fight him, as he apprehended,
but stand stock-still, the old man stood still too, a!nd 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 afterward, 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, 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 moment,
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 further, I
saw my champion and deliverer, who had been to see what
the Chinese had done, coming back with his hanger in kis
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 ; and seeing me bloody, woulld
see how I was hurt: but it was not much, only what vre
call a broken head ; neither did I afterwards find any great
/JpoJbirtson^ Crusoe 503
inconvenience from the blow, for it was well again in two or
three days.
We niade no great gain, however, by this victory, for we
lost a camel and gained a horse ; but that which was re-
markable, when we came back to the village, the man de-
manded 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 I am no servant, says he, but went
with the stranger. — At whose request? says 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.
I confess the thing was so clear, that I had not a word to
say : but, admiring to see such just reasoning upon the con-
sequence, 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 Kara-
kathay, 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.
This was very bad 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,
504 fisoJbinson^ Crusoe
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 bag-
gage, 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 obliged 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, be-
hold, 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 fre-
quently looked behind them, which is a certain sign in a sol-
dier 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 ! says he, let fifty of our men adyance, and flank them
on each wing, and encourage them ; and they will fight like
brave fellows 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 com-
pany they were : how many we could not tell, but ten thou-
/if)oAirtsof\^ Crusoe 505
sand, we thought, was the least: a party of them came on
first and viewed our posture, traversing 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, and give
them a salvo on each wing with their shot, which was done ;
but they went off, and I suppose baclc, to give an account of
the reception 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 the 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 sol-
diers kept here ; 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 deso-
late 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, prop-
erly 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 Arguna.
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 country 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
506 Rs)oI}in.son^ Crusoe
reflection, what a blessing it is to be brought into the world
where the name of God and a Redeemer is known, adored and
worshipped ; and not where the people, given up by Heaven
to strong delusions, worship the devil, and prostrate them-
selves to stocks and stones ; worship monsters, elements,
horrid-shaped animals, and statues or images of monsters.
Not a town or city we passed through but had their pagods,
their idols, and their temples, and ignorant people worshipping
even the works of their own hands. Now we came where, at
least, a face of the Christian worship appeared ; where the knee
was bowed to Jesus ; and whether ignorantly or not, yet the
Christian religion 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 worship-
ping of devils. — 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.
I E were now launched into the greatest
'piece of solid earth, if I understand
I anything of the surface of the globe,
I that is to be found in any part of the
I world ; we had, at least, twelve thou-
^sand miles to the sea, eastward ; two
"thousand to the bottom of the Baltic
>sea, westward; and above three thou-
^sand, if we left that sea and went on
west, to the British and French channels ; 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 peo-
ple may be believed, there might be no sea, north-east, till
we came round the pole, and consequently into the north-
west, and so had a continent of land into America, the Lord
knows where ; though I could give some reasons why I be-
lieved 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 charts, which some in our car-
avan 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 from the
mouth of it in ships, as far as I can find : but this is certain,
that this river running east, in the latitude of about fifty de-
grees, carries a vast concourse of rivers along with it, and
508 Rs)obin.sors^ Crusoe
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
considerable rivers, whose streams rurr as due north as the
Yamour runs east, and these are all found to join their
waters with the great river Tartarus, named so from the
northernmost nations of the Mogul Tartars ; who, as the Chi-
nese say, were the first Tartars in the w^orld ; and who, as our
geographers allege, are the Gog and Magog mentioned in
sacred story. These rivers running all northward, as well
as aU 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 rational 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 j 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 Muscovy 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 countries of
their empire ; some of which that I had read of were placed
in Britain, for the security of commerce, and for the lodging
travellers j and thus it was here : for wherever we came,
though at these towns and stations the garrisons and govern-
ors were Russian and professed Christians, yet the inhab-
itants were mere pagans ; sacrificing to idols, and worshipping
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.
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 continued desert or forest, which cost us twenty
days to travel over. In a village, near the last of these
/JDoAiitsors^ Crusoe 509
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 re-
sembling any creature that the world ever saw ; ears as big
as goats' 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 outward ; a great Tartar bonnet
on the head, with two horns growing through it : it was about
eight feet high, yet had no feet nor legs, nor any other pro-
portion of 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 qf shapeless wood : I
saw no motion among them any more than if they had been
all 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 displeased 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 bullock or steer. These, it seems, were sacrifices to
that senseless log of an idol ; the three men were priests be-
longing to it, and the seventeen 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
510 R^obiixsors^ Crusoe
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 faculties and capacities
adapted both to honour his Maker, and be honoured by him,
sunk and degenerated to a degree so very stupid as to pros-
trate itself to a frightful nothing, a mere imaginary object,
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 course I had sufficient
testimony : I told him what I had seen, and with what indig-
nation 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
/JDoJbirtson^ Crusoe 5"
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 vindicate the honour of God, which is insulted by this
devil-worship. — But how will it vindicate the honour 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
defence of their idolatry. — Can we not, said I, 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 igno-
rance ! 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 but 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.
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 merchant 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 J and I believe I shall do it before I quit this
place, though I were to be delivered up to them for satis-
faction. — No, no, said he, God forbid they should deliver
you up to such a crew of monsters ! They shall not do that
512 Rpobiix^ors^ Orusoe
neither } that would be murdcritig yoii indeed. — Why, said
I, how would they use me ? — Use you ! said he, I'll tell you
how they served a poor Russian, who alFronted 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 doing so to that village, he said. 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
chat 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 country-
men, 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
intended ; 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 it to my partner, but he declined it.
He said, he was ready to assist me to the utmost, and upon
all occasions, for my defence ; 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 secrecy imaginable.
RDohiixsors^ Orusoe 513
However, upon second thoughts, we were willing to delay
it till the next night, because, the caravan being to set for-
ward in the morning, we supposed the governor could not
pretend to give them any satisfaction 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 combusti-
ble matter with aqua vitae, 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 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 possible to avoid it. Well, then, said
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
33
514 Rpobirt^ors^ Crusoe
us, which we used to tie our firelocks all together with : so we
resolved to attack these people first, and with as little noise
as we could. The first thing we didj we knocked at thq
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, ahd 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 in 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.
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 all together to the
idol : when we came there we fell to work with him ; and
/i!>o/}iitson^ Crusoe 5^5
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 gunpowder ; 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
rushes 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 ungagged 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 powder 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, exceeding busy in getting ready
for our journey ; nor could any man suggest that we had been
anywhere but in our beds, as travellers 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 messengers to appe"ase them, and gave
5i6 Rpobiixsors^ Crusoe
them all the good words imaginable; assuring them that he
knew nothing of it, and that there had not a soul in his gar-
rison been abroad, so that it could pot be from anybody-
there; but if they could let him itnow who did it, they should
be exemplarily punished. 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 wjr 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 cara-
van gone towards Russia that morning, and perhaps it was
some of them who had done them this injury ; and that if
they would be satisfied with that, 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 the
haste forward that was possible ; and that, in the mean time,
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 towards Jarawena, another of the
Czar of Muscovy's colonies, and where we expected 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 en-
tered a great desert, and had passed by a great lake called
Schaks Oser, when we perceived a very great body of horse
HsoJbiftsoix. Crusoe 517
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 be-
fore them, pushed on till they came to the river Udda, a very
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
intelligence of us, and came pouring in upon us towards the
dusk of the evening. 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 towns to lodge at, and, indeed, expected none but
the city 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
before 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 armies of robbers ; and it was
therefore no new thing to be pursued.
But we had this night, of all the nights of our travels, a
most advantageous camp; for we lay between two woods,
with a little rivulet running just before our front, so that we
could not be surrounded, or attacked 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 to them
that had abused their priests, and burned their god Cham Chi-
5i8 Rpohirtson^ Crusoe
Thaungu with fire, that they might burn them with fire ; and
upon this, they said, they would go away, and do us no
further 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
caravan sent word he was well assured that it was not done by
any of our camp ; that we were peaceable merchants, travel-
ling on our business ; 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 injured them, for we were not the
people ; so desired them not to disturb us, for, if they did, we
should defend ourselves.
They were far from being satisfied wjth this for an answer ;
and a great crowd of them came running down in the morn-
ing 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 crowd of arrows among us ; but we were well enough
fortified for that, for we sheltered under; our 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 '11 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 j
after this, he takes a great circuit about, and comes directly
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.
Iis>oJbin,son^ Crusoe 5^9
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 drove in a most violent
hurry to Siheilka, which, it seems, was iive 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 Muscovites, 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 waggons of the country, for carrying our water
or provisions; and these carriages were our defence, every
night, round our little camp ; so that had the Tartars ap-
peared, unless they had been very numerous indeed, they
would not have been able to hurt us.
We may well be supposed to want rest again after this
long journey : for in this desert we neither saw house nor
tree, and scarce a bush ; though we saw abundance of the
sable-hunters, who are all Tartars of the Mogul Tartary, of
which this country is a part ; and they frequently attack small
caravans, but we saw no numbers of them together.
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, detach-
ments 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.
520 p^obirvson^ Crusoe
I thought, long before this, that as we came nearer to
Europe we should find the country better inhabited, and the
people more civilised ; 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 Muscovites, they
were not so dangerous ; but for rudeness of manners and idol-
atry, no people in the world ever went beyond them : they
are clothed all in 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, everything they do not understand,. and they
understand but very little ; so that every element, every
uncommon thing, sets them a sacrificing. I met with noth-
ing 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 travelling, 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 city or
station on the great river Janezay (Yemsey), 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 near Christianity, for being
under the Muscovite government j which they acknowledged
was true enough : but that, as they said, was none of their
/is>oJbinsofv. Crusoe s^^
business ; that if the czar expected 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
uncultivated country, barren of people and good management ;
otherwise it is in itself a most pleasant, fruitful, and agreeable
country. What inhabitants we found in it are all pagans, ex-
cept such as are sent among them from Russia : for this is the
country, I mean on both sides the 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
Tobolski, 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 council about our particular aiFairs, in which,
we found it proper, as we were bound for England, and "not
for Moscow, to consider how to dispose of ourselves. They
told us of sledges and reindeer to carry us over the snow in the
winter time ; and, indeed, they have sudh 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 ; I was bound to England, not to Moscow, and my route
lay two ways : 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 cara-
van at a little town on the Dwina, from' whence I had but six
522 RDobinson^ Crusoe
days by water to Archangel, and from 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 Mo-
gul 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 provision 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 afforded, 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, etc. 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 centre 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 bagnios in
England. By this means, we had alwayis 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.
RDoJbin.son^ Crusoe 523
wmmmmi^mamtm^mmtmi^a^m^mmmmmmi^mtmmmmmm
The most wonderful thing of all wasj that it should be pos-
sible to meet with good company here-, in a country so bar-
barous as that 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 Mus-
covy, as I observed before, are all banished, this city was full
of noblemen, gentlemen, Soldiers, and courtiers of Muscovy.
Here was the famous prince Gallitzen, the old general Robos-
tiski, 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 gen-
tlemen ; and from these, in the long winter nights in which I
stayed here, I received several very agreeable visits.
It was talking one night with Prince- , one of the
banished ministers of state belonging to the czar of Muscovy,
that the discourse of my particular case began. He had been
telling me abundance of fine things of the greatness, the mag-
nificence, the dominions, and the absolute power of the em-
peror 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 grandee looked a little sur-
prised, and fixing his eyes steadily upon me, began to wonder
what I meant. I told him his wonder would cease when I
had explained myself. First, I told him I had absolute dis-
posal 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 domin-
ions. He shook his head at that, and said. There, indeed, 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 ac-
knowledged 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
524 RpoAiftsors^ Crusoe
minuted it down. They were exceedingly 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 ourselves ;
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 retirement 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 height of human wis-
dom was to bring our tempers down to our 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 j 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, com-
pleted, in his opinion, all that the world could do for us j
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 spnsuality ; 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 toj 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 exercise of all those vices, he said he was at leisure
to look upon the dark side of them, where he found all man-
ner 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
/i5)oJbtn.son^ Crusoe s^s
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 neces-
sity of my circumstances, which some call miserable ; but,
if I know anything 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 believe 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 gaol of flesh and
blood it is now enclosed in, and leave heaven, to deal in the
dirt and crime of human affairs.
He spoke this with so much warmth in his temper, so
inuch earnestness 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 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 himself, 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 ques-
tion ? — 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 f — 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 deliver 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 know myself at all, I
would not leave this wilderness, these deserts, and these
526 /is>oAtnson^ Crusoe
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 conveniences 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. — Ay,
says he, that is as you suppose me to be a lord, or a
prince, etc. ; so, indeed, I am ; but you are now to consider
me only as a man, a human creature, not at all distinguished
from another; and so I can suffer no want, unless I should
be visited with sickness and distempers. However, to put
the question 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 banishment; we have something
rescued from the shipwreck of our fortunes, 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 labouring 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.
I have not room to give a full account of the most agree-
able conversation I had with this truly great man ; in all
which he showed that 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 without being wrapped in furs, and a mask of fur
before my face, or rather 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
Rs>oJbii\sor^ Crusoe 5^7
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 muttpn and of the buffaloes,
which is pretty good meat. All the stores of provisions for
the winter are laid up in the summer, and well cured : our
drink was water, mixed with aqua-vitas 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 some-
times 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 j 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 trav-
ellers, go away before me. It seems, every year they go from
thence to Muscovy for trade, viz., to carry furs, and buy
necessaries, which they, bring back with them to furnish their
shops : also others went on the same errand to Archangel ;
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 i and, as I was doing this, it occurred to me that, seeing
all these people were banished by the Czar of Muscovy to
528 R^oJ}in,sors^ Crusoe
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 ; espe-
cially 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 do-
minions, and by ways utterly impassable, except by the roads
made by 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 the castle at Moscow : however, it came into my thoughts
that I might certainly 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 un-
interrupted to Archangel, 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 himself.
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 exceediug ferment : his
colour frequently changed, his eyes looked red, and his heart
RpoAittsorx^ Crusoe s^o
fluttered, that it might be even perceiveSd 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 unhappy
are we, unguarded creatures as we are, that even our greatest
acts of friendship are made snares unto us, and we are made
tempters of one another ! My dear friend, said he, your
offer is so sincere, has such kindness in it, is so disinterested
in itself, and is so calculated for my advantage, that I must
have very little knowledge of the world if I did not both
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 be-
lieve I was sincere when I told you I would not go back, if
I was recalled even to be all that I once was in the court,
with the favour 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 go 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 opened 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, says he, warmly, but that, instead of a summons
from Heaven, it may be a feint of another instrument ; rep-
resenting in alluring colours to me the show of felicity as a
deliverance, which may in itself be my snare, and tend di-
rectly to my ruin ? Here I am free from the temptation
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 iiature, may revive and
34
530 /is>o/}iftsor\^ Crusoe
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 then 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 shall then, I fear, quickly lose
sight of : for I am but flesh ; a man, a mere man j have
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 consider 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, says 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 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 Heaven
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.
I had nothing to do but to acquiesce, and make profes-
sions to him of my having no end in it but a sincere desire
to serve him. He embraced me very passionately, and as-
sured me he was sensible of that, and should always acknowl-
edge it ; and with that he offered me a very fine present of
R£>oI}insoi\. Crusoe 531
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, whioh did not all weigh
above six ounces or thereabout, but w^ere far short of the
value of his sables, which, when I came to England, I found
worth near two hundred pounds. He accepted 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 that, since I had made such a generous offer
to him, 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.
532 R^obiixson^ Crusoe
when he came incognito 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 futs 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 here, 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 mer-
chandise, was mightily pleased with our stay, on account of
the traffick we made here.
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 before ; 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.
We had here the worst and the largest desert to pass over
that we met with in our whole journey : I call it 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 Sibe-
rian servant, 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 means, as we
/tsoJbiixson^ Crusoe 533
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
wc 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 He 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 bouhdary 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 Tartary : the people are mostly pagans, and little
better than the savages of America ; their houses and towns
full of idols, and their way of living wholly barbarous, except
in the cities, as above, and the villages near them, where they
are Christians, as they call themselves, of the Greek church ;
but have their religion mingled with so many relics of super-
stition, 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 dangers 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 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 twice : 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 because he was
534 /JDoAirtson^ Crusoe
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 under-
stand 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
oiF again ; and we resolved 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 Portu-
guese 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
satisfaction, 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 afterwards the Wirtska : the trees which grew about
this spring were not above two hundred, but very large, and
stood pretty thick, so that as soon as we got in we saw
ourselves perfectly safe from the enemy, unless they attacked
us on foot.
jRsoJbiftson^ Crusoe sss
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 an-
other, 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, however, we fancied some were women. They
came on till they were within half shot of our little 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 woodside, 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 they 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
immediately 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 the 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, biit 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, and had set up eleven or twelve huts
536 /is>oJbinsof\^ Crusoe
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, sur-
prised 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 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 be starved ; and he
was for fighting to the last drop.
The young lord, as gallant as ever flesh showed itself, was
for fighting 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
but by the morning they might be a still greater number 5
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 fighting for the sake of it ; and
that I knew his lord was brave enough, by what he had
showed already ; but that his lord knew better than to desire
seventeen or eighteen men to fight five hundred, unless an
unavoidable necessity forced them to it ; and that, if he
thought it possible for us to escape ki 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
RjDQjbiixson^ Crusoe 537
not perform it: we soon brought his lord to give that order,
though privately, and we immediately prepared 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 con-
clude 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'fclock the next morn-
ing we were got above thirty miles, having almost spoiled
our horses. Here we found a Russian village, named Ker-
mazinskoy, where we rested, and heard nothing of the Kal-
muck 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 Gzomoys : 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 arid arrived all safe at
Archangel the i8th; having been a year, five months, and
three days on the journey, including our stay of eight months
538 /is>o/}irtson^ Crusoe
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 Hamburgh 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 1 8th of September. Here my partner
and I found a very good sale for our goods, as well those of
China as the sables, etc., of Siberia ; and dividing the produce,
my share amounted to three thousand four hundred and sev-
enty-five pounds seventeen shillings and threepence, including
about six hundred pounds' worth of diamonds which I pur-
chased at Bengal.
Here the young lord took his leave of us, and went up
the Elbe, in order to go to the court of Vienna, where he
resolved to seek protection, and could correspond with those
of his father's friends who 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 in Hamburgh,
I came from thence by land to the Hague, where I em-
barked in the packet, and arrived in London the loth 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.
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