When I was come down the Hill, to the Shore, as I said above,
being the S.W. Point of the Island, I was perfectly confounded and amaz'd;
nor is it possible for me to express the Horror of my Mind, at seeing the Shore
spread with Skulls, Hands, Feet, and other Bones of humane Bodies; and
particularly I observ'd a Place where there had been a Fire made, and a Circle
dug in the Earth, like a Cockpit, where it is suppos'd the Savage Wretches had
sat down to their inhumane Feastings upon the Bodies of their Fellow-Creatures.
I was so astonish'd with the Sight of these Things, that I entertain'd no
Notions of any Danger to my self from it for a long while; All my Apprehensions
were bury'd in the Thoughts of such a Pitch of inhuman, hellish Brutality, and
the Horror of the Degeneracy of Humane Nature; which though I had heard of
often, yet I never had so near a View of before; in short, I turn'd away my Face
from the horrid Spectacle; my Stomach grew sick, and I was just at the Point of
Fainting, when Nature discharg'd the Disorder from my Stomach; and having
vomited with an uncommon violence, I was a little reliev'd; but cou'd not bear
to stay in the Place a Moment; so I gat me up the Hill again, with the Speed I
cou'd, and walk'd on towards my own Habitation.
When I came a little out of that Part of the Island, I stood a while as
amaz'd; and then recovering my self, I look'd with the utmost Affection of my
Soul, and with a Flood Tears in my Eyes, gave God Thanks that had cast my Lot in
a Part of the World, where I was distinguish'd from such dreadful Creatures as
these; and that though I had esteem'd 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 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 suffer'd, 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 my Circumstances, than ever I was before; for I
observ'd, that these Wretches never came to this Island in search of what they
could get; perhaps not seeking, not wanting, or not expecting any Thing here;
and having often, no doubt, been up in the cover'd woody Part of it, without
finding any Thing to their Purpose. I knew I had been here now almost eighteen
Years, and never saw the least Foot-steps of Humane Creature there before; and I
might be here eighteen more, as entirely conceal'd as I was now, if I did not
discover my self to them, which I had no manner of Occasion to do, it being my
only Business to keep my self entirely conceal'd where I was, unless I found a
better sort of Creatures than Canibals to make my self known to.
Yet I entertain'd 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 continu'd 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 call'd 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 fearful of seeing them, as of
seeing the Devil himself; nor did I so much as go to look after my Boat, in all
this Time; but began rather to think of making me another; for I cou'd not think
of ever making any more Attempts, to bring the other Boat round the Island to
me, least I should meet with some of these Creatures at Sea, in which, if I had
happen'd 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
discover'd by these People, began to wear off my Uneasiness about them; and I
began to live just in the same compos'd Manner as before; only with this
Difference, that I used more Caution, and kept my Eyes more about me than I did
before, least I should happen to be seen by any of them; and particularly, I was
more cautious of firing my Gun, least any of them being on the Island, should
happen to hear of it; and it was therefore a very good Providence to me, that I
had furnish'd my self with a tame Breed of Goats, that I needed not hunt any
more about the Woods, or shoot at them; and if I did catch any of them after
this, it was by Traps, and Snares, as I had done before; so that for two Years
after this, I believe I never fir'd my Gun once off, though I never went out
without it; and which was more, as I had sav'd three Pistols out of the Ship, I
always carry'd them out with me, or at least two of them, sticking them in my
Goat-skin Belt; also I furbish'd up one of the great Cutlashes, that I had out
of the Ship, and made me a Belt to put 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 my self, the Particular of two Pistols, and a great broad Sword,
hanging at my Side in a Belt, but without a Scabbard.
Things going on thus, as I have said, for some Time; I seem'd, excepting
these Cautions, to be reduc'd to my former calm, sedate Way of Living, all these
Things tended to shewing me more and more how far my Condition was from being
miserable, compar'd to some others; nay, to many other Particulars of Life,
which it might have pleased God to have made my Lot. It put me upon reflecting,
How little repining there would be among Mankind, at any Condition of Life, if
People would rather compare their Condition with those that are 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 dropp'd 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 my self some Beer: This
was really a whimsical Thought, and I reprov'd my self often for the Simplicity
of it; for I presently saw there would be the want of several Things necessary
to the making my Beer, that it would be impossible for me to supply; as First,
Casks to preserve it in, which was a Thing, that as I have observ'd already, I
cou'd never compass; no, though I spent not 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 all
these Things, notwithstanding, I verily believe, had not these Things
interven'd, I mean the Frights and Terrors I was in about the Savages, I had
undertaken it, and perhaps brought it to pass too; for I seldom gave any Thing
over without accomplishing it, when I once had it in my Head enough to begin it.
But my Invention now run quite another Way; for Night and Day, I could think
of nothing but how I might destroy some of these Monsters in their cruel bloody
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 hatch'd, or rather brooded upon in my
Thought, for the destroying these Creatures, or at least frighting them, so as
to prevent their coming hither any more; but all was abortive, nothing could be
possible to take effect, unless I was to be there to do it my self; and what
could one Man do among them, when perhaps there might be twenty or thirty of
them together, with their Darts, or their Bows and Arrows, with which they could
shoot as true to a Mark, I could with my Gun?
Sometime I contriv'd to dig a Hole under the Place where they made their
Fire, and put in five or six Pound of Gun-powder, 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 very loth to wast 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 propos'd, that I would place my self 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 shoot; and then falling in upon them with my three Pistols, and
my Sword, I made no doubt, but that if there was twenty I should kill them all:
This Fancy pleas'd my Thoughts for some Weeks, and I was so full of it, that I
often dream'd 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 employ'd my self several Days
to find out proper Places to put my self in Ambuscade, as I said, to watch for
them; and I went frequently to the Place it self, which was now grown more
familiar to me; and especially while my Mind was thus fill'd with Thoughts of
Revenge, and of 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, abated my Malice.
Well, at length I found a Place in the Side of the Hill, where I was
satisfy'd 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 my self unseen
into Thickets of Trees, in one of which there was a Hollow large enough to
conceal me entirely; and where 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 Shoot, or that I could fail
wounding three or four of them at the first Shoot.
In this Place then I resolv'd to fix my Design, and accordingly I prepar'd
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 Ammunition for a second and third Charge, I prepar'd
my self 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 call'd it, about three Miles, or more, to see if
I cou'd observe 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, or
near the Shore; but not on the whole Ocean, so far as my Eyes or Glasses could
reach every Way.
As long as I kept up my daily Tour to the Hill, to look out; so long also I
kept up the Vigour of my Design, and my Spirits seem'd to be all the while in a
suitable Form, for so outragious an Execution as the killing twenty or thirty
naked Savages, for an Offence which I had not at all entred into a Discussion of
in my Thoughts, any farther than my Passions were at first fir'd by the Horror I
conceiv'd at the natural Custom of that People of the Country, who it had been
suffer'd by Providence in his wise Disposition of the World, to have no other
Guide than that of their own abominable and vitiated Passions; and constantly
were left, and perhaps had been so for some Ages, to act: horrid Things, and
receive such dreadful Customs, as nothing but Nature entirely abandon'd of
Heaven, and acted by hellish Degeneracy, could have run them into: But now, 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 it self
began to alter, and I began with cooler and calmer Thoughts to consider what it
was 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 unpunish'd, 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 my self thus; How do I know what God himself judges in this particular
Case? is certain these People either 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 be Offence, and then commit it in Defiance of Divine Justice, we
do in almost all the Sins we commit. They think it no ore a Crime to kill a
Captive taken in War, than we do kill an Ox; nor to eat humane Flesh, than we do
to eat Mutton.
When I had consider'd this a little, it follow'd necessarily, that I was
certainly in the Wrong in it, that these People were not Murtherers in the Sense
that I had before condemn'd them, in my Thoughts; any more than those Christians
were Murtherers, 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 occurr'd to me, that albeit the Usage they thus gave one
another, was thus brutish and inhuman; yet it was really nothing to me: These
People had done me Injury. That if they attempted me, or I saw it necessary my
immediate Preservation to fall upon them, something might be said for it; but
that as I was yet out of their Power, and they had really no Knowledge of me,
and consequently sign upon me; and therefore it could not be just for to fall
upon them. That this would justify the Conduct the Spaniards in all their
Barbarities practis'd in America, and where they destroy'd 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 of Europe, as a meer Butchery, a
bloody and unnatural Piece of Cruelty, unjustifiable either to God or Man; and
such, as for which the very Name of a Spaniard is reckon'd to be
frightful and terrible to all People of Humanity, or of Christian Compassion: As
if the Kingdom of Spain were particularly Eminent for the Product of a
Race of Men, who were without Principles of Tenderness, or the common Bowels of
Pity to the Miserable, which is reckon'd 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 of my Design, and to conclude, I had
taken wrong Measures in my Resolutions to attack the Savages; that it was not my
Business to meddle with them, unless they first attack'd me, and this it was my
Business if possible to prevent; but that if I were discover'd, and attack'd,
then I knew my Duty.
On the other hand, I argu'd with my self, That this really was the way not to
deliver my self, but entirely to ruin and destroy my self; 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 escap'd, to tell their Country
People what had happen'd, they would come over again by Thousands to revenge the
Death of their Fellows, and 1 should only bring upon my self a certain
Destruction, which at present I had no manner of occasion for.
Upon the whole I concluded, That neither in Principle or in Policy, I ought
one way or other to concern my self in this Affair. That my Business was by all
possible Means to conceal my self 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 humane Shape.
Religion joyn'd in with this Prudential, and I was convinc'd now many Ways,
that I was perfectly out of my Duty, when I was laying all my bloody Schemes for
the Destruction of innocent Creatures, I mean innocent as to me: As to the
Crimes they were guilty of towards one another, I had nothing to do with them;
they were National, and I ought to leave them to the Justice of God, who is the
Governour of Nations, and knows how by National Punishments to make a just
Retribution for National Offences; and to bring publick Judgments upon those who
offend in a publick Manner, by such Ways as best pleases him.
This appear'd so clear to me now, that nothing was a greater Satisfaction to
me, than that I had not been suffer'd to do a Thing which I now saw so much
Reason to believe would have been no less a Sin, than that of wilful Murther, if
I had committed it; and I gave most humble Thanks on my Knees to God, that had
thus deliver'd me from Blood-Guiltiness; beseeching him to grant me the
Protection of his Providence, that I might not fall into the Hands of the
Barbarians; or that I might not lay my Hands upon them, unless I had a more
clear Call from Heaven to do it, in Defence of my own Life.
In this Disposition I continu'd, for near a Year after this; and so far was I
from desiring an Occasion for falling upon these Wretches, that in all that
Time, I never once went up the Hill to see whether there were any of them in
Sight, or to know whether any of them had been on Shore there, or not, that I
might not be tempted to renew any of my Contrivances against them, or be
provok'd by any Advantage which might present it self, to fall upon them; only
this I did I went and remov'd my Boat, which I had on the other Side the Island,
and carry'd it down to the East End of the whole Island, where I ran it
into a little Cove which I found under some high Rocks, and where I knew, by
Reason of the Currents, the Savages durst not, at least would not come with
their Boats, upon any Account whatsoever.
With my Boat I carry'd away every Thing that I had left there belonging to
her, though not necessary for the bare going thither, viz. A Mast and
Sail which I had made for her, and a Thing like an Anchor, but indeed which
could not be call'd either Anchor or Grapling; however, it was the best I could
make of its kind: All these I remov'd, 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 my self, as I said, more retir'd than ever, and seldom
went from my Cell, other than upon my constant Employment, viz. To milk my
She-goats, and manage my little Flock, in the Wood; which as it was quite on the
other Part of the Island, was quite out of Danger; for certain it is, that these
Savage People who sometimes haunted this Island, never came with any Thoughts of
finding any Thing here; and consequently never wandred off from the Coast; and I
doubt not, but they might have been several Times on Shore, after my
Apprehensions of them had made me cautious as well as before; and indeed, I
look'd back with some Horror upon the Thoughts of what my Condition would have
been, if I had chop'd upon them, and been discover'd before that, when naked and
unarm'd, except with one Gun, and that loaden often only with small Shot, I
walk'd every where peeping, and peeping about the Island, to see what I could
get; what a Surprise should I have been in, if when I discover'd the Print of a
Man's Foot, I had instead of that, seen fifteen or twenty Savages, and found
them pursuing me, and by the Swiftness of their Running, no Possibility of my
escaping them.
The Thoughts of this sometimes sunk my very Soul within me, and distress'd my
Mind so much, that I could not soon recover it, to think what I should have
done, and how I not only should not have been able 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 of these Things, I should be very
Melancholly, and sometimes it would last a great while; but I resolv'd it at
last all into Thankfulness to that Providence, which had deliver'd me from so
many unseen Dangers, and had kept me from those Mischiefs which I could no way
have been the Agent in delivering my self from; because I had not the least
Notion of any such Thing depending,' or the least Supposition of it being
possible.
This renew'd a Contemplation, 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 deliver'd, when we
know nothing of it. How when we are in (a Quandary, as we call it) a
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 call'd 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 over-rule 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 ruin'd and lost: Upon these, and many
like Reflections, I afterwards made it a certain Rule with me, That whenever I
found those secret Hints, or pressings of my Mind, to doing, or not doing any
Thing that presented; or to going this Way, or that Way, I never fail'd to obey
the secret Dictate; though I knew no other Reason for it, than that such a
Pressure, 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 saw with now: But 'tis never too late to be wise; and I cannot but
advise all considering Men, whose Lives are attended with such extraordinary
Incidents as mine, or even though not so extraordinary, not to slight such
secret Intimations of Providence, let them come from what invisible 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 the secret
Communication between those embody'd, and those unembody'd; 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 strange, if I confess that these
Anxieties, these constant Dangers I liv'd in, and the Concern that was now upon
me, put an End to all Invention, and to all the Contrivances that I had laid for
my future Accommodations and Conveniencies. I had the Care of my Safety more now
upon my Hands, than that of my Food. I car'd not to drive a Nail, or chop a
Stick of Wood now, for fear the Noise I should make should be heard; much less
would I fire a Gun, for the same Reason; and above all, I was intollerably
uneasy at making any Fire, least the Smoke which is visible at a great Distance
in the Day should betray me; and for this Reason I remov'd that Part of my
Business which requir'd 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 meer natural Cave in the Earth, which went in a
vast way, and where, I dare say, no Savage, had he been at the Mouth of it,
would be so hardy as to venture in, nor indeed, would any Man else; but one who
like me, wanted nothing so much as a safe Retreat.
The Mouth of this Hollow, was at the Bottom of a great Rock, where by meer
accident, (I would say, if I did not see abundant Reason to ascribe all such
Things now to Providence) I was cutting down some thick Branches of Trees, to
make Charcoal; and before I go on, I must observe the Reason of my making this
Charcoal; which was thus: I was afraid of making a Smoke about my Habitation, as
I said before; and yet I could not live there without baking my Bread, cooking
my Meat, etc. so I contriv'd 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 preserv'd the Coal to carry Home; and perform the other
Services which Fire was wanting for at Home without Danger of Smoke.
But this is by the by: While I was cutting down some Wood here, I perceiv'd
that behind a very thick Branch of low Brushwood, or Underwood, there was a kind
of hollow Place; I was curious to look into it, and getting with Difficulty into
the Mouth of it, I found it was pretty large; that is to say, sufficient for me
to stand upright in it, and perhaps another with me; but I must confess to you,
I made more hast 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 twinkl'd like two Stars, the dim Light from the
Cave's Mouth shining directly in and making the Reflection.
However, after some Pause, I recover'd my self, and began to call my self a
thousand Fools, and tell my self, that he that was afraid to see the Devil, was
not fit to live twenty Years in an Island all alone; and that I durst to believe
there was nothing in this Cave that was more frightful than my self; upon this,
plucking up my Courage, I took up a great Firebrand, and in I rush'd again, with
the Stick flaming in my Hand; I had not gone three Steps in, but I was almost as
much frighted as I was before; for I heard a very loud Sigh, like that of a Man
in some Pain, and it was follow'd by a broken Noise, as if of Words half
express'd, and then a deep Sigh again: I stepp'd back, and was indeed struck
with such a Surprize, that it put me into a cold Sweat; and if I had had a Hat
on my Head, I will not answer for it, that my Hair might not have lifted it off.
But still plucking up my Spirits as well as I could, and encouraging my self a
little with considering that the Power and Presence of God was every where, and
was able to protect me; upon this I stepp'd 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 meer old Age.
I stirr'd him a little to see if I could get him out, and he essay'd to get
up, but was not able to raise himself; and I thought with my self, he might even
lie there; for if he had frighted 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 recover'd from my Surprize, and began to look round me, when I
found the Cave was but very small, that is to say, it might be about twelve Foot
over, but in no manner of Shape, either round or square, no Hands having ever
been employ'd in making it, but those of meer Nature: I observ'd also, that
there was a Place at the farther Side of it, that went in farther, but was so
low, that it requir'd me to creep upon my Hands and Knees to go into it, and
whither I went I knew not; so having no Candle, I gave it over for some Time;
but resolv'd to come again the next Day, provided with Candles, and a
Tinder-box, which I had made of the Lock of one of the Muskets, with some
wild-fire in the Pan.
Accordingly the next Day, I came provided with six large Candles of my own
making; for I made very good Candles now of Goat's Tallow; and going into this
low Place, I was oblig'd 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 was got
through the Strait, I found the Roof rose higher up, I believe near twenty Foot;
but never was such a glorious Sight seen in the Island, I dare say, as it was,
to look round the Sides and Roof of this Vault, or Cave; the Walls reflected 100
thousand Lights to me from my two Candles; what it was in Rock, whether
Diamonds, or any other precious Stones, or Gold, which I rather suppos'd it to
be, I knew not.
The Place I was in, was a most delightful Cavity, or Grotto, of its kind, as
could be expected, though perfectly dark; the Floor was dry and level, and had a
sort of small lose Gravel upon it, so that there was no nauseous or venemous
Creature to be seen, neither was there any damp, or wet, on the Sides or Roof:
The only Difficulty in it was the Entrance, which however as it was a Place of
Security, and such a Retreat as I wanted, I thought that was a Convenience; so
that I was really rejoyc'd at the Discovery, and resolv'd without any Delay, to
bring some of those Things which I was most anxious about, to this Place;
particularly, I resolv'd to bring hither my Magazine of Powder, and all my spare
Arms, viz. Two Fowling-Pieces, for I had three in all; and three Muskets,
for of them I had eight in all; so I kept at my Castle only five, which stood
ready mounted like Pieces of Cannon, on my out-most Fence; and were ready also
to take out upon any Expedition.
Upon this Occasion of removing my Ammunition, I took occasion 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 preserv'd the inside like a
Kernel in a Shell; so that I had near sixty Pound of very good Powder in the
Center of the Cask, and this was an agreeable Discovery to me at that Time; so I
carry'd all away thither, never keeping above two or three Pound of Powder with
me in my Castle, for fear of a Surprize of any kind: I also carry'd thither all
the Lead I had Belt for Bullets.
I fancy'd my self now like one of the ancient Giants, which are said to live
in Caves, and Holes, in the Rocks, where none could come at them; for I
perswaded my self while I was here, 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 who I found expiring, dy'd in the Mouth of the Cave, the next
Day after I made this Discovery; and I found it much easier to dig a great Hole
there, and throw him in, and cover him with Earth, than to drag him out; so I
interr'd him there, to prevent the Offence to my Nose.
I was now in my twenty third Year of Residence in this Island, and was so
naturaliz'd to the Place, and to the Manner of Living, that could I have but
enjoy'd 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 dy'd, like the old
Goat in the Cave. I had also arriv'd to some little Diversions and Amusements,
which made the Time pass more pleasantly with me a great deal, than it did
before; as First, I had taught my Poll, as I noted before, to speak; and he did
it so familiarly, and talk'd so articulately and plain, that it was very
pleasant to me; and he liv'd with me no less than six and twenty Years: How long
he might live afterwards, I know not; though I know they have a Notion in the
Brasils, that they live a hundred Years; perhaps poor Poll may be alive
there still, calling after Poor Robin Crusoe to this Day. I wish no
English Man the ill Luck to come there and hear him; but if he did, he would
certainly believe it was the Devil. My Dog was a very pleasant and loving
Companion to me, for no less than sixteen Years of my Time, and then dy'd, of
meer old Age; as for my Cats, they multiply'd as I have observ'd to that Degree,
that I was oblig'd 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 after some time continually driving them from me, and letting
them have no Provision 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
drown'd; and these were part of my Family: Besides these, I always kept two or
three houshold Kids about me, who I taught to feed out of my Hand; and I had two
more Parrots which talk'd 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 know not,
who 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 liv'd among these low Trees, and bred there, which was very
agreeable to me; so that as I said above, I began to be very well contented with
the Life I led, if it might but have been secur'd 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, vis. How
frequently in the Course of our Lives, the Evil which in it self we seek most to
shun, and which when we are fallen into it, is the most dreadful to us, is
oftentimes the very Means or Door of our Deliverance, by which alone we can be
rais'd again from the Affliction we are fallen into. I cou'd give many Examples
of this in the Course of my unaccountable Life; but in nothing was it more
particularly remarkable, than in the Circumstances of my last Years of solitary
Residence in this Island.
It was now the Month of December, as I said above, in my twenty third
Year; and this being the Southern Solstice, for Winter I cannot call it,
was the particular Time of my Harvest, and requir'd my being pretty much abroad
in the Fields; when going out pretty early in the Morning, even before it was
thorow Day-light, I was surpriz'd with seeing a Light of some Fire upon the
Shore, at a Distance from me, of about two Mile towards the End of the Island,
where I had observ'd some Savages had been as before; but not on the other Side;
but to my great Affliction, it was on my Side of the Island.
I was indeed terribly surpriz'd at the Sight, and stepp'd short within my
Grove, not daring to go out, least I might be surpriz'd; and yet I had no more
Peace within, from the Apprehensions I had, that if these Savages in rambling
over the Island, should find my Corn standing, or cut, or any of my Works and
Improvements, they would immediately conclude, that there were People in the
Place, and would then never give over till they had found me out: In this
Extremity I went back directly to my Castle, pull'd up the Ladder after me, and
made all Things without look as wild and natural as I could.
Then I prepar'd my self within, putting my self in a Posture of Defence; I
loaded all my Cannon, as I call'd them; that is to say, my Muskets, which were
mounted upon my new Fortification, and all my Pistols, and resolv'd to defend my
self to the last Gasp, not forgetting seriously to commend my self to the Divine
Protection, and earnestly to pray to God to deliver me out of the Hands of the
Barbarians; and in this Posture I continu'd about two Hours; but began to be
mighty impatient for Intelligence abroad, for I had no Spies to send out.
After sitting a while longer, and musing what I should do in this Case, I was
not able to bear sitting in Ignorance any longer; so setting up my Ladder to the
Side of the Hill, where there was a flat Place, as I observ'd 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 extreme hot; but as I suppos'd, to dress some of their barbarous Diet, of
humane Flesh, which they had brought with them, whether alive or dead I could
not know.
They had two Canoes with them, which they had haled up upon the Shore;
and as it was then Tide of Ebb, they seem'd to me to wait for the Return of the
Flood, to go away again; it is not easy to imagine what Confusion this Sight put
me into, especially seeing them come on my Side the Island, and so near me too;
but when I observ'd their coming must be always with the Current of the Ebb, I
began afterwards to be more sedate in my Mind, being satisfy'd that I might go
abroad with Safety all the Time of the Tide of Flood, if they were not on Shore
before: And having made this Observation, I went abroad about my Harvest Work
with the more Composure.
As I expected, so it prov'd; for as soon as the Tide made to the Westward,
I saw them all take Boat, and row (or paddle as we call it) all away: I should
have observ'd, that for an Hour and more before they went off, they went to
dancing, and I could easily discern their Postures, and Gestures, by my Glasses:
I could not perceive by my nicest Observation, but that they were stark naked,
and had not the least covering upon them; but whether they were Men or Women,
that I could not distinguish.
As soon as I saw them shipp'd, and gone, I took two Guns upon my Shoulders,
and two Pistols at my Girdle, and my great Sword by my Side, without a Scabbard,
and with all the Speed I was able to make, I went away to the Hill, where I had
discover'd the first Appearance of all; and as soon as I gat thither, which was
not less than two Hours (for I could not go apace, being so loaden with Arms as
I was) I perceiv'd there had been three Canoes more of Savages on 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 when 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
humane Bodies, eaten and devour'd by those Wretches, with Merriment and Sport: I
was so fill'd with Indignation at the Sight, that I began now to premeditate the
Destruction of the next that I saw there, let them be who, or how many soever.
It seem'd evident to me, that the Visits which they thus make to this Island,
are not very frequent; for it was above fifteen Months before any more of them
came on Shore there again; that is to say, I neither saw them, or 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 liv'd
uncomfortably, by reason of the constant Apprehensions I was in of their coming
upon me by Surprize; from whence I observe, that the Expectation of Evil is more
bitter than the Suffering, especially if there is no room to shake off that
Expectation, or those Apprehensions.
During all this Time, I was in the murthering Humour; and took up most of my
Hours, which should have been better employ'd, in contriving how to circumvent,
and fall upon them, the very next Time I should see them; especially if they
should be divided, as they were the last Time, into two Parties; nor did I
consider at all, that if I kill'd 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 Murtherer than they were
in being Man-eaters; and perhaps much more so.
I spent my Days now in great Perplexity, and Anxiety of Mind, expecting that
I should one Day or other fall into the Hands of these merciless Creatures; and
if I did at any Time venture abroad, it was not without looking 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, especially near that Side of the Island where
they usually came, least I should alarm the Savages; and if they had fled from
me now, I was sure to have them come back 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 hear 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, dream'd always frightful Dreams, and often
started out of my Sleep in the Night: In the Day great Troubles overwhelm'd my
Mind, and in the Night I dream'd often of killing the Savages, and of the
Reasons why I might justify the doing of it; but to wave all this for a while;
it was in the middle of May, on the sixteenth Day I think, as well as my
poor wooden Calendar would reckon; for I markt all upon the Post still; I say,
it was 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 know not what was the particular Occasion of it; but as I was
reading in the Bible, and taken up with very serious Thoughts about my present
Condition, I was surpriz'd with a Noise of a Gun as I thought fir'd at Sea.
This was to be sure a Surprize of a quite different Nature from any I had met
with before; for the Notions this put into my Thoughts, were quite of another
kind. I started up in the greatest hast imaginable, and in a trice clapt my
Ladder to the middle Place of the Rock, and pull'd it after me, and mounting it
the second Time, got to the Top of the Hill, the very Moment, that a Flash of
Fire bid me listen for a second Gun, which accordingly, in about half a Minute I
heard; and by the sound, knew that it was from that Part of the Sea where I was
driven down the Current in my Boat.
I immediately consider'd that this must be some Ship in Distress, and that
they had some Comrade, or some other Ship in Company, and fir'd these Guns for
Signals of Distress, and to obtain Help: I had this Presence of Mind at that
Minute, as to think that though I could not help them, it may be they might help
me; so I brought together all the dry Wood I could get at hand, and making a
good handsome Pile, I set it on Fire upon the Hill; the Wood was dry, and blaz'd
freely; and though the Wind blew very hard, yet it burnt fairly out; that I was
certain, if there was any such Thing as a Ship, they must needs see it, and no
doubt they did; for as soon as ever my Fire blaz'd up, I heard another Gun, and
after that several others, all from the same Quarter; I ply'd my Fire all Night
long, till Day broke; and when it was broad Day, and the Air clear'd up, I saw
something at a great Distance at Sea, full East of the Island, whether a
Sail, or a Hull, I could not distinguish, no not with my Glasses, the Dna was so
great, and the Weather still something haizy also; at least it was so out at
Sea.
I look'd frequently at it all that Day, and soon perceiv'd that it did not
move; so I presently concluded, that it was a Ship at an Anchor, and being
eager, you may be sure, to be satisfy'd, I took my Gun in my Hand, and run
toward the South Side of the Island, to the Rocks where I had formerly
been carry'd 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 Night, upon those concealed Rocks which I found, when I
was out in my Boat; and which Rocks, as they check'd 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. and E.N.E: Had they seen the Island, as I must necessarily
suppose they did not, they must, as I thought, have endeavour'd to have sav'd
themselves on Shore by the Help of their Boat; but their firing of Guns for
Help, especially when they saw, as I imagin'd, my Fire, fill'd me with many
Thoughts: First, I imagin'd that upon seeing my Light, they might have put
themselves into their Boat, and have endeavour'd to make the Shore; but that the
Sea going very high, they might have been cast away; other Times I imagin'd,
that they might have lost their Boat before, as might be the Case many Ways; as
particularly by the Breaking of the Sea upon their Ship, which many Times
obliges Men to stave, or take in Pieces their Boat; and sometimes to throw it
over-board with their own Hands: Other Times I imagin'd, they had some other
Ship, or Ships in Company, who upon the Signals of Distress they had made, had
taken them up, and carry'd them off: Other whiles I fancy'd, they were all gone
off to Sea in their Boat, and being hurry'd away by the Current that I had been
formerly in, were carry'd out into the great Ocean, where there was nothing but
Misery and Perishing; and that perhaps they might by this Time think of
starving, and of being in a Condition to eat one another.
As all these were but Conjectures at best; so in the Condition I was in, I
could do no more than look on upon the Misery of the poor 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 Ships Companies who were now cast away upon
this part of the World, not one Life should be spar'd but mine: I learn'd here
again to observe, that it is very rare that the Providence of God casts us into
any Condition of Life so low, or any Misery so great, but we may see something
or other to be thankful for; and may see others in worse Circumstances than our
own.
Such certainly was the Case of these Men, of whom I could not so much as see
room to suppose any of them were sav'd; 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 meer
Possibility indeed; for I saw not the least Signal or Appearance of any such
Thing.
I cannot explain by any possible Energy of Words, what a strange longing or
hankering 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 sav'd out of
this Ship, to have escap'd to me, that I might but have had one Companion, one
Fellow-Creature to have spoken to me, and to have convers'd 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.
There are some secret moving Springs in the Affections, which when they are
set a going by some Object in view, or be it some Object, though not in view,
yet rendred present to the Mind by the Power of Imagination, that Motion'
carries out the Soul by its Impetuosity to such violent eager embracings of the
Object, that the Absence of it is insupportable.
Such were these earnest Wishings, That but one Man had been sav'd! O that
it had been but One! I believe I repeated the Words, O that it had been
but One! A thousand Times; and the Desires were so mov'd by it, that when I
spoke the Words, my Hands would clinch together, and my Fingers press the Palms
of my Hands, that if I had had any soft Thing in my Hand, it wou'd have crusht
it involuntarily; and my Teeth in my Head wou'd strike together, and set against
one another so strong, that for some time I cou'd 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 what it should proceed; it was doubtless
the effect of ardent Wishes, and of strong Ideas form'd in my Mind, realizing
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, forbid 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
Corps of a drownded Boy come on Shore, at the End of the Island which was next
the Shipwreck: He had on no Cloaths, but a Seaman's Wastcoat, a pair of open
knee'd Linnen Drawers, and a blew Linnen Shirt; but nothing to direct me so much
as to guess what Nation he was of: He had nothing in his Pocket, but two Pieces
of Eight, and a Tobacco Pipe; the last was to me of ten times more value than
the first.
It was now calm, and I had a great mind to venture out in my Boat, to this
Wreck; not doubting but I might find something on board, that might be useful to
me; but that did not altogether press me so much, as the Possibility that there
might be yet 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 my self if I did not go.
Under the Power of this Impression, I hasten'd back to my Castle, prepar'd
every Thing for my Voyage, took a Quantity of Bread, a great Pot for fresh
Water, a Compass to steer by, a Bottle of Rum; for I had still a great deal of
that left; a Basket full of Raisins: And thus loading my self with every Thing
necessary, I went down to my Boat, got the Water out of her, and got her afloat,
loaded all my Cargo in her, and then went Home again for more; my second Cargo
was a great Bag full of Rice, the Umbrella to set up over my Head for Shade;
another large Pot full of fresh Water, and about two Dozen of my small Loaves,
or Barley Cakes, more than before, with a Bottle of Goats-Milk, and a Cheese;
all which, with great Labour and Sweat, I brought to my Boat; and praying to God
to direct my Voyage, I put out, and Rowing or Padling the Canoe along the Shore,
I came at last to the utmost Point of the Island on that Side, (viz.)
N. E. And now I was to launch out into the Ocean, and either to venture, or
not to venture. I look'd on the rapid Currents which ran constantly on both
Sides of the Island, at a Distance, and which were very terrible to me, from the
Remembrance of the Hazard I had been in before, and my Heart began to fail me;
for I foresaw that if I was driven into either of those Currents, I should be
carry'd a vast Way out to Sea, and perhaps out of my Reach, or Sight of the
Island again; and that then, as my Boat was but small, if any little Gale of
Wind should rise, I should be inevitably lost.
These Thoughts so oppress'd my Mind, that I began to give over my Enterprize,
and having haled my Boat into a little Creek on the Shore, I stept out, and sat
me down upon a little 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 turn'd, and the Flood come on, upon which my going was for so many
Hours impracticable; upon this presently it occurr'd 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 in, that I might judge
whether if I was driven one way out, I might not expect to be driven another way
home, with the same Rapidness of the Currents: This Thought was no sooner in my
Head, but I cast my Eye upon a little Hill, which sufficiently over-look'd 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 my self in my Return; here I found, that
as the Current of the Ebb set out close by the South Point of the Island; so the
Current of the Flood set in close by the Shore of the North Side, and that I had
nothing to do but to keep to the North of the Island in my Return, and I should
do well enough.
Encourag'd with this Observation, I resolv'd the next Morning to set out with
the first of the Tide; and reposing my self for the Night in the Canoe, under
the great Watch-coat, I mention'd, I launched out: I made first a little out to
Sea full North, till I began to feel the Benefit of the Current, which set
Eastward, and which carry'd me at a great rate, and yet did not so hurry me as
the Southern Side Current had done before, and 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, jaum'd in between two Rocks; all the Stern and Quarter
of her was 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 Boltsprit was
found, and the Head and Bow appear'd firm; when I came close to her, a Dog
appear'd upon her, who seeing me coming, yelp'd, and cry'd; and as soon as I
call'd him, jump'd into the Sea, to come to me, and I took him into the Boat;
but found him almost dead for Hunger and Thirst: I gave him a Cake of my Bread,
and he eat 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
drown'd, in the Cookroom, 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
were spoil'd by the Water. There were some Casks of Liquor, whether Wine or
Brandy, I knew not, which lay lower in the Hold; and which, the Water being
ebb'd out, I could see; but they were too big to meddle with: I saw several
Chests, which I believ'd belong'd 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 fix'd, and the Forepart broken off, I am
perswaded 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 by the Course she steer'd, she must have been bound from the
Buenos Ayres, or the Rio de la Plata, in the South Part of America,
beyond the Brasils, to the Havana, in the Gulph of Mexico,
and so perhaps to Spain: She had no doubt a great Treasure in her; but of
no use at that time to any body; and what became of the rest of her People, 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 a Cabin, and a great Powder-horn, with about 4 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; 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 reach'd the Island again, weary
and fatigu'd to the last Degree.
I repos'd that Night in the Boat, and in the Morning I resolved to harbour
what I had gotten in my new Cave, not to carry it home to my Castle. After
refreshing my self, I got all my Cargo on Shore, and began to examine the
Particulars: The Cask of Liquor I found to be a kind of Rum, but not such as we
had at the Brasils; and 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, and fill'd with Cordial
Waters, fine, and very good; the Bottles held about three Pints each, and were
tipp'd with Silver: I found two Pots of very good Succades, or Sweetmeats, so
fastned also on top, that the Salt Water had not hurt them; and two more of the
same, which the Water had spoil'd: I found some very good Shirts, which were
very welcome to me; and about a dozen and half of Linnen white Handkerchiefs,
and colour'd Neckcloths; the former were also very welcome, being exceeding
refreshing to wipe my Face in a hot Day; besides this, when I came to the Till
in the Chest, I found there three great Bags of Pieces of Eight, which held
about eleven hundred Pieces in all; and in one of them, wrapt up in a Paper, six
Doubloons of Gold, and some small Bars or Wedges of Gold; I suppose they might
all weigh near a Pound.
The other Chest I found had some Cloaths in it, but of little Value; but by
the Circumstances it must have belong'd to the Gunner's Mate; though there was
no Powder in it; but about two Pound of fine glaz'd 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: 'Twas to me as the Dirt under my
Feet; and I would have given it all for three or four pair of English
Shoes and Stockings, which were Things I greatly wanted, but had not had on my
Feet now for many Years: I had indeed gotten two pair of Shoes now, which I took
off of the Feet of the two drown'd Men, who 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 Ryals, but no Gold; I suppose this belong'd to a poorer Man than the
other, which seem'd to belong to some Officer.
Well, however, I lugg'd 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 great Pity as I
said, that the over Part of this Ship had not come to my Share; for I am
satisfy'd I might have loaded my Canoe several Times over with Money,
which if I had ever escap'd to England, would have lain here safe enough,
till I might have come again and fetch'd it.
Having now brought all my Things on Shore, and secur'd them, I went back to
my Boat, and row'd, or paddled her along the Shore, to her old Harbour, where I
laid her up, and made the best of my way to my old Habitation, where I found
every thing safe and quiet; so I began to repose my self, live after my old
fashion, and take care of my Family Affairs; and for a while, I liv'd easy
enough; only that I was more vigilant than I us'd to be, look'd out oftner, 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
satisfy'd the Savages never came, and where I could go without so many
Precautions, and such a Load of Arms and Ammunition, as I always carry'd with
me, if I went the other way.
I liv'd in this Condition near two Years more; but my unlucky Head, that was
always to let me know it was born to make my Body miserable, was all this two
Years fill'd with Projects and Designs, how, if it were possible, I might get
away from this Island; for sometimes I was for making another Voyage to the
Wreck, though my Reason told me that there was nothing left there, worth the
Hazard of my Voyage: Sometimes for a Ramble one way, sometimes another; and I
believe verily, if I had had the Boat that I went from Sallee in, I
should have ventur'd to Sea, bound any where, I knew not whither.
I have been in all my Circumstances a Memento to those who are touch'd
with the general Plague of Mankind, whence, for ought I know, one half of their
Miseries flow; I mean, that of not being satisfy'd with the Station wherein God
and Nature has plac'd 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 Providence,
which so happily had seated me at the Brasils, as a Planter, bless'd me
with confin'd 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 Brasils,
nay, I am perswaded, that by the Improvements I had made, in that little Time I
liv'd there, and the Encrease I should probably have made, if I had stay'd, I
might have been worth an hundred thousand Moydors; and what Business had
I to leave a settled Fortune, a well stock'd Plantation, improving and
encreasing, to turn Supra-Cargo to Guinea, to fetch Negroes; when
Patience and Time would have so encreas'd 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 ordinarily the Fate of young Heads, so Reflection upon the
Folly of it, is as ordinarily the Exercise of more years, or of the dear bought
Experience of Time; and so it was with me now; and yet so deep had the Mistake
taken root in my Temper, that I could not satisfy my self in my Station, but was
continually poring upon the Means, and Possibility of my Escape from this Place;
and that I may with the greater Pleasure to the 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 suppos'd retir'd into my Castle, after my late Voyage to the
Wreck, my Frigate laid up, and secur'd under Water, as usual, and my Condition
restor'd to what it was before: I had more Wealth indeed than I had before, but
was not at all the richer; for I had no more 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 Solitariness; I was
lying in my Bed, or Hammock, awake, very well in Health, had no Pain, no
Distemper, no Uneasiness of Body; no, 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 as impossible, as needless, to set down the innumerable Crowd of
Thoughts that whirl'd through that great thorow-fare of the Brain, the Memory,
in this Night's Time: I run 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
the 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, compar'd
to the Life of Anxiety, Fear and Care, which I had liv'd ever since I had seen
the Print of a Foot in the Sand; not that I did not believe the Savages had
frequented the Island even all the while, and might have been several Hundreds
of them at Times on Shore there; but I had never known it, and was incapable of
any Apprehensions about it; my Satisfaction was perfect, though my Danger was
the same; and I was as happy in not knowing my Danger, as if I had never really
been expos'd to it: This furnish'd 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 discover'd 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 entertain'd me, I came to reflect
seriously upon the real Danger I had been In, for so many Years, in this very
Island; and how I had walk'd about in the greatest Security, and with all
possible Tranquillity; even when perhaps nothing but a Brow of a Hill, a great
Tree, or the casual Approach of Night, had been between me and the worst kind of
Destruction, viz. That of falling into the Hands of Cannibals, and
Savages, who would have seiz'd on me with the same View, as I did of a Goat, or
a Turtle; and have thought it no more a Crime to kill and devour me, than I did
of a Pidgeon, or a Curlieu: I would unjustly slander my self, if I should say I
was not sincerely thankful to my great Preserver, to whose singular Protection I
acknowledg'd, with great Humility, that all these unknown Deliverances were due;
and without which, I must inevitably have fallen into their merciless Hands.
When these Thoughts were over, my Head was for some time taken up in
considering the Nature of these wretched Creatures; I mean, the Savages; and how
it came to pass in the World, that the wise Governour of all Things should give
up any of his Creatures to such Inhumanity; nay, to something so much below,
even Brutality it self, as to devour its own kind; but as this ended in some (at
that Time fruitless) Speculations, it occurr'd to me to enquire, what Part of
the World these Wretches liv'd in; how far off the Coast was from whence they
came; what they ventur'd over so far from home for; what kind of Boats they had;
and why I might not order my self, 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 troubl'd my self to consider what I should do with my
self, when I came thither; what would become of me, if I fell into the Hands of
the Savages; or how I should escape from them, if they attempted me; no, nor so
much as how it was possible for me to reach the Coast, and not be attempted by
some or other of them, without any Possibility of delivering my self; 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 look'd back upon my present Condition, as the most miserable
that could possibly be, that I was not able to throw my self into any thing but
Death, that could be call'd worse; that if I reached the Shore of the Main, I
might perhaps meet with Relief, or I might coast along, as I did on the Shore of
Africk, 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 worse 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 disturb'd Mind, an impatient Temper, made as it were desperate by
the long Continuance of my Troubles, and the Disappointments I had met in the
Wreck, I had been on board of; and where I had been so near the obtaining what I
so earnestly long'd for, viz. Some-body to speak to, and to learn some
Knowledge from of the Place where I was, and of the probable Means of my
Deliverance; I say, I was agitated wholly by these Thoughts: All my Calm of Mind
in my Resignation to Providence, and waiting the Issue of the Dispositions of
Heaven, seem'd to be suspended; and I had, as it were, no Power to turn my
Thoughts to any thing, but to the Project of a Voyage to the Main, which came
upon me with such Force, 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 high as
if I had been in a Feaver, meerly 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
dream'd of it: But I did not, nor of any Thing relating to it; but I dream'd,
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, who they were going to kill, in Order to eat
him; when on a sudden, the Savage that they were going to kill, jumpt away, and
ran for his Life; and I thought in my Sleep, that he came running into my little
thick Grove, before my Fortification, to hide himself; and that I seeing him
alone, and not perceiving that the other sought him that Way, show'd my self to
him, and smiling upon him, encourag'd him; that he kneel'd down to me, seeming
to pray me to assist him; upon which I shew'd my Ladder, made him go up, and
carry'd him into my Cave, and he became my Servant; and that as soon as I had
gotten this Man, I said to my self, 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
whether to go for Provisions; and whether not to go for fear of being devoured,
what Places to venture into, and what to escape: I wak'd with this Thought, and
was under such inexpressible Impressions of Joy, at the Prospect of my Escape in
my Dream, that the Disappointments which I felt upon coming to my self, and
finding it was no more than a Dream, were equally extravagant the other Way, and
threw me into a very great Dejection of Spirit.
Upon this however, I made this Conclusion, that my Only Way to go about an
Attempt for an Escape, was, if possible, to get a Savage into my Possession; and
if possible, it should be one of their Prisoners, who they had condemn'd to be
eaten, and should bring thither to kill; but these Thoughts still were attended
with this Difficulty, that it was impossible to effect this, without attacking a
whole Caravan of them, and killing them all; and this was not only a very
desperate Attempt, and might miscarry; but on the other Hand, I had greatly
scrupled the Lawfulness of it to me; and my Heart trembled at the thoughts of
shedding so much Blood, tho' it was for my Deliverance. I need not repeat the
Arguments which occurr'd to me against this, they being the same mention'd
before; but tho' 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 my self 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, tho' these Things argued for it, yet the
Thoughts of shedding Humane Blood for my Deliverance, were very Terrible to me,
and such as I could by no Means reconcile my self to, a great while.
However at last, after many secret Disputes with my self, and after great
Perplexities about it, for all these Arguments one Way and another struggl'd in
my Head a long Time, the eager prevailing Desire of Deliverance at length
master'd all the rest; and I resolv'd, if possible, to get one of those Savages
into my Hands, cost what it would. My next Thing then was to contrive how to do
it, and this indeed was very difficult to resolve on: But as I could pitch upon
no probable Means for it, so I resolv'd to put my self 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 be what would be.
With these Resolutions in my Thoughts, I set my self upon the Scout, as often
as possible, and indeed so often till I was heartily tir'd of it, for it was
above a Year and 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 see for Canoes, but none appear'd. This was very discouraging, and
began to trouble me much, tho' I cannot say that it did in this Case, as it had
done some time before that, (viz.) wear off the Edge of my Desire to the
Thing. But the longer it seem'd to be delay'd, the more eager I was for it; in a
Word, I was not at first so careful to shun the sight of these Savages, and
avoid being seen by them, as I was now eager to be upon them.
Besides, I fancied my self able to manage One, nay, Two or Three Savages, if
I had them so as to make them entirely Slaves to me, to do whatever I should
direct them, and to prevent their being able at any time to do me any Hurt. It
was a great while, that I pleas'd my self with this Affair, but nothing still
presented; all my Fancies and Schemes came to nothing, for no Savages came near
me for a great while.
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