Chapter 5
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
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
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
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.
About a Year and half
after I had entertain'd these Notions, and by long musing, had as it were
resolved them all into nothing, for want of an Occasion to put them in
Execution,
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