and death of a man. At length, I contrived a wheel. with a string, to turn it with my foot, that I might have both my hands at liberty.

NOTE.-I had never seen any such thing in England, or at least not to take notice how it was done, though since I have observed it is very common there; besides that, my grindstone was very large and heavy. This machine cost me a full week's work to bring it to perfection. April 28, 29.-These two whole days I took up in grinding my tools, my machine for turning my grindstone performing very well.

April 30.-Having perceived my bread had been low a great while, now I took a survey of it, and reduced myself to one biscuit-cake a day, which made my heart very heavy. May 1.-In the morning, looking towards the sea-side, the tide being low, I saw something lie on the shore bigger than ordinary, and it looked like a cask; when I came to it, I found a small barrel, and two or three pieces of the wreck of the ship, which were driven on shore by the late hurricane; and looking towards the wreck itself, I thought it seemed to lie higher out of the water than it used to do. I examined the barrel which was driven on shore, and soon found it was a barrel of gunpowder; but it had taken water, and the powder was caked as hard as a stone: however, I rolled it farther on shore for the present, and went on upon the sands, as near as I could to the wreck of the ship, to look for more. When I came down to the ship, I found it strangely removed. The forecastle, which lay before buried in sand, was heaved up at least six feet, and the stern, which was broke in pieces and parted from the rest by the force of the sea, soon after I had left rummaging her, was tossed, as it were, up, and cast on one side; and the sand was thrown so high on that side next her stern, that whereas there was a great place of water before, so that I could not come within a quarter of a mile of the wreck without swimming, I could now walk quite up to her when the tide was out. I was surprised with this at first, but soon concluded it must be done by the earthquake; and as by this violence the ship was more broke open than formerly, so many things came daily on shore, which the sea had loosened, and which the winds and water rolled by degrees to the land.

This wholly diverted my thoughts from the design of removing my habitation, and I busied myself mightily, that day especially, in searching whether I could make any way into the ship; but I found nothing was to be expected of that kind, for all the inside of the ship was choked up with sand. However, as I had learned not to despair of anything, I resolved to pull everything to pieces that I could of the ship, concluding that everything I could get from her would be of some use or other to me. May 3.-I began with my saw, and cut a piece of a beam through, which I thought held some of the upper part or quarter-deck together, and when I had cut it through, I cleared away the sand as well as I could from the side which lay highest; but the tide coming in, I was obliged to give over for that time.

May 4.-I went a-fishing, but caught not one fish that I durst eat of, till I was weary of my sport; when, just going to leave off, I caught a young dolphin. I made me a long line of some rope-yarn, but I had no hooks; yet I frequently caught fish enough, as much as I cared to eat; all which I dried in the sun, and ate them dry. May 5.-Worked on the wreck; cut another beam asunder, and brought three great fir planks off from the decks, which I tied together, and made to float on shore when the tide of flood came on.

May 6.-Worked on the wreck; got several iron bolts out of her, and other pieces of iron-work. Worked very hard, and came home very much tired, and had thoughts of giving it over.

May 7.-Went to the wreck again, not with an intent to work, but found the weight of the wreck had broke itself down, the beams being cut; that several pieces of the ship seemed to lie locse, and the inside of the hold lay so open that I could see into it; but it was almost full of water and sand.

May 8.-Went to the wreck, and carried an iron crow to wrench up the deck, which lay now quite clear of the water or sand. I wrenched open two planks, and brought them on shore also with the tide. I left the iron crow in the wreck for next day.

May 9.-Went to the wreck, and with the crow made way into the body of the wreck, and felt several casks, and loosened them with the crow, but could not break them up. I felt also a roll of English lead, and could stir it, but it was too heavy to remove.

May 10-14.-Went every day to the wreck; and got a great many pieces of timber, and boards, or plank, and two or three hundredweight of iron.

May 15.-I carried two hatchets, to try if I could not cut a piece off the roll of lead, by placing the edge of one hatchet, and driving it with the other; but as it lay about a foot and a half in the water, I could not make any blow to drive the hatchet.

May 16.-It had blown hard in the night, and the wreck appeared more broken by the force of the water; but I stayed so long in the woods, to get pigeons for food, that the tide prevented my going to the wreck that day.

May 17.-I saw some pieces of the wreck blown on
shore, at a great distance, near two miles off me, but
resolved to see what they were, and found it was a piece
of the head, but too heavy for me to bring away.
May 24.-Every day, to this day, I worked on the
wreck, and with hard labour I loosened some things so
much with the crow, that the first blowing tide several
casks floated out, and two of the seamen's chests; but
the wind blowing from the shore, nothing came to land
that day but pieces of timber, and a hogshead, which
had some Brazil pork in it; but the salt water and the
sand had spoiled it. I continued this work every day
to the 15th of June, except the time necessary to get
food, which I always appointed, during this part of my
employment, to be when the tide was up, that I might be
ready when it was ebbed out; and by this time I had
got timber and plank and iron-work enough to have
built a good boat, if I had known how; and also I got at
several times and in several pieces, near one hundred-
weight of the sheet-lead.

June 16.-Going down to the sea-side, I found a large
tortoise, or turtle. This was the first I had seen, which,
it seems, was only my misfortune, not any defect of the
place, or scarcity; for had I happened to be on the other
side of the island, I might have had hundreds of them
every day, as I found afterwards; but perhaps had paid
dear enough for them.

June 17.—I spent in cooking the turtle. I found in her threescore eggs; and her flesh was to me, at that time, the most savoury and pleasant that ever I tasted in my life, having had no flesh, but of goats and fowls, since I landed in this horrid place.

June 18.-Rained all day, and I stayed within. I thought, at this time, the rain felt cold, and I was something chilly: which I knew was not usual in that latitude. June 19.-Very ill, and shivering, as if the weather had been cold.

June 20.-No rest all night; violent pains in my head, and feverish.

June 21.-Very ill; frighted almost to death with the apprehensions of my sad condition-to be sick, and no help. Prayed to God, for the first time since the storm off Hull, but scarce knew what I said, or why, my thoughts being all confused.

June 22.-A little better; but under dreadful apprehensions of sickness.

June 23.-Very bad again; cold and shivering, and then a violent headache.

June 24.-Much better.

worn out by an uninterrupted series, for eight years, of seafaring wickedness, and a constant conversation with none but such as were, like myself, wicked and profane to the last degree. I do not remember that I had, in all that time, one thought that so much as tended either to looking upwards towards God, or inwards towards a reflection upon my own ways; but a certain stupidity of soul, without desire of good, or conscience of evil, had entirely overwhelmed me; and I was all that the most hardened, unthinking, wicked creature among our common sailors can be supposed to be: not having the least sense, either of the fear of God, in danger, or of thankfulness to God, in deliverance.

In the relating what has already past of my story, this will be the more easily believed, when I shall add, that through all the variety of miseries that had to this day befallen me, I never had so much as one thought of it being the hand of God, or that it was a just punishment for my sin. My rebellious behaviour against my father-or my present sins, which were great, or so much as a punishment for the general course of my wicked life. When I was on the desperate expedition on the desert shores of Africa, I never had so much as one thought of what would become of me, or one wish to God to direct me whither I should go, or to keep me from the danger which apparently surrounded me, as well from voracious creatures as cruel savages. But I was merely thoughtless of a God or a Providence, acted like a mere brute, from the principles of nature, and by the dictates of common sense only, and, indeed, hardly that, when I was delivered and taken up at sea by the Portugal captain, well used, and dealt justly and honourably with, as well as charitably, I had not the least thankfulness in my thoughts. When, again, I was shipwrecked, ruined, and in danger of drowning, on this island, I was as far from remorse, or looking on it as a judgment. I only said to myself often, that I was an unfortunate dog, and born to be always miserable.

It is true, when I got on shore first here, and found all my ship's crew drowned, and myself spared, I was surprised with a kind of ecstasy, and some transports of soul, which, had the grace of God assisted, might have come up to true thankfulness; but it ended where it began, in a mere common flight of joy, or, as I may say, being glad I was alive, without the least reflection upon the distinguished goodness of the hand which had preserved me, and had singled me out to be preserved when all the rest were destroyed, or an inquiry why Providence had been thus merciful unto me. Even just the same common sort of joy which seamen generally have, after they are got safe ashore from a shipwreck, which they drown all in the next bowl of punch, and forget almost as soon as it is over; and all the rest of my life was like it. Even when I was afterwards, on due consideration, made sensible of my condition, how I was cast on this dreadful place, out of the reach of human kind, out of all hope of relief, or prospect of redemption, as soon as I saw but a prospect of living, and that I should not starve and perish for hunger, all the sense of my affliction wore off; and I began to be very easy, applied myself to the works proper for my preservation and supply, and was far enough from being afflicted at my condition, as a judgment from Heaven, or as the hand of God against me: these were thoughts which very seldom entered my head.

June 25.-An ague very violent: the fit held me seven
hours; cold fit, and hot, with faint sweats after it.
June 26.-Better; and having no victuals to eat, took
my gun, but found myself very weak. However, I
killed a she-goat, and with much difficulty got it home,
and broiled some of it, and ate. I would fain have
stewed it, and made some broth, but had no pot.
June 27. The ague again so violent that I lay a-bed
all day, and neither ate nor drank. I was ready to
perish for thirst; but so weak, I had not strength to
stand up, or to get myself any water to drink. Prayed
to God again, but was light-headed; and when I was
not, I was so ignorant that I knew not what to say;
only I lay and cried, "Lord, look upon me! Lord, pity
me! Lord, have mercy upon me!" I suppose I did
nothing else for two or three hours; till, the fit wearing
off, I fell asleep, and did not wake till far in the night. The growing up of the corn, as is hinted in my
When I awoke, I found myself much refreshed, but Journal, had, at first, some little influence upon me,
weak, and exceeding thirsty. However, as I had no and began to affect me with seriousness, as long as I
water in my habitation, I was forced to lie till morning, thought it had something miraculous in it; but as soon
and went to sleep again. In this second sleep I had as ever that part of the thought was removed, all the
this terrible dream;-I thought that I was sitting on impression that was raised from it wore off also, as I
the ground, on the outside of my wall, where I sat when have noted always. Even the earthquake, though
the storm blew after the earthquake, and that I saw a nothing could be more terrible in its nature, or more
man descend from a great black cloud, in a bright flame immediately directing to the invisible power which
of fire, and light upon the ground. He was all over as alone directs such things, yet no sooner was the first
bright as a flame, so that I could but just bear to look fright over, but the impression it had made went off
towards him; his countenance was most inexpressibly also. I had no more sense of God, or His judgments-
dreadful, impossible for words to describe. When. he much less of the present affliction of my circumstances
stepped upon the ground with his feet, I thought the being from His hand-than if I had been in the most
earth trembled, just as it had done before in the earth- prosperous condition of life. But now, when I began
quake, and all the air looked, to my apprehension, as if to be sick, and a leisurely view of the miseries of death
it had been filled with flashcs of fire. He was no sooner came to place itself before me; when my spirits began
landed upon the earth, but he moved forward towards to sink under the burden of a strong distemper, and
me, with a long spear or weapon in his hand, to kill me; nature was exhausted with the violence of the fever;
and when he came to a rising ground, at some distance, conscience, that had slept so long, began to wake, and
he spoke to me--or I heard a voice so terrible that it is I began to reproach myself with my past life, in which
impossible to express the terror of it. All that I can
I had so evidently, by uncommon wickedness, provoked
say I understood, was this:-"Seeing all these things the justice of God to lay me under uncommon strokes,
have not brought thee to repentance, now thou shalt and to deal with me in so vindictive a manner. These
die;"-at which words, I thought he lifted up the spear reflections oppressed me for the second or third day of
that was in his hand to kill me.
my distemper; and in the violence, as well of the fever
as of the dreadful reproaches of my conscience, extorted
some words from me like praying to God, though I
cannot say they were either a prayer attended with
desires or with hopes: it was rather the voice of mere
fright and distress. My thoughts were confused, the
convictions great upon my mind, and the horror of dying
in such a miserable condition raised vapours into my
head with the mere apprehension; and in these hurries
of my soul, I knew not what my tongue might express.

No one that shall ever read this account will expect that I should be able to describe the horrors of my soul at this terrible vision. I mean, that even while it was a dream, I even dreamed of those horrors. Nor is it any more possible to describe the impression that remained upon my mind when I awaked, and found it was but a dream.

I had alas! no divine knowledge. What I had received by the gocd instruction of my father was then

But it was rather exclamation, such as, "Lord, what a
miserable creature am I! If I should be sick, I shall
certainly die for want of help; and what will become of
me?"
Then the tears burst out of my eyes, and I
could say no more for a good while. In this interval
the good advice of my father came to my mind, and
presently his prediction, which I mentioned at the
beginning of this story, viz. that if I did take this
foolish step, God would not bless me, and I would have
leisure hereafter to reflect upon having neglected his
counsel, when there might be none to assist in my
recovery. "Now," said I, aloud, "my dear father's
words are come to pass; God's justice has overtaken
me, and I have none to help or hear me. I rejected
the voice of Providence, which had mercifully put me
in a posture or station of life wherein I might have
been happy and easy; but I would neither see it myself,
nor learn to know the blessing of it from my parents.
I left them to mourn over my folly, and now I am left
to mourn under the consequences of it. I refused their
help and assistance, who would have lifted me in the
world, and would have made everything easy to me;
and now I have difficulties to struggle with, too great
for even nature itself to support, and no assistance, no
help, no comfort, no advice." Then I cried out, "Lord,
be my help, for I am in great distress." This was the first
prayer, if I may call it so, that I had made for many years.
But to return to my Journal:-

June 28.-Having been somewhat refreshed with the sleep I had had, and the fit being entirely off, I got up; and though the fright and terror of my dream was very great, yet I considered that the fit of the ague would return again the next day, and now was my time to get something to refresh and support myself when I should be ill; and the first thing I did, I filled a large square case-bottle with water, and set it upon my table, in reach of my bed; and to take off the chill or aguish disposition of the water, I put about a quarter of a pint of rum into it, and mixed them together. Then I got me a piece of the goat's flesh, and broiled it on the coals, but could eat very little. I walked about, but was very weak, and withal very sad and heavy-hearted under a sense of my miserable condition, dreading the return of my distemper the next day. At night, I made my supper of three of the turtle's eggs, which I roasted in the ashes, and eat, as we call it, in the shell, and this was the first bit of meat I had ever asked God's blessing to, that I could remember, in my whole life. After I had eaten, I tried to walk, but found myself so weak, that I could hardly carry a gun, for I never went out without that; so I went but a little way, and sat down upon the ground, looking out upon the sea, which was just before me, and very calm and smooth. As I sat here, some such thoughts as these occurred to me :-What is this earth and sea, of which I have seen so much? Whence is it produced? And what am I, and all the other creatures, wild and tame, human and brutal? Whence are we? Sure we are all made by some secret power, who formed the earth and sea, the air and sky. And who is that? Then it followed most naturally, it is God that has made all. Well, but then, it came on strangely, if God has made all these things, He guides and governs them all, and all things that concern them; for the power that could make all things, must certainly have power to guide and direct them. If so, nothing can happen in the great circuit of His works, either without His knowledge or appointment.

pers, and I had a piece of a roll of tobacco in one of
the chests, which was quite cured, and some also that
was green, and not quite cured.

Had I done my part? God had delivered me but I had not glorified Him-that is to say, I had not owned and been thankful for that as a deliverance; and how could I expect greater deliverance? This touched my heart very much; and immediately I knelt down, and gave God thanks aloud for my recovery from my sickness. July 4.-In the morning, I took the Bible; and, beginning at the New Testament, I began seriously to read it, and imposed upon myself to read a while every morning and every night; not tying myself to the number of chapters, but as long as my thoughts should engage me. It was not long after I set seriously to this work, till I found my heart more deeply and sincerely affected with the wickedness of my past life. The impression of my dream revived; and the words, "All these things have not brought thee to repentance," ran seriously in my thoughts. I was earnestly begging of God to give me repentance, when it happened providentially, the very day, that, reading the Scriptures, I came to these words: "He is exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and to give remission." I threw down the book: and with my heart as well as my hands lifted up to heaven, in a kind of ecstasy of joy, I cried out aloud "Jesus, thou Son of David! Jesus, thou exalted Prince and Saviour! give me repentance!" This was the first time I could say, in the true sense of the words, that I prayed in all my life; for now I prayed with a sense of my condition, and a true Scripture view of hope, founded on the encouragement of the Word of God; and from this time, I may say, I began to have hope that God would hear me.

I went, directed by Heaven no doubt; for in this chest I found a cure both for soul and body. I opened the chest, and found what I looked for, the tobacco; and as the few books I had saved lay there too, I took out one of the Bibles which I mentioned before, and which to this time I had not found leisure or inclination to look into. I say, I took it out, and brought both that and the tobacco with me to the table. What use to make of the tobacco I knew not, in my distemper, or whether it was good for it or no: but I tried several experiments with it, as if I was resolved it should hit one way or other. I first took a piece of leaf, and chewed it in my mouth, which indeed, at first almost stupefied my brain, the tobacco being green and strong, and that I had not been much used to. Then I took some and steeped it an hour or two in some rum, and resolved to take a dose of it when I lay down; and, lastly, I burnt some upon a pan of coals, and held my nose close over the smoke of it as long as I could bear it, as well for the heat, as almost for suffocation. In the interval of this operation, I took up the Bible, and began to read; but my head was too much disturbed with the tobacco to bear reading, at least at that time; only, having opened the book casually, the first words that occurred to me were these, "Call on me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." These words were very apt to my case, and made some impression upon my thoughts at the time of reading them, though not so much as they did afterwards; for, as for being delivered, the word had no sound, as I may say, to me; the thing was so remote, so impossible in my apprehension of things, that I began to say, as the children of Israel did when they were promised flesh to eat, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?" so I began to say, "Can God himself deliver me from this place?" And as it was not for many years that any hopes appeared, this prevailed very often upon my thoughts; but, however, the words made a great impression upon me, and I mused upon them very often. It grew now late, and the tobacco had, as I said, dazed my head so much that I inclined to sleep; so I left my lamp burning in the cave, lest I should want anything in the night, and went to bed. But before I lay down, I did what I never had done in all my life-I kneeled down and prayed to God to fulfil the promise to me, that if I called upon him in the day of trouble, he would deliver me. After my broken and imperfect prayer was over, I drank the rum in which I had steeped the tobacco, which was so strong and rank of the tobacco that I could scarcely get it down; immediately upon this I went to bed. I found presently it flew up into my head violently; but I fell into a sound sleep, and waked no more till, by the sun, it must necessarily be near three o'clock in the afternoon of the next day-nay, to this hour I am partly of opinion that I slept all the next day and night, and till almost three the day after; for otherwise, I know not how I should lose a day out of my reckoning in the From the 4th of July to the 14th, I was chiefly days of the week, as it appeared some years after I had employed in walking about with my gun in my hand, a done; for if I had lost it by crossing and recrossing the little and a little at a time, as a man that was gathering Line, I should have lost more than one day; but cer-up his strength after a fit of sickness; for it is hardly tainly I lost a day in my account, and never knew which to be imagined how low I was, and to what weakness I way. Be that, however, one way or the other, when was reduced. The application which I made use of was I awaked I found myself exceedingly refreshed, and perfectly new, and which perhaps had never cured an my spirits lively and cheerful,; when I got up I was ague before; neither can I recommend it to any to stronger than I was the day before, and my stomach practise, by this experiment; and though it did carry off better, for I was hungry; and, in short, I had no fit the the fit, yet it rather contributed to weakening me; for next day, but continued much altered for the better. I had frequent convulsions in my nerves and limbs for This was the 29th. some time. I learned from it also this, in particular, that being abroad in the rainy season was the most pernicious thing to my health that could be, especially in those rains which came attended with storms and hurricanes of wind; for as the rain which came in the dry season was almost always accompanied by such storms, so I found that rain was much more dangerous than the rain which fell in September and October.

The 30th was my well day, of course, and I went abroad with my gun, but did not care to travel too far. I killed a sea-fowl or two, something like a brand goose, and brought them home; but was not very forward to eat them; so I eat some more of the turtle's eggs, which were very good. This evening I renewed the medicine, which I had supposed did me good the day before-the tobacco steeped in rum; only I did not take so much as before, nor did I chew any of the leaf, or hold my head over the smoke: however, I was not so well the next day, which was the first of July, as I hoped I should have been; for I had a little spice of the

And if nothing happens without His knowledge, He knows that I am here and am in this dreadful condition; and if nothing happens without His appointment, He has appointed all this to befall me. Nothing occurred to my thought to contradict any of these conclusions, and therefore it rested upon me with greater force, that it must needs be that God had appointed all this to befall me; that I was brought into this miserable circumstance by His direction, He having the sole power, not of me only, but of everything that happened in the world. Immediately it followed,-Why has God done this to me? What have I done to be thus used? My conscience presently checked me in that inquiry, as if I had blasphemed, and methought it spoke to me like a voice-"Wretch! dost thou ask what thou hast done? Look back upon a dreadful misspent life, and ask thy-cold fit, but it was not much. self what thou hast not done? Ask, why is it that thou wert not long ago destroyed? Why wert thou not drowned in Yarmouth Roads; killed in the fight when the ship was taken by the Salee man of war; devoured July 3.--I missed the fit for good and all, though I by the wild beasts on the coast of Africa; or drowned did not recover my full strength for some weeks after. here, when all the crew perished but thyself? Dost thou While I was thus gathering strength my thoughts ran ask, What have I done? I was struck dumb with exceedingly upon this Scripture, "I will deliver thee"; these reflections, as one astonished, and had not a word and the impossibility of my deliverance lay much upon to say,-no, not to answer to myself, but rose up pensive my mind, in bar of my ever expecting it; but as I was and sad, and walked back to my retreat, and went up discouraging myself with such thoughts, it occurred to over my wall, as if I had been going to bed; but my my mind that I pored so much upon my deliverance thoughts were sadly disturbed, and I had no inclination from the main affliction, that I disregarded the deliverto sleep; so I sat down in my chair, and lighted my ance I had received, and I was, as it were made to ask lamp, for it began to be dark. Now, as the apprehen- myself such questions as these; viz.: Have I not been sion of the return of my distemper terrified me very delivered, and wonderfully too, from sickness from the much, it occurred to my thought, that the Brazilians most distressed condition that could be, and that was so take no physic but their tobacco for almost all distem-frightful to me? and what notice had I taken of it?

July 2.-I renewed the medicine all the three ways; and dosed myself with it as at first, and doubled the quantity which I drank.

Now I began to construe the words mentioned above,1 "Call on me, and I will deliver thee," in a different sense from what I had ever done before; for then I had no notion of anything being called deliverance, but my being delivered from the captivity I was in; for though I was indeed at large in the place, yet the island was certainly a prison to me, and that in the worst sense in the world. Eut now I learned to take it in another sense: now I looked back upon my past life with such horror, and my sins appeared so dreadful, that my soul sought nothing of God but deliverance from the load of guilt that bore down all my comfort. As for my solitary life, it was nothing; I did not so much as pray to be delivered from it, or think of it; it was all of no consideration, in comparison to this. And I add this part here, to hint to whoever shall read it, that whenever they come to a true sense of things, they will find deliverance from sin a much greater blessing than deliverance from affliction. But, leaving this part, I return to my Journal :My condition began now to be, though not less miserable as to my way of living, yet much easier to my mind: and my thoughts being directed, by a constant reading the Scriptures and praying to God, to things of a higher nature, I had a great deal of comfort within, which, till now, I knew nothing of; also, my health and strength returned, I bestirred myself to furnish myself with everything that I wanted, and make my way of living as regular as I could.

I had now been in this unhappy island above ten months. All possibility of deliverance from this condition seemed to be entirely taken from me; and I firmly believed that no human shape had ever set foot upon that place. Having now secured my habitation, as I thought, fully to my mind, I had a great desire to make a more perfect discovery of the island, and to see what other productions I might find, which I yet knew nothing of.

It was on the 15th of July that I began to take a more particular survey of the island itself. I went up. the creek first, where, as I hinted, I brought my rafts on shore. I found, after I came about two miles up, that the tide did not flow any higher, and that it was no more than a little brook of running water, very fresh and good; but this being the dry season, there was hardly any water in some parts of it-at least, not enough to run in any stream, so as it could be perceived. On the banks of this brook, I found many pleasant savannahs or meadows, plain, smooth, and covered with grass; and on the rising parts of them, next to the higher grounds, where the water, as might be supposed, never overflowed, I found a great deal of tobacco, green,

Sept. 30.-I was now come to the unhappy anniversary of my landing. I cast up the notches on my post, and found I had been on shore three hundred and sixty-five days. I kept this day as a solemn fast, setting it apart for religious exercise, prostrating myself on the ground with the most serious humiliation, confessing my sins to God, acknowledging His righteous judgments upon The rainy seasons sometimes held longer or shorter as me, and praying to Him to have mercy on me through the winds happened to blow, but this was the general Jesus Christ; and not having tasted the least refresh- observation I made. After I had found, by experience, ment for twelve hours, even till the going down of the the ill consequences of being abroad in the rain, I took sun, I then eat a biscuit-cake and a bunch of grapes, care to furnish myself with provisions beforehand, that and went to bed, finishing the day as I began it. II might not be obliged to go out, and I sat within doors

as much as possible during the wet months. This time I found much employment, and very suitable also to the time, for I found great occasion for many things which I had no way to furnish myself with but by hard labour and constant application; particularly I tried many ways to make myself a basket, but all the twigs I could get for the purpose proved so brittle that they would do nothing. It proved of excellent advantage to me now, that when I was a boy, I used to take great delight in standing at a basketmaker's, in the town where my father lived, to see them make their wicker-ware; and being, as boys usually are, very officious to help, and a great observer of the manner in which they worked those things, and sometimes lending a hand, I had by these means full knowledge of the methods of it, and I wanted nothing but the materials, when it came into my mind that the twigs of that tree from whence I cut my stakes that grew might possibly be as tough as the sallows, willows, and osiers in England, and I resolved to try. Accordingly, the next day I went to my country house, as I called it, and cutting some of the smaller twigs, I found them to my purpose as much as I could desire; whereupon I came the next time prepared with a hatchet to cut down a quantity, which I soon found, for there was great plenty of them. These I set up to dry within my circle or hedge, and when they were fit for use, I carried them to my cave; and here, during the next season, I employed myself in making, as well as I could, a great many baskets, both to carry earth or to carry or lay up anything, as I had occasion; and though I did not finish them very handsomely, yet I made them sufficiently serviceable for my purpose; and thus, afterwards, I took care never to be without them; and as my wicker-ware decayed, I made more, especially strong deep baskets to place my corn in, instead of sacks, when I should come to have any quantity of it.

Having mastered this difficulty, and employed a world of time about it, I bestirred myself to see, if possible, how to supply two wants. I had no vessels to hold anything that was liquid, except two runlets, which were almost full of rum, and some glass bottles-some of the common size, and others which were case-bottles, square, for the holding of water, spirits, &c. I had not so much as a pot to boil anything, except a great kettle, which I saved out of the ship, and which was too big for such as I desired it, viz. to make broth, and stew a bit of meat by itself. The second thing I fain would have had was a tobacco-pipe, but it was impossible to me to make one; however, I found a contrivance for that, too, at last. I employed myself in planting my second row of stakes or piles, and in this wicker-working all the summer or dry season, when another business took me up more time than it could be imagined I could

spare.

I mentioned before that I had a great mind to see the whole island, and that I had travelled up the brook, and so on to where I built my bower, and where I had an opening quite to the sea, on the other side of the island. I now resolved to travel quite across to the sea-shore on that side; so, taking my gun, a hatchet, and my dog, and a larger amount of powder and shot than usual, with two biscuit cakes and a great bunch of raisins in my pouch for my store, I began my journey. When I had passed the vale where my bower stood, as above, I came within view of the sea to the west, and it being a very clear day, I fairly descried land-whether an island or a continent I could not tell; but it lay very high, extending from the W. to the W.S.W. at a very great distance; by my guess, it could not be less than fifteen or twenty leagues off.

I could not tell what part of the world this might be, otherwise than I knew it must be part of America, and, as I concluded, by all my observations, must be near the Spanish dominions, and perhaps was all inhabited by savages, where, if I had landed, I had been in a worse condition than I was now; and therefore I acquiesced in the dispositions of Providence, which I began now to own and to believe ordered everything for the best; I say I quieted my mind with this, and left off afflicting myself with fruitless wishes of being there.

Besides, after some thought upon this affair, I considered that if this land was the Spanish coast, I should certainly, one time or other, see some vessel pass or repass one way or other; but if not, then it was the savage coast between the Spanish country and Brazils, where are found the worst of savages; for they are cannibals, or men-eaters, and fail not to murder and devour all the human bodies that fall into their

hands.

familiarly. But the accident that followed, though it
be a trifle, will be very diverting in its place.
I was exceedingly diverted with this journey. I found
in the low grounds hares (as I thought them to be) and
foxes; but they differed greatly from all the other kinds
I had met with, nor could I satisfy myself to eat them,
though I killed several. But I had no need to be ven-
turous, for I had no want of food, and of that which was
very good, too, especially these three sorts, viz. goats,
pigeons, and turtle, or tortosie, which, added to my
grapes, Leadenhall-market could not have furnished a
table better than I, in proportion to the company; and
though my case was deplorable enough, yet I had great
cause for thankfulness that I was not driven to any
extremities for food, but had rather plenty, even to
dainties.

I never travelled in this journey above two miles out-
right in a day, or thereabouts; but I took so many turns
and returns to see what discoveries I could make, that
I came weary enough to the place where I resolved to
sit down all night; and then I either reposed myself in
a tree, or surrounded myself with a row of stakes set
upright in the ground, either from one tree to another,
or so as no wild creature could come at me without
waking me.
As soon as I came to the sea-shore, I was surprised to
see that I had taken up my lot on the worst side of the
island, for here, indeed, the shore was covered with
innumerable turtles, whereas on the other side I had
found but three in a year and a half. Here was also
an infinite number of fowls of many kinds, some which
I had seen, and some which I had not seen before, and
many of them very good meat, but such as I knew not
the names of, except those called penguins.

I could have shot as many as I pleased, but was very
sparing of my powder and shot, and therefore had more
mind to kill a she-goat, if I could, which I could better
feed on; and though there were many goats here, more
than on my side the island, yet it was with much more
difficulty that I could come near them, the country being
flat and even, and they saw me much sooner than when
I was on the hills.

in within my little circle, and resolved to go and fetch it home, or give it some food; accordingly I went, and found it where I left it, for indeed it could not get out, but was almost starved for want of food. I went and cut boughs of trees, and branches of such shrubs as I could find, and threw it over, and having fed it, I tied it as I did before, to lead it away; but it was so tame with being hungry, that I had no need to have tied it, for it followed me like a dog; and as I continually fed it, the creature became so loving, so gentle, and so fond, that it became from that time one of my domestics also, and would never leave me afterwards.

The rainy season of the autumnal equinox was now come, and I kept the 30th of September in the same solemn manner as before, being the anniversary of my landing on the island, having now been there two years, and no more prospect of being delivered than the first day I came there. I spent the whole day in humble and thankful acknowledgments of the many wonderful mercies which my solitary condition was attended with, and without which it might have been infinitely more miserable. I gave humble and hearty thanks that God had been pleased to discover to me that it was possible I might be more happy in this solitary condition than I should have been in the liberty of society and in all the pleasures of the world; that He could fully make up to me the deficiencies of my solitary state, and the want of human society, by His presence and the communications of His grace to my soul; supporting, comforting, and encouraging me to depend upon His providence here, and hope for His eternal presencehereafter.

It was now that I began sensibly to feel how much more happy this life I now led was, with all its miserable circumstances, than the wicked, cursed, abominable life I led all the past part of my days; and now I changed both my sorrows and my joys; my very desire altered, my affections changed their gusts, and my delights were perfectly new from what they were at my first coming, or, indeed, for the two years past.

Before, as I walked about, either on my hunting, or for viewing the country, the anguish of my soul at my condition would break out upon me on a sudden, and my very heart would die within me, to think of the woods, the mountains, the deserts I was in, and how I was a prisoner, locked up with the eternal bars and bolts of the ocean, in an uninhabited wilderness, without redemption. In the midst of the greatest composure of my mind, this would break out upon me like a storm, and make me wring my hands and weep like a child. Sometimes it would take me in the middle of my work, and I would immediately sit down and sigh, and look upon the ground for an hour or two together; and this was still worse to me, for if I could burst out into tears, or vent myself by words, it would go off, and the grief, having exhausted itself, would abate.

I confess this side of the country was much pleasanter than mine; but yet I had not the least inclination to remove, for as I was fixed in my habitation it became natural to me, and I seemed all the while I was here to be as it were upon a journey, and from home. However, I travelled along the shore of the sea towards the east, I suppose about twelve miles, and then setting up a great pole upon the shore for a mark, I concluded I would go home again, and that the next journey I took should be on the other side of the island east from my dwelling, and so round till I came to my post again. I took another way to come back than I went, thinking I could easily keep all the island so much in my view, that I could not miss finding my first dwelling by viewing the country; but I found myself mistaken, for, But now I began to exercise myself with new being come about two or three miles, I found myself thoughts: I daily read the Word of God, and applied all descended into a very large valley, but so surrounded the comforts of it to my present state. One morning with hills, and those hills covered with wood, that I being very sad, I opened the Bible upon these words, "I could not see which was my way by any direction but will never, never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Imthat of the sun, nor even then, unless I knew very well mediately it occurred that these words were to me; the position of the sun at that time of day. It happened, why else should they be directed in such a manner, just to my further misfortune, that the weather proved hazy at the moment when I was mourning over my condition, for three or four days while I was in the valley, and not as one forsaken of God and man? "Well, then," said being able to see the sun, I wandered about very uncom-I, "If God does not forsake me, of what ill consequence fortably, and at last was obliged to find the sea-side, can it be, or what matters it, though the world should look for my post, and come back the same way I went: all forsake me, seeing on the other hand, if I had all the and then, by easy journeys, I turned homewards, the world, and should lose the favour and blessing of God, weather being exceeding hot, and my gun, ammunition, there would be no comparison in the loss?" hatchet, and other things, very heavy.

In this journey my dog surprised a young kid, and seized upon it; and I, running in to take hold of it, caught it, and saved it alive from the dog. I had a great mind to bring it home if I could, for I had often been musing whether it might not be possible to get a kid or two, and so raise a breed of tame goats, which might supply me when my powder and shot should be all spent. I made a collar for this little creature, and with a string, which I made of some rope-yarn, which I always carried about with me, I led him along, though with some difficulty, till I came to my bower, and there I inclosed him and left him, for I was very impatient to be at home, from whence I had been absent above a month.

66

From this moment, I began to conclude in my mind, that it was possible for me to be more happy in this forsaken, solitary condition, than it was probable I should ever have been in any other particular state in the world; and with this thought I was going to give thanks to God for bringing me to this place. I know not what it was, but something shocked my mind at that thought, and I durst not speak the words. "How canst thou become such a hypocrite," said I, even audibly," to pretend to be thankful for a condition, which, however thou mayst endeavour to be contented with, thou wouldst rather pray heartily to be delivered from?" So I stopped there, but though I could not say I thanked God for being there, yet I sincerely gave thanks to God for opening my eyes, by whatever afflicting providences, I cannot express what a satisfaction it was to me to to see the former condition of my life, and to mourn come into my old hutch, and lie down in my hammock- for my wickedness, and repent. I never opened the bed. This little wandering journey, without settled Bible, or shut it, but my very soul within me blessed place of abode, had been so unpleasant to me, that my God for directing my friend in England, without any own house, as I called it to myself, was a perfect settle-order of mine, to pack it up among my goods, and for ment to me compared to that; and it rendered every- assisting me afterwards to save it out of the wreck of thing about me so comfortable, that I resolved I would the ship. never go a great way from it again, while it should be my lot to stay on the island.

With these considerations, I walked very leisurely forward. I found that side of the island where I now was much pleasanter than mine-the open or savannah fields sweet, adorned with flowers and grass, and full of very fine woods. I saw abundance of parrots, and fain I would have caught one, if possible, to have kept it to I reposed myself here a week, to rest and regale be tame, and taught it to speak to me. I did, after some myself after my long journey; during which, most of painstaking, catch a young parrot, for I knocked it down the time was taken up in the weighty affair of making with a stick, and having recovered it, I brought it home; a cage for my Poll, who began now to be a mere but it was some years before I could make him speak; domestic, and to be well acquainted with me. Then however, at last, I taught him to call me by name very I began to think of the poor kid which I had penned

Thus, and in this disposition of mind, I began my third year; and though I have not given the reader the trouble of so particular an account of my works this year as the first; yet in general it may be observed, that I was very seldom idle, but having regularly divided my time according to the several daily employments that were before me, such as, first, my duty to God, and the reading the Scriptures, which I constantly set apart

18

LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE.

some time for, thrice every day; secondly, the going | rious thieves in England-hanged them in chains, for a but an assistance to my work; for now, as I said, I had abroad with my gun for food, which generally took me terror to others. It is impossible to imagine that this a great employment upon my hands, as follows: I had up three hours in every morning, when it did not rain; should have such an effect as it had, for the fowls long studied to make, by some means or other, some thirdly, the ordering, cutting, preserving, and cooking, would not only not come at the corn, but, in short, they earthen vessels, which, indeed, I wanted sorely, but what I had killed or caught for my supply: these took forsook all that part of the island, and I could never see knew not where to come at them, However, considerup great part of the day. Also, it is to be considered, a bird near the place as long as my scarecrows hung ing the heat of the climate, I did not doubt but if I enough to bear handling, and to hold anything that was that in the middle of the day, when the sun was in the there. This I was very glad of, you may be sure, and could find out any clay, I might make some pots that zenith, the violence of the heat was too great to stir about the latter end of December, which was our second might, being dried in the sun, be hard enough and strong I was sadly put to it for a scythe or sickle to cut it dry, and required to be kept so; and as this was necesout; so that about four hours in the evening was all the harvest of the year, I reaped my corn. time I could be supposed to work in, with this exception, that sometimes I changed my hours of hunting and down, and all I could do was to make one, as well as I sary in the preparing corn, meal, &c., which was the I saved among the arms out of the ship. However, as I could, and fit only to stand like jars, to hold what working, and went to work in the morning, and abroad could, out of one of the broadswords or cutlasses, which thing I was doing, I resolved to make some as large as with my gun in the afternoon. my first crop was but small, I had no great difficulty to should be put into them. cut it down; in short, I reaped it in my way, for I cut nothing off but the ears, and carried it away in a great basket which I had made, and so rubbed it out with my hands; and at the end of all my harvesting, I found that out of my half-peck of seed I had near two bushels of rice, and about two bushels and a half of barley; that time. that is to say, by my guess, for I had no measure at

To this short time allowed for labour, I desire may be added the exceeding laboriousness of my work; the many hours which for want of tools, want of help, and want of skill, every thing I did took up out of my time. For example, I was full two and forty days in making a board for a long shelf, which I wanted in my cave; whereas, two sawyers, with their tools and a saw-pit, would have cut six of them out of the same tree in half a day.

one.

My case was this: it was to be a large tree which was to be cut down, because my board was to be a broad This tree I was three days in cutting down, and two more cutting off the boughs, and reducing it to a log, or piece of timber. With inexpressible hacking and hewing, I reduced both the sides of it into chips till it began to be light enough to move; then I turned it, and made one side of it smooth and flat as a board from end to end; then, turning that side downward, cut the other side till I brought the plank to be about three inches thick, and smooth on both sides. Any one may judge the labour of my hands in such a piece of work; but labour and patience carried me through that, and many other things. I only observe this in particular. to show the reason why so much of my time went away with so little work, viz., that what might be a little to be done with help and tools, was a vast labour and required a prodigious time to do alone, and by hand. But notwithstanding this, with patience and labour I got through everything that my circumstances made necessary to me to do, as will appear by what follows.

However, this was a great encouragement to me, and
I foresaw that, in time, it would please God to supply
me with bread. And yet here I was perplexed again,
for I neither knew how to grind, or make meal of my
corn, or indeed, how to clean it and part it; nor, if
made into meal, how to make bread of it; and if how
to make it, yet I knew not how to bake it. These things
being added to my desire of having a good quantity for
store, and to secure a constant supply, I resolved not to
taste any of this crop, but to preserve it all for seed
against the next season; and, in the mean time, to
employ all my study and hours of working to accomplish
this great work of providing myself with corn and
bread.

It might be truly said, that now I worked for my
bread. I believe few people have thought much upon
the strange multitude of little things necessary in the
providing, producing, curing, dressing, making, and
finishing this one article of bread.

I, that was reduced to a mere state of nature, found this to my daily discouragement; and was made more I was now, in the months of November and Decem-sensible of it every hour, even after I had got the first ber, expecting my crop of barley and rice. The ground handful of seed-corn, which, as I have said, came up I had manured and dug up for them was not great; for, unexpectedly and indeed to a surprise. as I observed, my seed of each was not above the quantity of half a peek, for I had lost one whole crop But now my crop by sowing in the dry season. promised very well, when on a sudden I found I was in danger of losing it all again by enemies of several sorts, which it was scarcely possible to keep from it; as, first, the goats, and wild creatures which I called hares, who, tasting the sweetness of the blade, lay in it night and day, as soon as it came up, and eat it so close, that it could get no time to shoot up into stalk.

This I saw no remedy for but by making an enclosure about it with a hedge; which I did with a great deal of toil, and the more, because it required speed. However, as my arable land was but small, suited to my crop, I got it totally well fenced in about three weeks' time; and shooting some of the creatures in the day time, I set my dog to guard it in the night, tying him up to a stake at the gate, where he would stand and bark all night long; so in a little time, the enemies forsook the place, and the corn grew very strong and well, and began to ripen apace.

But as the beasts ruined me before, while my corn was in the blade, so the birds were as likely to ruin me now, when it was in the ear; for going along by the place to see how it throve, I saw my little crop surrounded with fowls, of I know not how many sorts, who stood, as it were, watching till I should be gone. I immediately let fly among them, for I always had my gun with me. I had no sooner shot, but there rose up a little cloud of fowls, which I had not seen at all, from among the corn itself.

This touched me sensibly, for I foresaw that in a few days they would devour all my hopes; that I should be starved, and never be able to raise a crop at all: and what to do I could not tell; however, I resolved not to lose my corn, if possible, though I should watch it night went among it, to see and day. In the first place, what damage was already done, and found they had spoiled a good deal of it; but that as it was yet too green for them, the loss was not so great but that the remainder was likely to be a good crop, if it could be saved.

How

First, I had no plough to turn up the earth-no spade
or shovel to dig it. Well, this I conquered by making
me a wooden spade, as I observed before; but this did
my work but in a wooden manner; and though it cost
me a great many days to make it, yet for want of iron,
it not only wore out soon, but made my work the
harder, and made it be performed much worse.
ever, this I bore with, and was content to work it out
formance. When the corn was sown, I had no harrow,
with patience, and bear with the badness of the per-
but was forced to go over it myself, and drag a great
heavy bough of a tree over it, to scratch it, as it may be
called, rather than rake or harrow it. When it was
growing, and grown, I have observed already how many
things I wanted to fence it, secure it, mow or reap it,
cure and carry it home, thrash, part it from the chaff,
did without, as
and save it. Then I wanted a mill to grind it, sieves to
dress it, yeast and salt to make it into bread, and an
oven to bake it; but all these things
comfort and advantage to me too. All this, as I said,
shall be observed, and yet the corn was an inestimable
made everything laborious and tedious to me; but that
there was no help for. Neither was my time so much
loss to me, because, as I had divided it, a certain part
of it was every day appointed to these works; and as I
had resolved to use none of the corn for bread till I had
a greater quantity by me, I had the next six months to
apply myself wholly, by labour and invention, to furnish
myself with utensils proper for the performing all the
it, fit for my use.
operations necessary for making the corn, when I had

But first I was to prepare more land, for I had now seed enough to sow above an acre of ground. Before I did this, I had a week's work at least to make me a spade, which, when it was done, was but a sorry one indeed, and very heavy, and required double labour to work with it. However, I got through that, and sowed my seed in two large flat pieces of ground, as near my house as I could find them to my mind, and fenced them in with a good hedge, the stakes of which were all cut grow; so, that, in a year's time, I knew I should have off that wood which I had set before, and knew it would I stayed by it to load my gun, and then coming away, a quick or living hedge, that would want but little Within-doors, I could easily see the thieves sitting upon all the trees repair. This work did not take me up less than three about me, as if they only waited till I was gone away, months, because a great part of that time was the wet and the event proved it to be so; for as I walked off, season, when I could not go abroad. as if I was gone, I was no sooner out of their sight, that is when it rained, and I could not go out, I found than they dropped down one by one into the corn again. employment in the following occupations-always obI was so provoked, that I could not have patience to stay serving, that all the while I was at work, I diverted mytill more came on, knowing that every grain that they self with talking to my parrot, and teaching him to eat now was, as it might be said, a peck-loaf to me in the speak; and I quickly taught him to know his own name, consequence; but coming up to the hedge, I fired again, and at last to speak it out pretty loud," Poll," which was and killed three of them. This was what I wished for; the first word I ever heard spoken in the island by any so I took them up, and served them as we serve noto-mouth but my own. This, therefore, was not my work,

It would make the reader pity me, or rather laugh at me, to tell how many awkward ways I took to raise this paste; what odd, mis-shapen, ugly things I made; how many of them fell in, and how many fell out, the clay not being stiff enough to bear its own weight; with only removing, as well before as after they were how many cracked by the over-violent heat of the sun, being set out too hastily; and how many fell in pieces dried; and, in a word, how, after having laboured hard to find the clay-to dig it, to temper it, to bring it home, and work it-I could not make above two large earthen ugly things (I cannot call them jars) in about two months' labour.

However, as the sun baked these two very dry and between the pot and the basket there was a little room hard, I lifted them very gently up, and set them down again in two great wicker baskets, which I had made on purpose for them, that they might not break; and as to spare, I stuffed it full of the rice and barley straw; and these two pots being to stand always dry, I thought would hold my dry corn, and perhaps the meal, when the corn was bruised.

Though I miscarried so much in my design for large pots, yet I made several smaller things with better success; such as little round pots, flat dishes, pitchers, and pipkins, and any things my hand turned to; and the heat of the sun baked them quite hard.

But all this would not answer my end, which was to get an earthen pot to hold what was liquid, and bear the fire-which none of these could do. It happened with it, I found a broken piece of one of my earthenafter some time, making a pretty large fire for cooking my meat, when I went to put it out after I had done ware vessels in the fire, burnt as hard as a stone, and red as a tile. I was agreeably surprised to see it, and said to myself, that certainly they might be made to burn whole, if they would burn broken.

This set me to study how to order my fire, so as to make it burn some pots. I had no notion of a kiln, such as the potters burn in, or of glazing them with lead, though I had some lead to do it with; but I placed