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was turned, and the flood come on; upon which, my good succades, or sweetmeats, so fastened also on the
going, was impracticable for so many hours. Upon, top that the salt-water had not hurt them; and two
this, presently it occurred to me, that I should go up more of the same, which the water had spoiled. I
to the highest piece of ground I could find, and found some very good shirts, which were very welcome
observe, if I could, how the sets of the tide or currents to me; and about a dozen and a half of white linen hand-
lay when the flood came in, that I might judge whether, kerchiefs and coloured neckcloths; the former were also
if I was driven one way out, I might not expect to be very welcome, being exceedingly refreshing to wipe my
driven another way home, with the same rapidity of face in a hot day. Besides this, when I came to the
the currents. This thought was no sooner in my head till in the chest, I found there three great bags of pieces
than I cast my eye upon a little hill, which sufficiently of eight, which held about eleven hundred pieces in
overlooked the sea both ways, and from whence I had all; and in one of them, wrapped up in a paper, six
a clear view of the currents or sets of the tide, and doubloons of gold, and some small bars or wedges of
which way I was to guide myself in my return. Here gold; I suppose they might all weigh near a pound.
I found, that as the current of ebb set out close by the In the other chest were some clothes, but of little
south point of the island, so the current of the flood value; but, by the circumstances, it must have belonged
set in close to the shore of the north side; and that to the gunner's mate; though there was no powder in
I had nothing to do but to keep to the north side of the it, except two pounds of fine glazed powder, in three
island in my return, and I should do well enough. flasks, kept, I suppose, for charging their fowling-
Encouraged by this observation, I resolved, the next pieces on occasion. Upon the whole, I got very little
morning, to set out with the first of the tide; and, re- by this voyage that was of any use to me; for, as to
posing myself for the night in my canoe, under the the money, I had no manner of occasion for it; it was
watch-coat I mentioned, I launched out. I first made to me as the dirt under my feet, and I would have
a little out to sea, full north, till I began to feel the given it all for three or four pair of English shoes
benefit of the current, which set eastward, and which and stockings, which were things I greatly wanted, but
carried me at a great rate; and yet did not so hurry had had none on my feet for many years, I had, in-
me as the current on the south side had done before, so deed, got two pair of shoes now, which I took off the
as to take from me all government of the boat; but feet of the two drowned men whom I saw in the wreck,
having a strong steerage with my paddle, I went, at a and I found two pair more in one of the chests, which
great rate, directly for the wreck, and in less than two were very welcome to me; but they were not like our
hours I came up to it. It was a dismal sight to look English shoes, cither for ease or service, being rather
at the ship, which, by its building, was Spanish, stuck what we call pumps than shoes. I found in this sea-
fast, jammed in between two rocks. All the stern and man's chest about fifty pieces of eight, in rials, but
quarter of her were beaten to pieces by the sea; and as no gold: suppose this belonged to a poorer man than
her fore-castle, which stuck in the rocks, had run on the other, which seemed to belong to some officer.
with great violence, her mainmast and foremast were Well, kowever, I lugged this money home to my
brought by the board-that is to say, broken short off; cave, and laid it up, as I had done that before which
bat her bowsprit was sound, and the head and bow I had brought from our own ship; but it was a great
appeared firm. When I came close to her, a dog pity, as I said, that the other part of this ship had not
appeared upon her, who, seeing me coming, yelped and come to my share; for I am satisfied I might have
cried; and, as soon as I called him, jumped into the loaded my canoe several times over with money;
sea to come to me. I took him into the boat, but and, thought I, if I ever escape to England, it might
found him almost dead with hunger and thirst. I gave lie here safe enough till I come again and fetch it.
him a cake of my bread, and he devoured it like a Having now brought all my things on shore, and
ravenous wolf that had been starving a fortnight in the secured them, I went back to my boat, and rowed or
snow; I then gave the poor creature some fresh water, paddled her along the shore to her old harbour, where I
with which, if I would have let him, he would have laid her up, and made the best of my way to my old
burst himself. After this I went on board; but the habitation, where I found everything safe and quiet.
first sight I met with was two men drowned in the cook- I now began to repose myself, live after my old fashion,
room, or forecastle of the ship, with their arms fast and take care of my family affairs; and for a while I
about one another. I concluded, as is indeed probable, lived easy enough, only that I was more vigilant than I
that when the ship struck, it being in a storm, the sea used to be, looked out oftener, and did not go abroad so
broke so high, and so continually over her, that the much; and if at any time I did stir with any freedom,
men were not able to bear it, and were strangled with it was always to the east part of the island, where I
the constant rushing in of the water, as much as if was pretty well satisfied the savages never came, and
they had been under water. Besides the dog, there where I could go without so many precautions, and such
was nothing left in the ship that had life; nor any a load of arms and ammunition as I always carried with
goods, that I could see, but what were spoiled by the me if I went the other way. I lived in this condition
water. There were some casks of liquor, whether wine near two years more; but my unlucky head, that was
or brandy I knew not, which lay lower in the hold, and always to let me know it was born to make my body
which, the water being ebbed out, I could see; but miserable, was all these two years filled with projects
they were too big to meddle with. I saw several and designs, how, if it were possible, I might get away
chests, which, I believed, belonged to some of the from this island: for, sometimes I was for making
seamen; and I got two of them into the boat, without another voyage to the wreck, though my reason told me
examining what was in them. Had the stern of the that there was nothing left there worth the hazard of
ship been fixed, and the forepart broken off, I am my voyage; sometimes for a ramble one way, sometimes
persuaded I might have made a good voyage; for, by another; and I believe verily, if I had had the boat that
what I found in these two chests, I had room to I went from Sallee in, I should have ventured to sea,
suppose the ship had a great deal of wealth on board; bound anywhere, I knew not whither. I have been, in
and, if I may guess from the course she steered, she all my circumstances, a memento to those who are
must have been bound from Buenos Ayres, or the Rio touched with the general plague of mankind, whence,
de la Plata, in the south part of America, beyond the for aught I know, one-half of their miseries flow; I
Brazils to the Havannah, in the Gulf of Mexico, and mean that of not being satisfied with the station where-
so perhaps to Spain. She had, no doubt, a great in God and Nature hath placed them: for, not to look
treasure in her, but of no use, at that time, to any-back upon my primitive condition, and the excellent
body; but what became of the crew I then knew not. advice of my father, the opposition to which was, as I
I found, besides these chests, a little cask full of may call it, my original sin, my subsequent mistakes of
liquor, of about twenty gallons, which I got into my the same kind had been the means of my coming into
boat with much difficulty. There were several muskets this miserable condition; for had that Providence which
in the cabin, and a great powder-horn, with about four so happily seated me at the Brazils as a planter blessed
pounds of powder in it: as for the muskets, I had no me with confined desires, and I could have been con-
occasion for them, so I left them, but took the powder- tented to have gone on gradually, I might have been by
horn. I took a fire-shovel and tongs, which I wanted this time I mean in the time of my being in this
extremely; as also two little brass kettles, a copper island-one of the most considerable planters in the
pot to make chocolate, and a gridiron; and with this Brazils: nay, I am persuaded, that by the improve-
cargo, and the dog, I came away, the tide beginning to ments I had made in that little time I lived there, and
make home again: and the same evening, about an the increase I should probably have made if I had
hour within night, I reached the island again, weary remained, I might have been worth a hundred thousand
and fatigued to the last degree. I reposed that night moidores: and what business had I to leave a settled
in the boat; and in the morning I resolved to harbour fortune, a well-stocked plantation, improving and in-
what I had got in my new cave, and not carry it home creasing, to turn supercargo to Guinea to fetch negroes,
to my castle. After refreshing myself, I got all my when patience and time would have so increased our
cargo on shore, and began to examine the particulars. stock at home that we could have bought them at our
The cask of liquor I found to be a kind of rum, but own door from those whose business it was to fetch
not such as we had at the Brazils; and, in a word, them? and though it had cost us something more, yet
not at all good; but when I came to open the chests, the difference of that price was by no means worth
I found several things of great use to me: for ex-saving at so great a hazard. But as this is usually the
ample, I found in one a fine case of bottles, of an fate of young heads, so reflection upon the folly of it is
extraordinary kind, and filled with cordial waters, fine as commonly the exercise of more years, or of the dear-
and very good; the bottles held about three pints each, bought experience of time: so it was with me now;
and were tipped with silver. I found two pots of very and yet so deep had the mistake taken root in my

temper, that I could not satisfy myself in my station, but was continually poring upon the means and possibility of my escape from this place; and that I may, with the greater pleasure to the reader, bring on the remaining part of my story, it may not be improper to give some account of my first conceptions on the subject of this foolish scheme for my escape, and how, and upon what foundation I acted.

I am now to be supposed retired in my castle, after my late voyage to the wreck, my frigate laid up and secured under water, as usual, and my condition restored to what it was 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 solitude, I was lying in my bed or hammock, awake, very well in health, had no pain, no distemper, no uneasiness of body, nor any uneasiness of mind more than ordinary, but could by no means close my eyes, that is, so as to sleep; no, not a wink all night long, otherwise than as follows:-It is impossible to set down the innumerable crowd of thoughts that whirled through that great thoroughfare of the brain, the memory, in this night's time; I ran over the whole history of my life in miniature, or by abridgment, as I may call it, to my coming to this island, and also of that part of my life since I came to this island. In my reflections upon the state of my case since I came on shore on this island, I was comparing the happy posture of my affairs in the first years of my habitation here, with the life of anxiety, fear, and care, which I had lived in ever since I had seen the print of a foot in the sand. Not that I did not believe the savages had frequented the island even all the while, and might have been several hundreds of them at times on shore there; but I had never known it, and was incapable of any apprehensions about it; my satisfaction was perfect, though my danger was the same, and I was as happy in not knowing my danger as if I had never really been exposed to it. This furnished my thoughts with many very profitable reflections, and particularly this one: How infinitely good that Providence is, which has provided, in its government of mankind, such narrow bounds to his sight and knowledge of things; and though he walks in the midst of so many thousand dangers, the sight of which, if discovered to him, would distract his mind and sink his spirits, he is kept serene and calm, by having the events of things hid from his eyes, and knowing nothing of the dangers which surround him.

After these thoughts had for some time entertained me, I came to reflect seriously upon the real danger I had been in for so many years in this very island, and how I had walked about in the greatest security, and with all possible tranquillity, even when perhaps nothing but the brow of a hill, a great tree, or the casual approach of night, had been between me and the worst kind of destruction, viz. that of falling into the hands of cannibals and savages, who would have seized on me with the same view as I would on a goat or turtle; and have thought it no more crime to kill and devour me, than I did of a pigeon or a curlew. I would unjustly slander myself, if I should say I was not sincerely thankful to my great Preserver, to whose singular protection I acknowledged, with great humility, all these unknown deliverances were due, and without which I must inevitably have fallen into their merciless hands.

When these thoughts were over, my head was for some time taken up in considering the nature of these wretched creatures, I mean the savages, and how it came to pass in the world, that the wise Governor of all things should give up any of his creatures to such inhumanity-nay, to something so much below even brutality itself-as to devour its own kind: but as this ended in some (at that time) fruitless speculations, it occurred to me to inquire, what part of the world these wretches lived in? how far off the coast was from whence they came? what they ventured over so far from home for? what kind of boats they had? and why I might not order myself and my business so, that I might be able to go over thither, as they were to come to me?

I never so much as troubled myself to consider what I should do with myself when I went thither; what would become of me if I fell into the hands of these savages; or how I should escape them if they attacked me; no, nor so much as how it was possible for me to reach the coast, and not be attacked by some or other of them, without any possibility of delivering myself: and if I should not fall into their hands, what I should do for provision, or whither I should bend my course: none of these thoughts, I say, so much as came in my way; but my mind was wholly bent upon the notion of my passing over in my boat to the main land. I looked upon my present condition as the most miserable that could possibly be; that I was not able to throw myself into anything but death, that could be called worse; and if I reached the shore of the main, I might perhaps

meet with relief, or I might coast along, as I did on the but none appeared. This was very discouraging, and back, was at first perhaps as much frightened at me as African shore, till I came to some inhabited country, began to trouble me much, though I cannot say that it at them; but I beckoned with my hand to him to come and where I might find some relief; and, after all, did in this case (as it had done some time before) wear back; and, in the mean time, I slowly advanced toperhaps I might fall in with some Christian ship that off the edge of my desire to the thing; but the longer wards the two that followed; then rushing at once might take me in; and if the worst came to the worst, it seemed to be delayed, the more eager I was for it: in upon the foremost, I knocked him down with the stock I could but die, which would put an end to all these a word, I was not at first so careful to shun the sight of my piece. I was loath to fire, because I would not miseries at once. Pray note, all this was the fruit of a of these savages, and avoid being seen by them, as I was have the rest hear; though, at that distance, it would disturbed mind, an impatient temper, made desperate, now eager to be upon them. Besides, I fancied myself not have been easily heard, and being out of sight of as it were, by the long continuance of my troubles, and able to manage one, nay, two or three savages, if I had the smoke, too, they would not have known what to the disappointments I had met in the wreck I had been them, so as to make them entirely slaves to me, to do make of it. Having knocked this fellow down, the on board of, and where I had been so near obtaining whatever I should direct them, and to prevent their other who pursued him stopped, as if he had been what I so earnestly longed for-somebody to speak to, being able at any time to do me any hurt. It was a frightened, and I advanced towards him: but as I and to learn some knowledge from them of the place great while that I pleased myself with this affair; but came nearer, I perceived presently he had a bow and where I was, and of the probable means of my deliver-nothing still presented itself; all my fancies and schemes arrow, and was fitting it to shoot at me: so I was then anco. I was agitated wholly by these thoughts; all my came to nothing, for no savages came near me for a obliged to shoot at him first, which I did, and killed calm of mind, in my resignation to Providence, and great while. him at first shot. The poor savage who led, but had waiting the issue of the dispositions of Heaven, seemed About a year and a half after I entertained these stopped, though he saw both his enemies fallen and to be suspended; and I had, as it were, no power to turn notions (and by long musing had, as it were, resolved killed, as he thought, yet was so frightened with the my thoughts to anything but to the project of a voyage them all into nothing, for want of an occasion to put fire and noise of my piece, that he stood stock still, and to the main, which came upon me with such force, them into execution), I was surprised one morning by neither came forward, nor went backward, though he and such an impetuosity of desire, that it was not to be seeing no less than five canoes all on shore together on seemed rather inclined still to fly than to come on. I resisted. my side the island, and the people who belonged to them hallooed again to him, and made signs to come forward, When this had agitated my thoughts for two hours or all landed and out of my sight. The number of them which he easily understood, and came a little way; then more, with such violence that it set my very blood into broke all my measures; for seeing so many, and knowing stopped again, and then a little farther, and stopped a ferment, and my pulse beat as if I had been in a fever, that they always came four or six, or sometimes more in again; and I could then perceive that he stood tremmerely with the extraordinary fervour of my mind a boat, I could not tell what to think of it, or how to bling, as if he had been taken prisoner, and had just about it, Nature-as if I had been fatigued and ex- take my measures to attack twenty or thirty men single- been to be killed as his two enemies were. I beckoned hausted with the very thoughts of it-threw me into a handed; so lay still in my castle, perplexed and discom- to him again to come to me, and gave him all the signs sound sleep. One would have thought I should have forted. However, I put myself into the same position of encouragement that I could think of; and he came dreamed of it, but I did not, nor of anything relating for an attack that I had formerly provided, and was just nearer and nearer, kneeling down every ten or twelve to it but I dreamed that as I was going out in the ready for action, if anything had presented. Having steps, in token of acknowledgment for saving his life. morning as usual, from my castle, I saw upon the shore waited a good while, listening to hear if they made any I smiled at him, and looked pleasantly, and beckoned two canoes and eleven savages, coming to land, and that noise, at length, being very impatient, I set my guns at to him to come still nearer; at length, he came close to they brought with them another savage, whom they the foot of my ladder, and clambered up to the top of me; and then he kneeled down again, kissed the ground, were going to kill, in order to eat him; when, on a the hill, by my two stages, as usual; standing so, how- and laid his head upon the ground, and, taking me by sudden, the savage that they were going to kill jumped ever, that my head did not appear above the hill, so that the foot, set my foot upon his head; this, it seems, was away, and ran for his life; and I thought, in my sleep, they could not perceive me by any means. Here I in token of swearing to be my slave for ever. I took that he came running into my little thick grove before observed, by the help of my perspective glass, that they him up and made much of him, and encouraged him all my fortification, to hide himself; and that I, seeing him were no less than thirty in amber; that they had a fire I could. But there was more work to do yet; for I alone, and not perceiving that the others sought him kindled, and that they hit meat dressed. How they perceived the savage whom I had knocked down was that way, showed myself to him, and smiling upon him, had cooked it, I knew not, or what it was; but they not killed, but stunned with the blow, and began to encouraged him: that he kneeled down to me, seeming were all dancing, in I know not how many barbarous come to himself: so I pointed to him, and showed him to pray me to assist him; upon which I showed him my gestures and figures, their own way, round the fire. the savage, that he was not dead; upon this he spoke ladder, made him go up, and carried him into my cave, While I was thus looking on them, I perceived, by my some words to me, though I could not understand them, and he became my servant: and that as soon as I had perspective, two miserable wretches dragged from the yet I thought they were pleasant to hear; for they were got this man, I said to myself, "Now I may certainly boats, where, it seems, they were laid by, and were now the first sound of a man's voice that I had heard, my venture to the main land, for this fellow will serve me brought out for the slaughter. I perceived one of them own excepted, for above twenty-five years. But there as a pilot, and will tell me what to do, and whither to immediately fall; being knocked down, I suppose, with was no time for such reflections now; the savage who go for provisions, and whither not to go for fear of being a club, or wooden sword, for that was their way; and was knocked down recovered himself so far as to sit up devoured; what places to venture into, and what to two or three others were at work immediately cutting upon the ground, and I perceived that my savage began shun." I waked with this thought; and was under such him open for their cookery, while the other victim was to be afraid; but when I saw that, I presented my inexpressible impressions of joy at the prospect of my left standing by himself, till they should be ready for other piece at the man, as if I would shoot him: upon escape in my dream, that the disappointments which I him. In that very moment, this poor wretch, seeing this, my savage, for so I call him now, made a motion felt upon coming to myself, and finding that it was no himself a little at liberty, and unbound, Nature inspired to me to lend him my sword, which hung naked in a more than a dream, were equally extravagant the other him with hopes of life, and he started away from them, belt by my side, which I did. He no sooner had it, but way, and threw me into a very great dejection of and ran with incredible swiftness along the sands, he runs to his enemy, and at one blow, cut off his head spirits. directly towards me; I mean, towards that part of the so cleverly, no executioner in Germany could have done Upon this, however, I made this conclusion: that my coast where my habitation was. I was dreadfully it sooner or better; which I thought very strange for only way to go about to attempt an escape was, to frightened, I must acknowledge, when I perceived him one who, I had reason to believe, never saw a sword endeavour to get a savage into my possession; and, if run my way; and especially when, as I thought, I saw in his life before, except their own wooden swords: possible, it should be one of their prisoners, whom they him pursued by the whole body; and now I expected however, it seems, as I learned afterwards, they make had condemned to be eaten, and should bring hither to that part of my dream was coming to pass, and that he their wooden swords so sharp, so heavy, and the wood kill. But these thoughts still were attended with this would certainly take shelter in my grove: but I could not is so hard, that they will even cut off heads with them, difficulty: that it was impossible to effect this without depend, by any means, upon my dream, that the other ay, and arms, and that at one blow too. When he had attacking a whole caravan of them, and killing them savages would not pursue him thither, and find him done this, he comes laughing to me in sign of triumph, all; and this was not only a very desperate attempt, there. However, I kept my station, and my spirits and brought me the sword again, and with abundance and might miscarry; but, on the other hand, I had began to recover when I found that there was not above of gestures which I did not understand, laid it down, greatly scrupled the lawfulness of it to myself; and my three men that followed him; and still more was I with the head of the savage that he had killed, just heart trembled at the thoughts of taking so much blood, encouraged when I found that he outstripped them before me. But that which astonished him most, was though it was for my deliverance. I need not repeat exceedingly in 'running, and gained ground on them; to know how I killed the other Indian so far off; so, the arguments which occurred to me against this, they so that, if he could but hold out for half an hour, pointing to him, he made signs to me to let him go being the same mentioned before; but though I had I saw easily he would fairly get away from them all. to him; and I bade him go, as well as I could. When other reasons to offer now, viz. that those men were There was between them and my castle, the creek, he came to him, he stood like one amazed, looking at enemies to my life, and would devour me if they could; which I mentioned often in the first part of my story, him, turning him first on one side, then on the other; that it was self-preservation, in the highest degree, to where I landed my cargoes out of the ship; and this I looked at the wound the bullet had made, which it deliver myself from this death of a life, and was acting saw plainly he must necessarily swim over, or the poor seems was just in his breast, where it had made a hole, in my own defence as much as if they were actually wretch will be taken there; but when the savage and no great quantity of blood had followed; but he assaulting me, and the like; I say, though these things escaping came thither, he made nothing of it, though had bled inwardly, for he was quite dead. He took up argued for it, yet the thoughts of shedding human the tide was then up; but, plunging in, swam through, his bow and arrows, and came back; so I turned to go blood for my deliverance were very terrible to me, and in about thirty strokes, or thereabouts, landed, and ran away, and beckoned him to follow me, making signs to such as I could by no means reconcile myself to for a with exceeding strength and swiftness. When the him that more may come after them. Upon this he great while. However, at last, after many secret dis- three persons came to the creek, I found that two of made signs to me that he should bury them with sand, putes with myself, and after great perplexities about it them could swim, but the third could not, and that, that they might not be seen by the rest, if they (for all these arguments, one way and another, struggled standing on the other side, he looked at the others, but followed; and so I made signs to him again to do so. He in my head a long time), the eager prevailing desire went no farther, and soon after went softly back again; fell to work; and in an instant he had scraped a hole in of deliverance at length mastered all the rest; and I which, as it happened, was very well for him in the the sand with his hands, big enough to bury the first in, resolved, if possible, to get one of these savages into end. I observed that the two who swam were yet more and then dragged him into it, and covered him; and my hands, cost what it would. My next thing was to than twice as long swimming over the creek as the fellow did so by the other also: I believe he had buried them contrive how to do it, and this indeed was very difficult was that fled from them. It came very warmly upon both in a quarter of an hour. Then, calling him away, to resolve on; but as I could pitch upon no probable my thoughts, and indeed irresistibly, that now was the I carried him not to my castle, but quite away to my means for it, so I resolved to put myself upon the watch, time to get me a servant, and perhaps a companion or cave, on the farther part of the island; so I did not let to see them when they came on shore, and leave the rest assistant; and that I was plainly called by Providence my dream come to pass in that part, that he came into to the event; taking such measures as the opportunity to save this poor creature's life. I immediately ran my grove for shelter. Here I gave him bread and a should present, let what would be. down the ladders with all possible expedition, fetched bunch of raisins to cat, and a draught of water, which I With these resolutions in my thoughts, I set myself my two guns, for they were both at the foot of the lad- found he was indeed in great distress for, from his upon the scout as often as possible, and indeed so often, ders, as I observed before, and getting up again with running: and having refreshed him, I made signs for that I was heartily tired of it; for it was above a year the same haste to the top of the hill, I crossed towards him to go and lie down to sleep, showing him a place and a half that I waited; and for great part of that the sea; and having a very short cut, and all down hill, where I had laid some rice-straw, and a blanket upon it, time went out to the west end, and to the south-west placed myself in the way between the pursuers and the which I used to sleep upon myself sometimes; so the corner of the island almost every day, to look for canoes, pursued, hallooing aloud to him that fled, who, looking poor creature lay down, and went to sleep.

He was a comely, handsome fellow, perfectly well made, with straight, strong limbs, not too large, tall and well shaped; and, as I reckon, about twenty-six years of age. He had a very good countenance, not a fierce and surly aspect, but seemed to have something very manly in his face; and yet he had all the sweetness and softness of a European in his countenance too, especially when he smiled. His hair was long and black, not curled like wool; his forehead very high and large; and a great vivacity and sparkling sharpness in his eyes. The colour of his skin was not quite black, but very tawny; and yet not an ugly, yellow, nauseous tawny, as the Brazilians and Virginians, and other natives of America are, but of a bright kind of a dun olive-colour, that had in it something very agreeable, though not very easy to describe. His face was round and plump; his nose small, not flat like the Negroes; a very good mouth, thin lips, and his fine teeth well set, and as white as ivory.

After he had slumbered, rather than slept, about half an hour, he awoke again, and came out of the cave to me; for I had been milking my goats, which I had in the inclosure just by: when he espied me, he came running to me, laying himself down again upon the ground, with all the possible signs of an humble, thankful disposition, making a great many antic gestures to show it. At last he lays his head flat upon the ground, close to my foot, and sets my other foot upon his head, as he had done before; and after this, made all the signs to me of subjection, servitude, and submission, imaginable, to let me know how he would serve me so long as he lived. I understood him in many things, and let him know that I was very well pleased with him. In a little time I began to speak to him, and teach him to speak to me; and, first, I let him know his name should be FRIDAY, which was the day I saved his life: I called him so for the memory of the time. I likewise taught him to say Master; and then let him know that was to be my name: I likewise taught him to say Yes and No, and to know the meaning of them. I gave him some milk in an earthen pot, and let him see me drink it before him, and sop my bread in it; and gave him a cake of bread to do the like, which he quickly complied with, and made signs that it was very good for him. I kept there with him all that night; but, as soon as it was day, I beckoned to him to come with me, and let him know I would give him some clothes; at which he seemed very glad, for he was stark naked. As we went by the place where he had buried the two men, he pointed exactly to the place, and showed me the marks that he had made to find them again, making signs to me that we should dig them up again and eat them. At this, I appeared very angry, expressed my abhorrence of it, made as if I would vomit at the thoughts of it, and beckoned with my hand to him to come away, which he did immediately, with great submission. I then led him up to the top of the hill, to see if his enemies were gone; and pulling out my glass, I looked, and saw plainly the place where they had been, but no appearance of them or their canoes; so that it was plain they were gone, and had left their two comrades behind them, without any search after them.

But I was not content with this discovery; but having now more courage, and consequently more curiosity, I took my man Friday with me, giving him the sword in his hand, with the bow and arrows at his back, which I found he could use very dexterously, making him carry one gun for me, and I two for myself; and away we marched to the place where these creatures had been; for I had a mind now to get some fuller intelligence of them. When I came to the place, my very blood ran chill in my veins, and my heart sunk within me, at the horror of the spectacle; indeed, it was a dreadful sight, at least it was so to me, though Friday made nothing of it. The place was covered with human bones, the ground dyed with their blood, and great pieces of flesh left here and there, half-eaten, mangled, and scorched; and, in short, all the tokens of the triumphant feast they had been making there, after a victory over their enemies. I saw three skulls, five hands, and the bones of three or four legs and feet, and abundance of other parts of the bodies; and Friday, by his signs, made me understand that they brought over four prisoners to feast upon; that three of them were eaten up, and that he, pointing to himself, was the fourth; that there had been a great battle between them and their next king, of whose subjects, it seems, he had been one, and that they had taken a great number of prisoners; all which were carried to several places, by those who had taken them in the fight, in order to feast upon them, as was done here by these wretches upon those they brought hither. I caused Friday to gather all the skulls, bones, flesh, and whatever remained, and lay them together in a heap, and make a great fire upon it, and burn them all to ashes. I found Friday had still a hankering stomach after some of the flesh, and was still a cannibal in his nature; but I showed so much abhorrence at the very thoughts of it, and at the least appearance of it, that he durst not discover it: for I had, by some means, let him know that I would kill him if he offered it.

When he had done this, we came back to our castle: and there I fell to work for my man Friday; and first of all, I gave him a pair of linen drawers, which I had out of the poor gunner's chest I mentioned, which I found in the wreck, and which, with a little alteration, fitted him very well; and then I made him a jerkin of goat's skin, as well as my skill would allow (for I was now grown a tolerably good tailor); and I gave him a cap which I made of hare's skin, very convenient, and fashionable enough; and thus he was clothed, for the present, tolerably well, and was mighty well pleased to see himself almost as well clothed as his master. It is true, he went awkwardly in these clothes at first: wearing the drawers was very awkward to him, and the sleeves of the waistcoat galled his shoulders and the inside of his arms; but a little easing them where he complained they hurt him, and using himself to them, he took to them at length very well.

The next day, after I came home to my hutch with

attempted on the outside, would not have opened at all, but would have fallen down and made a great noise: as to weapons, I took them all into my side every night. But I needed none of all this precaution; for never man had a more faithful, loving, sincere servant than Friday was to me; without passions, sullenness, or designs, perfectly obliged and engaged; his very affections were tied to me, like those of a child to a father; and I dare say he would have sacrificed his life to save mine, upon any occasion whatsoever: the many testimonies he gave me of this put it out of doubt, and soon convinced me that I needed to use no precautions for my safety on his account.

This frequently gave me occasion to observe, and that with wonder, that however it had pleased God in His providence, and in the government of the works of His hands, to take from so great a part of the world of His creatures the best uses to which their faculties and the powers of their souls are adapted, yet that He has

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him, I began to consider where I should lodge him; and, bestowed upon them the same powers, the same reason, that I might do well for him and yet be perfectly easy the same affections; the same sentiments of kindness myself, I made a little tent for him in the vacant place and obligation; the same passions, and resentments of between my two fortifications, in the inside of the last, wrongs, the same sense of gratitude, sincerity, fidelity, and in the outside of the first. As there was a door or and all the capacities of doing good, and receiving good, entrance there into my cave, I made a formal framed that He has given to us; and that when He pleases to door-case, and a door to it, of boards, and set it up in offer them occasions of exerting these, they are as ready, the passage, a little within the entrance; and, causing nay, more ready, to apply them to the right uses for the door to open in the inside, I barred it up in the which they were bestowed, than we are. This made night, taking in my ladders, too; so that Friday could me very melancholy sometimes, in reflecting, as the no way come at me in the inside of my innermost wall, several occasions presented, how mean a use we make without making so much noise in getting over that it of all these, even though we have these powers enmust needs awaken me; for my first wall had now a lightened by the great lamp of instruction, the Spirit complete roof over it of long poles, covering all my tent, of God, and by the knowledge of His word added to and leaning up to the side of the hill; which was again our understanding; and why it has pleased God to hide laid across with smaller sticks, instead of laths, and then the like saving knowledge from so many millions of thatched over a great thickness with the rice-straw, souls, who, if I might judge by this poor savage, would which was strong, like reeds; and at the hole or place make a much better use of it than we did. From hence, which was left to go in or out by the ladder, I had I sometimes was led too far, to invade the sovereignty placed a kind of trap-door, which, if it had been of Providence, and, as it were, arraign the justice of so

arbitrary a disposition of things, that should hide that sight from some, and reveal it to others, and yet expect a like duty from both; but I shut it up, and checked my thoughts with this conclusion: first, That we did not know by what light and law these should be condemned; but that as God was necessarily, and, by the nature of His being, infinitely holy and just, so it could not be, but if these creatures were all sentenced to absence from Himself, it was on account of sinning against that light, which, as the Scripture says, was a law to themselves, and by such rules as their consciences would acknowledge to be just, though the foundation was not discovered to us; and, secondly, That still, as we all are the clay in the hand of the potter, no vessel could say to him, "Why hast thou formed me thus?"

But to return to my new companion:-I was greatly delighted with him, and made it my business to teach him everything that was proper to make him useful, handy, and helpful; but especially to make him speak, and understand me when I spoke; and he was the aptest scholar that ever was; and particularly was so merry, so constantly diligent, and so pleased when he could but understand me, or make me understand him, that it was very pleasant to me to talk to him. Now life began to be so easy that I began to say to myself, that could I but have been safe from more savages, I cared not if I was never to remove from the place where I lived.

After I had been two or three days returned to my castle, I thought that, in order to bring Friday off from his horrid way of feeding, and from the relish of a cannibal's stomach, I ought to let him taste other flesh; so I took him out with me one morning to the woods. I went, indeed, intending to kill a kid out of my own flock, and bring it home and dress is; but o was going, I saw a she-goat lying down in the shade, and two young kids sitting by her. I catched hold of Friday; Hold," said I, "stand still;" and made signs to him not to stir: immediately, I presented my piece, shot, and killed one of the kids. The poor creature, who had, at a distance, indeed, seen me kill the savage, his enemy, but did not know, nor could imagine how it was done, was sensibly surprised; trembled, and shook, and looked so amazed that I thought he would have sunk down. He did not see the kid I shot at, or perceive I had killed it, but ripped up his waistcoat, to feel whether he was not wounded; and, as I found presently, thought I was resolved to kill him: for he came and kneeled down to me, and embracing my knees, said a great many things I did not understand; but I could easily see the meaning was, to pray me not to kill him. I soon found a way to convince him that I would do him no harm; and taking him by the hand, laughed at him, and pointing to the kid which I had killed, beckoned to him to run and fetch it, which he did: and while he was wondering, and looking to see how the creature was killed, I loaded my gun again. By-and-by, I saw a great fowl, like a hawk, sitting upon a tree within shot; so, to let Friday understand a little what I would do, I called him to me again, pointed at the fowl, which was indeed a parrot, though I thought it had been a hawk; I say, pointing to the parrot, and to my gun, and to the ground under the parrot, to let him see I would make it fall, I made him understand that I would shoot and kill the bird; accordingly, I fired, and bade him look, and immediately he saw the parrot fall. He stood like one frightened again, notwithstanding all I had said to him; and I found he was the more amazed, because he did not see me put anything into the gun, but thought that there must be some wonderful fund of death and destruction in that thing, able to kill man, beast, bird, or anything near or far off; and the astonishment this created in him was such as could not wear off for a long time; and, I believe, if I would have let him, he would have worshipped me and my gun. As for the gun itself, he would not so much as touch it for several days after; but he would speak to it and talk to it, as if it had answered him, when he was by himself; which, as I afterwards learned of him, was to desire it not to kill him. Well, after his astonishment was a little over at this, I pointed to him to run and fetch the bird I had shot, which he did, but stayed some time; for the parrot, not being quite dead, had fluttered away a good distance from the place where she fell however, he found her, took her up, and brought her to me; and as had perceived his ignorance about the gun before, I took this advantage to charge the gun again, and not to let him see me do it, that I might be ready for any other mark that might present; but nothing more offered at that time: so I brought home the kid, and the same evening I took the skin off, and cut it out as well as I could; and having a pot fit for that purpose, I boiled or stewed some of the flesh, and made some very good broth. After I had begun to eat some, I gave some to my man, who seemed very glad of it, and liked it very well; but that which was strangest to him was to see me eat salt with it. He made a sign to me that the salt was not good to eat; and putting a little into his own mouth, he seemed to nauscate it, and would spit and sputter at it, washing

his mouth with fresh water after it: on the other hand, I took some meat into my mouth without salt, and I pretended to spit and sputter for want of salt, as much as he had done at the salt; but it would not do; he would never care for salt with meat or in his broth; at least, not for a great while, and then but a very little. Having thus fed him with boiled meat and broth, I was resolved to feast him the next day by roasting a piece of the kid; this I did by hanging it before the fire on a string, as I had seen many people do in England, setting two poles up, one on each side of the fire, and one across the top, and tying the string to the cross stick, letting the meat turn continually. This Friday admired very much; but when he came to taste the flesh, he took so many ways to tell me how well he liked it, that I could not but understand him: and at last he told me, as well as he could, he would never eat man's flesh any more, which I was very glad to hear. The next day, I set him to work to beating some corn out, and sifting it in the manner I used to do, as I observed before; and he soon understood how to do it as well as I, especially after he had seen what the meaning of it was, and that it was to make bread of; for after that, I let him see me make my bread, and bake it too; and in a little time, Friday was able to do all the work for me, as well as I could do it myself.

I began now to consider, that having two mouths to feed instead of one, I must provide more ground for my harvest, and plant a larger quantity of corn than I used to do; so I marked out a larger piece of land, and began the fence in the same manner as before, in which Friday worked not only very willingly and very hard, but did it very cheerfully: and I told him what it was for; that it was for corn to make more bread, because he was now with me, and that I might have enough for him and myself too. He appeared very sensible of that part, and let me know that he thought I had much more labour upon me on his account, than had for myself; and that he would work the harder for me, if I would tell him what to do.

This was the pleasantest year of all the life I led in this place. Friday began to talk pretty well, and understand the names of almost everything I had occasion to call for, and of every place I had to send him to, and talked a great deal to me; so that, in short, I began now to have some use for my tongue again, which, indeed, I had very little occasion for before. Besides the pleasure of talking to him, I had a singular satisfaction in the fellow himself: his simple, unfeigned honesty appeared to me more and more every day, and I began really to love the creature; and on his side, I believe he loved me more than it was possible for him ever to love anything before.

I had a mind once to try if he had any inclination for his own country again; and having taught him English so well that he could answer me almost any question, I asked him whether the nation that he belonged to never conquered in battle? At which he smiled, and said, "Yes, yes, we always fight the better;" that is, he meant, always get the better in fight; and so we began the following discourse:

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Master. You always fight the better; how came you to be taken prisoner then, Friday?

Friday.-My nation beat much for all that. Master-How beat? If your nation beat them, how came you to be taken?

Friday. They more many than my nation, in the place where me was; they take one, two, three, and me; my nation over-beat them in the yonder place, where me no was; there my nation take one, two, great thousand.

Master-But why did not your side recover you from the hands of your enemies then?

Friday. They run, one, two, three, and me, and make go in the canoe; my nation have no canoe that time. Master.-Well, Friday, and what does your nation do with the men they take? Do they carry them away and eat them, as these did?

Friday. Yes, my nation eat mans too: eat all up.
Master. Where do they carry them?
Friday. Go to other place, where they think.
Master.-Do they come hither?

him how far it was from our island to the shore, and whether the canoes were not often lost. He told me there was no danger, no canoes ever lost; but that after a little way out to sea, there was a current and wind, always one way in the morning, the other in the afternoon. This I understood to be no more than the sets of the tide, as going out or coming in; but I afterwards understood it was occasioned by the great draft and ' reflux of the mighty river Oroonoko, in the mouth or gulph of which river, as I found afterwards, our island lay; and that this land which I perceived to be W. and N.W. was the great island. Trinidad, on the north point of the mouth of the river. I asked Friday a thousand questions about the country, the inhabitants, the sea, the coast, and what nations were near: he told me all he knew, with the greatest openness imaginable. I asked him the names of the several nations of his sort of people, but could get no other name than Caribs : from whence I easily understood that these were the Caribbees, which our maps place on the part of America which reaches from the mouth of the river Oroonoko to Guiana, and onwards to St. Martha. He told me, that up a great way beyond the moon, that was, beyond the setting of the moon, which must be west from their country, there dwelt white bearded men like me, and pointed to my great whiskers, which I mentioned before; and they had killed much mans, that was his word: by all which I understood he meant the Spaniards, whose cruelties in America had been spread over the whole country, and were remembered by all the nations from father to son.

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I inquired if he could tell me how I might go from this island, and get among those white men: he told me, Yes, yes, you may go in two canoe." I could not understand what he meant, or make him describe to me what he meant by two canoe, till at last, with great difficulty, I found he meant it must be in a large boat, as big as two canoes. This part of Friday's discourse I began to relish very well; and from this time I entertained some hopes that, one time or other, I might find an opportunity to make my escape from this place, and that this poor savage might be a means to help me.

During the long time that Friday had now been with me, and that he began to speak to me, and understand me, was not wanting to lay a foundation of religious knowledge in his mind; particularly I asked him one time, who made him. The poor creature did not understand me at all, but thought I had asked who was his father: but I took it up by another handle, and asked him, who made the sea, the ground we walked on, and the hills and woods. He told me, "It was one Benamuckee, that lived beyond all;" he could describe nothing of this great person, but that he was very old, "much older," he said, " than the sea or the land, than the moon or the stars." I asked him then, if this old person had made all things, why did not all things worship him? He looked very grave, and, with a perfect look of innocence, said, “All things say O to him.” I asked him, if the people who die in his country went away anywhere? He said, "Yes, they all went to Benamuckee." Then I asked him whether those they eat up went thither too? He said, “Yes.”

From these things, I began to instruct him in the knowledge of the true God: I told him that the great Maker of all things lived up there, pointing up towards heaven; that He governed the world by the same power and providence by which He made it that He was omnipotent, and could do everything for us, give everything to us-take everything from us; and thus, by degrees, I opened his eyes. He listened with great attention, and received with pleasure the notion of Jesus Christ being sent to redeem us, and of the manner of making our prayers to God, and His being able to hear us, even in heaven. He told me one day, that if our God could hear us, up beyond the sun, he must needs be a greater God than their Benamuckee, who lived but a little way off, and yet could not hear till they went up to the great mountains where he dwelt to speak to him. I asked him if ever he went thither to speak to him? He said, "No; they never went that were young men; none went thither that is, as I made him explain it to me, their religious or clergy; and that they went to say O (so he called saying prayers), and then came back and told them what Benamuckee said. By this I observed, that there is priestcraft even among the most blinded, ignorant pagans in the world; and the policy of making a secret of religion, in order to preserve the veneration of the people to the clergy, is not only to be found in the Roman, but, perhaps, among all religions in the world, even among the most brutish and barbarous savages.

Friday.-Yes, yes, they come hither; come other else but the old men," whom he called their Oowokakee; place.

Master-Have you been here with them? Friday. Yes, I have been here (points to the N.W. side of the island, which, it seems, was their side). By this, I understood that my man Friday had formerly been among the savages who used to come on shore on the farther part of the island, on the same man-eating occasions he was now brought for: and, some time after, when I took the courage to carry him to that side, being the same I formerly mentioned, he presently knew the place, and told me he was there once, when they eat up twenty men, two women, and one child: he could not tell twenty in English, but he numbered them, by laying so many stones in a row, and pointing to me to tell them over.

I endeavoured to clear up this fraud to my man Friday; and told him that the pretence of their old men going up to the mountains to say O to their god Benamuckee was a cheat; and their bringing word from thence what he said was much more so; that if they I have told this passage, because it introduces what met with any answer, or spake with any one there, it follows; that after this discourse I had with him, I asked | must be with an evil spirit: and then I entered into a

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long discourse with him about the devil, the origin of him, his rebellion against God, his enmity to man, the reason of it, the setting himself up in the dark parts of the world to be worshipped instead of God, and as God, and the many stratagems he made use of to delude mankind to their ruin; how he had a secret access to our passions and to our affections, and to adapt his snares to our inclinations, so as to cause us even to be our own tempters, and run upon our destruction by our own choice. I found it was not so easy to imprint right notions in his mind about the devil as it was about the being of a God: nature assisted all my arguments to evidence to him even the necessity of a great First Cause-an overruling, governing Power-a secret directing Providence; and of the equity and justice of paying homage to Him that made us, and the like; but there appeared nothing of this kind in the notion of an evil spirit; of his origin, his being, his nature; and, above all, of his inclination to do evil, and to draw us in to do so too: and the poor creature puzzled me once in such a manner, by a question merely natural and innocent, that I scarce knew what to say to him. I had been talking a great deal to him of the power of God, His omnipotence, His aversion to sin, His being a consuming fire to the workers of iniquity; how, as He had made us all, He could destroy us and all the world in a moment; and he listened with great seriousness to me all the while. After this, I had been telling him how the devil was God's enemy in the hearts of men, and used all his malice and skill to defeat the good designs of Providence, and to ruin the kingdom of Christ in the world, and the like. "Well," says Friday, "but you say God is so strong, so great; is He not much strong, much might as the devil?" "Yes, yes," says I, "Friday; God is stronger than the devil: God is above the devil, and therefore we pray to God to tread him down under our feet, and enable us to resist his temptations and quench his fiery darts." "But," says he again, "if God much stronger, much might as the wicked devil, why God no kill the devil, so make him no more do wicked?" I was strangely surprised at this question; and, after all, though I was now an old man, yet I was but a young doctor, and ill qualified for a casuist, or a solver of difficulties; and at first I could not tell what to say; so I pretended not to hear him, and asked him what he said: but he was too earnest for an answer to forget his question, so that he repeated it in the very same broken words as above. By this time I had recovered myself a little, and I said, "God will at last punish him severely; he is reserved for the judgment, and is to be cast into the bottomless pit, to dwell with everlasting fire." This did not satisfy Friday; but he returns upon me, repeating my words, "Reserve at last!' me no understand: but why not kill the devil now; not kill great ago?" "You may as well ask me," said I, "why God does not kill you or me, when we do wicked things here that offend him: we are preserved to repent and be pardoned." He mused some time on this: "Well, well," says he, mightily affectionately, "that well: so you, I, devil, all wicked, all preserve, repent, God pardon all." Here I was run down again by him to the last degree: and it was a testimony to me, how the mere notions of nature, though they will guide reasonable creatures to the knowledge of a God, and of a worship or homage due to the supreme being of God, as the consequence of our nature, yet nothing but divine revelation can form the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and of redemption purchased for us; of a Mediator of the new covenant, and of an Intercessor at the footstool of God's throne; I say, nothing but a revelation from heaven can form these in the soul; and that, therefore, the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I mean the Word of God, and the Spirit of God, promised for the guide and sanctifier of His people, are the absolutely necessary instructors of the souls of men in the saving knowledge of God, and the means of salvation.

I therefore diverted the present discourse between me and my man, rising up hastily, as upon some sudden occasion of going out; then sending him for something a good way off, I seriously prayed to God that He would enable me to instruct savingly this poor savage; assisting, by His Spirit, the heart of the poor ignorant creature to receive the light of the knowledge of God in Christ reconciling him to Himself, and would guide me to speak so to him from the Word of God, that his conscience might be convinced, his eyes opened, and his soul saved. When he came again to me, I entered into a long discourse with him upon the subject of the redemption of man by the Saviour of the world, and of the doctrine of the gospel preached from heaven, viz. of repentance towards God, and faith in our blessed Lord Jesus. I then explained to him as well as I could why our blessed Redeemer too knot on Him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham; and how, for that reason, the fallen angels had no share in the redemption; that He came only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and the like.

I had, God knows, more sincerity than knowledge in

After Friday and I became more intimately acquainted, and that he could understand almost all I said to him, and speak pretty fluently, though in broken English, to me, I acquainted him with my own history, or at least so much of it as related to my coming to this place; how I had lived there, and how long; I let him into the mystery, for such it was to him, of gunpowder and

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