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THE FOOTPRINTS ON THlE SAND.
ALTEMUS' YOUNG PEOPLE'S LIBRARY.
ROBINSON CRUSOE
HIS LIFE AND
STRANGE SURPRISING ADVENTURES
BY
DANIEL DEFOE
In 14n/s of One SP /lable
WITH SEVENTY ILLUSTRATIONS
PHILADELPHIA
HENRY ALTEMUS
1895
IN UNIFORM STYLE
Illustrated
THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS
ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONADERLAND
THROUGII THE LOOKING GI.ASS AND
WHA T ALICE S.'l IV THERE
ROBINSON CRUSOE
A CHILD S STORY OF THE BIBLE
A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST
THEIL ARABIAN NIGIITS
AESOP',S ABALES
G U. LI VERY'S TRA VELS
HENRY ALTEMUS, PITILADELPIIIA
Henry Altemus, Manufacturer
INTRODUCTION.
T HE AUTHOR of the perennial Robinson
Crusoe was born in London, England, in
1661. His father was a butcher, who edu-
cated his son for the ministry, among the dissent-
ers, but could never persuade him to pursue that
vocation.
He was remarkable for the versatility of his
mind, and for his wonderful fertility of invention,
and was a very voluminous writer, there being
7
INTR OD AUCTION.
about two hundred and ten of his works extant,
which, though chiefly fictious, produced a lively
impression of truth and reality.
His political works exposed him to much
suffering and pecuniary loss, which he summed
up in this couplet:
No man has tasted differing fortunes more;
And thirteen times have I been rich and poor."
Sir Walter Scott says: Perhaps there exists no
work in the English language which has been
more generally read and more universally ad-
mired than the Adventures of Robinson Crusoe."
The illustrations by Walter Paget fit the text
excellently well. The story will no doubt find a
wide circulation, having been adapted to meet the
tastes of the youngest readers.
z~~
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
HWAS born at York, in England, on the
First of March, 1632, which was the
sixth year of the reign of King Charles
the First. From the time when I was
quite a young child I had felt a great wish to
spend my life at sea, and as I grew, so did this
taste grow more and more strong; till at last I
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
broke loose from my school and home, and found
my way on foot to Hull, where I soon got a place
on board a ship.
When we had set sail but a few days, a squall
of wind came on, and on the fifth night we sprang
a leak. All hands were set to the pumps, but we
felt the ship groan in all her planks, and her beams
quake from stem to stern; so that it was soon
quite clear there was no hope for her, and that all
we could do was to save our lives.
The first thing was to fire off guns, to show that
we were in need of help, and at length a ship,
which lay not far from us, sent a boat to our aid.
But the sea was too rough for it to lie near our
ship's side, so we threw out a rope, which the
men in the boat caught, and made fast, and by
this means we all got in.
Still, in so wild a sea it was vain to try to get
on board the ship which had sent out the men, or
to use our oars in the boat, and all we could do
was to let it drive to shore.
In the space of half an hour our own ship struck
on a rock and went down, and we saw her no
more. We made but slow way to the land, which
V
YOU'RE BUT A FRESH-WATER SAILOR.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
we caught sight of now and then when the boat
rose to the top of some high wave, and there we
saw men who ran in crowds, to and fro, all bent
on one thing, and that was to save us.
At last to our great joy we got on shore, where
we had the luck to meet with friends who gave us
the means to get back to Hull; and if I had now
had the good sense to go home, it would have
been well for me.
The man whose ship had gone down said with
a grave look, Young lad, you ought to go to sea
no more; it is not the kind of life for you." "Why,
sir, will you go to sea no more then ?" "That is
not the same kind of thing. I was bred to the
sea, but you were not, and came on board my ship
just to find out what a life at sea was like, and
you may guess what you will come to if you do
not go back to your home. God will not bless
you, and it may be that you have brought all this
woe on us."
I spoke not a word more to him; which way
he went I knew not, nor did I care to know, for I
was hurt at this rude speech. Shall I go home,
thought I, or shall I go to sea ? Shame kept me
THE WALK BACK TO HULL.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
from home, and I could not make up my mind
what course of life to take.
As it has been my fate through life to choose
for the worst, so I did now. I had gold in my
purse, and good clothes on my back, and to sea
I went once more.
But I had worse luck this time than the last, for
when we were far out at sea, some Turks in a
small ship came on our track in full chase. We
set as much sail as our yards would bear, so as to
get clear from them. But in spite of this, we saw
our foes gain on us, and we felt sure that they
would come up to our ship in a few hours' time.
At last they caught us; but we brought our
guns to bear on them, which made them sheer off
for a time, yet they kept up a fire at us as long
as they were in range. The next time the Turks
came up, some of their men got on board our
ship, and set to work to cut the sails, and do us
all kinds of harm. So as ten of our men lay
dead, and most of the rest had wounds, we
gave in.
The chief of the Turks took me as his prize to
a port which was held by the Moors. He did
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
not use me so ill as at first I thought he would
have done, but he set me. to work with the rest
of his slaves. This was a change in my life
which I did not think had been in store for me.
I PROVED VERY
USEFUL.
How my heart sank with grief at the thought of
those whom I had left at home, nay, to whom I
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
had not had the grace so much as to say "Good-
bye" when I went to sea, nor to give a hint of
what I meant to do !
Yet all that I went through at this time was
but a taste of the toils and cares which it has
since been my lot to bear.
I thought at first that the Turk might take me
with him when next he went to sea, and so I
should find some way to get free; but the hope
did not last long, for at such times he left me on
shore to see to his crops. This kind of life I led
for two years, and as the Turk knew and saw
more of me, he made me more and more free.
He went out in his boat once or twice a week to
catch a kind of flat fish, and now and then he
took me and a boy with him, for we were quick
at this kind of sport,.and he grew quite fond of
me.
One day the Turk sent me in the boat to catch
some fish, with no one else but a man and a boy.
While we were out, so thick a fog came on, that
though we were not half a mile from the shore,
we quite lost sight of it for- twelve hours; and
when the sun rose the next day, our boat was at
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
least ten miles out at sea. The wind blew fresh,
and we were all much in want of food; but at
last, with the help of oars and sail, we got back
safe to land.
When the Turk heard how we had lost our
way, he said that the next time he went out, he
would take a boat that would hold all we could
want if we were kept out at sea. So he had quite
a state room built in the long boat of his ship, as
well as a room for us slaves. One day he sent
me to trim the boat, as he had two friends who
would go in it to fish with him. But when the
time came they did not go, so he sent me with
the man and the boy--whose name was Xury-
to catch some fish for the guests that were to sup
with him.
Now the thought struck me all at once that this
would be a good chance to set off with the boat,
and get free. So in the first place I took all the
food that I could lay my hands on, and I told the
man that it would be too bold of us to eat of the
bread that had been put in the boat for the Turk.
He said he thought so too, and he brought down
a small sack of rice and some rusks.
ROBINSON CR USOE.
While the man was on shore I put up some
wine, a large lump of wax, a saw, an axe, a spade,
some rope, and all sorts of things that might be
of use to us. I knew where the Turk's case of
wine was, and I put that in the boat while the man
was on shore. By one more trick I got all that I
had need of. I said to the boy, "The Turk's
guns are in the boat, but there is no shot. Do you
think you could get some ? You know where it is
kept, and we may want to shoot a fowl or two."
So he brought a case and a pouch which held all
that we could want for the guns. These I put in
the boat, and then set sail out of the port to fish.
The wind blew from the north, or northwest,
which was a bad wind for me; for had it been
south, I could have made for the coast of Spain.
But, blow which way it might, my mind was made
up to get off, and to leave the rest to fate. I then
let down my lines to fish, but I took care to have
bad sport; and when the fish bit I would not pull
them up, for the Moor was not to see them. I
said to him, "This will not do: we shall catch no
fish here; we ought to sail on a bit." Well, the
Moor thought there was no harm in this. He
IF YOU COME NEAR THE BOAT I'LL SHOOT YOU.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
set the sails, and, as the helm was in my hands,
I ran the boat out a mile or more, and then
brought her to, as if I meant to fish.
Now, thought I, the time has come for me to
get free; so I gave the helm to the boy, and then
took the Moor round the waist, and threw him
out of the boat.
Down he went! but soon rose up, for he swam
like a duck. He said he would go all around the
world with me, if I would but take him in.
I *had some fear lest he should climb up the
boat's side, and force his way back; so I brought
my gun to point at him, and said, "You can swim
to land with ease if you choose ; make haste then
to get there; but if you come near the boat you
shall have a shot through the head, for I mean to
be a free man from this hour."
He then swam for the shore, and no doubt got
safe there, as the sea was so calm.
At first I thought I would take the Moor with
me, and let Xury swim to land; but the Moor
was not a man that I could trust.
When he was gone I said to Xury, If you will
swear to be true to me, you shall be a great man
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
in time ; if not, I must throw you out of the boat
too."
The poor boy gave me such a sweet smile as
he swore to be true to me, that I could not find it
in my heart to doubt him.
While the man was still in view (for he was on
his way to the land), we stood out to sea with the
boat, so that he and those that saw us from the
shore, might think we had gone to the strait's
mouth, for no one went to the south coast, as a
tribe of men dwelt there who were known to kill
and eat their foes.
We then bent our course to the east, so as to
keep in with the shore; and as we had a fair wind
and a smooth sea, by the next day at noon we
were a long way off, and quite out of the reach of
the Turk.
I had still some fear lest I should be caught by
the Moors, so I would not go on shore in the day
time. But when it grew dusk we made our way
to the coast, and came to the mouth of a stream,
from which we thought we would swim to land,
and then look around us. But as soon as it was
quite dark we heard strange sounds-barks,
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
roars, grunts, and howls. The poor lad said he
could not go on shore till dawn. "Well," said I,
" then we must give it up, but it may be that in
the day time we shall be seen by men, who for all
we know would do us more harm than wild
beasts." "Then we give them the shoot gun,"
said Xury with a laugh, "and make them run
way."
I was glad to see so much mirth in the boy,
and gave him some bread and rice.
We lay still at night, but did not sleep long,
for in a few hours' time some huge beasts came
down to the sea to bathe. The poor boy shook
from head to foot at the sight. One of these
beasts came near our boat, and though it was too
dark to see him well, we heard him puff and blow,
and knew that he must be a large one by the
noise he made. At last the brute came as near
to the boat as two oars' length, so I shot at him,
and he swam to the shore.
The roar and cries set up by beasts and birds at
the noise of my gun would seem to show that we
had made a bad choice of a place to land on; but
be that as it would, to shore we had to go to find
~m
jiiH
I,,,,
FILLING THE WATER JARS.
ROBINSON .CRUSOE.
some fresh spring, so that we might fill our casks.
Xury said if I would let him go with one of the
jars, he would find out if the springs were fit to
drink; and, if they were sweet, he would bring
the jar back full. Why should you go ? said I;
" why should not I go, and you stay in the boat?"
At this Xury said, "If the wild mans come they
eat me; you go way." I could not but love
the lad for this kind speech. "Well" said I, "we
will both go, and if the wild men come we must
kill them ; they shall not eat you or me."
I gave Xury some rum from the Turk's case to
cheer him up, and we went on shore. The boy
went off with his gun, full a mile from the spot
where we stood, and came back with a hare that
he had shot, which we were glad to cook and eat;
but the good news which he brought was that he
had found a spring, and had seen no wild men.
I made a guess that the Cape de Verd Isles
were not far off, for I saw the top of the Great
Peak, which I knew was near them. My one
hope was that if I kept near the coast, I should
find some ship that would take us on board; and
then, and not till then, should I feel a free man.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
In a word, I put the whole of my fate on this
chance, that I must meet with some ship, or die.
On the coast we saw some men who stood to
look at us. They were black, and wore no
clothes. I would have gone on shore to them,
but Xury-who knew best-said, Not you go!
Not you go So I brought the boat as near
the land as I could, that I might talk to them, and
they kept up with me a long way. I saw that one
of them had a lance in his hand.
I made signs that they should bring me some
food, and they on their part made signs for me to
stop my boat. So I let down the top of my sail,
and lay by, while two of them ran off; and in less
than half an hour they came back with some dry
meat and a sort of corn which is grown in this
part of the world. This we should have been
glad to get, but knew not how to do so; for we
durst not go on shore to them, nor did they dare
to come to us.
At last they took a safe way for us all, for they
brought the food to the shore, where they set it
down, and then went a long way off while we took
it in. We made signs to show our thanks, for we
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
had not a thing that we could spare to give them.
But as good luck would have it, we were at
hand to take a great prize for them; for two
wild beasts, of the same kind as the first I
spoke of, came in full chase from the hills down
to the sea.
They swam as if they had come for sport. The
men flew from them in fear, all but the one who
held the lance. One of these beasts came near
our boat; so I lay in wait for him with my gun ;
and as soon as the brute was in range, I shot him
through the head. Twice he sank down in the
sea, and twice he came up; and then just swam
to the land, where he fell down dead. The men
were in as much fear at the sound of my gun as
they had been at the sight of the beasts. But
when I made signs for them to come to the shore,
they took heart, and came.
They at once made for their prize; and by the
help of a rope, which they slung round him, they
brought him safe on the beach.
We now left our wild men, and went on and
on, for twelve days more. The land in front of
us ran out four or five miles, like a bill; and we
mu-i
2or
FRIDAY FINDING BIG GAME.
T. I!,
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
had to keep some way from the coast to make
this point, so that we lost sight of the shore.
I gave the helm to Xury, and sat down to
think what would be my best course to take;
when all at once I heard the lad cry out, A ship
with a sail! A ship with a sail!" He did not
show much joy at the sight, for he thought that
this ship had been sent out to take him back ; but
I knew well, from the look of her, that she was
not one of the Turk's.
I made all the sail I could to come in the ship's
way, and told Xury to fire a gun, in the hope that
if those on deck could not hear the sound, they
might see the smoke. This they did see, and
then let down their sails so that we might come
up to them, and in three hours' time we were at
the ship's side. The men spoke to us in French,
but I could not make out what they meant. At
last a Scot on board said in my own tongue, Who
are you ? Whence do you come ?" I told him in
a few words how I had got free from the Moors.
Then the man who had charge of the ship bade
me come on board, and took me in, with Xury
and all my goods. I told him that he might take
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
all I had; but he said, You shall have your
goods back when we come to land, for I have but
done for you what you would have done for me,
had I been in the same plight."
He gave me a good round sum for my boat
and said that I should have the same sum foi
Xury, if I would part with him. But I told him
that as it was by the boy's help that I had got
free, I was loth to sell him. He said it was just
and right in me to feel thus, but at the same time,
if I could make up my mind to part with him, he
should be set free in two years' time. So, as the
poor slave had a wish to go with him, I did not
say no. I got to All Saints' Bay in three weeks,
and was now a free man.
I had made a good sum by all my store, and
with this I went on land. But I did not at all know
what to do next. At length I met with a man
whose case was much the same as my own, and
we both took some land to farm. My stock, like
his, was low, but we made our farms serve to
keep us in food, though not more than that. We
both stood in need of help, and I saw now that I
had done wrong to part with my boy.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
I did not at all like this kind of life. What!
thought I, have I come all this way to do that
which I could have done as well at home with my
friends round me? And to add to my grief, the
kind friend who had brought me here in his ship,
now meant to leave these shores.
On my first start to sea when a boy, I had put
a small sum in the hands of an aunt, and this my
friend said I should do well to spend on my farm.
So when he got home he sent some of it in cash,
and laid out the rest in cloth, stuffs, baize, and
such like goods. My aunt had put a few pounds
in my friend's hands as a gift to him, to show her
thanks for all that he had done for me, and with
this sum he was so kind as to buy me a slave. In
the mean time I had bought a slave, so now I had
two, and all went on well for the next year.
But soon my plans grew too large for my means.
One day some men came to ask me to take
charge of a slave ship to be sent out by them.
They said they would give me a share in the
slaves, and pay the cost of the stock. This would
have been a good thing for me if I had not had
farms and land; but it was wild and rash to think
I BOUGHT ME A NEGRO SLAVE.
-I "! ,o
32 ROBINSON CRUSOE.
of it now, for I had made a large sum, and ought
to have gone on in the same way for three or
four years more. Well, I told these men that
I would go with all my heart, if they would look
to my farm in the mean time, which they said they
would do.
So I made my will, and went on board this
ship on the same day on which, eight years
since, I had left Hull. She had six guns,
twelve men, and a boy. We took with us saws,
chains, toys, beads, bits of glass, and such like
ware, to suit the taste of those with whom we
had to trade.
We were not more than twelve days from the
Line, when a high wind took us off we knew not
where. All at once there was a cry of Land "
and the ship struck on a bank of sand, in which
she sank so deep that we could not get her off.
At last we found that we must make up our minds
to leave her, and get to shore as well as we could.
There had been a boat at her stern, but we found
it had been torn off by the force of the waves.
One small boat was still left on the ship's side, so
we got in it.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
There we were all of us on the wild sea. The
heart of each now grew faint, our cheeks were
pale, and our eyes were dim, for there was but
.11.~
ii
~! '~'
WE HASTENED OUR RUIN WITH OUR OWN HANDS.
one hope, and that was to find some bay, and so
get in the lee of the land. We now gave up our
whole souls to God.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
The sea grew more and more .rough, and its
white foam would curl and boil. At last the
waves, in their wild sport, burst on the boat's
side, and we were all thrown out.
I could swim well, but the force of the waves
made me lose my breath too much to do so. At
length one large wave took me to the shore, and
left me high and dry, though half dead with fear.
I got on my feet and made the best of my way
for the land; but just then the curve of a huge
wave rose up as high as a hill, and this I had no
strength to keep from, so it took me back to the
sea. I did my best to float on the top, and held
my breath to do so. The next wave was quite as
high, and shut me up in its bulk. I held my hands
down tight to my side, and then my head shot
out at the top of the waves. This gave me heart
and breath too, and soon my feet felt the ground.
I stood quite still for a short time, to let the sea
run back from me, and then I set off with all my
might to the shore, but yet the waves caught me,
and twice more did they take me back, and twice
more land me on the shore. I thought the last
wave would have been the death of me, for it
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
drove me on a piece of rock,
as to leave me in a kind of
God, did not last long. At
and with such force
swoon, which, thank
length, to my great
SAFE ON LAND AT LAST.
joy, I got up to the cliffs close to the shore, where
I found some grass, out of the reach of the sea.
There I sat down, safe on land at last.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
I could but cry out in the words of the Psalm,
"They that go down to the sea in ships, these
men see the works of.the Lord in the deep. For
at His word the storms rise, the winds blow, and
lift up the waves ; then do they mount to the sky,
and from thence go down to the deep. My soul
faints, I reel to and fro, and am at my wit's end;
then the Lord brings me out of all my fears."
I felt so wrapt in joy, that all I could do was to
walk up and down the coast, now lift up my
hands, now fold them on my breast and thank God
for all that He had done for me, when the rest of
the men were lost. All lost but I, and I was safe !
I now cast my eyes round me, to find out what
kind of a place it was that I had been thus thrown
in, like a bird in a storm. Then all the glee I felt
at first left me; for I was wet and cold, and had
no dry clothes to put on, no food to eat, and not
a friend to help me.
There were wild beasts here, but I had no gun
to shoot them with, or to keep me from their
jaws. I had but a knife and a pipe.
It now grew dark; and where was I to go for
the night? I thought the top of some high tree
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
wouldd be a
good place.
to keepli me
out of harm's
wa\; and that
there I might
Ssit and think
of death, for,
as yet, I had no
hopes of life. W ell,
I went to my tree,
..! J and made a kind of
Si- ,
38 ROBINSON CRUSOE.
nest to sleep in. Then I cut a stick to keep off
the beasts of prey, in case they should come, and
fell to sleep just as if the branch I lay on had
been a bed of down.
When I woke up it was broad day; the sky too
was clear and the sea calm. But I saw from the
top of the tree that in the night the ship had left
the bank of sand, and lay but a mile from me:
while the boat was on the beach, two miles on my
right. I went some way down by the shore, to
get to the boat; but an arm of the sea, half a
mile broad, kept me from it. At noon, the tide
went a long way out, so that I could get near the
ship; and here I found that if we had but made
up our minds to stay on board, we should all have
been safe.
I shed tears at the thought, for I could not help
it; yet, as there was no use in that, it struck me
that the best thing for me to do was to swim to the
ship. I soon threw off my clothes, took to the sea,
and swam up to the wreck. But how was I to
get on deck ? I had swum twice round the ship,
when a piece of rope caught my eye, which hung
down from her side so low, that at first the
BOARDING THE WRECK.
39
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
waves hid it. By the help of this rope I got on
board.
I found that there was a bulge in the ship, and
that she had sprung a leak. You may be sure that
my first thought was to look around for some food,
and I soon made my way to the bin where the
bread was kept, and ate some of it as I went to
and fro, for there 'was no time to lose. There
was, too, some rum, of which I took a good
draught, and this gave me heart. What I stood
most in need of was a boat to take the goods to
shore. But it was vain to wish for that which
could not be had; and as there were some spare
yards in the ship, two or three large planks of
wood, and a spare mast or two, I fell to work with
these to make a raft.
I put four spars side by side, and laid short bits
of plank on them, cross-ways, to make my raft
strong. Though these planks would bear my
own weight, they were too slight to bear much of
my freight. So I took a saw which was on board,
and cut a mast in three lengths, and these gave
great strength to the raft. I found some bread
and rice, a Dutch cheese, and some dry goat's
ROBINSON -CRUSOE.
flesh. There had been some wheat, but the rats
had got at it, and it was all gone.
My next task was to screen my goods from the
spray of the sea ; and it did not take me long to
do this, for there were three large chests on board
which held all, and these I put on the raft. When
the high tide came up it took off my coat and
shirt, which I had left on the shore; but there
were some fresh clothes in the ship.
"See, here is a prize said I, out loud (though
there were none to hear me) ; "now I shall not
starve." For I found four large guns. But how
was my raft to be got to land ? I had no sail, no
oars ; and a gust of wind would make all my
store slide off. Yet there were three things which
I was glad of-a calm sea, a tide which set in to
the shore, and a slight breeze to blow me there.
I had the good luck to find some oars in a part
of the ship in which I had made no search till now.
With these I put to sea, and for half a mile my
raft went well; but soon I found it drove to one
side. At length I saw a creek, up which, with
some toil, I took my raft; and now the beach was
so near, that I felt my oar touch the ground.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
Here I had well nigh lost my freight, for the
shore lay on a slope, so that there was no place
to land on, save where one end of the raft would
lie so high, and one end so low, that all my goods
would fall off. To wait till the tide came up was
all that could be done. So, when the sea was a
foot deep, I thrust the raft on a flat piece of
ground, to moor her there, and stuck my two oars
in the sand, one on each side of the raft. Thus
I let her lie, till the ebb of the tide, and when it
went down, she was left safe on land with all her
freight.
I saw that there were birds on the isle, and I
shot one of them. Mine must have been the first
gun that had been heard there since the world
was made; for, at the sound of it, whole flocks of
birds flew up, with loud cries, from all parts of the
wood. The shape of the beak of the one I shot
was like that of a hawk, but the claws were not
so large.
I now went back to my raft to land my stores,
and this took up the rest of the day. What to do
at night I knew not, nor where to find a safe
place to land my stores on. I did not like to lie
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
down on the ground, for fear of beasts of prey,
as well as snakes, but there was no cause for these
fears, as I have since found. I put the chests and
boards round me as well as I could, and made a
kind of hut for the night.
As there was still a great store of things left in
the ship, which would be of use to me, I thought
that I ought to bring them to land at once; for I
knew that the first storm would break up the
ship. So I went on board, and took good care
this time not to load my raft too much.
The first thing I sought for was the tool chest;
and in it were some bags of nails, spikes, saws,
knives, and such things; but best of all, I found
a stone to grind my tools on. There were two
or three flasks, some large bags of shot, and a
roll of lead ; but this last I had not the strength
to hoist up to the ship's side, so as to get it on
my raft. There were some spare sails too, which
I brought to shore.
I had some fear lest my stores might be run
off with by beasts of prey, if not by men; but I
found all safe and sound when I went back, and
no one had come there but a wild-cat, which sat
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
on one of the chests. When I came up I held
my gun at her, but as she did not know what a
gun was, this did not rouse her. She ate a piece
of dry goat's flesh, and then took her leave.
Now that I had two freights of goods on hand,
I made a tent with the ship's sails, to stow them
in, and cut the poles for it from the wood. I now
took all the things out of the casks and chests,
and put the casks in piles round the tent, to give
it strength; and when this was done, 1 shut up
the door with the boards, spread one of the beds
(which I had brought from the ship) on the
ground, laid two guns close to my head, and went
to bed for the first time. I slept all night, for I
was much in need of rest.
The next day I was sad and sick at heart, for I
felt how dull it was to be thus cut off from all the
rest of the world I had no great wish for work :
but there was too much to be done for me to
dwell long on my sad lot. Each day, as it came,
I went off to the wreck to fetch more things ; and
I brought back as much as the raft would hold.
One day I had put too great a load on the raft,
which made it sink down on one side, so that the
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
goods were lost in .the sea ; but at this I did not
fret, as the chief part of the freight was some rope,
which would not have been of much use to me.
The twelve days that I had been in the isle were
spent in this way, and I had brought to land all
that one pair of hands could lift; though if the sea
had been still calm, I might have brought the
whole ship, piece by piece.
The last time I swam to the wreck, the wind
blew so hard, that I made up my mind to go on
board next time at low tide. I found some tea
and some gold coin; but as to the gold, it made
me laugh to look at it. "0 drug said I, thou
art of no use to me I care not to save thee.
Stay where thou art till the ship goes down ; then
go thou with it! "
Still, I thought I might as well just take it; so
I put it in a piece of the sail, and threw it on deck
that I might place it on the raft. By-and-by, the
wind blew from the shore, so I had to swim back
with all speed ; for I knew that at the turn of the
tide I should find it hard work to get to land at all.
But in spite of the high wind, I came to my home
all safe. At dawn of day I put my head out, and
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
cast my eyes on the sea, when lo! no ship was
there This change in the face of things, and the
loss of such a friend, quite struck me down. Yet I
was glad to think that I had brought to shore all
that could be of use to me. I had now to look
out for some spot where I could make my home.
Half way up the hill there was a small plain, four
or five score feet long, and twice as broad; and
as it had a full view of the sea, I thought that it
would be a good place for my house.
I first dug a trench round a space which took in
twelve yards ; and in this I drove two rows of
stakes, till they stood firm like piles, five and a
half feet from the ground. I made the stakes
close and tight with bits of rope, and put small
sticks on the top of them in the shape of spikes.
This made so strong a fence that no man or beast
could get in.
The door of my house was on top, and I had to
climb up to it by steps, which I took in with me,
so that no one else might come up by the same
way. Close to the back of the house stood a high
rock, in which I made a cave, and laid all the earth
that I had dug out of it round my house, to the
JTHE KID C,.J ME.' '* iil
THE KID CAME
ALONG AFTER ME.
47
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
height of a foot and a half. I had to go out once
a day in search of food. The first time, I saw some
goats, but they were too shy and swift of foot to
let me get near them.
At last I lay in wait for them close to their own
haunts. If they saw me in the vale, though they
might be on high ground, they would run off, wild
with fear; but if they were in the vale, and I on
high ground, they took no heed of me. The first
goat I shot had a kid by her side, and when the
old one fell, the kid stood near her, till I took her
off on my back, and then the young one ran by
my side. I put down the goat, and brought the
kid home to tame it; but as it was too young to
feed I had to kill it.
At first I thought that, for the lack of pen and
ink, I should lose all note of time; so I made a
large post, in the shape of a cross, on which I
cut these words : I came on these shores on the
8th day of June, in the year 1659." On the side
of this post I made a notch each day as it came,
and this I kept up till the last.
I have not yet said a word of my four pets,
which were two cats, a dog, and a bird. You
.a
I LACKED FOR NOTHING THAT HE
COULD FETCH ME.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
may guess how fond I was of them, for they were
all the friends left to me. I brought the dog and
two cats from the ship. The dog would fetch
things for me at all times, and by his bark, his
whine, his growl, and his tricks, he would all but
talk to me; yet he could not give me thought for
thought.
If I could but have had some one near me to
find fault with, or to find fault with me, what a
treat it would have been Now that I had
brought ink from the ship, I wrote down a sketch
of each day as it came ; not so much to leave to
those who might read it, when I was dead and
gone, as to get rid of my own thoughts, and draw
me from the fears which all day long dwelt on my
mind, till my head would ache with the weight of
them.
I was a long way out of the course of ships;
and oh! how dull it was to be cast on this lone
spot with no one to love, no one to make me
laugh, no one to make me weep, no one to make
me think. It was dull to roam, day by day, from the
wood to the shore, and from the shore back to the
wood, and feed on my own thoughts all the while.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
So much for the sad view of my case; but like
most things, it had a bright side as well as a dark
one. For here was I safe on land, while all the
rest of the ship's crew were lost. Well, thought
I, God, who shapes our ways, and led me by the
hand then, can save me from this state now, or
send some one to be with me. True, I am cast on
a rough and rude part of the globe, but there are
no beasts of prey on it to kill or hurt me. God
has sent the ship so near to me, that I have got
from it all things to meet my wants for the rest
of my days. Let life be what it may, there is
sure to be muck to thank God for. And I soon
gave fip all dull thoughts, and did not so much
as look out for a sail.
My goods from the wreck had been in the cave
for more than ten months; and it was time now
to put them right, as they took up all the space,
and left me no room to turn in: so I made my
small cave a large one, and dug it out a long way
back in the sand rock. Then I brought the mouth
of it up to the fence, and so made a back way to
my house. This done I put shelves on each side,
to hold my goods, which made my cave look like
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
a shop full of stores. To make these shelves I
cut down a tree, and with the help of a saw, an
axe, a plane, and some more tools, I made boards.
A chair, and a desk to write on, came next. I
rose in good time, and set to work till noon, then
I ate my meal, then I went out with my gun, and
to work once more till the sun had set; and then
to bed. It took me more than a week to change
the shape and size of my cave, but I had made it
far too large, for in course of time the earth fell
in from the roof; and had I been in it when this
took place, I should have lost my life. I had now
to set up posts in my cave, with planks on the
top of them, so as to make a roof of wood.
One day, when out with my gun, I shot a wild-
cat, the skin of which made me a cap ; and I found
some birds of the dove tribe, which built their
nests in the holes of rocks.
I had to go to bed at dusk, till I made a lamp
of goat's fat, which I put in a clay dish ; and this,
with a piece of hemp for a wick, made a good
light. As I had found a use for the bag which
had held the fowl's food on board ship, I shook
out from it the husks of corn. This was just at
I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE THE CORN GROWING.
53
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
the time when the great rains fell, and in the
course of a month, blades of rice, corn and rye
sprang up. As time went by, and the grain was
ripe, I kept it, and took care to sow it each year;
but I could not boast of a crop of wheat, as will
be shown by-and-by, for three years.
A thing now took place on the isle, which no
one could have dreamt of, and which struck me
down with fear. It was this-the ground shook
with great force, which threw down earth from the
rock with a loud crash-once more there was a
shock-and now the earth fell from the roof of
my cave. The sea did not look the same as it
had done, for the shocks were just as strong there
as on land. The sway of the earth made me feel
sick ; and there was a noise and a roar all round
me.
The same kind of a shock came a third time ;
and when it had gone off, I sat quite still on the
ground, for I knew not what to do. Then the
clouds grew dark, the wind rose, trees were torn
up by the roots, the sea was a mass of foam and
froth, and a great part of the isle was laid waste
with the storm. I thought that the world had come
I SOWED MY GRAIN.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
to an end. rn three hours' time all was calm ; but
rain fell all that night and a great part of the next
day. Now, though quite worn out, I had to move
my goods, which were in the cave, to some safe
place.
I knew that tools would be my first want, and
that I should have to grind mine on the stone, as
they were blunt and worn with use. But as it
took both hands to hold the tool, I could not turn
the stone; so I made a wheel by which I could
move it with my foot. This was no small task,
but I took great pains with it, and at length it was
done.
The rain fell for some days and a cold chill
came on me; in short, I was ill. I had pains in
my head, and could get no sleep at night, and my
thoughts were wild and strange. At one time I
shook with cold, and then a hot fit came.on, with
faint sweats, which would last six hours at a time.
Ill as I was, I had to go out with my gun to get
food. I shot a goat, but it was a great toil to
bring it home, and still more to cook it.
I spent the next day in bed, and felt half dead
from thirst, yet too weak to stand up to get some
1 1, IA J
GRINDING MY TOOLS.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
drink. I lay and wept like a child. "Lord, look
on me! Lord, look on me !" would I cry for
hours.
At last the fit left me, and I slept, and did not
wake till dawn. I dreamt that I lay on the ground,
and saw a man come down from a great black
cloud in a flame of light. When he stood on the
earth, it shook as it had done a few days since;
and all the world to me was full of fire. He came
up and said: "As I see that all these things have
not brought thee to pray, now thou shalt die."
Then I woke and found it was a dream. Weak
and faint, I was in dread all day lest my fit should
come on.
Too ill to get out with my gun, I sat on the
shore to think, and thus ran my thoughts : "What
is this sea which is all round me ? and whence is
it? There can be no doubt that the hand that
made it made the air, the earth, the sky. And
who is that ? It is God, who hath made all things.
Well, then, if God hath made all things, it must
be He who guides them; and if so, no one thing
in the whole range of His works can take place
and He not know it. Then God must know how
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
sick and sad I am, and He wills me to be here.
Oh, why hath God done this to me?"
Then some voice would seem to say: Dost
thou ask why God hath done this to thee ? Ask
why thou wert not shot by the Moors, who came
on board the ship, and took the lives of thy mates.
Ask why thou wert not torn by the beasts of prey
on the coasts. Ask why thou didst not go down
in the deep sea with the rest of the crew, but didst
come to this isle and art safe."
A sound sleep then fell on me, and when I woke
it must have been three o'clock the next day, by
the rays of the sun ; nay, it .may have been more
than that; for I think that this must have been
the day that I did not mark on my post, as I have
since found that there was one notch too few.
I now took from my store the Book of God's
Word, which I had brought from the wreck, not
one page of which I had as yet read. My eyes
fell on five words, that would seem to have been
put there for my good at this time; so well did
they cheer my faint hopes, and touch the true
source of my fears. They were these: "I will
not leave thee." And they have dwelt in my
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
heart to this day. I laid down the book, to pray.
My cry was, "0 Lord, help me to love and learn
Thy ways." This was the first time in all my life
that I had felt a sense that God was near, and
heard me. As for my dull life here, it was not
worth a thought; for now a new strength had
come to me; and there was a change in my griefs,
as well as in my joys.
I had now been in the isle twelve months, and
I thought it was time to go all round it, in search
of its woods, springs, and creeks. So I set off,
and brought back with me limes and grapes in
their prime, large and ripe. I had hung the
grapes in the sun to dry, and in a few days' time
went to fetch them, that I might lay up a store.
The vale, on the banks of which they grew, was
fresh and green, and a clear bright stream ran
through it, which gave so great a charm to the
spot, as to make me wish to live there.
But there was no view of the sea from this vale,
while from my house, no ships could come on my
side of the isle, and not be seen by me ; yet the
cool, soft banks were so sweet and new to me,
that much of my time was spent there.
IN SEARCH OF WOODS, SPRINGS AND CREEKS.
61
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
In the first of the three years in which I had
grown corn, I had sown it too late; in the next it
was spoilt by the drought; but the third year's
crop had sprung up well.
I found that the hares would lie in it night and
day, for which there was no cure but to plant a
thick hedge all round it; and this took me more
than three weeks to do. I shot the hares in the
day time; and when it grew dark, I made fast the
dog's chain to the gate, and there he stood to
bark all night.
In a short time the corn grew strong, and at
last ripe ; but, just as the hares had hurt it in the
blade, so now the birds ate it in the ear. At the
noise of my gun, whole flocks of them would fly
up; and at this rate I saw that there would be no
corn left; so I made up my mind to keep a look
out night and day. I hid by the side of a hedge,
and could see the birds sit on the trees and watch
and then come down, one by one, as at first.
Now each grain of wheat was, as it were, a
small loaf of bread to me. So the great thing was
to get rid of these birds. My plan was this: I
shot three, and hung them up like thieves, to scare
I FOUND A CREEK.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
all that came to the corn ; and from this time, as
long as the dead ones hung here, not a bird came
near. When the corn was ripe, I made a scythe
out of the swords from the ship, and got in my
crop.
Few of us think of the cost at which a loaf of
bread is made. Of course, there was no plow here
to turn up the earth, and no spade to dig it with, so
I made one with wood; but this was soon worn
out, and for want of a rake, I made use of the
bough of a tree. When I had got the corn home,
I had to thresh it, part the grain from the chaff,
and store it up. Then came the want of a mill to
grind it, of sieves to clean it, and of yeast to make
bread of it.
Still, my bread was made, though I had no
tools; and no one could say that I did not earn it
by the sweat of my brow. When the rain kept
me in doors, it was good fun to teach my pet bird
Poll to talk; but so mute were all things round
me, that the sound of my own voice made me
start.
My chief wants now were jars, pots, cups, and
plates, but I knew not how I could make them. At
'2
I SHOT SOME BIRDS.
V-w4
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
last I went in search of some clay, and found some
a mile from my house; but it was quite a joke to
see the queer shapes and forms that I made out
of it. For some of my pots and jars were too
weak to bear their own weight; and they would
fall out here, and in there, in all sorts of ways;
while some, when they were put in the sun to
bake, would crack with the heat of its rays. You
may guess what my joy was when at last a pot
was made which would stand the heat of the fire,
so that I could boil the meat for broth.
The next thing to be made was a sieve, to part
the grain from the husks. Goat's hair was of no
use to me, as I could not weave or spin ; so I
made a shift for two years, with a thin kind of stuff,
which I brought from the ship. But to grind the
corn with the stones was the worst of all, such hard
work did I find it. To bake the bread I burnt
some wood down to an ash, which I threw on the
hearth to heat it, and then set my loaves on the
hearth, and in this way my bread was made.
The next thing to turn my thoughts to was the
ship's boat, which lay on the high ridge of sand,
where it had been thrust by the storm which had
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
cast me on these shores. But it lay with the keel
to the sky, so I had to dig the sand from it, and
turn it up with the help of a pole. When I had
done this, I found it was all in vain, for I had not
WHAT ODD QUEER THINGS I MADE.
the strength to launch it. So all I could do now
was to make a boat of less size out of a tree; and
I found one that was just fit for it, which grew not
far from the shore, but I could no more stir this
than I could the ship's boat.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
What was to be done ? I first dug the ground
flat and smooth all the way from the boat to the
sea, so as to let it slide down ; but this plan did
not turn out well, so I thought I would try a new
way, which was to make a trench, so as to bring
the sea up to the boat, as the boat could not be
brought to the sea. But to do this, I must have
dug down to a great depth, which would take one
man some years to do. And when too late, I
found it was not wise to work out a scheme till I
first thought of the cost and toil.
"Well," thought I, "I must give up the boat,
and with it all my hopes to leave the isle. But I
have this to think of: I am lord of the whole isle;
in fact, a king. I have wood with which I might
build a fleet, and grapes, if not corn, to freight it
with, though all my wealth is but a few gold
coins." For these I had no sort of use, and could
have found it in my heart to give them all for a
peck of peas and some ink, which last I stood
much in need of. But it was best to dwell more
on what I had than on what I had not.
I now must needs try once more to build a boat,
but this time it was to have a mast, for which the
ROBINSON CRUSOSE.
ship's sails would be of great use. I made a
deck at each end to keep out the spray of the sea,
I MADE SOME CLOTHES.
a bin for my food, and a rest for my gun, with
a flap to screen it from the wet. More than
ROBINSON CRUSOB.
all, the boat was one of such a size that I could
launch it.
My first cruise was up and down the creek, but
soon I got bold, and made the whole round of my
isle. I took with me bread, cakes, and a pot full
of rice, some rum, half a goat, two great coats,
one of which was to lie on, and one to put on at
night. I set sail in the sixth year of my reign.
On the east side of the isle there was a large ridge
of rocks which lay two miles from the shore, and
a shoal of sand lay for half a mile from the rocks
to the beach. To get round to this point I had to
sail a great way out to sea; and here I all but
lost my life.
But I got back to my home at last. On my
way there, quite worn out with the toils of the
boat, I lay down in the shade to rest my limbs,
and slept. But judge, if you can, what a start I
gave when a voice woke me out of my sleep, and
spoke my name three times A voice in this wild
place To call me by name, too Then the voice
said, "Where are you? Where have you been?
How came you here ? But now I saw it all; for
at the top of the hedge sat Poll, who did but say the
ROBINVSON CRUtSO-P.
words she had been taught
by me.
I noi\, went in I sca rch of
some goatss, and laiI -.nares
ON THE COALS.
BROILED IT
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
for them, with rice for a bait. I had set the
traps in the night, and found they had all stood,
though the bait was all gone. 'So I thought of a
new way to take them, which was to make a pit
and lay sticks and grass on it, so as to hide it; and
in this way I caught an old goat and some kids.
But the old goat was much too fierce for me, so I
let him go.
I brought all the young ones home, and let
them fast a long time, till at last they fed from my
hand, and were quite tame. I kept them in a
kind of park, in which there were trees to screen
them from the sun. At first my park was three
miles round; but it struck me that, in so great a
space, the kids would soon get as wild as if they
had the range of the whole vale, and that it would
be as well to give them less room; so I had to
make a hedge, which took me three months to
plant. My park held a flock of twelve goats, and
in two years more there were more than two score.
My dog sat at meals with me, and one cat on
each side of me, on stools, and we had Poll to talk
to us. Now for a word or two as to the dress in
which I made a tour round the isle. I could but
I BROUGHT IT UP THE CREEK.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
think how droll it would look in the streets of the
town in which I was born. I wore a high cap of
goat's skin, with a flap that hung down, to keep
the sun and rain from my neck, a coat made from
the skin of a goat too, the skirts of which came
down to my hips, and the same on my legs, with
no shoes, but flaps of the fur round my shins. I
had a broad belt of the same round my waist,
which drew on with two thongs; and from it, on
my right side, hung a saw and an axe; and on
my left side a pouch for the shot. My beard had
not been cut since I came here. But no more
need be said of my looks, for there were few
to see me.
A strange sight was now in store for me, which
was to change the whole course of my life in the
isle.
One day at noon, while on a stroll down to a
part of the shore that was new to me, what should
I see on the sand but the print of a man's foot! I
felt as if I was bound by a spell, and could not
stir from the spot.
By-and-by, I stole a look round me, but no
one was in sight. What could this mean ? I
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
went three or four times to look at it. There it
was-the print of a man's foot; toes, heel, and
all the parts of a foot. How could it have come
there ?
MY EVENING'S WORK.
My head swam with fear; and as I left the spot,
I made two or three steps, and then took a look
around me; then two steps more, and did the
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
same thing. I took fright at the stump of an old
tree, and ran to my house, as if for my life. How
could aught in the shape of a man come to that
shore, and I not to know it ? Where was the ship
that brought him? Then a vague dread took
hold of my mind, that some man, or set of men,
had found me out; and it might be that they
meant to kill me, or rob me of all I had,
How strange a thing is the life of man! One
day we love that, which the next day we hate.
One day we seek what the next day we shun.
One day we long for the thing which the next
day we fear; and so we go on. Now, from the
time that I was cast on this isle, my great source
of grief was that I should be thus cut off from the
rest of my race. Why, then, should the thought
that a man might be near give me all this pain ?
Nay, why should the mere sight of the print of a
man's foot make me quake with fear? It seems
most strange, yet not more strange than true.
Once it struck me that it might be the print of
my own foot, when first the storm cast me on
these shores. Could I have come this way from
the boat? Should it in truth turn out to be the
S76
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
print of my own foot, I should be like a boy who
tells of a ghost, and feels more fright at his own
tale than those do whom he meant to scare.
HOW LIKE A KING I DINED.
Fear kept me in doors for three days, till the
want of food drove me out. At last I was so bold
ROBINSON CR USOE.
as to go down to the coast to look once more
at the print of the foot, to see if it was the same
shape as my own. I found it was not so large by
a great deal; so it was clear there were men in
the isle. Just at this time my good watch dog
fell down dead at my feet. He was old and
worn out, and in him I lost my best guard and
friend.
One day as I went from the hill to the coast, a
scene lay in front of me which made me sick at
heart. The spot was spread with the bones of
men. There was a round place dug in the earth,
where a fire had been made, and here some men
had come to feast. Now that I had seen this
sight, I knew not how to act; I kept close to my
home, and would scarce stir from it save to milk
my flock of goats.
To feel safe was now more to me than to be
well fed; and I did not care to drive a nail, or
chop a stick of wood, lest the sound of it should
be heard, much less would I fire a gun. As to
my bread and meat, I had to bake it at night
when the smoke could not be seen. But I soon
found the way to burn wood with turf at the top
'C-. -
-4
A PLACE WHERE A FIRE HAD BEEN MADE.
-7
i7
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
of it, which made it like chark or dry coal; and
this I could use by day, as it had no smoke.
I found in the wood where I went to get the
sticks for my fire, a cave so large that I could
stand in it; but I made more haste to get out
than in ; for two large eyes, as bright as stars,
shone out from it with a fierce glare. I took a
torch, and went to see what they could be, and
found that there was no cause for fear; for the
eyes were those of an old gray goat, which had
gone there to die of old age. I gave him a push,
to try to get him out of the cave, but he could not
rise from the ground where he lay; so I left him
there to die, as I could not save his life.
I found the width of the cave was twelve feet;
but part of it, near the end, was so low that I had
to creep on my hands and feet to go in. What
the length of it was I could not tell, for my light
went out, and I had to give up my search. The
next day I went to the cave with large lights made
of goat's fat; and when I got to the end, I found
that the roof rose to two score feet or more.
As my lights shone on the walls and roof of the
cave, a sight burst on my view, the charms of
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
which no tongue could tell; for the walls shone
like stars. What was in the rock to cause this
it was hard to say; they might be gems, or bright
stones, or gold. But let them be what they may,
this cave was a mine of wealth to me; for at such
time as I felt dull or sad, the bright scene would
flash on my mind's eye and fill it with joy.
All these years had gone by, with no new sight
to rest my eyes on, till this scene burst on them.
I felt as if I should like to spend the rest of my
life here, and at its close lie down to die in this
cave, like the old goat.
As I went home I was struck by the sight of some
smoke, which came from a fire no more than two
miles off. From this time I lost all my peace of
mind. Day and night a dread would haunt me
that the men who had made this fire would find
me out. I went home and drew up my steps, but
first I made all things round me look wild and
rude. To load my gun was the next thing to do,
and I thought it would be best to stay at home
and hide.
But this was not to be borne long. I had no
spy to send out, and all I could do was to get to
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
the top of the hill and keep a good look-out. At
last, through my glass, I could see a group of
wild men join in a dance round their fire. As
soon as they had left I took two guns, and slung
a sword on my side; then with all speed I set off to
the top of the hill, once more to have a good view.
This time I made up my mind to go up to the
men, but not with a view to kill them, for I felt
that it would be wrong to do so. With such a
load of arms it took me two hours to reach the
spot where the fire was ; and by the time I got
there the men had all gone; but I saw them in
four boats out at sea.
Down on the shore, there was a proof of what
the work of these men had been. The signs of
their feast made me sick at heart, and I shut my
eyes. I durst not fire my gun when I went out for
food on that side the isle, lest there should be some
of the men left, who might hear it, and so find me
out. This state of things went on for a year and
three months, and for all that time I saw no more
men.
On the twelfth of May, a great storm of wind
blew all day and night. As it was dark, I sat in
TO SEE IF I COULD TRACE ANY
BOATS.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
my house; and in the midst of the gale, I heard
a gun fire! My guess was that it must have been
from some ship cast on shore by the storm. So
I set a light to some wdod on top of the hill, that
those in the ship if ship it should be, might know
that some one was there to aid them. I then
heard two more guns fire. When it was light, I
went to the south side of the isle and there lay
the wreck of a ship, cast on the rocks in the night
by the storm. She was too far off for me to see
if there were men on board.
Words cannot tell how much I did long to bring
but one of the ship's crew to the shore So strong
was my wish to save the life of those on board,
that I could have laid down my own life to do so.
There are some springs in the heart which when
hope stirs them, drive the soul on with such a
force, that to lose all chance of the thing one hopes
for would seem to make one mad; and thus was
it with me.
Now, I thought, was time to use my boat; so I
set to work at once to fit it out. I took on board
some rum (of which I still had a good deal left),
some dry grapes, a bag of rice, some goat's milk,
ROBINSON CRUSOE. 85
and cheese, and then put out to sea. A dread
came on me at the thought of the risk I had run
on the same rocks; but my heart did not quite
THE CORPSE OF A DROWNED BOY.
fail me, though I knew that as my boat was small,
if a gale of wind should spring up all would be
lost. Then I found that I must go back to the
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
shore till the tide should turn, and the ebb
come on.
I made up my mind to go out the next day with
the high tide, so I slept that night in my boat.
At dawn I set out to sea, and in less than two
hours I came up to the wreck. What a scene
was there! The ship had struck on two rocks.
The stern was torn by the force of the waves, the
masts were swept off, ropes and chains lay strewn
on the deck, and all was wrapt in gloom. As I
came up to the wreck, a dog swam to me with a
yelp and a whine. I took him on board my boat,
and when I gave him some bread, he ate it like a
wolf, and as to drink, he would have burst if I
had let him take his fill of it.
I went to the cook's room, where I found two
men, but they were both dead. The tongue was
mute, the ear was deaf, the eye was shut, and the
lip was stiff; still the sad tale was told, for each
had his arm round his friend's neck, and so they
must have sat to wait for death. What a change
had come on the scene, once so wild with the lash
of the waves and the roar of the wind! All was
calm now-death had done its work, and all had
A -**
z
VA H
17"
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
felt its stroke, save the dog, and he was the one
thing that still had life.
I thought the ship must have come from Spain,
and there was much gold on board. I took some
of the chests and put them in my boat, but did
not wait to see what they held, and with this spoil,
and three casks of rum, I came back.
I found all things at home just as I had left
them-my goats, my cats, and my bird. The
scene in the cook's room was in my mind day and
night, and to cheer me up I drank some of the
rum. I then set to work to bring my freight from
the shore, where I had left it. In the chests there
were two great bags of gold and some bars of the
same, and near these lay three small flasks and
three bags of shot, which were a great prize.
From this time all went well with me for two
years ; but it was not to last. One day, as I stood
on the hill, I saw six boats on the shore. What
could this mean ? Where were the men who had
brought them? And what had they come for?
I saw through my glass that there were a score
and a half at least on the east side of the isle.
They had meat on the fire, round which I could
t
I
.1 -;
^ C-.w-
I' .
tspf
-17 r
THE DANCE ROUND THE FIRE.
* -.^
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
see them dance. They then took a man from one
of the boats, who was bound hand and foot; but
when they came to loose his bonds, he set off as
fast as his feet would take him, and in a straight
line to my house.
To tell the truth, when I saw all the rest of the
men run to catch him my hair stood on end with
fright. In the creek he swam like a fish, and the
plunge which he took brought him through it in
a few strokes. All the men now gave up the
chase but two, and they swam through the creek,
but by no means so fast as the slave had done.
Now, I thought, was the time for me to help the
poor man, and my heart told me it would be right
to do so. I ran down my steps with my two guns,
and went with all speed up the hill, and then down
by a short cut to meet them.
I gave a sign to the poor slave to come to me,
and at the same time went up to meet the two
men who were in chase of him. I made a rush
at the first of these, to knock him down with the
stock of my gun, and he fell. I saw the one who
was left aim at me with his bow, so, to save my
life, I shot him dead.
pp~
j.1
I WAS THEN FORCED TO SHOOT.
Mv Y"
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
The smoke and noise from my gun gave the
poor slave who had been bound such a shock that
he stood still on the spot, as if he had been in a
trance. I gave a loud shout for him to come to
me, and I took care to show him that I was a
friend, and made all the signs I could think of to
coax him up to me. At length he came, knelt
down to kiss the ground, and then took hold of
my foot and set it on his head. All this meant
that he was my slave; and I bade him rise and
made much of him.
But there was more work to be done yet, for
the man who had had the blow from my gun was
not dead. I made a sign for my slave (as I shall
now call him) to look at him. At this he spoke
to me, and though I could not make out what he
said, yet it gave me a shock of joy ; for it was the
first sound of a man's voice that I had heard for
all the years I had been on the isle.
The man whom I had struck with the stock of
my gun sat up, and my slave, who was in great
fear of him, made signs for me to lend him my
sword, which hung in a belt at my side. With
this he ran up to the man, and with one stroke
AT ONE BLOW CUT OFF HIS HEAD.
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
cut off his head. When he had done this he
brought me back my sword with a laugh and put
it down in front of me. I did not like- to see the
glee with which he did it, and I did not feel that
my own life was quite safe with such a man.
He, in his turn, could but lift up his large brown
hands with awe to think that I had put his foe to
death while I stood so far from him. But as to
the sword, he and the rest of his tribe made use
of swords of wood, and this was why he knew so
well how to wield mine. He made signs to me
to let him go and see the man who had been shot;
and he gave him a turn round, first on this side,
then on that, and when he saw the wound made
in the breast by the shot, he stood quite still once
more, as if he had lost his wits. I made signs for
him to come back, for my fears told me that the rest
of the men might come in search of their friends.
I did not like to take my slave to my house,
nor to my cave; so I threw down some straw
from the rice plant for him to sleep on, and gave
him some bread and a bunch of dry grapes to eat.
He was a fine man, with straight, strong limbs,
tall and young. His hair was thick, like wool, and
I TALK WITH FRIDAY
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
black. His head was large and high, and he had
bright black eyes. He was of a dark brown hue;
his face was round and his nose small, but not
flat; he had a good mouth with thin lips, with
which he could give a soft smile; and his teeth
were as white as snow.
I had been to milk my goats in the field close
by, and when he saw me he ran to me and lay
down on the ground to show me his thanks. He
then put his head on the ground and set my foot on
his head, as he had done at first. He took all the
means he could think of to let me know that he
would serve me all his life; and I gave a sign to
show that I thought well of him.
The next thing was to think of some name to
call him by. I chose that of the sixth day of the
week (Friday), as he came to me on that day. I
took care not to lose sight of him all that night,
and when the sun rose I made signs. for him to
come to me that I might give him some clothes,
for he wore none. We then went up to the top
of the hill to look out for the men', but as we could
not see them or their boats, it was clear that they
had left the isle.
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