part of the world. I spent great part of this day in perplexing
myself on these things; but at length, seeing the ship almost
dry, I went upon the sand as near as I could, and then swam
on board. This day also it continued raining, though with
no wind at all.
FROM THE 1ST OF OCTOBER TO THE 24TH. - All
these days entirely spent in many several voyages to get all
I could out of the ship, which I brought on shore every tide
of flood upon rafts. Much rain also in the days, though with
some intervals of fair weather; but it seems this was the
rainy season.
OCT. 20. - I overset my raft, and all the goods I had
got upon it; but, being in shoal water, and the things be-
ing chiefly heavy, I recovered many of them when the tide
was out.
OCT. 25. - It rained all night and all day, with some gusts
of wind; during which time the ship broke in pieces, the
wind blowing a little harder than before, and was no more
to be seen, except the wreck of her, and that only at low
water. I spent this day in covering and securing the goods
which I had saved, that the rain might not spoil them.
OCT. 26. - I walked about the shore almost all day, to
find out a place to fix my habitation, greatly concerned to
secure myself from any attack in the night, either from wild
beasts or men. Towards night, I fixed upon a proper place,
under a rock, and marked out a semicircle for my encamp-
1
Free eBooks at
Planet eBook.com
ment; which I resolved to strengthen with a work, wall, or
fortification, made of double piles, lined within with cables,
and without with turf.
From the 26th to the 30th I worked very hard in carrying
all my goods to my new habitation, though some part of the
time it rained exceedingly hard.
The 31st, in the morning, I went out into the island with
my gun, to seek for some food, and discover the country;
when I killed a she-goat, and her kid followed me home,
which I afterwards killed also, because it would not feed.
NOVEMBER 1. - I set up my tent under a rock, and lay
there for the first night; making it as large as I could, with
stakes driven in to swing my hammock upon.
NOV. 2. - I set up all my chests and boards, and the piec-
es of timber which made my rafts, and with them formed a
fence round me, a little within the place I had marked out
for my fortification.
NOV. 3. - I went out with my gun, and killed two fowls
like ducks, which were very good food. In the afternoon
went to work to make me a table.
NOV. 4. - This morning I began to order my times of
work, of going out with my gun, time of sleep, and time of
diversion - viz. every morning I walked out with my gun
for two or three hours, if it did not rain; then employed my-
self to work till about eleven o’clock; then eat what I had
to live on; and from twelve to two I lay down to sleep, the
weather being excessively hot; and then, in the evening, to
work again. The working part of this day and of the next
were wholly employed in making my table, for I was yet but
Robinson Crusoe
a very sorry workman, though time and necessity made me
a complete natural mechanic soon after, as I believe they
would do any one else.
NOV. 5. - This day went abroad with my gun and my
dog, and killed a wild cat; her skin pretty soft, but her flesh
good for nothing; every creature that I killed I took of the
skins and preserved them. Coming back by the sea-shore, I
saw many sorts of sea-fowls, which I did not understand;
but was surprised, and almost frightened, with two or three
seals, which, while I was gazing at, not well knowing what
they were, got into the sea, and escaped me for that time.
NOV. 6. - After my morning walk I went to work with
my table again, and finished it, though not to my liking; nor
was it long before I learned to mend it.
NOV. 7. - Now it began to be settled fair weather. The 7th,
8th, 9th, 10th, and part of the 12th (for the 11th was Sunday)
I took wholly up to make me a chair, and with much ado
brought it to a tolerable shape, but never to please me; and
even in the making I pulled it in pieces several times.
NOTE. - I soon neglected my keeping Sundays; for,
omitting my mark for them on my post, I forgot which was
which.
NOV. 13. - This day it rained, which refreshed me ex-
ceedingly, and cooled the earth; but it was accompanied
with terrible thunder and lightning, which frightened me
dreadfully, for fear of my powder. As soon as it was over, I
resolved to separate my stock of powder into as many little
parcels as possible, that it might not be in danger.
NOV. 14, 15, 16. - These three days I spent in making lit-
Free eBooks at
Planet eBook.com
tle square chests, or boxes, which might hold about a pound,
or two pounds at most, of powder; and so, putting the pow-
der in, I stowed it in places as secure and remote from one
another as possible. On one of these three days I killed a
large bird that was good to eat, but I knew not what to call
it.
NOV. 17. - This day I began to dig behind my tent into
the rock, to make room for my further conveniency.
NOTE. - Three things I wanted exceedingly for this work
- viz. a pickaxe, a shovel, and a wheelbarrow or basket; so I
desisted from my work, and began to consider how to sup-
ply that want, and make me some tools. As for the pickaxe,
I made use of the iron crows, which were proper enough,
though heavy; but the next thing was a shovel or spade; this
was so absolutely necessary, that, indeed, I could do noth-
ing effectually without it; but what kind of one to make I
knew not.
NOV. 18. - The next day, in searching the woods, I found
a tree of that wood, or like it, which in the Brazils they call
the iron- tree, for its exceeding hardness. Of this, with
great labour, and almost spoiling my axe, I cut a piece, and
brought it home, too, with difficulty enough, for it was ex-
ceeding heavy. The excessive hardness of the wood, and my
having no other way, made me a long while upon this ma-
chine, for I worked it effectually by little and little into the
form of a shovel or spade; the handle exactly shaped like
ours in England, only that the board part having no iron
shod upon it at bottom, it would not last me so long; how-
ever, it served well enough for the uses which I had occasion
Robinson Crusoe
to put it to; but never was a shovel, I believe, made after that
fashion, or so long in making.
I was still deficient, for I wanted a basket or a wheelbar-
row. A basket I could not make by any means, having no
such things as twigs that would bend to make wicker-ware
- at least, none yet found out; and as to a wheelbarrow, I fan-
cied I could make all but the wheel; but that I had no notion
of; neither did I know how to go about it; besides, I had no
possible way to make the iron gudgeons for the spindle or
axis of the wheel to run in; so I gave it over, and so, for car-
rying away the earth which I dug out of the cave, I made me
a thing like a hod which the labourers carry mortar in when
they serve the bricklayers. This was not so difficult to me as
the making the shovel: and yet this and the shovel, and the
attempt which I made in vain to make a wheelbarrow, took
me up no less than four days - I mean always excepting my
morning walk with my gun, which I seldom failed, and very
seldom failed also bringing home something fit to eat.
NOV. 23. - My other work having now stood still, be-
cause of my making these tools, when they were finished I
went on, and working every day, as my strength and time
allowed, I spent eighteen days entirely in widening and
deepening my cave, that it might hold my goods commo-
diously.
NOTE. - During all this time I worked to make this room
or cave spacious enough to accommodate me as a ware-
house or magazine, a kitchen, a dining-room, and a cellar.
As for my lodging, I kept to the tent; except that sometimes,
in the wet season of the year, it rained so hard that I could
Free eBooks at
Planet eBook.com
not keep myself dry, which caused me afterwards to cover
all my place within my pale with long poles, in the form of
rafters, leaning against the rock, and load them with flags
and large leaves of trees, like a thatch.
DECEMBER 10. - I began now to think my cave or vault
finished, when on a sudden (it seems I had made it too large)
a great quantity of earth fell down from the top on one side;
so much that, in short, it frighted me, and not without rea-
son, too, for if I had been under it, I had never wanted a
gravedigger. I had now a great deal of work to do over again,
for I had the loose earth to carry out; and, which was of
more importance, I had the ceiling to prop up, so that I
might be sure no more would come down.
DEC. 11. - This day I went to work with it according-
ly, and got two shores or posts pitched upright to the top,
with two pieces of boards across over each post; this I fin-
ished the next day; and setting more posts up with boards,
in about a week more I had the roof secured, and the posts,
standing in rows, served me for partitions to part off the
house.
DEC. 17. - From this day to the 20th I placed shelves,
and knocked up nails on the posts, to hang everything up
that could be hung up; and now I began to be in some order
within doors.
DEC. 20. - Now I carried everything into the cave, and
began to furnish my house, and set up some pieces of boards
like a dresser, to order my victuals upon; but boards began
to be very scarce with me; also, I made me another table.
DEC. 24. - Much rain all night and all day. No stirring
Robinson Crusoe
out.
DEC. 25. - Rain all day.
DEC. 26. - No rain, and the earth much cooler than be-
fore, and pleasanter.
DEC. 27. - Killed a young goat, and lamed another, so
that I caught it and led it home in a string; when I had it at
home, I bound and splintered up its leg, which was broke.
N.B. - I took such care of it that it lived, and the leg grew
well and as strong as ever; but, by my nursing it so long, it
grew tame, and fed upon the little green at my door, and
would not go away. This was the first time that I entertained
a thought of breeding up some tame creatures, that I might
have food when my powder and shot was all spent.
DEC. 28,29,30,31. - Great heats, and no breeze, so that
there was no stirring abroad, except in the evening, for
food; this time I spent in putting all my things in order
within doors.
JANUARY 1. - Very hot still: but I went abroad early and
late with my gun, and lay still in the middle of the day. This
evening, going farther into the valleys which lay towards
the centre of the island, I found there were plenty of goats,
though exceedingly shy, and hard to come at; however, I
resolved to try if I could not bring my dog to hunt them
down.
JAN. 2. - Accordingly, the next day I went out with my
dog, and set him upon the goats, but I was mistaken, for
they all faced about upon the dog, and he knew his danger
too well, for he would not come near them.
JAN. 3. - I began my fence or wall; which, being still jeal-
Free eBooks at
Planet eBook.com
ous of my being attacked by somebody, I resolved to make
very thick and strong.
N.B. - This wall being described before, I purposely omit
what was said in the journal; it is sufficient to observe, that I
was no less time than from the 2nd of January to the 14th of
April working, finishing, and perfecting this wall, though
it was no more than about twenty-four yards in length, be-
ing a half-circle from one place in the rock to another place,
about eight yards from it, the door of the cave being in the
centre behind it.
All this time I worked very hard, the rains hindering me
many days, nay, sometimes weeks together; but I thought I
should never be perfectly secure till this wall was finished;
and it is scarce credible what inexpressible labour every-
thing was done with, especially the bringing piles out of the
woods and driving them into the ground; for I made them
much bigger than I needed to have done.
When this wall was finished, and the outside double
fenced, with a turf wall raised up close to it, I perceived
myself that if any people were to come on shore there, they
would not perceive anything like a habitation; and it was
very well I did so, as may be observed hereafter, upon a very
remarkable occasion.
During this time I made my rounds in the woods for
game every day when the rain permitted me, and made fre-
quent discoveries in these walks of something or other to
my advantage; particularly, I found a kind of wild pigeons,
which build, not as wood-pigeons in a tree, but rather as
house-pigeons, in the holes of the rocks; and taking some
Robinson Crusoe
young ones, I endeavoured to breed them up tame, and did
so; but when they grew older they flew away, which perhaps
was at first for want of feeding them, for I had nothing to
give them; however, I frequently found their nests, and got
their young ones, which were very good meat. And now, in
the managing my household affairs, I found myself wanting
in many things, which I thought at first it was impossible
for me to make; as, indeed, with some of them it was: for in-
stance, I could never make a cask to be hooped. I had a small
runlet or two, as I observed before; but I could never arrive
at the capacity of making one by them, though I spent many
weeks about it; I could neither put in the heads, or join the
staves so true to one another as to make them hold water;
so I gave that also over. In the next place, I was at a great
loss for candles; so that as soon as ever it was dark, which
was generally by seven o’clock, I was obliged to go to bed. I
remembered the lump of beeswax with which I made can-
dles in my African adventure; but I had none of that now;
the only remedy I had was, that when I had killed a goat I
saved the tallow, and with a little dish made of clay, which I
baked in the sun, to which I added a wick of some oakum, I
made me a lamp; and this gave me light, though not a clear,
steady light, like a candle. In the middle of all my labours it
happened that, rummaging my things, I found a little bag
which, as I hinted before, had been filled with corn for the
feeding of poultry - not for this voyage, but before, as I sup-
pose, when the ship came from Lisbon. The little remainder
of corn that had been in the bag was all devoured by the rats,
and I saw nothing in the bag but husks and dust; and being
Free eBooks at
Planet eBook.com
willing to have the bag for some other use (I think it was to
put powder in, when I divided it for fear of the lightning, or
some such use), I shook the husks of corn out of it on one
side of my fortification, under the rock.
It was a little before the great rains just now mentioned
that I threw this stuff away, taking no notice, and not so
much as remembering that I had thrown anything there,
when, about a month after, or thereabouts, I saw some
few stalks of something green shooting out of the ground,
which I fancied might be some plant I had not seen; but I
was surprised, and perfectly astonished, when, after a little
longer time, I saw about ten or twelve ears come out, which
were perfect green barley, of the same kind as our European
- nay, as our English barley.
It is impossible to express the astonishment and confu-
sion of my thoughts on this occasion. I had hitherto acted
upon no religious foundation at all; indeed, I had very few
notions of religion in my head, nor had entertained any
sense of anything that had befallen me otherwise than as
chance, or, as we lightly say, what pleases God, without
so much as inquiring into the end of Providence in these
things, or His order in governing events for the world. But
after I saw barley grow there, in a climate which I knew was
not proper for corn, and especially that I knew not how it
came there, it startled me strangely, and I began to suggest
that God had miraculously caused His grain to grow with-
out any help of seed sown, and that it was so directed purely
for my sustenance on that wild, miserable place.
This touched my heart a little, and brought tears out of
Robinson Crusoe
100
my eyes, and I began to bless myself that such a prodigy
of nature should happen upon my account; and this was
the more strange to me, because I saw near it still, all along
by the side of the rock, some other straggling stalks, which
proved to be stalks of rice, and which I knew, because I had
seen it grow in Africa when I was ashore there.
I not only thought these the pure productions of Provi-
dence for my support, but not doubting that there was more
in the place, I went all over that part of the island, where I
had been before, peering in every corner, and under every
rock, to see for more of it, but I could not find any. At last
it occurred to my thoughts that I shook a bag of chickens’
meat out in that place; and then the wonder began to cease;
and I must confess my religious thankfulness to God’s
providence began to abate, too, upon the discovering that
all this was nothing but what was common; though I ought
to have been as thankful for so strange and unforeseen a
providence as if it had been miraculous; for it was really the
work of Providence to me, that should order or appoint that
ten or twelve grains of corn should remain unspoiled, when
the rats had destroyed all the rest, as if it had been dropped
from heaven; as also, that I should throw it out in that par-
ticular place, where, it being in the shade of a high rock,
it sprang up immediately; whereas, if I had thrown it any-
where else at that time, it had been burnt up and destroyed.
I carefully saved the ears of this corn, you may be sure,
in their season, which was about the end of June; and, lay-
ing up every corn, I resolved to sow them all again, hoping
in time to have some quantity sufficient to supply me with
101
Free eBooks at
Planet eBook.com
bread. But it was not till the fourth year that I could allow
myself the least grain of this corn to eat, and even then but
sparingly, as I shall say afterwards, in its order; for I lost
all that I sowed the first season by not observing the prop-
er time; for I sowed it just before the dry season, so that it
never came up at all, at least not as it would have done; of
which in its place.
Besides this barley, there were, as above, twenty or thirty
stalks of rice, which I preserved with the same care and for
the same use, or to the same purpose - to make me bread,
or rather food; for I found ways to cook it without baking,
though I did that also after some time.
But to return to my Journal.
I worked excessive hard these three or four months to get
my wall done; and the 14th of April I closed it up, contriv-
ing to go into it, not by a door but over the wall, by a ladder,
that there might be no sign on the outside of my habitation.
APRIL 16. - I finished the ladder; so I went up the ladder
to the top, and then pulled it up after me, and let it down in
the inside. This was a complete enclosure to me; for within
I had room enough, and nothing could come at me from
without, unless it could first mount my wall.
The very next day after this wall was finished I had almost
had all my labour overthrown at once, and myself killed.
The case was thus: As I was busy in the inside, behind my
tent, just at the entrance into my cave, I was terribly fright-
ed with a most dreadful, surprising thing indeed; for all on
a sudden I found the earth come crumbling down from the
roof of my cave, and from the edge of the hill over my head,
Robinson Crusoe
10
and two of the posts I had set up in the cave cracked in a
frightful manner. I was heartily scared; but thought nothing
of what was really the cause, only thinking that the top of
my cave was fallen in, as some of it had done before: and for
fear I should be buried in it I ran forward to my ladder, and
not thinking myself safe there neither, I got over my wall
for fear of the pieces of the hill, which I expected might roll
down upon me. I had no sooner stepped do ground, than
I plainly saw it was a terrible earthquake, for the ground
I stood on shook three times at about eight minutes’ dis-
tance, with three such shocks as would have overturned the
strongest building that could be supposed to have stood on
the earth; and a great piece of the top of a rock which stood
about half a mile from me next the sea fell down with such
a terrible noise as I never heard in all my life. I perceived
also the very sea was put into violent motion by it; and I
believe the shocks were stronger under the water than on
the island.
I was so much amazed with the thing itself, having never
felt the like, nor discoursed with any one that had, that I
was like one dead or stupefied; and the motion of the earth
made my stomach sick, like one that was tossed at sea; but
the noise of the falling of the rock awakened me, as it were,
and rousing me from the stupefied condition I was in, filled
me with horror; and I thought of nothing then but the
hill falling upon my tent and all my household goods, and
burying all at once; and this sunk my very soul within me
a second time.
After the third shock was over, and I felt no more for
10
Free eBooks at
Planet eBook.com
some time, I began to take courage; and yet I had not heart
enough to go over my wall again, for fear of being buried
alive, but sat still upon the ground greatly cast down and
disconsolate, not knowing what to do. All this while I had
not the least serious religious thought; nothing but the
common ‘Lord have mercy upon me!’ and when it was over
that went away too.
While I sat thus, I found the air overcast and grow
cloudy, as if it would rain. Soon after that the wind arose
by little and little, so that in less than half-an-hour it blew
a most dreadful hurricane; the sea was all on a sudden cov-
ered over with foam and froth; the shore was covered with
the breach of the water, the trees were torn up by the roots,
and a terrible storm it was. This held about three hours, and
then began to abate; and in two hours more it was quite
calm, and began to rain very hard. All this while I sat upon
the ground very much terrified and dejected; when on a
sudden it came into my thoughts, that these winds and rain
being the consequences of the earthquake, the earthquake
itself was spent and over, and I might venture into my cave
again. With this thought my spirits began to revive; and the
rain also helping to persuade me, I went in and sat down in
my tent. But the rain was so violent that my tent was ready
to be beaten down with it; and I was forced to go into my
cave, though very much afraid and uneasy, for fear it should
fall on my head. This violent rain forced me to a new work
- viz. to cut a hole through my new fortification, like a sink,
to let the water go out, which would else have flooded my
cave. After I had been in my cave for some time, and found
Robinson Crusoe
10
still no more shocks of the earthquake follow, I began to
be more composed. And now, to support my spirits, which
indeed wanted it very much, I went to my little store, and
took a small sup of rum; which, however, I did then and al-
ways very sparingly, knowing I could have no more when
that was gone. It continued raining all that night and great
Dostları ilə paylaş: |