Latest / Classic Adventure Books - Daily / 03 - The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe

Transcript

03 - The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

0:00
Speaker 1: Chapter three, fight with cannibals, but not to crowd this
0:05
Speaker 1: part with an account of the lesser part of the
0:07
Speaker 1: rogueries with which they plagued them continually night and day.
0:11
Speaker 1: It forced the two men to such a desperation that
0:14
Speaker 1: they resolved to fight them all three the first time
0:17
Speaker 1: they had a fair opportunity. In order to do this,
0:20
Speaker 1: they resolved to go to the castle, as they called
0:23
Speaker 1: my old dwelling, where the three rogues and the Spaniards
0:26
Speaker 1: all lived together at that time, intending to have a
0:29
Speaker 1: fair battle and the Spaniards should stand by to see
0:33
Speaker 1: fair play. So they got up in the morning before
0:36
Speaker 1: day and came to the place and called the Englishmen
0:39
Speaker 1: by their names, telling a Spaniard that answered that they
0:42
Speaker 1: wanted to speak with them. It happened that the day
0:46
Speaker 1: before two of the Spaniards, having been in the woods,
0:49
Speaker 1: had seen one of the two Englishmen, whom for distinction
0:52
Speaker 1: I called the honest men, and he had made a
0:55
Speaker 1: sad complaint to the Spaniards of the barbarous usage they
0:59
Speaker 1: had met with from d their three countrymen, and how
1:02
Speaker 1: they had ruined the plantation and destroyed their corn that
1:05
Speaker 1: they had labored so hard to bring forward and killed
1:08
Speaker 1: the milch goat and their three kids, which was all
1:11
Speaker 1: they had provided for their sustenance, and that if he
1:14
Speaker 1: and his friends, meaning the Spaniards, did not assist them again,
1:18
Speaker 1: they should be starved. When the Spaniards came home at
1:21
Speaker 1: night and they were all at supper, one of them
1:24
Speaker 1: took the freedom to reprove the three Englishmen, though in
1:27
Speaker 1: very gentle and mannerly terms, and asked them how they
1:31
Speaker 1: could be so cruel, they being harmless inoffensive fellows, that
1:35
Speaker 1: they were putting themselves in a way to subsist by
1:38
Speaker 1: their labor, and that it had cost them a great
1:40
Speaker 1: deal of pains to bring things to such perfection as
1:43
Speaker 1: they were then in. One of the Englishmen returned, very briskly,
1:47
Speaker 1: what had they to do there? That they came on
1:50
Speaker 1: shore without leave? And that they should not plant or
1:53
Speaker 1: build upon the island. It was none of their ground way,
1:57
Speaker 1: says the Spaniard, very calmly, signor inglaize they must not starve.
2:01
Speaker 1: The Englishman replied, like a rough tarpaulin, they might starve.
2:05
Speaker 1: They should not plant nor build in that place. But
2:08
Speaker 1: what must they do then, signor, said the Spaniard. Another
2:12
Speaker 1: of the brutes returned, do they should be servants and
2:16
Speaker 1: work for them? But how can you expect that of them,
2:19
Speaker 1: says the Spaniard. They are not bought with your money.
2:22
Speaker 1: You have no right to make them servants. The Englishman answered,
2:26
Speaker 1: the island was theirs. The governor had given it to them,
2:29
Speaker 1: and no man had anything to do there but themselves.
2:33
Speaker 1: And with that he swore that he would go and
2:35
Speaker 1: burn all their new huts. They should build none upon
2:38
Speaker 1: their land. Why, signor, says the Spaniard, by the same rule,
2:43
Speaker 1: we must be your servants too, ay, returned the bold dog.
2:47
Speaker 1: And so you shall too, before we have done with you,
2:51
Speaker 1: mixing two or three oaths in the proper intervals of
2:54
Speaker 1: his speech. The Spaniard only smiled at that and made
2:57
Speaker 1: him no answer. However, this discourse had heated them, and
3:02
Speaker 1: starting up, one says to the other, I think it
3:04
Speaker 1: was he, they called will Atkins, come Jack, let's go
3:08
Speaker 1: and have other brush with them. We're demolished that castle.
3:12
Speaker 1: I'll warrant you they shall plant no colony in our dominions.
3:17
Speaker 1: Upon this, they were all trooping away, with every man
3:19
Speaker 1: a gun, a pistol and a sword, and muttered some
3:23
Speaker 1: insolent things among themselves of what they would do to
3:26
Speaker 1: the Spaniards too, when opportunity offered. But the Spaniards, it seems,
3:30
Speaker 1: did not so perfectly understand them as to know all
3:33
Speaker 1: the particulars, only that in general they threatened them hard
3:37
Speaker 1: for taking the two englishmen's part. Whither they went or
3:41
Speaker 1: how they bestowed their time that evening, the Spaniards said
3:45
Speaker 1: they did not know, But it seems they wandered about
3:48
Speaker 1: the country part of the night, and then lying down
3:51
Speaker 1: in the place which I used to call my bower,
3:53
Speaker 1: they were weary and overslept themselves. The case was this,
3:57
Speaker 1: they had resolved to stay till midnight and so take
4:00
Speaker 1: the two poor men when they were asleep, and as
4:03
Speaker 1: they acknowledged afterwards, intended to set fire to their huts
4:07
Speaker 1: while they were in them, and either burned them there
4:10
Speaker 1: or murder them as they came out. As malice seldom
4:13
Speaker 1: sleeps very sound, it was very strange they should not
4:16
Speaker 1: have been kept awake, however, as the two men had
4:20
Speaker 1: also a design upon them, as I have said, though
4:23
Speaker 1: a much fairer one than that of burning and murdering.
4:26
Speaker 1: It happened, and very luckily for them all that they
4:30
Speaker 1: were up and gone abroad before the bloody minded rogues
4:33
Speaker 1: came to their huts. When they came there and found
4:37
Speaker 1: the men gone, Atkins, who it seems was the forwardest man,
4:41
Speaker 1: called out to his comrade, ha Jack, he is the nest,
4:44
Speaker 1: But the birds are flown. They mused awhile to think
4:48
Speaker 1: what should be the occasion of their being gone abroad
4:51
Speaker 1: so soon, and suggested presently that the Spaniards had given
4:55
Speaker 1: them notice of it. And with that they shook hands
4:58
Speaker 1: and swore to one another that they would be revenged
5:00
Speaker 1: of the Spaniards. As soon as they had made this
5:03
Speaker 1: bloody bargain, they fell to work with the poor men's habitation.
5:07
Speaker 1: They did not set fire, indeed to anything, but they
5:10
Speaker 1: pulled down both their houses, and left not the least
5:13
Speaker 1: stick standing, or scarce any sign on the ground where
5:17
Speaker 1: they stood. They tore all their household stuff in pieces,
5:21
Speaker 1: and threw everything about in such a manner that the
5:24
Speaker 1: poor men afterwards found some of their things a mile off.
5:28
Speaker 1: When they had done this, they pulled up all the
5:30
Speaker 1: young trees which the poor men had planted, broke down
5:34
Speaker 1: an enclosure they had made to secure their cattle in
5:36
Speaker 1: their corn, and in a word, sacked and plundered everything
5:41
Speaker 1: as completely as a horde of tartars would have done.
5:44
Speaker 1: The two men were at this juncture gone to find
5:47
Speaker 1: them out, and had resolved to fight them wherever they
5:50
Speaker 1: had been, though they were but two to three, so
5:54
Speaker 1: that had they met, there certainly would have been bloodshed
5:57
Speaker 1: among them, for they were all very stout reste fellows
6:00
Speaker 1: to give them their due. But Providence took more care
6:04
Speaker 1: to keep them asunder than they themselves could do to meet.
6:08
Speaker 1: For as if they had dogged one another, when the
6:11
Speaker 1: three were gone thither, the two were here. And afterwards,
6:14
Speaker 1: when the two went back to find them, the three
6:17
Speaker 1: were come to the old habitation again, we shall see
6:20
Speaker 1: their different conduct. Presently, when the three came back, like
6:24
Speaker 1: furious creatures, flushed with the rage which the work they
6:27
Speaker 1: had been about had put them into, they came up
6:30
Speaker 1: to the Spaniards and told them what they had done
6:33
Speaker 1: by way of scoff and bravado, And one of them,
6:36
Speaker 1: stepping up to one of the Spaniards, as if they
6:38
Speaker 1: had been a couple of boys at play, takes hold
6:41
Speaker 1: of his hat as it was upon his head, and
6:43
Speaker 1: giving it a twirl about, fleering in his face, says
6:46
Speaker 1: to him, and you, senor Jack Spaniard, shall have the
6:49
Speaker 1: same sauce if you do not mind your manners. The Spaniard,
6:53
Speaker 1: who though a quiet civil man, was as brave a
6:56
Speaker 1: man as could be, and withal a strong, well made man,
7:00
Speaker 1: looked at him for a good while, and then, having
7:03
Speaker 1: no weapon in his hand, stepped gravely up to him,
7:06
Speaker 1: and with one blow of his fist, knocked him down
7:09
Speaker 1: as an ox Is felled with a pole axe, at
7:11
Speaker 1: which one of the rogues, as insolent as the first,
7:14
Speaker 1: fired his pistol at the Spaniard. Immediately He missed his body, indeed,
7:19
Speaker 1: for the bullets went through his hair, but one of
7:22
Speaker 1: them touched the tip of his ear, and he bled
7:24
Speaker 1: pretty much. The blood made the Spaniard believe he was
7:28
Speaker 1: more hurt than he really was, and not put him
7:30
Speaker 1: into some heat, for before he acted all in a
7:33
Speaker 1: perfect calm. But now resolving to go through with his work,
7:37
Speaker 1: he stooped and, taking the fellow's musket whom he had
7:40
Speaker 1: knocked down, was just going to shoot the man who
7:43
Speaker 1: had fired at him, When the rest of the Spaniards,
7:46
Speaker 1: being in the cave, came out, and calling to him
7:49
Speaker 1: not to shoot, they stepped in, secured the other two
7:52
Speaker 1: and took their arms from them. When they were thus
7:56
Speaker 1: disarmed and found they had made all the Spaniards their
7:59
Speaker 1: enemy as well as their own countrymen, they began to
8:03
Speaker 1: cool and, giving the Spaniards better words, would have their
8:06
Speaker 1: arms again. But the Spaniards, considering the feud that was
8:10
Speaker 1: between them and the other two Englishmen and that it
8:12
Speaker 1: would be the best method they could take to keep
8:15
Speaker 1: them from killing one another, told them they would do
8:18
Speaker 1: them no harm, and if they would live peaceably, they
8:21
Speaker 1: would be very willing to assist and associate with them
8:24
Speaker 1: as they did before, but that they could not think
8:27
Speaker 1: of giving them their arms again. While they appeared so
8:30
Speaker 1: resolved to do mischief with them to their own countrymen,
8:33
Speaker 1: and had even threatened them all to make them their servants,
8:37
Speaker 1: the rogues were now quite deaf to all reason, and
8:40
Speaker 1: being refused their arms, they raved away like madmen, threatening
8:45
Speaker 1: what they would do, though they had no firearms. But
8:48
Speaker 1: the Spaniards, despising their threatening, told them they should take
8:52
Speaker 1: care how they offered any injury to their plantation or cattle,
8:56
Speaker 1: for if they did, they would shoot them as they
8:58
Speaker 1: would ravenous beasts wherever they found them, and if they
9:02
Speaker 1: fell into their hands alive, they should certainly be hanged. However,
9:06
Speaker 1: this was far from cooling them, But away they went,
9:09
Speaker 1: raging and swearing like furies. As soon as they were gone,
9:13
Speaker 1: the two men came back in passion and rage enough, also,
9:17
Speaker 1: though of another kind, for having been at their plantation,
9:21
Speaker 1: and finding it all demolished and destroyed as above mentioned,
9:24
Speaker 1: it will easily be supposed they had provocation enough they
9:28
Speaker 1: could scarce have room to tell their tale. The Spaniards
9:32
Speaker 1: were so eager to tell them theirs, and it was
9:34
Speaker 1: strange enough to find that three men should thus bully
9:38
Speaker 1: nineteen and receive no punishment at all. The Spaniards indeed
9:43
Speaker 1: despised them, and, especially having thus disarmed them, made light
9:47
Speaker 1: of their threatenings. But the two Englishmen resolved to have
9:51
Speaker 1: their remedy against them, what pains soever it cost to
9:54
Speaker 1: find them out. But the Spaniards interposed here too, and
9:58
Speaker 1: told them that as they had done disarmed them, they
10:01
Speaker 1: could not consent that they the two should pursue them
10:04
Speaker 1: with firearms and perhaps kill them. But said the grave Spaniard,
10:09
Speaker 1: who was their Governor, we will endeavor to make them
10:12
Speaker 1: do you justice if you will leave it to us,
10:14
Speaker 1: for there is no doubt but that they will come
10:17
Speaker 1: to us again when their passion is over, being not
10:20
Speaker 1: able to subsist without our assistance. We promise you to
10:24
Speaker 1: make no peace with them without having full satisfaction for you,
10:28
Speaker 1: And upon this condition we hope you will promise to
10:31
Speaker 1: use no violence against them, other than in your own defense.
10:35
Speaker 1: The two Englishmen yielded to this very awkwardly and with
10:38
Speaker 1: great reluctance. But the Spaniards protested that they did it
10:42
Speaker 1: only to keep them from bloodshed and to make them
10:45
Speaker 1: all easy at last, For said they, we are not
10:49
Speaker 1: so many of us. Here is room enough for us all,
10:52
Speaker 1: and it is a great pity that we should not
10:54
Speaker 1: be all good friends. At length, they did consent and
10:57
Speaker 1: waited for the issue of the thing, living for some
11:00
Speaker 1: days with the Spaniards, for their own habitation was destroyed.
11:05
Speaker 1: In about five days time, the vagrants, tired with wandering
11:09
Speaker 1: and almost starved with hunger, having chiefly lived on turtles
11:13
Speaker 1: eggs all that while, came back to the grove and
11:16
Speaker 1: finding my Spaniard, who, as I have said, was the governor,
11:20
Speaker 1: and two more with him. Walking by the side of
11:22
Speaker 1: the creek. They came up in a very submissive, humble manner,
11:26
Speaker 1: and begged to be received again into the society. The
11:30
Speaker 1: Spaniards used them civilly, but told them they had acted
11:33
Speaker 1: so unnaturally to their countrymen, and so very grossly to themselves,
11:38
Speaker 1: that they could not come to any conclusion without consulting
11:41
Speaker 1: the two Englishmen and the rest. But however, they would
11:45
Speaker 1: go to them and discourse about it, and they should
11:48
Speaker 1: know in half an hour. It may be guessed that
11:50
Speaker 1: they were very hard put to it, for as they
11:53
Speaker 1: were to wait this half hour for an answer, they
11:56
Speaker 1: begged they would send them out some bread in the meantime,
11:59
Speaker 1: which they did, sending at the same time a large
12:02
Speaker 1: piece of goat's flesh and a boiled parrot, which they
12:05
Speaker 1: ate very eagerly. After half an hour's consultation, they were
12:09
Speaker 1: called in and a long debate ensued, their two countrymen
12:13
Speaker 1: charging them with the ruin of all their labor and
12:16
Speaker 1: a design to murder them all which they owned before
12:20
Speaker 1: and therefore could not deny now upon the whole the
12:23
Speaker 1: Spaniards acted the moderators between them, and as they had
12:27
Speaker 1: obliged the two Englishmen not to hurt the three while
12:30
Speaker 1: they were naked and unarmed. So they now obliged the
12:33
Speaker 1: three to go and rebuild their fellow's two huts, one
12:37
Speaker 1: to be of the same and the other of larger
12:39
Speaker 1: dimensions than they were before. To fence their ground again,
12:43
Speaker 1: plant trees in the room of those pulled up, dig
12:46
Speaker 1: up the land again for planting corn, and in a word,
12:50
Speaker 1: to restore everything to the same state as they found it,
12:53
Speaker 1: that is, as near as they could well. They submitted
12:57
Speaker 1: to all this, and as they had plenty of provisions
13:00
Speaker 1: given them, all the while, they grew very orderly, and
13:03
Speaker 1: the whole society began to live pleasantly and agreeably together again,
13:08
Speaker 1: only that these three fellows could never be persuaded to
13:11
Speaker 1: work i mean, for themselves, except now and then a little,
13:15
Speaker 1: just as they pleased. However, the Spaniards told them plainly
13:19
Speaker 1: that if they would but live sociably and friendly together,
13:22
Speaker 1: and study the good of the whole plantation, they would
13:25
Speaker 1: be content to work for them, and let them walk
13:28
Speaker 1: about and be as idle as they pleased. And thus,
13:31
Speaker 1: having lived pretty well together for a month or two,
13:35
Speaker 1: the Spaniards let them have arms again, and gave them
13:38
Speaker 1: liberty to go abroad with them as before. It was
13:42
Speaker 1: not above a week after they had these arms and
13:45
Speaker 1: went abroad before the ungrateful creatures began to be as
13:48
Speaker 1: insolent and troublesome as Ever, However, an accident happened presently
13:53
Speaker 1: upon this which endangered the safety of them all, and
13:56
Speaker 1: they were obliged to lay by all private resentments, and
14:00
Speaker 1: looked to the preservation of their lives. It happened one
14:04
Speaker 1: night that the governor, the Spaniard whose life I had saved,
14:08
Speaker 1: who was now the governor of the rest, found himself
14:11
Speaker 1: very uneasy in the night, and could by no means
14:14
Speaker 1: get any sleep. He was perfectly well in body, only
14:17
Speaker 1: found his thoughts tumultuous. His mind ran upon men fighting
14:21
Speaker 1: and killing one another, but he was broad awake and
14:24
Speaker 1: could not by any means get any sleep. In short,
14:28
Speaker 1: he lay a great while, but growing more and more uneasy,
14:31
Speaker 1: he resolved to rise. As they lay. Being so many
14:35
Speaker 1: of them on goat skins, laid thick upon such couches
14:38
Speaker 1: and pads as they made for themselves, so they had
14:41
Speaker 1: little to do when they were willing to rise, but
14:44
Speaker 1: to get upon their feet, and perhaps put on a
14:47
Speaker 1: coat such as it was, and their pumps, and they
14:50
Speaker 1: were ready for going any way that their thoughts guided them.
14:53
Speaker 1: Being thus got up, he looked out, but being dark,
14:57
Speaker 1: he could see little or nothing, And besides the trees
15:00
Speaker 1: which I had planted, and which were now grown tall,
15:03
Speaker 1: intercepted his sight, so that he could only look up
15:07
Speaker 1: and see that it was a starlight night. And hearing
15:10
Speaker 1: no noise, he returned and lay down again, but to
15:13
Speaker 1: no purpose. He could not compose himself to anything like rest.
15:17
Speaker 1: But his thoughts were to the last degree uneasy, and
15:20
Speaker 1: he knew not for what. Having made some noise with
15:23
Speaker 1: rising and walking about, going out and coming in, another
15:27
Speaker 1: of them waked and asked who it was that was up.
15:30
Speaker 1: The governor told him how it had been with him.
15:33
Speaker 1: Say you so, says the other Spaniard. Such things are
15:36
Speaker 1: not to be slighted. I assure you. There is certainly
15:39
Speaker 1: some mischief working near us. And presently he asked him
15:42
Speaker 1: where are the Englishmen. They are all in their huts,
15:46
Speaker 1: says he. Safe enough. It seems the Spaniards had kept
15:49
Speaker 1: possession of the main apartment and had made a place
15:52
Speaker 1: for the three Englishmen, who since their last mutiny were
15:56
Speaker 1: always quartered by themselves and could not come at the rest. Well,
16:01
Speaker 1: says the Spaniard, there is something in it. I am
16:03
Speaker 1: persuaded from my own experience. I am satisfied that our
16:07
Speaker 1: spirits embodied have a converse with and receive intelligence from
16:11
Speaker 1: the spirits unembodied and inhabiting the invisible world. And this
16:15
Speaker 1: friendly notice is given for our advantage. If we knew
16:18
Speaker 1: how to make use of it. Come, let us go
16:21
Speaker 1: and look abroad. And if we find nothing at all
16:23
Speaker 1: in it to justify the trouble, I'll tell you a
16:26
Speaker 1: story to the purpose that shall convince you of the
16:29
Speaker 1: justice of my proposing it. They went out presently to
16:32
Speaker 1: go up to the top of the hill where I
16:35
Speaker 1: used to go. But they, being strong and a good company,
16:38
Speaker 1: nor alone, as I was, used none of my cautions
16:41
Speaker 1: to go up by the ladder and pulling it up
16:44
Speaker 1: after them, to go up a second stage to the top.
16:47
Speaker 1: But were going round through the grove unwarily, when they
16:50
Speaker 1: were surprised with seeing a light as of fire a
16:53
Speaker 1: very little way from them, and hearing the voices of men,
16:57
Speaker 1: not of one or two, but of a great number
17:00
Speaker 1: among the precautions I used to take on the savages
17:03
Speaker 1: landing on the island. It was my constant care to
17:06
Speaker 1: prevent them making the least discovery of their being any
17:10
Speaker 1: inhabitant upon the place, And when by any occasion they
17:13
Speaker 1: came to know it, they felt it so effectually that
17:16
Speaker 1: they that got away were scarce able to give any
17:19
Speaker 1: account of it. For we disappeared as soon as possible,
17:22
Speaker 1: Nor did ever any that had seen me escape to
17:25
Speaker 1: tell any one else, except it was the three savages
17:28
Speaker 1: in our last encounter who jumped into the boat, of
17:31
Speaker 1: whom I mentioned, I was afraid they should go home
17:34
Speaker 1: and bring more help. Whether it was the consequence of
17:37
Speaker 1: the escape of those men that so great a number
17:40
Speaker 1: came now together, or whether they came ignorantly and by
17:44
Speaker 1: accident on their usual bloody errand, the Spaniards could not understand.
17:49
Speaker 1: But whatever it was, it was their business either to
17:52
Speaker 1: have concealed themselves or not to have seen them at all,
17:56
Speaker 1: much less to have let the savages have seen there
17:58
Speaker 1: were any inhabitants in the place, or to have fallen
18:01
Speaker 1: upon them so effectually as not a man of them
18:04
Speaker 1: should have escaped, which could only have been by getting
18:07
Speaker 1: in between them and their boats. But this presence of
18:10
Speaker 1: mind was wanting to them, which was the ruin of
18:13
Speaker 1: their tranquility for a great while. We need not doubt
18:18
Speaker 1: but that the governor and the man with him, surprised
18:20
Speaker 1: with this sight, ran back immediately and raised their fellows,
18:24
Speaker 1: giving them an account of the imminent danger they were
18:27
Speaker 1: all in. And they again as readily took the alarm.
18:31
Speaker 1: But it was impossible to persuade them to stay close
18:34
Speaker 1: within where they were, but they must all run out
18:37
Speaker 1: to see how things stood while it was dark. Indeed,
18:40
Speaker 1: they were safe, and they had opportunity enough for some
18:43
Speaker 1: hours to view the savages by the light of three
18:46
Speaker 1: fires they had made at a distance from one another.
18:49
Speaker 1: What they were doing they knew not, neither did they
18:52
Speaker 1: know what to do themselves, For first the enemy were
18:55
Speaker 1: too many, and secondly they did not keep together, but
18:59
Speaker 1: were divided to several parties, and were on shore in
19:02
Speaker 1: several places. The Spaniards were in no small consternation at
19:07
Speaker 1: this site, and as they found that the fellows went
19:10
Speaker 1: straggling all over the shore, they made no doubt. But
19:13
Speaker 1: first or last some of them would chop in upon
19:15
Speaker 1: their habitation or upon some other place where they would
19:19
Speaker 1: see the token of inhabitants. And they were in great
19:22
Speaker 1: perplexity also for fear of their flock of goats, which
19:26
Speaker 1: if they should be destroyed, would have been little less
19:29
Speaker 1: than starving them. So the first thing they resolved upon
19:32
Speaker 1: was to dispatch three men away before it was light,
19:35
Speaker 1: two Spaniards and one Englishman, to drive away all the
19:38
Speaker 1: goats to the great valley where the cave was. And
19:41
Speaker 1: if need were to drive them into the very cave itself,
19:46
Speaker 1: could they have seen the savages all together in one
19:48
Speaker 1: body and at a distance from their canoes. They were
19:51
Speaker 1: resolved if there had been a hundred of them, to
19:54
Speaker 1: attack them, but that could not be done, for they were,
19:57
Speaker 1: some of them two miles off from the other, and
20:00
Speaker 1: as it appeared afterwards, were of two different nations. After
20:05
Speaker 1: having mused a great while on the course they should take,
20:08
Speaker 1: they resolved at last, while it was still dark, to
20:11
Speaker 1: send the old savage Friday's father out as a spy,
20:15
Speaker 1: to learn, if possible, something concerning them, as what they
20:18
Speaker 1: came for, what they intended to do, and the like
20:22
Speaker 1: the old man readily undertook it, and stripping himself quite naked,
20:26
Speaker 1: as most of the savages were away. He went. After
20:29
Speaker 1: he had been gone an hour or two, he brings
20:32
Speaker 1: word that he had been among them undiscovered, That he
20:35
Speaker 1: found they were two parties, and of two several nations,
20:38
Speaker 1: who had war with one another, and had a great
20:41
Speaker 1: battle in their own country, And that both sides, having
20:44
Speaker 1: had several prisoners taken in the fight, they were by
20:48
Speaker 1: mere chance landed all on the same island for the
20:51
Speaker 1: devouring their prisoners and making merry. But their coming so
20:55
Speaker 1: by chance to the same place had spoiled all their mirth.
20:58
Speaker 1: That they were in a great rage at one another,
21:00
Speaker 1: and were so near that he believed they would fight
21:03
Speaker 1: again as soon as daylight began to appear. But he
21:06
Speaker 1: did not perceive that they had any notion of anybody
21:09
Speaker 1: being on the island but themselves. He had hardly made
21:12
Speaker 1: an end of telling his story. When they could perceive
21:15
Speaker 1: by the unusual noise they made, that the two little
21:19
Speaker 1: armies were engaged in a bloody fight. Friday's father used
21:22
Speaker 1: all the arguments he could to persuade our people to
21:25
Speaker 1: lie close and not be seen. He told them their
21:28
Speaker 1: safety consisted in it, and that they had nothing to
21:31
Speaker 1: do but lie still, and the savages would kill one
21:34
Speaker 1: another to their hands, and then the rest would go away.
21:37
Speaker 1: And it was so to a tittle, but it was
21:40
Speaker 1: impossible to prevail, especially upon the Englishmen. Their curiosity was
21:45
Speaker 1: so importunate that they must run out and see the battle. However,
21:49
Speaker 1: they used some caution too. They did not go openly
21:52
Speaker 1: just by their own dwelling, but went farther into the woods,
21:56
Speaker 1: and placed themselves to advantage, where they might securely see
21:59
Speaker 1: them manage the fight, and as they thought, not be
22:02
Speaker 1: seen by them. But the savages did see them, as
22:06
Speaker 1: we shall find hereafter. The battle was very fierce, and
22:10
Speaker 1: if I might believe the Englishmen, one of them said,
22:13
Speaker 1: he could perceive that some of them were men of
22:15
Speaker 1: great bravery, of invincible spirit, and of great policy in
22:19
Speaker 1: guiding the fight. The battle, they said, held two hours
22:23
Speaker 1: before they could guess which party would be beaten. But
22:26
Speaker 1: then that party, which was nearest our people's habitation, began
22:30
Speaker 1: to appear weakest, and after some time more some of
22:33
Speaker 1: them began to fly, And this put our men into
22:36
Speaker 1: a great consternation, lest any one of those that fled
22:39
Speaker 1: should run into the grove before their dwelling for shelter,
22:43
Speaker 1: and thereby involuntarily discover the place, and that by consequence
22:48
Speaker 1: the pursuers would also do the like in search of them.
22:51
Speaker 1: Upon this they resolved that they would stand armed within
22:54
Speaker 1: the wall, and whoever came into the grove they resolved
22:58
Speaker 1: to sally out over the wall and kill them, so that,
23:01
Speaker 1: if possible, not one should return to give an account
23:04
Speaker 1: of it. They ordered also that it should be done
23:07
Speaker 1: with their swords, or by knocking them down with the
23:10
Speaker 1: stocks of their muskets, but not by shooting them, for
23:13
Speaker 1: fear of raising an alarm. By the noise, as they
23:17
Speaker 1: expected it fell out, three of the routed army fled
23:20
Speaker 1: for life, and, crossing the creek, ran directly into the place,
23:24
Speaker 1: not in the least knowing whither they went, but running
23:27
Speaker 1: as into a thick wood for shelter. The scout they
23:31
Speaker 1: kept to look abroad, gave notice of this within, with
23:34
Speaker 1: this comforting addition that the conquerors had not pursued them
23:38
Speaker 1: or seen which way they were gone. Upon this, the
23:41
Speaker 1: Spanish governor, a man of humanity, would not suffer them
23:45
Speaker 1: to kill the three fugitives, but, sending three men out
23:48
Speaker 1: by the top of the hill, ordered them to go round,
23:51
Speaker 1: come in behind them and surprise and take them prisoners,
23:55
Speaker 1: which was done. The residue of the conquered people fled
23:58
Speaker 1: to their canoes and got off to sea. The victors retired,
24:02
Speaker 1: made no pursuit or very little, but drawing themselves into
24:06
Speaker 1: a body together, gave two great screaming shouts, most likely
24:10
Speaker 1: by way of triumph, and so the fight ended The
24:13
Speaker 1: same day about three o'clock in the afternoon. They also
24:17
Speaker 1: marched to their canoes, and thus the Spaniards had the
24:20
Speaker 1: island again free to themselves. Their fright was over, and
24:24
Speaker 1: they saw no savages for several years after. After they
24:29
Speaker 1: were all gone, the Spaniards came out of their den,
24:32
Speaker 1: and viewing the field of battle, they found about two
24:35
Speaker 1: and thirty men dead on the spot. Some were killed
24:38
Speaker 1: with long arrows, which were found sticking in their bodies,
24:41
Speaker 1: but most of them were killed with great wooden swords,
24:44
Speaker 1: sixteen or seventeen of which they found in the field
24:47
Speaker 1: of battle, and as many bows with a great many arrows.
24:51
Speaker 1: These swords were strange, unwieldy things, and they must be
24:55
Speaker 1: very strong men that used them. Most of those that
24:58
Speaker 1: were killed with them had their heads smashed to pieces,
25:01
Speaker 1: as we may say, or as we call it in English,
25:04
Speaker 1: their brains knocked out, and several their arms and legs broken,
25:09
Speaker 1: so that it is evident they fight with inexpressible rage
25:12
Speaker 1: and fury. We found not one man that was not
25:16
Speaker 1: stone dead, for either they stay by their enemy till
25:19
Speaker 1: they have killed him, or they carry all the wounded
25:22
Speaker 1: men that are not quite dead away with them. This
25:25
Speaker 1: deliverance tamed our ill disposed Englishmen for a great while.
25:29
Speaker 1: The sight had filled them with horror, and the consequences
25:32
Speaker 1: appeared terrible to the last degree, especially upon supposing that
25:37
Speaker 1: some time or other they should fall into the hands
25:39
Speaker 1: of those creatures who would not only kill them as enemies,
25:43
Speaker 1: but for food, as we kill our cattle. And they
25:46
Speaker 1: profess to me that the thoughts of being eaten up
25:48
Speaker 1: like beef and mutton, though it was supposed it was
25:51
Speaker 1: not to be till they were dead, add something in
25:54
Speaker 1: it so horrible that it nauseated their very stomachs, made
25:58
Speaker 1: them sick when they thought of it, and filled their
26:00
Speaker 1: minds with such unusual terror that they were not themselves
26:04
Speaker 1: for some weeks after this, as I said, tamed even
26:07
Speaker 1: the three English brutes I have been speaking of. And
26:10
Speaker 1: for a great while after they were tractable and went
26:13
Speaker 1: about the common business of the whole society well enough, planted, sowed, reaped,
26:19
Speaker 1: and began to be all naturalized to the country. But
26:22
Speaker 1: some time after this they fell into such simple measures
26:25
Speaker 1: again as brought them into a great deal of trouble.
26:28
Speaker 1: They had taken three prisoners, as I observed, and these three,
26:32
Speaker 1: being stout young fellows, they made them servants and taught
26:36
Speaker 1: them to work for them, And as slaves they did
26:39
Speaker 1: well enough. But they did not take their measures as
26:42
Speaker 1: I did by my man Friday, viz. To begin with
26:45
Speaker 1: them upon the principle of having saved their lives, and
26:49
Speaker 1: then instruct them in the rational principles of life. Much
26:52
Speaker 1: less did they think of teaching them religion, or attempting
26:56
Speaker 1: civilizing and reducing them by kind usage and affectionate argument.
27:00
Speaker 1: As they gave them their food every day, so they
27:03
Speaker 1: gave them their work too, and kept them fully employed
27:06
Speaker 1: in drudgery enough. But they failed in this by it
27:09
Speaker 1: that they never had them to assist them and fight
27:12
Speaker 1: for them, as I had my man Friday, who was
27:15
Speaker 1: as true to me as the very flesh upon my bones.
27:19
Speaker 1: But to come to the family part. Being all now
27:22
Speaker 1: good friends, for common danger, as I said above, had
27:25
Speaker 1: effectually reconciled them, they began to consider their general circumstances,
27:30
Speaker 1: and the first thing that came under consideration was weather.
27:34
Speaker 1: Seeing the savages particularly haunted that side of the island,
27:38
Speaker 1: and that there were more remote and retired parts of
27:41
Speaker 1: it equally adapted to their way of living and manifestly
27:45
Speaker 1: to their advantage, they should not rather move their habitation
27:48
Speaker 1: and plant in some more proper place for their safety,
27:52
Speaker 1: and especially for the security of their cattle and corn.
27:56
Speaker 1: Upon this, after long debate, it was concluded that they
28:00
Speaker 1: would not remove their habitation, because that some time or
28:04
Speaker 1: other they thought they might hear from their governor again,
28:07
Speaker 1: meaning me, and if I should send anyone to seek them,
28:10
Speaker 1: I should be sure to direct them to that side,
28:13
Speaker 1: where if they should find the place demolished, they would
28:16
Speaker 1: conclude the savages had killed us all, and we were gone,
28:20
Speaker 1: and so our supply would go too. But as to
28:22
Speaker 1: their corn and cattle, they agreed to remove them into
28:26
Speaker 1: the valley where my cave was, where the land was
28:28
Speaker 1: as proper for both, and where indeed there was land enough. However,
28:33
Speaker 1: upon second thoughts, they altered one part of their resolution too,
28:37
Speaker 1: and resolved only to remove part of their cattle thither
28:41
Speaker 1: and part of their corn there, so that if one
28:43
Speaker 1: part was destroyed, the other might be saved. And one
28:47
Speaker 1: part of prudence they luckily used. They never trusted those
28:50
Speaker 1: three savages which they had taken prisoners, with, knowing anything
28:54
Speaker 1: of the plantation they had made in that valley, or
28:57
Speaker 1: of any cattle they had there, much less of the
29:00
Speaker 1: cave at that place, which they kept in case of
29:03
Speaker 1: necessity as a safe retreat. And thither they carried also
29:07
Speaker 1: the two barrels of powder which I had sent them
29:09
Speaker 1: at my coming away. They resolved, however, not to change
29:14
Speaker 1: their habitation yet, as I had carefully covered it first
29:17
Speaker 1: with a wall or fortification, and then with a grove
29:20
Speaker 1: of trees, And as they were now fully convinced their
29:23
Speaker 1: safety consisted entirely in their being concealed, they set to
29:28
Speaker 1: work to cover and conceal the place, yet more effectually
29:31
Speaker 1: than before for this purpose, as I planted trees, or
29:35
Speaker 1: rather thrust in stakes, which in time all grew up
29:38
Speaker 1: to be trees, for some good distance before the entrance
29:41
Speaker 1: into my apartments. They went on in the same manner
29:45
Speaker 1: and filled up the rest of that whole space of
29:47
Speaker 1: ground from the trees I had set, quite down to
29:49
Speaker 1: the side of the creek where I landed my floats,
29:52
Speaker 1: and even into the very ooze where the tide flowed,
29:55
Speaker 1: not so much as leaving any place to land, or
29:58
Speaker 1: any sign that there had been in any landing thereabouts.
30:01
Speaker 1: These steaks, also, being of a wood very forward to grow,
30:05
Speaker 1: they took care to have them generally much larger and
30:08
Speaker 1: taller than those which I had planted. As they grew apace,
30:11
Speaker 1: they planted them so very thick and close together, that
30:14
Speaker 1: when they had been three or four years grown, there
30:17
Speaker 1: was no piercing with the eye any considerable way into
30:20
Speaker 1: the plantation. As for that part which I had planted,
30:24
Speaker 1: the trees were grown as thick as a man's thigh,
30:27
Speaker 1: and among them they had placed so many other short
30:29
Speaker 1: ones and so thick that it stood like a palisado
30:33
Speaker 1: a quarter of a mile thick, and it was next
30:36
Speaker 1: to impossible to penetrate it, for a little dog could
30:39
Speaker 1: hardly get between the trees they stood so close. But
30:43
Speaker 1: this was not all, for they did the same by
30:45
Speaker 1: all the ground to the right hand, and to the left,
30:48
Speaker 1: and round even to the side of the hill, leaving
30:51
Speaker 1: no way, not so much as for themselves to come out,
30:54
Speaker 1: but by the ladder placed up to the side of
30:57
Speaker 1: the hill, and then lifted up and placed again from
30:59
Speaker 1: the first stage up to the top, so that when
31:02
Speaker 1: the latter was taken down, nothing but what had wings
31:05
Speaker 1: or witchcraft to assist it could come at them. This
31:08
Speaker 1: was excellently well contrived, nor was it less than what
31:12
Speaker 1: they afterwards found occasion for, which served to convince me
31:16
Speaker 1: that as human prudence has the authority of providence to
31:19
Speaker 1: justify it, so it has doubtless the direction of Providence
31:23
Speaker 1: to set it to work. And if we listened carefully
31:26
Speaker 1: to the voice of it, I am persuaded, we might
31:28
Speaker 1: prevent many of the disasters which our lives are now,
31:32
Speaker 1: by our own negligence subjected to. They lived two years
31:37
Speaker 1: after this imperfect retirement, and had no more visits from
31:41
Speaker 1: the savages. They had, indeed an alarm given them one morning,
31:45
Speaker 1: which put them into a great consternation, for some of
31:48
Speaker 1: the Spaniards being out early one morning on the west
31:51
Speaker 1: side or end of the island, which was that end
31:54
Speaker 1: where I never went for fear of being discovered. They
31:57
Speaker 1: were surprised with seeing about twenty canoes of Endiaians just
32:00
Speaker 1: coming on shore. They made the best of their way
32:03
Speaker 1: home in hurry enough and giving the alarm to their comrades.
32:07
Speaker 1: They kept close all that day and the next, going
32:10
Speaker 1: out only at night to make their observation. But they
32:13
Speaker 1: had the good luck to be undiscovered, for wherever the
32:16
Speaker 1: savages went, they did not land that time on the island,
32:19
Speaker 1: but pursued some other design end of chapter three