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14 - Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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Speaker 1: Chapter fourteen, A dream realized. Having brought all my things
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Speaker 1: on shore and secured them, I went back to my
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Speaker 1: boat and rowed or paddled her along the shore to
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Speaker 1: her old harbor, where I laid her up and made
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Speaker 1: the best of my way to my old habitation, where
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Speaker 1: I found everything safe and quiet. I began now to
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Speaker 1: repose myself, live after my old fashion, and take care
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Speaker 1: of my family affairs. And for a while I lived
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Speaker 1: easy enough, only that I was more vigilant than I
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Speaker 1: used to be, looked out oftener, and did not go
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Speaker 1: abroad so much. And if at any time I did
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Speaker 1: stir with any freedom, it was always to the east
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Speaker 1: part of the island, where I was pretty well satisfied
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Speaker 1: the savages never came, and where I could go without
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Speaker 1: so many precautions and such a load of arms and
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Speaker 1: ammunition as I always carried with me if I went
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Speaker 1: the other way. I lived in this condition near two
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Speaker 1: years more. But my unlucky head, that was always to
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Speaker 1: let me know it was born to make my body miserable,
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Speaker 1: was all these two years filled with projects and designs.
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Speaker 1: How if it were possible, I might get away from
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Speaker 1: this island. For sometimes I was for making another voyage
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Speaker 1: to the wreck, though my reason told me there was
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Speaker 1: nothing left there worth the hazard of my voyage, sometimes
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Speaker 1: for a ramble one way, sometimes another. And I believe
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Speaker 1: verily if I had had the boat that I went
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Speaker 1: from Celia, I should have ventured to see bound anywhere
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Speaker 1: I knew, not whither I have been in all my circumstances.
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Speaker 1: A memento to those who are touched with the general
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Speaker 1: plague of mankind, whence for aught I know one half
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Speaker 1: of their misri's flow. I mean that of not being
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Speaker 1: satisfied with the station wherein God and Nature hath placed them.
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Speaker 1: For not to look back upon my primitive condition and
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Speaker 1: the excellent advice of my father, the opposition to which was,
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Speaker 1: as I may call it, my original sin. My subsequent
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Speaker 1: mistakes of the same kind had been the means of
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Speaker 1: my coming into this miserable condition. For had that providence,
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Speaker 1: which so happily seated me at the Brazils as a planter,
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Speaker 1: blessed me with confined desires, and I could have been
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Speaker 1: contented to have gone on gradually, I might have been
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Speaker 1: by this time, I mean, in the time of my
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Speaker 1: being in this island, one of the most considerable planters
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Speaker 1: in the Brazils. Nay, I am persuaded that by the
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Speaker 1: improvements I had made in that little time I lived there,
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Speaker 1: and the increase I should probably have made if I
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Speaker 1: had remained, I might have been worth a one hundred
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Speaker 1: thousand moidores. And what business had I to leave a
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Speaker 1: settled fortune, a well stocked plantation, improving and increasing, to
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Speaker 1: turn supercargo to Guinea to fetch negroes, when patience and
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Speaker 1: time would have so increased our stock at home that
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Speaker 1: we could have bought them at our own door, from
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Speaker 1: those whose business it was to fetch them. And though
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Speaker 1: it had cost us something more, yet the difference of
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Speaker 1: that price was by no means worth saving that so
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Speaker 1: great a hazard. But as this is usually the fate
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Speaker 1: of young heads, so reflection upon the folly of it
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Speaker 1: is as commonly the exercise of more years, or of
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Speaker 1: the dear bought experience of time. So it was with
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Speaker 1: me now, And yet so deep had the mistake taken
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Speaker 1: root in my temper, that I could not satisfy myself
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Speaker 1: in my station, but was continually pouring upon the means
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Speaker 1: and possibility of my escape from this place, and that
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Speaker 1: I may with greater pleasure to the reader bring on
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Speaker 1: the remaining part of my story. It may not be
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Speaker 1: improper to give him some account of my first conceptions
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Speaker 1: on the subject of this foolish scheme of my escape,
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Speaker 1: and how and upon what foundation I acted. I am
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Speaker 1: now to be supposed retired into my castle after my
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Speaker 1: late voyage to the wreck. My frigate laid up and
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Speaker 1: secured under water as usual, and my condition restored to
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Speaker 1: what it was before. I had more wealth, indeed than
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Speaker 1: I had before, but was not at all the richer,
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Speaker 1: for I had no more use for it than the
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Speaker 1: Indians of Peru had before the Spaniards came there. It
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Speaker 1: was one of the nights in the rainy season in March,
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Speaker 1: the four and twentieth year of my first setting foot
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Speaker 1: in this island of solitude. I was lying in my
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Speaker 1: bed or hammock, awake, very well in health, had no pain,
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Speaker 1: no distemper, no uneasiness of body, nor any uneasiness of
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Speaker 1: mind more than ordinary, but could by no means close
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Speaker 1: my eyes, that is, so as to sleep, no not
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Speaker 1: a wink all night long. Otherwise than as follows, it
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Speaker 1: is impossible to set down the innumerable crowd of thoughts
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Speaker 1: that whirled through through that great thoroughfare of the brain
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Speaker 1: the memory. In this night's time, I ran over the
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Speaker 1: whole history of my life in miniature, or by abridgment,
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Speaker 1: as I may call it, to my coming to this island,
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Speaker 1: and also of that part of my life since I
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Speaker 1: came to this island. In my reflections upon the state
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Speaker 1: of my case since I came on shore on this island,
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Speaker 1: I was comparing the happy posture of my affairs in
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Speaker 1: the first years of my habitation here with the life
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Speaker 1: of anxiety, fear, and care, which I had lived in
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Speaker 1: ever since I had seen the print of a foot
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Speaker 1: in the sand. Not that I did not believe the
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Speaker 1: savages had frequented the island even all the while, and
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Speaker 1: might have been several hundreds of them at times on
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Speaker 1: shore there, but I had never known it and was
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Speaker 1: incapable of any apprehensions about it. My satisfaction perfect, though
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Speaker 1: my danger was the same, and I was as happy
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Speaker 1: in not knowing my danger as if I had never
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Speaker 1: really been exposed to it. This furnished my thoughts with
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Speaker 1: many very profitable reflections, and particularly this one. How infinitely
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Speaker 1: good that providence is which has provided in its government
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Speaker 1: of mankind such narrow bounds to his sight and knowledge
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Speaker 1: of things. And though he walks in the midst of
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Speaker 1: so many thousand dangers, the sight of which, if discovered
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Speaker 1: to him, would distract his mind and sink his spirits,
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Speaker 1: he has kept serene and calm by having the events
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Speaker 1: of things hid from his eyes, and knowing nothing of
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Speaker 1: the dangers which surround him. After these thoughts had for
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Speaker 1: some time entertained me, I came to reflect seriously upon
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Speaker 1: the real danger I had been in for so many
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Speaker 1: years in this very island, and how I had walked
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Speaker 1: about in the greatest security and with all possible tranquility,
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Speaker 1: even when perhaps nothing but the brow of a hill,
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Speaker 1: a great tree, or the casual approach of night had
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Speaker 1: been between me and the worst kind of destruction, that is,
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Speaker 1: that of falling into the hands of cannibals and savages,
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Speaker 1: who would have seized on me with the same view
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Speaker 1: as I would on a goat or turtle, and have
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Speaker 1: thought of it no more a crime to kill and
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Speaker 1: devour me than I did of a pigeon or a curlew.
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Speaker 1: I would unjustly slander myself if I should say I
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Speaker 1: was not sincerely thankful to my great preserver, to whose
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Speaker 1: singular protection I acknowledged with great humanity all these unknown
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Speaker 1: deliverances were due, and without which I must inevitably have
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Speaker 1: fallen into their merciless hands. When these thoughts were over,
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Speaker 1: my head was for some time taken up to considering
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Speaker 1: the nature of these wretched creatures, I mean, the savages,
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Speaker 1: and how it came to pass in the world that
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Speaker 1: the wise governor of all things should give up any
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Speaker 1: of his creatures to such inhumanity, nay, to something so
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Speaker 1: much more below even brutality itself, as to devour its
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Speaker 1: own kind. But as this ended in some at that
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Speaker 1: time fruitless speculations, it occurred to me to inquire what
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Speaker 1: part of the world these wretches lived in, how far
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Speaker 1: off the coast was from, whence they came, what they
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Speaker 1: ventured over so far from home, for what kind of
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Speaker 1: boats they had? And why I might not order myself
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Speaker 1: and my business so that I might be able to
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Speaker 1: go over thither as they were come to me. I
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Speaker 1: never so much as troubled myself to consider what I
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Speaker 1: should do with myself when I went thither. What would
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Speaker 1: become of me if I fell into the hands of
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Speaker 1: those savages, or how I should escape them if they
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Speaker 1: attacked me. No, nor so much as how it was
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Speaker 1: possible for me to reach the coast and not to
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Speaker 1: be attacked by some or other of them, without any
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Speaker 1: possibility of delivering myself. And if I should not fall
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Speaker 1: into their hands, what I should do for provision, or
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Speaker 1: whither I should bend my course. None of these thoughts
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Speaker 1: I say so much as came in my way. But
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Speaker 1: my mind was wholly bent upon the notion of my
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Speaker 1: passing over in my boat to the mainland. I looked
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Speaker 1: upon my present condition as the most miserable that could
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Speaker 1: possibly be. That I was not able to throw myself
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Speaker 1: into anything but death that could be called worse. And
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Speaker 1: if I reached the shore of the main I might
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Speaker 1: perhaps meet with relief, or I might coast along as
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Speaker 1: I did on the African shore till I came to
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Speaker 1: some inhabited country, and where I might find some relief.
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Speaker 1: And after all, perhaps I might fall in with some
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Speaker 1: Christian ship that might take me in. And if the
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Speaker 1: worst came to the worst, I could but die, which
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Speaker 1: would put an end to all these miseries at once. Pray.
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Speaker 1: Note all this was the fruit of a disturbed mind
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Speaker 1: and impatient temper, made desperate as it were, by the
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Speaker 1: long continuance of my troubles and the disappointments I had
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Speaker 1: met in the wreck I had been on board of,
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Speaker 1: and where I had been so near obtaining what I
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Speaker 1: so earnestly longed for somebody to speak to and to
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Speaker 1: learn some knowledge from them of the place where I was,
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Speaker 1: and of the probable means of my deliverance. I was
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Speaker 1: agitated wholly by these thoughts. All my calm of mind,
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Speaker 1: in my resignation to providence and waiting, the issue of
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Speaker 1: the dispositions of heaven seemed to be suspended, and I had,
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Speaker 1: as it were, no power to turn my thoughts to
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Speaker 1: anything but to the project of a voyage to the main,
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Speaker 1: which came upon me with such force and such an
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Speaker 1: impetuosity of desire, that it was not to be resisted.
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Speaker 1: When this had agitated my thoughts for two hours or more,
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Speaker 1: with such violence that it set my very blood into
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Speaker 1: a ferment, and my pulse beat as if I had
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Speaker 1: been in a fever, merely with the extraordinary fervor of
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Speaker 1: my mind about it nature, as if I had been
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Speaker 1: fatigued and exhausted with the very thoughts of it threw
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Speaker 1: me into a sound sleep. One would have thought I
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Speaker 1: should have dreamed of it, but I did not, nor
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Speaker 1: of anything relating to it. But I dreamed that I
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Speaker 1: was going out in the morning as usual from my castle.
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Speaker 1: I saw upon the shore two canoes and eleven savages
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Speaker 1: coming to land, and that they brought with them another savage,
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Speaker 1: whom they were going to kill in order to eat him.
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Speaker 1: When on a sudden the savage that they were going
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Speaker 1: to kill jumped away and ran for his life. And
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Speaker 1: I thought in my sleep that he came running into
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Speaker 1: my little thick grove before my fortification to hide himself,
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Speaker 1: and that I, seeing him alone, and not perceiving that
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Speaker 1: the others sought him that way, showed myself to him, and,
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Speaker 1: smiling upon him, encouraged him. That he kneeled down to me,
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Speaker 1: seeming to pray me to assist him, upon which I
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Speaker 1: showed him my ladder, made him go up, and carried
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Speaker 1: him into my cave, and he became my servant. And
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Speaker 1: that as soon as I had got this man, I
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Speaker 1: said to myself, now I may certainly venture to the mainland,
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Speaker 1: for this fellow will serve me as a pilot, and
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Speaker 1: will tell me what to do, and whither to go
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Speaker 1: for provisions, and whither not to go for fear of
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Speaker 1: being devoured, what places to venture to, and what to shun.
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Speaker 1: I waked with this thought, and was under such inexpressible
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Speaker 1: impressions of joy at the prospect of my escape and
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Speaker 1: my dream, that the disappointments which I felt upon coming
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Speaker 1: to myself and finding that it was no more than
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Speaker 1: a dream, were equally extravagant the other way, and threw
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Speaker 1: me into a very great dejection of spirits. Upon this, however,
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Speaker 1: I made this conclusion that my only way to go
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Speaker 1: about to attempt an escape was to endeavor to get
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Speaker 1: a savage into my possession, and if possible, it should
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Speaker 1: be one of their prisoners, whom they had condemned to
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Speaker 1: be eaten, and should bring hither to kill. But these
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Speaker 1: thoughts still were attended with this difficulty, that it was
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Speaker 1: impossible to effect this without attacking a whole caravan of
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Speaker 1: them and killing them all. And this was not only
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Speaker 1: a very desperate attempt, and might miscarry. But on the
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Speaker 1: other hand, I had greatly scrupled the lawfulness of it
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Speaker 1: to myself and my heart trembled at the thoughts of
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Speaker 1: shedding so much blood, though it was for my deliverance.
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Speaker 1: I need not repeat the arguments which occurred to me
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Speaker 1: against this, they being the same mentioned before. But though
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Speaker 1: I had other reasons to offer now, that is that
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Speaker 1: those men were enemies to my life and would devour
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Speaker 1: me if they could, that it was self preservation in
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Speaker 1: the highest degree to deliver myself from this death of
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Speaker 1: a life, and was acting in my own defense as
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Speaker 1: much as if they were actually assaulting me, and the like.
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Speaker 1: I say, though these things argued for it, yet the
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Speaker 1: thoughts of shedding human blood for my deliverance were very
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Speaker 1: terrible to me, and such as I could by no
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Speaker 1: means reconcile myself too for a great while. However, at last,
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Speaker 1: after many secret disputes with myself, and after great perplexities
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Speaker 1: about it, for all these arguments one way and another
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Speaker 1: struggled in my head a long time, the eager, prevailing
16:44
Speaker 1: desire of deliverance at length mastered all the rest, and
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Speaker 1: I resolved, if possible to get one of these savages
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Speaker 1: into my hands cost what it would. My next thing
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Speaker 1: was to contrive how to do it, and this indeed
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Speaker 1: was very difficult to resolve on. But as I could
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Speaker 1: pitch upon no probable means for it, so I resolved
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Speaker 1: to put myself upon the watch to see them when
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Speaker 1: they came on shore, and leave the rest to the event,
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Speaker 1: taking such measures as the opportunity should present. Let what
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Speaker 1: would be with these resolutions in my thoughts. I set
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Speaker 1: myself upon the scout as often as possible, and indeed
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Speaker 1: so often that I was heartily tired of it. For
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Speaker 1: it was above a year and a half that I waited,
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Speaker 1: and for a great part of that time went out
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Speaker 1: to the west end and to the southwest corner of
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Speaker 1: the island almost every day to look for canoes. But
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Speaker 1: none appeared. This was very discouraging and began to trouble
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Speaker 1: me much, though I cannot say that it did in
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Speaker 1: this case, as it had done some time before, where
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Speaker 1: off the edge of my desire to the thing. But
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Speaker 1: the longer it seemed to be delayed, the more eager
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Speaker 1: I was for it. In a word, I was not
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Speaker 1: at first so careful to shun the sight of these
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Speaker 1: savages and avoid being seen by them, as I was
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Speaker 1: now eager to be upon them. Besides, I fancied myself
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Speaker 1: able to manage one, nay two, or three savages if
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Speaker 1: I had them, so as to make them entirely slaves
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Speaker 1: to me, to do whatever I should direct them, and
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Speaker 1: to prevent their being able at any time to do
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Speaker 1: me any hurt. It was a great while that I
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Speaker 1: pleased myself with this affair, but nothing still presented itself.
18:46
Speaker 1: All my fancies and schemes came to nothing, for no
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Speaker 1: savages came near me for quite a while. After a
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Speaker 1: year and a half later, I entertained these notions, and
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Speaker 1: by long musings had, as it were, resolved them into nothing.
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Speaker 1: For want of an occasion to put them into execution.
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Speaker 1: I was surprised one morning by seeing no less than
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Speaker 1: five canoes all on shore together on my side of
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Speaker 1: the island, and the people who belonged to them all
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Speaker 1: landed and out of my sight. The number of them
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Speaker 1: broke all my measures. For seeing so many, and knowing
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Speaker 1: that they always came four or six or sometimes more
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Speaker 1: in a boat, I could not tell what to think
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Speaker 1: of it, or how to take my measures to attack
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Speaker 1: twenty or thirty men single handed. So lay still in
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Speaker 1: my castle, perplexed and discomforted, however, I put myself into
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Speaker 1: the same position for an attack that I had formerly provided,
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Speaker 1: and was just ready for action if anything had presented.
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Speaker 1: Having waited a good while listening to here, if they
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Speaker 1: made any noise at length, being very impatient, I set
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Speaker 1: my guns at the foot of my ladder and clambered
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Speaker 1: up to the top of the hill by my two
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Speaker 1: stages as usual, standing so however, that my head did
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Speaker 1: not appear above the hill, so that they could not
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Speaker 1: perceive me by any means. Here I observed, by the
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Speaker 1: help of my prospective glass, that they were no less
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Speaker 1: than thirty in number, that they had a fire kindled,
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Speaker 1: and that they had meat dressed. How they cooked it,
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Speaker 1: I knew not nor what it was, But they were
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Speaker 1: all dancing in I know not how many barbarous gestures
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Speaker 1: and figures their own way round the fire. While I
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Speaker 1: was thus looking on them, I perceived by my perspective
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Speaker 1: two miserable wretches dragged from the boats, where it seens
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Speaker 1: they were laid by, and were now brought out for
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Speaker 1: the slaughter. I perceived one of them immediately fall being
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Speaker 1: knocked down, I suppose with a club or wooden sword,
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Speaker 1: for that was their way and two or three others
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Speaker 1: were at work immediately cutting him open for their cookery,
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Speaker 1: while the other victim was left standing by himself that
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Speaker 1: they should be ready for him. In that very moment,
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Speaker 1: this poor wretch, seeing himself a little at liberty and
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Speaker 1: unbound nature, inspired him with hopes of life, and he
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Speaker 1: started away from them and ran with incredible swiftness along
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Speaker 1: the sands directly towards me, I mean towards that part
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Speaker 1: of the coast where my habitation was. I was dreadfully frightened,
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Speaker 1: I must acknowledge when I perceived him run my way,
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Speaker 1: and especially when, as I thought, I saw him pursued
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Speaker 1: by the whole body. Now, I expected that part of
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Speaker 1: my dream was coming to pass, and that he would
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Speaker 1: certainly take shelter in my grove. But I could not depend,
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Speaker 1: by any means upon my dream that the other savages
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Speaker 1: would not pursue him thither and find him there. However,
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Speaker 1: I kept my station, and my spirits began to recover
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Speaker 1: when I found that there was not above three men
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Speaker 1: that followed him, and still more, I was encouraged when
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Speaker 1: I found out that he outstripped them exceedingly in running
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Speaker 1: and gaining ground on them, so that if he could
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Speaker 1: but hold out for half an hour, I saw easily
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Speaker 1: he would fairly get away from them. All there was
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Speaker 1: between them and my castle the creek which I mentioned
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Speaker 1: often in the first part of my story, where I
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Speaker 1: landed my cargoes out of the ship, and this I
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Speaker 1: saw plainly he must necessarily swim over, or the poor
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Speaker 1: wretch would be taken there. But when the savage escaping
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Speaker 1: came thither, he made nothing of it, though the tide
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Speaker 1: was then up, but plunging in, swam through in about
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Speaker 1: thirty strokes or thereabouts, landed and ran with exceeding swiftness
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Speaker 1: and strength. When the three persons came to the creek,
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Speaker 1: I found that two of them could swim, but the
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Speaker 1: third could not, and that standing on the other side,
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Speaker 1: he looked at the others, but went no farther, and
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Speaker 1: soon after went softly back again, which, as it happened,
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Speaker 1: was very well for him. In the end I observed
23:44
Speaker 1: that the two who swam were yet more than twice
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Speaker 1: as strong swimming over the creek as the fellow was
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Speaker 1: that fled from them. It came very warmly upon my thoughts,
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Speaker 1: and indeed irresistibly that now was the time to get
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Speaker 1: me a servant and perhaps a companion or assistant, and
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Speaker 1: that I was plainly called by providence to save this
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Speaker 1: poor creature's life. I immediately ran down the ladders with
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Speaker 1: all possible expedition, fetched my two guns, for they were
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Speaker 1: both at the foot of the ladders, as I observed before,
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Speaker 1: and getting up again with the same haste to the
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Speaker 1: top of the hill, I crossed towards the sea, and,
24:25
Speaker 1: having a very short cut and all downhill, placed myself
24:31
Speaker 1: in the way between the pursuers and the pursued, hallowing
24:35
Speaker 1: aloud to him that fled, who, looking back, was at
24:39
Speaker 1: first perhaps as much frightened at me as at them.
24:43
Speaker 1: But I beckoned with my hand for him to come back,
24:46
Speaker 1: and in the meantime I slowly advanced towards the two
24:50
Speaker 1: that followed, then, rushing at once upon the foremost, I
24:54
Speaker 1: knocked him down with the stock of my piece. I
24:57
Speaker 1: was loathed to fire, because I would not have the
25:01
Speaker 1: rest here, though at that distance it would not have
25:05
Speaker 1: been easily heard, and being out of sight of the smoke, too,
25:09
Speaker 1: they would not have known what to make of it.
25:12
Speaker 1: Having knocked this fellow down, the other who pursued him
25:15
Speaker 1: stopped as if he had been frightened, and I advanced
25:19
Speaker 1: towards him. But as I came nearer, ARE perceived presently
25:25
Speaker 1: he had a bow and arrow and was fitting it
25:28
Speaker 1: to shoot at me. So I was then obliged to
25:32
Speaker 1: shoot at him first, which I did, and killed him
25:35
Speaker 1: at the first shot. The poor savage, who fled but
25:39
Speaker 1: had stopped though he saw both his enemies fallen and
25:43
Speaker 1: killed as he thought, yet was so frightened with the
25:47
Speaker 1: fire and noise of my piece that he stood stock still,
25:52
Speaker 1: and neither came forward nor went backward, though he seemed
25:55
Speaker 1: rather inclined still to fly than to come on. I
26:00
Speaker 1: halloed him again and made signs to come forward, which
26:05
Speaker 1: he easily understood, and came a little way, then stopped again,
26:10
Speaker 1: and then a little farther, and stopped again. And I
26:14
Speaker 1: could then perceive that he stood trembling, as if he
26:18
Speaker 1: had been taken prisoner and had just been to be killed,
26:22
Speaker 1: as his two enemies were. I reckoned to him again
26:27
Speaker 1: to come to me, and gave him all the signs
26:29
Speaker 1: of encouragement that I could think of, and he came
26:32
Speaker 1: nearer and nearer, kneeling down every ten or twelve steps
26:38
Speaker 1: in token of acknowledgment for saving his life. I smiled
26:42
Speaker 1: at him and looked pleasantly, and beckoned to him to
26:46
Speaker 1: come still nearer. At length he came close to me,
26:50
Speaker 1: and then he kneeled down again, kissed the ground, and
26:54
Speaker 1: laid his head upon the ground, and, taking me by
26:57
Speaker 1: the foot, set my foot upon his head. This, it seems,
27:02
Speaker 1: was in token of swearing to be my slave forever.
27:07
Speaker 1: I took him up and made much of him, and
27:09
Speaker 1: encouraged him all I could. But there was no more
27:13
Speaker 1: work to do yet, for I perceived the savage whom
27:16
Speaker 1: I had knocked down was not killed, but stunned with
27:20
Speaker 1: the blow, and began to come to himself. So I
27:23
Speaker 1: pointed to him and showed him, the savage that he
27:25
Speaker 1: was not dead. Upon this he spoke some words to me,
27:29
Speaker 1: and though I could not understand them, yet, I thought
27:32
Speaker 1: they were pleasant to hear, for they were the first
27:35
Speaker 1: sound of a man's voice that I had heard my
27:39
Speaker 1: own accepted for above twenty five years. But there was
27:45
Speaker 1: no time for such reflections. Now. The savage who was
27:49
Speaker 1: knocked down recovered himself so far as to sit up
27:52
Speaker 1: upon the ground, and I perceived that the savage began
27:55
Speaker 1: to be afraid. But when I saw that, I presented
27:59
Speaker 1: my other piece at the man, as if I would
28:01
Speaker 1: shoot him. Upon this, my savage, for so I call him,
28:07
Speaker 1: now made a motion to me to lend him my sword,
28:11
Speaker 1: which hung naked in a belt by my side, which
28:14
Speaker 1: I did. He no sooner had it, But he runs
28:18
Speaker 1: to his enemy and at one blow cut off his
28:21
Speaker 1: head so cleverly. No executioner in Germany could have done
28:25
Speaker 1: it sooner or better, which I thought very strange, for
28:30
Speaker 1: one who I had reason to believe never saw a
28:34
Speaker 1: sword in his life before, except their own wooden swords. However,
28:40
Speaker 1: it seems as if I learned afterwards, they made their
28:43
Speaker 1: wooden swords so sharp, so heavy, and the wood is
28:47
Speaker 1: so hard that they will even cut off heads with them,
28:51
Speaker 1: eye and arms, And that at one blow too. When
28:56
Speaker 1: he had done this, he comes laughing to me and
28:59
Speaker 1: sign of triumph, and brought me the sword again, and
29:02
Speaker 1: with abundance of gestures which I did not understand, laid
29:06
Speaker 1: it down with the head of the savage that he
29:08
Speaker 1: had killed just before me. But that which astonished him
29:14
Speaker 1: most was to know how I killed the other Indians
29:17
Speaker 1: so far off, so pointing to him, he made signs
29:21
Speaker 1: to me to let him go to him, and I
29:25
Speaker 1: bade him go as well as I could. When he
29:28
Speaker 1: came to him, he stood like one amazed, looking at him,
29:33
Speaker 1: turning him first on one side, then on the other,
29:37
Speaker 1: looked at the wound the bullet had made, which it
29:40
Speaker 1: seems was just in his breast where it had made
29:44
Speaker 1: a hole, and no great quantity of blood had followed,
29:48
Speaker 1: but he had bled inwardly, for he was quite dead.
29:53
Speaker 1: He took up his bow and arrows and came back.
29:56
Speaker 1: So I turned to go away and beckoned him to
29:58
Speaker 1: follow me, making signs to him that more might come
30:03
Speaker 1: after them. Upon this, he made signs to me that
30:07
Speaker 1: he should bury them with sand, that they might not
30:10
Speaker 1: be seen by the rest if they followed, And so
30:14
Speaker 1: I made signs to him to do so. He fell
30:18
Speaker 1: to work, and in an instant he had scraped a
30:20
Speaker 1: hole in the sand with his hands big enough to
30:23
Speaker 1: bury the first in, and then dragged him into it
30:26
Speaker 1: and covered him, and did so by the other also.
30:32
Speaker 1: I believe he had buried them both in a quarter
30:35
Speaker 1: of an hour. Then, calling away, I carried him not
30:39
Speaker 1: to my castle, but quite away to my cave on
30:43
Speaker 1: the farther part of the island, so I did not
30:46
Speaker 1: let my dream come to pass in that part that
30:49
Speaker 1: he came to my grove for shelter. Here I gave
30:53
Speaker 1: him bread and a bunch of raisins to eat, and
30:56
Speaker 1: a draft of water, which I found he was indeed
30:59
Speaker 1: in great distress, for from his running, And having refreshed him,
31:04
Speaker 1: I made signs for him to go and lie down
31:06
Speaker 1: to sleep, showing him a place where I had laid
31:09
Speaker 1: some rice straw and a blanket upon it, which I
31:13
Speaker 1: used to sleep upon myself sometimes. So the poor creature
31:17
Speaker 1: laid down and went to sleep. He was a comely,
31:22
Speaker 1: handsome fellow, perfectly well made, with straight, long limbs, not
31:27
Speaker 1: too large, tall and well shaped, and as I reckon,
31:31
Speaker 1: about twenty six years of age, he had a very
31:35
Speaker 1: good countenance, not a fierce and surly aspect, but seemed
31:39
Speaker 1: to have something very manly in his face. And yet
31:43
Speaker 1: he had all the sweetness and softness of a European
31:46
Speaker 1: in his countenance, too, especially when he smiled. His hair
31:51
Speaker 1: was long and black, not curled like wool, his forehead
31:56
Speaker 1: very high and large, and a great vivacity and sparkling
32:01
Speaker 1: sharpness in his eyes. The color of his skin was
32:04
Speaker 1: not quite black, but very tawny, and yet not an
32:09
Speaker 1: ugly yellow, nauseous tawny, as the Brazilians and Virginians and
32:13
Speaker 1: other natives of America are, but of a bright kind
32:17
Speaker 1: of a dun olive color that had in it something
32:21
Speaker 1: very agreeable, though not very easy to describe. His face
32:26
Speaker 1: was round and plump, his nose small, not flat like
32:30
Speaker 1: the Negroes, a very good mouth, thin lips, and fine teeth,
32:35
Speaker 1: well set, and as white as ivory. After he had
32:42
Speaker 1: slumbered rather than slept, about half an hour, he awoke
32:46
Speaker 1: again and came out of the cave to me, for
32:49
Speaker 1: I had been milking my goats, which I had in
32:51
Speaker 1: the enclosure just by. When he espied me. He came
32:55
Speaker 1: running to me, laying himself down again upon the ground,
32:58
Speaker 1: with all the signs of a humble, thankful disposition, making
33:03
Speaker 1: a great many antique gestures to show it. At last
33:07
Speaker 1: he lay his head flat upon the ground close to
33:10
Speaker 1: my foot, and sets my other foot upon his head,
33:14
Speaker 1: as he had done before. And after this made all
33:18
Speaker 1: the signs to me of subjection, servitude, and submission imaginable
33:24
Speaker 1: to let me know how he would serve me so
33:26
Speaker 1: long as he lived. I understood him in many things,
33:30
Speaker 1: and let him know I was very well pleased with him.
33:34
Speaker 1: In a little time, I began to speak to him
33:36
Speaker 1: and teach him to speak to me. And first I
33:39
Speaker 1: let him know his name should be Friday, which was
33:43
Speaker 1: the day I saved his life. I called him so
33:47
Speaker 1: for the memory of the time. I likewise taught him
33:52
Speaker 1: to say master, and then let him know that was
33:56
Speaker 1: to be my name. I likewise taught him to say
33:59
Speaker 1: yes and no, and to know the meaning of them.
34:02
Speaker 1: I gave him some milk in an earthen pot and
34:05
Speaker 1: let him see me drink it before him, and sought
34:08
Speaker 1: my bread in it. Gave him a cake of bread
34:11
Speaker 1: to do the like, which he quickly complied with and
34:14
Speaker 1: made signs that it was very good for him. I
34:18
Speaker 1: kept there with him all that night, but as soon
34:21
Speaker 1: as it was day, I beckoned to him to come
34:23
Speaker 1: with me and let him know I would give him
34:25
Speaker 1: some clothes, at which he seemed very glad, for he
34:30
Speaker 1: was stark naked. As he went by the place where
34:34
Speaker 1: he had buried the two men, he pointed exactly to
34:36
Speaker 1: the place and showed me the marks that he had
34:39
Speaker 1: made to find them again, making signs to me that
34:43
Speaker 1: we should dig them up and eat them. At this
34:47
Speaker 1: I appeared very angry, expressed my abhorrence of it, made
34:52
Speaker 1: as if I would vomit at the thoughts of it,
34:54
Speaker 1: and beckoned him with my hands to come away, which
34:57
Speaker 1: he did immediately with great submission. I then led him
35:02
Speaker 1: up to the top of the hill to see if
35:04
Speaker 1: his enemies were gone, and pulling out my glass, I
35:07
Speaker 1: looked and saw plainly the place where they had been,
35:10
Speaker 1: but no appearance of them or their canoes, so that
35:14
Speaker 1: it was plain they were gone, and had left their
35:17
Speaker 1: two comrades behind them, without any search after them. But
35:23
Speaker 1: I was not content with this discovery. But having now
35:27
Speaker 1: more courage and consequently more curiosity, I took my man
35:32
Speaker 1: Friday with me, giving him the sword in his hand,
35:36
Speaker 1: with the bow and arrows at his back, which I
35:38
Speaker 1: found he could use very dexterously, making him carry one
35:43
Speaker 1: gun for me and I two for myself, and away
35:47
Speaker 1: we marched to the place where these creatures had been,
35:50
Speaker 1: for I had a mind now to get some further
35:53
Speaker 1: intelligence of them. When I came to the place, my
35:57
Speaker 1: very blood ran chill in my veins, and my heart
36:02
Speaker 1: sunk within me at the horror of the spectacle. Indeed,
36:07
Speaker 1: it was a dreadful sight. At least it was so
36:09
Speaker 1: to me, though Friday made nothing of it. The place
36:13
Speaker 1: was covered with human bones, the ground dyed with their blood,
36:18
Speaker 1: in great pieces of flesh left there and here half eaten, mangled,
36:24
Speaker 1: and scorched, in short, all the tokens of the triumphant
36:29
Speaker 1: feast they had been making there after a victory over
36:33
Speaker 1: their enemies. I saw three skulls, five hands, and the
36:39
Speaker 1: bones of three or four legs and feet, and abundance
36:42
Speaker 1: of other parts of bodies. And Friday, by his signs,
36:46
Speaker 1: made me understand that they had brought over four prisoners
36:50
Speaker 1: to feast upon, that three of them were eaten up,
36:53
Speaker 1: and that he pointing to himself, was the fourth. That
36:58
Speaker 1: there had been a great bat between them and their
37:01
Speaker 1: next king, of whose subjects it seems he had been one,
37:06
Speaker 1: And that they had taken a great number of prisoners,
37:10
Speaker 1: all which were carried to several places by those who
37:13
Speaker 1: had taken them in the fight, in order to feast
37:16
Speaker 1: upon them, as was done here by these wretches, upon
37:20
Speaker 1: those they brought hither. I caused Friday to gather all
37:25
Speaker 1: the skulls, bones, flesh, and whatever remained, and lay them
37:29
Speaker 1: together in a heap, and make a great fire upon it,
37:32
Speaker 1: and burn them all to ashes. I found Friday had
37:37
Speaker 1: still a hankering stomach after some of the flesh, and
37:40
Speaker 1: was still a cannibal in his nature. But I showed
37:42
Speaker 1: so much abhorrence at the very thoughts of it, and
37:46
Speaker 1: at the least appearance of it, that he durst not
37:49
Speaker 1: discover it, for I had, by some means let him
37:53
Speaker 1: know that I would kill him if he offered it.
37:58
Speaker 1: When he had done this, came back to our castle,
38:01
Speaker 1: and there I fell to work for my man Friday.
38:05
Speaker 1: And first I gave him a pair of linen trousers
38:08
Speaker 1: which I had out of the poor gunner's chest I mentioned,
38:13
Speaker 1: which I found in the wreck, in which with a
38:15
Speaker 1: little alteration, fitted him very well. And then I made
38:18
Speaker 1: him a jerkin of goat's skin, as well as my
38:22
Speaker 1: skill would allow, for I was now grown a tolerably
38:26
Speaker 1: good tailor. And I gave him a cap, which I
38:29
Speaker 1: made of hair skin, very convenient and fashionable enough, and
38:34
Speaker 1: thus he was clothed for the present tolerably well, and
38:37
Speaker 1: was mighty well pleased to see himself clothed, almost as
38:43
Speaker 1: well as his master. It is true he went awkwardly
38:47
Speaker 1: in these clothes at first. Wearing the drawers was very
38:51
Speaker 1: awkward to him, and the sleeves of the westcot galled
38:55
Speaker 1: his shoulders and the inside of his arms, but little
39:00
Speaker 1: easing them where he had complained they hurt, and using
39:03
Speaker 1: himself to them, he took to them at length very well.
39:10
Speaker 1: The next day, after I came home to my hutch
39:12
Speaker 1: with him, I began to consider where I should lodge him,
39:16
Speaker 1: and that I might do well for him and yet
39:19
Speaker 1: be perfectly easy myself. I made a little tent for
39:23
Speaker 1: him in the vacant place between my two fortifications, in
39:27
Speaker 1: the inside of the last and in the outside of
39:30
Speaker 1: the first. As there was a door or entrance there
39:34
Speaker 1: into my cave, I made a formal framed doorcase and
39:38
Speaker 1: a door to it of boards, and set it up
39:41
Speaker 1: in the passage, a little within the entrance, and causing
39:45
Speaker 1: the door to open up in the inside. I barred
39:49
Speaker 1: it up in the night, taking in my ladders too,
39:52
Speaker 1: so that Friday could no way come at me In
39:54
Speaker 1: the inside of my innermost wall without making so much
39:58
Speaker 1: noise and getting over that it must needs awaken me.
40:02
Speaker 1: For my first wall had now a complete roof over
40:05
Speaker 1: it of long poles, covering all my tent, and leaning
40:09
Speaker 1: up to the side of the hill, which was again
40:12
Speaker 1: laid across with smaller sticks instead of laths, and being
40:18
Speaker 1: thatched over a great thickness with the rice straw, which
40:21
Speaker 1: was strong like reeds. And at the whole or place
40:25
Speaker 1: which was left to go in or out by the latter,
40:28
Speaker 1: I had placed a kind of trap door, which if
40:31
Speaker 1: it had been attempted on the outside, would not have
40:34
Speaker 1: opened at all, but would have fallen down and made
40:37
Speaker 1: a great noise. As to weapons, I took them all
40:41
Speaker 1: into my side every night, but I needed none of
40:45
Speaker 1: all this precaution, For never man had a more faithful, loving,
40:50
Speaker 1: sincere servant than Friday was to me, without passions, sullenness,
40:56
Speaker 1: or designs, perfectly obliged and engaged. His very affections were
41:01
Speaker 1: tied to me like those of a child to a father,
41:05
Speaker 1: And I dare say he would have sacrificed his life
41:09
Speaker 1: to save mine upon any occasion whatsoever. That many testimonies
41:13
Speaker 1: he gave of this put it out of doubt, and
41:17
Speaker 1: soon convinced me that I needed use no precautions for
41:21
Speaker 1: my safety. On his account. This frequently gave me occasion
41:27
Speaker 1: to observe, and that with wonder, that, however, it had
41:31
Speaker 1: pleased God, in his providence and in the government of
41:34
Speaker 1: the works of his hands, to take from so great
41:36
Speaker 1: a part of the world of his creatures the best
41:40
Speaker 1: uses to which their faculties and the powers of their
41:42
Speaker 1: souls are adapted. Yet that He has bestowed upon them
41:47
Speaker 1: the same powers, the same reason, the same affections, the
41:51
Speaker 1: same sentiments of kindness and obligation, the same passions and
41:56
Speaker 1: resentments of wrongs, the same sense of gratitude, sincerity, fidelity,
42:02
Speaker 1: and all the capacities of doing good and receiving good
42:07
Speaker 1: that He has given to us, And that when He
42:11
Speaker 1: pleases to offer them occasions of exerting these, they are
42:16
Speaker 1: as ready, nay more ready, to apply them to the
42:20
Speaker 1: right uses for which they were bestowed, than we are.
42:24
Speaker 1: This made me very melancholy sometimes in reflecting as to
42:29
Speaker 1: the several occasions presented, How mean a use we make
42:35
Speaker 1: of all these, even though we have those powers enlightened
42:39
Speaker 1: by the great lamp of instruction, the spirit of God,
42:43
Speaker 1: and by the knowledge of His word, added to our understanding.
42:48
Speaker 1: And why it has pleased God to hide the like
42:51
Speaker 1: saving knowledge from so many millions of souls, who, if
42:56
Speaker 1: I might judge, by this poor savage, would make a
42:59
Speaker 1: much better use of it than we did. From Hence,
43:03
Speaker 1: I sometimes was led too far to invade the sovereignty
43:08
Speaker 1: of Providence, and as it were, harragn the justice of
43:12
Speaker 1: so arbitrary a disposition of things that should hide that
43:17
Speaker 1: sight from some and reveal it to others, and yet
43:22
Speaker 1: expect a light duty from both. But I shut it
43:26
Speaker 1: up and checked my thoughts with this conclusion. First that
43:30
Speaker 1: we did not know by what light and law these
43:34
Speaker 1: should be condemned, but that as God was necessarily and
43:38
Speaker 1: by the nature of his being infinitely holy and just,
43:43
Speaker 1: so it could not be. But if these creatures were
43:46
Speaker 1: all sentenced to absence from himself, it was on account
43:50
Speaker 1: of sending against that light, which, as the scripture says,
43:55
Speaker 1: was a law to themselves, and by such rules as
43:58
Speaker 1: their consciences acknowledged to be just, though the foundation was
44:03
Speaker 1: not discovered to us. And secondly, that still, as we
44:08
Speaker 1: are all the clay in the hand of the Potter,
44:12
Speaker 1: no vessel could say to him, why hast thou formed me? Thus?
44:18
Speaker 1: But to return to my new companion. I was greatly
44:23
Speaker 1: delighted with him, and made it my business to teach
44:26
Speaker 1: him everything that was proper, to make him useful, handy,
44:31
Speaker 1: and helpful, but especially to make him speak and understand
44:37
Speaker 1: me when I spoke. And he was the aptest scholar
44:42
Speaker 1: that ever was, and particularly was so merry, so constantly diligent,
44:49
Speaker 1: and so pleased when he could but understand me or
44:53
Speaker 1: make me understand him, that it was very pleasant for
44:56
Speaker 1: me to talk to him. Now, my life began to
45:00
Speaker 1: so easy that I began to say to myself that
45:03
Speaker 1: could I but have been safe from more savages? I
45:08
Speaker 1: cared not if I was never to remove from the
45:11
Speaker 1: place where I lived. End of Chapter fourteen.