Latest / Adventure Books Library / 12 - Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe

Transcript

12 - Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe · Adventure Books Library

• Chapter twelve, a cave retreat. While this was doing, I was not altogether careless of my other affairs, for I had a great concern upon me for my little herd of goats. They were not only already supply to me on every occasion, and began to be sufficient for me without the expense of powder and shot, but also without the fatigue of hunting after the wild ones. And I was loath to lose the advantage of them, and to have them all to nurse up over again. For this purpose, After long consideration, I could think of but two ways to preserve them. One was to find another convenient place to dig a cave underground, and to drive them into it every night. And the other was to enclose two or three little bits of land, remote from one another, and as much conceived as I could, where I might keep about a half dozen young goats in each place, so that if any disaster happened to the flock in general, I might be able to raise them again with little trouble and time. And this, though it would require a good deal of time in labor, I thought was the most rational design. Accordingly, I spent some time to find out the most retired parts of the island, and I pitched upon one which was as private, indeed as my heart could wish. It was a little damp piece of ground in the middle of the hollow and thick woods, where as is observed, I almost lost myself once before endeavoring to come back that way from the eastern part of the island. Here I found a clear piece of land near three acres, so surrounded with woods that it was almost an enclosure by nature. At least it did not want near so much labor to make it so as the other piece of ground I had worked so hard at. I immediately went to work with this piece of ground, and in less than a month's time I had so fenced it round that my flock or herd call it what she please, which were not so wild now as at first they might be supposed to be, were well enough secured in it. So without any further delay I removed ten young she goats and two he goats to this piece, and when they were there, I continued to perfect the fence till I had made it as secure as the other, which, however, I did at more leisure, and it took me up more time by a great deal all this labor I was at the expense of, purely from my apprehensions, on account of the print of a man's foot, For as yet I had never seen any human creature come near the island, and I had now lived two years under this uneasiness, which indeed made my life much less comfortable than it was before, as may well be imagined by any who know what it is to live in the constant snare of the fear of man. And this I must observe with grief too, that the discomposure of my mind had great impression also upon the religious part of my thoughts. For the dread and terror of falling into the hands of savages and cannibals lay so upon my spirits that I seldom found myself in a due temper for application to my maker, at least not with the sedate calmness and resignation of soul, which I was wont to do. I rather prayed to God as under great affliction and pressure of mind, surrounded with danger, and in expectation every night of being murdered and devoured before morning. And I must testify from my experience that a temper of peace, thankfulness, love, and affection is much more the proper frame for prayer than that of terror and discomposure, and that under the dread of mischief impending a man is no more fit for a comforting performance of the duty of praying to God than he is for a repentance on a sick bed. For these discomposures affect the mind as the others do the body, and the discomposure of the mind must necessarily be as great a disability as that of the body, and much greater, praying to God being properly an act of the mind, not of the body. But to go on. After I had thus secured one part of my little living stock, I went about the whole island, searching for another private place to make such another deposit. When wandering more to the west point of the island than I had ever done yet, and looking out to the sea, I thought I saw a boat upon the sea. At a great distance. I had found a perspective glass or two in one of the seamen's chests, which I saved out of our ship. But I had it not about me, and this was so remote that I could not tell what to make of it, though I looked at it till my eyes were not able to hold to look any longer. Whether it was a boat or not, I do not know. But as I descended from the hill, I could see no more of it, so I gave it over only I resolved to go no more out without a prospective glass in my pocket. When I was come down the hill to the end of the island, where indeed I had never been before, I was presently convinced that the scene the print of a man's foot, was not such a strange thing in the island as I imagined, but that it was a special providence that I was cast upon the side of the island where the savages never came. I should easily have known that nothing was more frequent than for the canoes from the main when they happened to be a little too far out at sea to shoot over to that side of the island for harbor. And likewise, as they often met and fought in their canoes, the victors, having taken away prisoners, would bring them over to this shore, where, according to their dreadful customs, being all cannibals, they would kill and eat them, end of which hereafter, when I was come down the hill to the shore, as I said above, being the southwest point of the island, I was perfectly confounded and amazed. Nor is it possible for me to express the horror of my mind at seeing the shore spread with skulls, hands, feet, and other bones of human bodies. And particularly I observed a place where there had been a fire made, and a circle dug in the earth like a cockpit, where I supposed the savage wretches had sat down to their human feastings upon the bodies of their fellow creatures. I was so astonished with the sight of these things that I entertained no notions of any danger to myself from it. For a long while, all my apprehensions were buried in the thoughts of such a pitch of inhuman hellish brutality, and the horror of the degeneracy of human nature, which though I had heard of it often, yet I never had so near a view of before. In short, I turned away my face from the horrid spectacle. My stomach grew sick, and I was just at the point of fainting when Nature discharged the disorder from my stomach, and having vomited with uncommon violence, I was a little relieved, but could not bear to stay in the place a moment. So I got up the hill again with all the speed I could, and walked on towards my own habitation. When I came a little out of that part of the island, I stood still, awhile, amazed, and then recovering myself, I looked up with the utmost affection of my soul, and with a flood of tears in my eyes, gave God thanks that had cast my first lot in a part of the world where I was distinguished from such dreadful creatures as these, And that though I had esteemed my present condition very miserable, had yet given me so many comforts in it, that I had still more to give thanks for than to complain of. And this above all, that I had, even in this miserable condition, been comforted with the knowledge of Himself and the hope of His blessing, which was a felicity more than sufficiently equivalent to all the misery which I had suffered or could suffer. In this frame of thankfulness, I went home to my castle and began to be much easier now as to the safety of my circumstances than ever I was before. For I had observed that these wretches never came to this island in search of what they could get, perhaps not seeking, not wanting, or not expecting anything here, and having often no doubt been up the covered witty part of it without finding anything to their purpose. I knew I had been here now almost eighteen years, and never saw the least footsteps of human creature there before. And I might be eighteen years more as entirely concealed as I was now if I did not discover myself to them, which I had no manner of occasion to do, it being only my business to keep myself entirely concealed where I was, unless I found a better sort of creatures than cannibals to make myself known to. Yet I entertained such an abhorrence of the savage wretches that I had been speaking of, and of the wretched inhuman custom of their devouring and eating one another up, that I continued pensive and sad, and kept close within my own circle for all my almost two years after this. When I say my own circle, I mean by it my three plantations. That is my castle, my country seat, which I called my bower, and my enclosure in the woods. Nor did I look after this for any other use than an enclosure for my goats. For the aversion which nature gave me to these hellish wretches was such that I was as fearful of seeing them as of seeing the devil himself. I did not so much as go to look after my boat all this time, but began rather to think of making another, for I could not think of ever making any more attempts to bring the other boat round the island to me, lest I should meet with some of these creatures at sea, in which case, if I had happened to have fallen in their hands, I knew what would have been my lot. Time. However, and these satisfaction I had that I was in no danger of being discovered by these people began to wear off my uneasiness about them, and I began to live just the same composed manner as before, only with this difference that I used more caution and kept my eyes more about me than I did before, lest I should happen to be seen by any of them, And particularly I was more cautious of firing my gun lest any of them, being on the island, should happen to hear it. It was therefore a very good providence to me that I had furnished myself with a tame breed of goats, and that I had no need to hunt any more about the woods or shoot at them. And if I did catch any of them after this, it was by traps and snares, as I had done before, So that for two years after this, I believe I never fired my gun once off, though I never went out without it. And what was more, as I had saved three pistols out of the ship, I always carried them out with me, or at least two of them, sticking them in my goat skin belt. I also furbished up one of the great cutlasses that I had out of the ship, and made me a belt to hang it on, also so that I was now a most formidable fellow to look at when I went abroad. If you add to the former description of myself the particular of two pistols and a broadsword hanging at my side in a belt and without a scabbard. Things going on thus, as I have said, for some time I seemed, accepting these cautions to be reduced to my former calm, sedate way of living. All these things tended to show me more and more how far my condition was from being miserable compared to some others, to many other particulars of life, which it might have been pleasing to God to have made my lot. It put me upon reflecting how little repining there would be among mankind at any condition of life. If people would rather compare their condition with those that were worse in order to be thankful, then be always comparing them with those which are better to assist their murmurings and complainings. As in my present condition, there were not really many things which I wanted. So indeed, I thought that the frights I had been in about these wretched savages, and the concern I had been in for my own preservation, had taken off the edge of my invention for my own conveniences, and I had dropped a good design which I had once spent my thoughts upon, and that was to try if I could not make some of my barley into malt, and then try to brew myself some beer. This was really a whimsical thought, and I reproved myself often for the simplicity of it, For I presently saw that there would be the want of several things necessary to the making of my beer, that it would be impossible for me to supply as first task to preserve it in which was a thing that, as I have observed already, I could never compass. Now though I spent not only many days, but weeks, nay months, in attempting it, but to no purpose. In the next place, I had no hops to make it keep, no use to make it work, no copper or cattle to make it boil. And yet with all these things wanting, I verily believe had not the frights and terrors I was in about the savages intervened. I had undertaken it and perhaps brought it to pass. Two. For I sell gave anything over without accomplishing it, when once I had it in my head to begin it. But my invention now ran quite another way. For night and day I could think of nothing but how I might destroy some of the monsters in their cruel, bloody entertainment, and if possible, save the victim they should bring hither to destroy. It would take up a larger volume than this. Whole work is intended to be to set down all the contrivances I hatched, or rather brooded upon, in my thoughts for the destroying these creatures, or at least frightening them, so as to prevent their coming hither anymore. But all this was a bortive. Nothing could be possible to take effect unless I was to be there to do it myself. And what could one man do among them, when perhaps there might be twenty or thirty of them, together with their dark arts, or their bows and arrows, with which they could shoot as true to a mark as I could with my gun. Sometimes I thought if digging a hole unto the place where they made their fire, and putting in five or six pounds of gunpowder, which when they kindled their fire, would consequantly take fire and blow up all that was near it. But as in the first place, I should be unwilling to waste so much powder upon them, my store being now within the quantity of one barrel, so neither could I be sure of its going off at any certain time when it might surprise them, And at best that it would do little more than just blow the fire about their ears and fright them, but not sufficient to make them forsake the place. So I laid it aside, and then proposed that I would place myself in ambush in some convenient place, with my three guns, all double loaded, and in the middle of their bloody ceremony, let fly at them when I should be sure to kill or wound, perhaps two or three at every shot, and then falling in among them with my three pistols at my sword. I made no doubt but that if there were twenty, I should kill them all. This fancy pleased my thoughts for some weeks, and I was so full of it that I often dreamed of it, and sometimes that I was just going to let fly at them in my sleep. I went so far with it in my imagination that I employed myself several days to find out proper places to put myself in ambuscade, as I said, to watch for them. And I went frequently to that place itself, which was now grown more familiar to me. But while my mind was thus filled with thoughts of revenge and a bloody putting twenty or thirty of them to the sword, as I may call it, the horror I had at the place, and the signals of the barbarous wretches devouring one another, abetded my malice well. At length I found a place in the side of the hill, where I was satisfied, I might securely wait till I saw any of their boats coming, and might, then, even before they would be ready to come on shore, convey myself unseen into some thickets of trees, in one of which there was a hollow large enough to conceal me entirely, And there I might sit and observe all their bloody doings, and take my full aim at their heads when they were so close together as that it would be next to impossible that I should miss my shot, or that I would fail wounding three or four of them at the first shot. In this place I resolved to fulfill my design, and accordingly I prepared two muskets and my ordinary filing piece. The two muskets I loaded with a brace of slugs each and four or five smaller bullets about the size of pistol bullets, and the foling piece I loaded with near a handful of swanshot of the largest size. I also loaded my pistols with about four bullets each, and in this posture well provided with ammunition for a second and third charge, I prepared myself for my expedition. After I had thus laid the scheme of my design, and in my imagination put it in practice. I continually made my tour every morning to the top of the hill, which was from my castle, as I called it, about three miles or more, to see if I could observe any boats upon the sea, coming near the island, or standing over towards it. But I began to tire of this hard duty after I had for two or three months constantly kept my watch, but came always back without any discovery, there having not in all that time been the least appearance, not only on or near the shore, but on the whole ocean, so far as my eye or glass could reach every way. As long as I kept my daily tour to the hill to look out, so long also I kept up the vigor of my design, and my spirit seemed to be all the while in a suitable frame for so outrageous an execution as the killing twenty or thirty naked savages, for an offense which I had not at all entered into any discussion of in my thoughts any farther than my passions were at first fired by the horror I conceived at the unnatural custom of the people of that country, who, it seems, had been suffered by Providence in his wise disposition of the world, to have no other guide than that of their own abominable and vitiated passions, and consequently were left, and perhaps had been so for some ages to act such horrid things and receive such horrid customs, as nothing but nature entirely abandoned by Heaven and actuated by some hellish degeneracy, could have run them into. But now, when as I have said, I began to be weary of the fruitless excursion which I had made so long, and so far every morning in vain, so my opinion of the action itself began to alter, and I began, with cooler and calmer thoughts to consider what I was going to engage in. What authority or call I had to pretend to be judge and executioner upon these men as criminals whom Heaven had thought fit for so many ages to suffer unpunished, to go on and to be, as it were, the executioners of his judgments upon another. How far these people were offenders against me? And what right I had to engage in the quarrel of that blood which they shed promiscuously upon one another. I debated this very often with myself. Thus, how do I know what God himself judges in this particular case. It is certain these people do not commit this as a crime. It is not against their own consciences reproving or their light reproaching them. They do not know it to be in offense, and then commit it in defiance of divine justice, as we do in almost all the sins we commit. They think it no more a crime to kill a captive taken in war than we do to kill an ox, or to eat human flesh than we do to eat mutton. When I considered this a little, it followed necessarily that I was certainly in the wrong. That these people were not murderers in the sense that I had before condemned them in my thoughts, anymore than those Christians were murderers who often put to death the prisoners taken in battle, or more frequently, upon many occasions, put whole troops of men to the sword without giving quarter. Though they threw down their arms and submitted. In the next place, it occurred to me that although the usage they gave one another was thus brutish and inhuman, yet it was really nothing to me. These people had done me no injury. That if they attempted, or I saw it necessary for my immediate preservation to fall upon them, something might be said for it, but that I was yet out of their power, and they really had no knowledge of me, and consequently no design upon me, and therefore it could not be just for me to fall upon them. That this would justify the conduct of the Spaniards and all their barbarities practiced in America, where they destroyed millions of these people, who, however, they were idolaters and barbarians, and had several bloody and barbarous rights in their customs, such as sacrificing human bodies to their idols, were yet, as to the Spaniards, very innocent people, and that the rooting of them out of the country is spoken of with the utmost abhorrence and detestation by even the Spaniards themselves at this time and by all other Christian nations of Europe, as a mere butchery, a bloody and unnatural peace of cruelty, unjustifiable either to God or man, and for which the very name of a Spaniard is reckoned to be frightful and terrible to all people of humanity or of Christian compassion, as if the Kingdom of Spain were particularly imminent for the produce of a race of men who were without principles of tenderness or the common bowels of pity to the miserable, which is reckoned to be a mark of generous temper. In the mind, these considerations really put me to a pause and to a kind of full stop. And I began, by little and little to be off my design, and to conclude that I had taken wrong measures in my resolution to attack the savages, and that it was not my business to meddle with them unless they first attacked me, and this it was my business, if possible, to prevent, but that if I were discovered and attacked by them, I knew my duty. On the other hand, I argued with myself that this was really the way, not to deliver myself, but entirely to ruin and destroy myself, For unless I was sure to kill every one of them, that not only should be on the shore at that time, but that should ever come on shore afterwards if but one of them escaped to tell their country people what had happened, they would come over again by thousands to revenge the death of their fellows, and I should only bring upon myself a certain destruction which at present I had no manner of occasion for. Upon the whole I concluded that I ought neither in principle nor in policy, one way or other, to concern myself in this affair. That my my business was by all possible means to conceal myself from them, and not to leave the least sign for them to guess by that there were any living creatures upon the island, I mean of human shape. Religion joined in with this prudential resolution, and I was convinced now many ways that I was perfectly out of my duty when I was laying all my bloody schemes for the destruction of innocent creatures, I mean innocent as to me. As to the crimes they were guilty of towards one another, I had nothing to do with them. They were national, and I ought to leave them to the justice of God, who is the governor of nations, and knows how by national punishments to make a just retribution for national offenses, and to bring public judgments upon those who offend in a public manner by such ways as best please him. Appeared so clear to me now that nothing was a greater satisfaction to me than that I had not been suffered to do a thing which I now saw so much reason to believe would have been no less a sin than that of wilful murder if I had committed it. And I gave most humble thanks on my knees to God that he had thus delivered me from blood guiltiness, beseeching him to grant me the protection of his providence, that I might not fall into the hands of the barbarians, or that I might not lay my hands upon them, unless I had a more clear call from Heaven to do it in defense of my own life. In this disposition I continued for near a year after this, and so far was I from desiring an occasion for falling upon these wretches, that in all that time I never once went up to the hill to see whether there were any of them in sight, or to know whether any of them had been on shore there or not. That I might not be tempted to renew any of my contrivances against them, or be provoked by any advantage that might present itself to fall upon them. Only this I did. I went and removed my boat, which I had on the other side of the island, and carried it down to the east end of the whole island, where I ran it into a little cove which I found under some high rocks, and where I knew, by reason of the currents, the savages durst not at least would not come with their boats upon any account whatsoever. With my boat I carried away everything that I had left there belonging to her, though not necessary for the bear going thither. That is a mast and sail which I had made for her, in a thing like an anchor, but which indeed could not be called either anchor or a grapnel. However, it was the best I could make of its kind. All these I removed that there might not be the least shadow for discovery or appearance of any boat, or of any human habitation upon the island. Besides this, I kept myself more to myself, as I said, more retired than ever, and seldom went from my cell except upon my constant employment to milk my she goats and manage my little flock in the wood, which, as it was quite on the other part of the island, was out of danger. For certain it is that these savage people who sometimes haunted this island never came with any thoughts of finding anything here, and consequently never wandered off from the coast. And I doubt not, but they might have been several times on shore after my apprehensions of them had made me cautious as well as before. Indeed, I looked back with some horror upon the thoughts of what my condition would have been if I had chopped upon them and been discovered before that, when naked and unarmed except with one gun, and that loaded often only with small shot, I walked everywhere, peeping and peering about the island to see what I could get. What a surprise should I have been in if when I discovered the print of a man's foot, I had, instead of that, seen fifteen or twenty savages, and found them pursuing me, and by the swiftness of their running, no possibility of my escaping them. The thoughts of this sometimes sank my very soul within me, and distressed my mind so much that I could not soon recover it to think what I should have done, and how I should not only have been unable to resist them, but even should not have had presence of mind enough to do what I might have done, much less what now, after so much consideration and preparation I might be able to do. Indeed, after serious thinking of these things, I would be melancholy, and sometimes it would last a great while. But I resolved it all at last into thankfulness to that providence which had delivered me, and had kept me from so many unseen dangers, and from those mischiefs which I could have no way been the agent in delivering myself from, because I had not the least notion of any such thing depending or the least supposition of its being possible. This renewed a contemplation which often had come into my thought in former times, when first I began to see the merciful dispositions of Heaven in the dangers we run through in this life. How wonderfully we are delivered when we know nothing of it. How when we are in a quandary, as we call it, a doubt or hesitation, whether to go this way or that way, secret hint will direct us this way when we intended to go that way. Nay, when since our own inclination and perhaps business, has called us to go the other way. Yet a strange impression upon the mind, from we know not what springs, and by we know not what power shall overrule us to go this way, and it shall afterwards appear that had we gone that way which we should have gone, and even to our imagination ought to have gone, we should have been ruined and lost. Upon those and many like reflections, I afterwards made it a certain rule with me that whenever I found those secret hints or pressings of mind to doing or not doing anything that presented or going this way or that way, I never failed to obey the secret dictate, though I knew no other reason for it than such a pressure or such a hint hung upon my mind. I could give many examples of the success of this conduct in the course of my life, but more especially in the latter part of my inhabiting this unhappy island, besides many occasions which it is very likely I might have taken notice of if I had seen with the same eyes then that I see with now. But it is never too late to be wise, and I cannot but advise all considering men whose lives are tended with such extraordinary incidents as mine, or even though not so extraordinary, not to slight, such secret intimations of providence. Let them come from what invisible intelligence they will, that I shall not discuss, and perhaps cannot account for. But certainly they are a proof of the converse of spirits, and a secret communication between those embodied and those unembodied, And such a proof as can never be understood, of which I shall have occasion to give some remarkable instances in the remainder of my solitary residence in this dismal place. I believe the reader of this will not think it's strange if I confess that these anxieties, these constant dangers, I lived in, and the concern that was now upon me, put an end to all invention, into all the contrivances that I laid for my fear future accommodations and conveniences. I had the care of my safety more now upon my hands than that of my food. I cared not to drive a nail or chop a stick of wood now, for fear the noise I might make should be heard. Much less would I fire a gun for the same reason. And above all I was intolerably uneasy at making any fire, lest the smoke which is visible at a great distance. In the day should betray me. For this reason, I removed that part of my business which required fire, such as burning of pots and pipes, et cetera, into my new apartment in the woods, where after I had been for some time, I found to my unspeakable consolation, a mere natural cave in the earth, which went in a vast way in where I dare say, no savage, had he been at the mouth of it, would be so hearty as to venture in. Indeed, would any man else but one who like me, wanted nothing so much as a safe retreat. The mouth of this hollow was at the bottom of a great rock, where, by mere accident, I would say, if I did not see abundant reason to ascribe all such things now to providence. I was cutting down some thick branches of trees to make charcoal, And before I go on, I must observe the reason of my making this charcoal, which was this. I was afraid of making a smoke about my habitation, as I said before, And yet I could not live there without baking my bread, cooking my meat, etc. So I contrived to burn some wood here, as I had seen done in England under turf, till it became chark or dry coal, and then putting the fire out, I preserved the coal to carry home the other services for which fire was wanting, without danger of smoke. But this is by the bye. While I was cutting down some wood here I perceived that behind a very thick branch of low brushwood or underwood, there was a kind of hollow place. I was curious to look in it, and getting with difficulty into the mouth of it, I found it was pretty large, that is to say, sufficient for me to stand upright in, and perhaps another with me. But I must confess to you that I made more haste out than I did in. When looking farther into the place, which was perfectly dark, I saw two broad shining eyes of some creature, whether devil or man, I knew not, which twinkled like two stars, the dim light from the cave's mouth, shining directly in and making the reflection. However, after some pause, I recovered myself and began to call myself a thousand fools, and to think that he that was afraid to see the devil was not fit to live twenty years in an island all alone, and that I might well think there was nothing in this cave that was more frightful than myself. Upon this, plucking up my courage, I took up a firebrand, and and I rushed again, with the stick flaming in my hand. I had not gone three steps in before I was almost as frightened as before, for I heard a very loud sigh, like that of a man in some pain, and it was followed by a broken noise, as of words hath expressed, and then a deep sigh. Again. I stepped back, and was indeed struck with such a surprise that it put me into a cold sweat. And if I had had a hat upon my head, I will not answer for it that my hair might not have lifted it off. But still plucking up my spirits as well as I could, and encouraging myself a little with considering that the power and presence of God was everywhere and was able to protect me, I stepped forward again, and by the light of the firebrand, holding it up a little over my head, I saw lying on the ground a monstrous, frightful old he goat, just making his will, as we say, and gasping for life, and dying indeed of mere old age. I stirred him a little to see if I could get him out, And he has saved to get up, but was not able to raise himself. And I thought with myself he might even lie there, for if he had frightened me, so he would certainly fright away any of the savages, if any of them should be so hearty as to come in there while he had life in him. I was now recovered from my surprise and began to look around me when I found the cave was but very small. That is to say, it might be about twelve feet over, but in no manner of shape, neither round or square, no hands having ever been employed in making it, but those of mere nature. I observed also that there was a place at the farther side of it that went in further, but was so low that it required me to creep upon my hands and knees to go into it. And whither it went I knew not so, having no candle, I gave it over for that time, but resolved to go again the next day, provided with candles and a tinder box, which I had made of the lock of one of the muskets, with some wildfire in the pan. Accordingly, the next day I came provided with six large candles of my own making, for I had very good candles now of goat's tallow, but was hard set for candle wick, using sometimes rags or rope yarn, and sometimes the dried rind of a weed like nettles. And going into this low place, I was obliged to creep upon all fours, as I have said, almost ten yards, which by the way, I thought was a venture bold enough, considering that I knew not how far it might go, nor what was beyond it. When I had got through the strait, I found the roof rose higher up, I believe near twenty feet. But never was such a glorious sight seen in the island. I dare say, as it was to look round the sides and roof of this vault or cave. The wall reflected one hundred thousand lights to me from my two candles. What was in the rock, whether diamonds or any other precious or gold, which I rather supposed it to be, I knew not. The place I was in was a most delightful cavity or grotto. Though perfectly dark, the floor was dry and level and had a sort of a small loose gravel upon it, so that there was no nauseous or venomous creature to be seen. Neither was there any damp or wet on the sides of roof. The only difficulty in it was the entrance, which, however, as it was a place of security and such a retreat as I wanted, I thought was a convenience, so that I was really rejoiced at the discovery, and resolved without any delay to bring some of the things which I was most anxious about to this place. Particularly, I resolved to bring hinder my magazine of powder and all my spare arms, that is two fouling pieces, for I had three in all, and three muskets four of them I had eight at all, so I kept in my castle only five, which stood ready mounted like pieces of cannon, on my utmost fence, and were ready also to take out upon any expedition. Upon this occasion of removing my ammunition, I happened to open the barrel of powder which I took up out of the sea, and which had been wet, And I found that the water had penetrated about three or four inches into the powder on every side, which caking and growing hard, had preserved the inside like a kernel in the shell, so that I had near sixty pounds of very good powder in the center of the cask. This was a very agreeable discovery to be at that time. So I carried all away thither, never keeping above two or three pounds of powder with me in my castle, for fear of a surprise of any kind. I also carried thither all the lead I had left for bullets. I fancied myself now like one of the ancient giants who were said to live in caves and holes in the rocks, where none could come at them. For I persuaded myself while I was here that if five hundred savages were to hunt me, they could never find me out, or if they did, they would not venture to attack me here. The old goat, whom I found expiring, died in the mouth of the cave the next day after I made this discovery, And I found it much easier to dig a great hole there and throw him in and cover him with earth than to drag him out. So I in teared him there to prevent offense to my nose. End of Chapter twelve