The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe
the main into consideration; being likewise assured by Friday’s father
that I might depend upon good usage from their nation, on his account,
if I would go. But my thoughts were a little suspended when I had a
serious discourse with the Spaniard, and when I understood that there
were sixteen more of his countrymen and Portuguese, who having been
cast away and made their escape to that side, lived there at peace,
indeed, with the savages, but were very sore put to it for necessaries,
and, indeed, for life. I asked him all the particulars of their voyage,
and found they were a Spanish ship, bound from the Rio de la Plata to
the Havanna, being directed to leave their loading there, which was
chiefly hides and silver, and to bring back what European goods they
could meet with there; that they had five Portuguese seamen on board,
whom they took out of another wreck; that five of their own men were
drowned when first the ship was lost, and that these escaped through
infinite dangers and hazards, and arrived, almost starved, on the
cannibal coast, where they expected to have been devoured every moment.
He told me they had some arms with them, but they were perfectly
useless, for that they had neither powder nor ball, the washing of the
sea having spoiled all their powder but a little, which they used at
their first landing to provide themselves with some food.
I asked him what he thought would become of them there, and if they had
formed any design of making their escape. He said they had many
consultations about it; but that having neither vessel nor tools to
build one, nor provisions of any kind, their councils always ended in
tears and despair. I asked him how he thought they would receive a
proposal from me, which might tend towards an escape; and whether, if
they were all here, it might not be done. I told him with freedom, I
feared mostly their treachery and ill-usage of me, if I put my life in
their hands; for that gratitude was no inherent virtue in the nature of
man, nor did men always square their dealings by the obligations they
had received so much as they did by the advantages they expected. I
told him it would be very hard that I should be made the instrument of
their deliverance, and that they should afterwards make me their
prisoner in New Spain, where an Englishman was certain to be made a
sacrifice, what necessity or what accident soever brought him thither;
and that I had rather be delivered up to the savages, and be devoured
alive, than fall into the merciless claws of the priests, and be
carried into the Inquisition. I added that, otherwise, I was persuaded,
if they were all here, we might, with so many hands, build a barque
large enough to carry us all away, either to the Brazils southward, or
to the islands or Spanish coast northward; but that if, in requital,
they should, when I had put weapons into their hands, carry me by force
among their own people, I might be ill-used for my kindness to them,
and make my case worse than it was before.
He answered, with a great deal of candour and ingenuousness, that their
condition was so miserable, and that they were so sensible of it, that
he believed they would abhor the thought of using any man unkindly that
should contribute to their deliverance; and that, if I pleased, he
would go to them with the old man, and discourse with them about it,
and return again and bring me their answer; that he would make
conditions with them upon their solemn oath, that they should be
absolutely under my direction as their commander and captain; and they
should swear upon the holy sacraments and gospel to be true to me, and
go to such Christian country as I should agree to, and no other; and to
be directed wholly and absolutely by my orders till they were landed
safely in such country as I intended, and that he would bring a
contract from them, under their hands, for that purpose. Then he told
me he would first swear to me himself that he would never stir from me
as long as he lived till I gave him orders; and that he would take my
side to the last drop of his blood, if there should happen the least
breach of faith among his countrymen. He told me they were all of them
very civil, honest men, and they were under the greatest distress
imaginable, having neither weapons nor clothes, nor any food, but at
the mercy and discretion of the savages; out of all hopes of ever
returning to their own country; and that he was sure, if I would
undertake their relief, they would live and die by me.
Upon these assurances, I resolved to venture to relieve them, if
possible, and to send the old savage and this Spaniard over to them to
treat. But when we had got all things in readiness to go, the Spaniard
himself started an objection, which had so much prudence in it on one
hand, and so much sincerity on the other hand, that I could not but be
very well satisfied in it; and, by his advice, put off the deliverance
of his comrades for at least half a year. The case was thus: he had
been with us now about a month, during which time I had let him see in
what manner I had provided, with the assistance of Providence, for my
support; and he saw evidently what stock of corn and rice I had laid
up; which, though it was more than sufficient for myself, yet it was
not sufficient, without good husbandry, for my family, now it was
increased to four; but much less would it be sufficient if his
countrymen, who were, as he said, sixteen, still alive, should come
over; and least of all would it be sufficient to victual our vessel, if
we should build one, for a voyage to any of the Christian colonies of
America; so he told me he thought it would be more advisable to let him
and the other two dig and cultivate some more land, as much as I could
spare seed to sow, and that we should wait another harvest, that we
might have a supply of corn for his countrymen, when they should come;
for want might be a temptation to them to disagree, or not to think
themselves delivered, otherwise than out of one difficulty into
another. “You know,” says he, “the children of Israel, though they
rejoiced at first for their being delivered out of Egypt, yet rebelled
even against God Himself, that delivered them, when they came to want
bread in the wilderness.”
His caution was so seasonable, and his advice so good, that I could not
but be very well pleased with his proposal, as well as I was satisfied
with his fidelity; so we fell to digging, all four of us, as well as
the wooden tools we were furnished with permitted; and in about a
month’s time, by the end of which it was seed-time, we had got as much
land cured and trimmed up as we sowed two-and-twenty bushels of barley
on, and sixteen jars of rice, which was, in short, all the seed we had
to spare: indeed, we left ourselves barely sufficient, for our own food
for the six months that we had to expect our crop; that is to say
reckoning from the time we set our seed aside for sowing; for it is not
to be supposed it is six months in the ground in that country.
Having now society enough, and our numbers being sufficient to put us
out of fear of the savages, if they had come, unless their number had
been very great, we went freely all over the island, whenever we found
occasion; and as we had our escape or deliverance upon our thoughts, it
was impossible, at least for me, to have the means of it out of mine.
For this purpose I marked out several trees, which I thought fit for
our work, and I set Friday and his father to cut them down; and then I
caused the Spaniard, to whom I imparted my thoughts on that affair, to
oversee and direct their work. I showed them with what indefatigable
pains I had hewed a large tree into single planks, and I caused them to
do the like, till they made about a dozen large planks, of good oak,
near two feet broad, thirty-five feet long, and from two inches to four
inches thick: what prodigious labour it took up any one may imagine.
At the same time I contrived to increase my little flock of tame goats
as much as I could; and for this purpose I made Friday and the Spaniard
go out one day, and myself with Friday the next day (for we took our
turns), and by this means we got about twenty young kids to breed up
with the rest; for whenever we shot the dam, we saved the kids, and
added them to our flock. But above all, the season for curing the
grapes coming on, I caused such a prodigious quantity to be hung up in
the sun, that, I believe, had we been at Alicant, where the raisins of
the sun are cured, we could have filled sixty or eighty barrels; and
these, with our bread, formed a great part of our food—very good living
too, I assure you, for they are exceedingly nourishing.
It was now harvest, and our crop in good order: it was not the most
plentiful increase I had seen in the island, but, however, it was
enough to answer our end; for from twenty-two bushels of barley we
brought in and thrashed out above two hundred and twenty bushels; and
the like in proportion of the rice; which was store enough for our food
to the next harvest, though all the sixteen Spaniards had been on shore
with me; or, if we had been ready for a voyage, it would very
plentifully have victualled our ship to have carried us to any part of
the world; that is to say, any part of America. When we had thus housed
and secured our magazine of corn, we fell to work to make more
wicker-ware, viz. great baskets, in which we kept it; and the Spaniard
was very handy and dexterous at this part, and often blamed me that I
did not make some things for defence of this kind of work; but I saw no
need of it.
And now, having a full supply of food for all the guests I expected, I
gave the Spaniard leave to go over to the main, to see what he could do
with those he had left behind him there. I gave him a strict charge not
to bring any man who would not first swear in the presence of himself
and the old savage that he would in no way injure, fight with, or
attack the person he should find in the island, who was so kind as to
send for them in order to their deliverance; but that they would stand
by him and defend him against all such attempts, and wherever they went
would be entirely under and subjected to his command; and that this
should be put in writing, and signed in their hands. How they were to
have done this, when I knew they had neither pen nor ink, was a
question which we never asked. Under these instructions, the Spaniard
and the old savage, the father of Friday, went away in one of the
canoes which they might be said to have come in, or rather were brought
in, when they came as prisoners to be devoured by the savages. I gave
each of them a musket, with a firelock on it, and about eight charges
of powder and ball, charging them to be very good husbands of both, and
not to use either of them but upon urgent occasions.
This was a cheerful work, being the first measures used by me in view
of my deliverance for now twenty-seven years and some days. I gave them
provisions of bread and of dried grapes, sufficient for themselves for
many days, and sufficient for all the Spaniards—for about eight days’
time; and wishing them a good voyage, I saw them go, agreeing with them
about a signal they should hang out at their return, by which I should
know them again when they came back, at a distance, before they came on
shore. They went away with a fair gale on the day that the moon was at
full, by my account in the month of October; but as for an exact
reckoning of days, after I had once lost it I could never recover it
again; nor had I kept even the number of years so punctually as to be
sure I was right; though, as it proved when I afterwards examined my
account, I found I had kept a true reckoning of years.
It was no less than eight days I had waited for them, when a strange