The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe
surprised me most was, that the ship was lifted off in the night from
the sand where she lay by the swelling of the tide, and was driven up
almost as far as the rock which I at first mentioned, where I had been
so bruised by the wave dashing me against it. This being within about a
mile from the shore where I was, and the ship seeming to stand upright
still, I wished myself on board, that at least I might save some
necessary things for my use.
When I came down from my apartment in the tree, I looked about me
again, and the first thing I found was the boat, which lay, as the wind
and the sea had tossed her up, upon the land, about two miles on my
right hand. I walked as far as I could upon the shore to have got to
her; but found a neck or inlet of water between me and the boat which
was about half a mile broad; so I came back for the present, being more
intent upon getting at the ship, where I hoped to find something for my
present subsistence.
A little after noon I found the sea very calm, and the tide ebbed so
far out that I could come within a quarter of a mile of the ship. And
here I found a fresh renewing of my grief; for I saw evidently that if
we had kept on board we had been all safe—that is to say, we had all
got safe on shore, and I had not been so miserable as to be left
entirely destitute of all comfort and company as I now was. This forced
tears to my eyes again; but as there was little relief in that, I
resolved, if possible, to get to the ship; so I pulled off my
clothes—for the weather was hot to extremity—and took the water. But
when I came to the ship my difficulty was still greater to know how to
get on board; for, as she lay aground, and high out of the water, there
was nothing within my reach to lay hold of. I swam round her twice, and
the second time I spied a small piece of rope, which I wondered I did
not see at first, hung down by the fore-chains so low, as that with
great difficulty I got hold of it, and by the help of that rope I got
up into the forecastle of the ship. Here I found that the ship was
bulged, and had a great deal of water in her hold, but that she lay so
on the side of a bank of hard sand, or, rather earth, that her stern
lay lifted up upon the bank, and her head low, almost to the water. By
this means all her quarter was free, and all that was in that part was
dry; for you may be sure my first work was to search, and to see what
was spoiled and what was free. And, first, I found that all the ship’s
provisions were dry and untouched by the water, and being very well
disposed to eat, I went to the bread room and filled my pockets with
biscuit, and ate it as I went about other things, for I had no time to
lose. I also found some rum in the great cabin, of which I took a large
dram, and which I had, indeed, need enough of to spirit me for what was
before me. Now I wanted nothing but a boat to furnish myself with many
things which I foresaw would be very necessary to me.
It was in vain to sit still and wish for what was not to be had; and
this extremity roused my application. We had several spare yards, and
two or three large spars of wood, and a spare topmast or two in the
ship; I resolved to fall to work with these, and I flung as many of
them overboard as I could manage for their weight, tying every one with
a rope, that they might not drive away. When this was done I went down
the ship’s side, and pulling them to me, I tied four of them together
at both ends as well as I could, in the form of a raft, and laying two
or three short pieces of plank upon them crossways, I found I could
walk upon it very well, but that it was not able to bear any great
weight, the pieces being too light. So I went to work, and with a
carpenter’s saw I cut a spare topmast into three lengths, and added
them to my raft, with a great deal of labour and pains. But the hope of
furnishing myself with necessaries encouraged me to go beyond what I
should have been able to have done upon another occasion.
My raft was now strong enough to bear any reasonable weight. My next
care was what to load it with, and how to preserve what I laid upon it
from the surf of the sea; but I was not long considering this. I first
laid all the planks or boards upon it that I could get, and having
considered well what I most wanted, I got three of the seamen’s chests,
which I had broken open, and emptied, and lowered them down upon my
raft; the first of these I filled with provisions—viz. bread, rice,
three Dutch cheeses, five pieces of dried goat’s flesh (which we lived
much upon), and a little remainder of European corn, which had been
laid by for some fowls which we brought to sea with us, but the fowls
were killed. There had been some barley and wheat together; but, to my
great disappointment, I found afterwards that the rats had eaten or
spoiled it all. As for liquors, I found several, cases of bottles
belonging to our skipper, in which were some cordial waters; and, in
all, about five or six gallons of rack. These I stowed by themselves,
there being no need to put them into the chest, nor any room for them.
While I was doing this, I found the tide begin to flow, though very
calm; and I had the mortification to see my coat, shirt, and waistcoat,
which I had left on the shore, upon the sand, swim away. As for my
breeches, which were only linen, and open-kneed, I swam on board in
them and my stockings. However, this set me on rummaging for clothes,
of which I found enough, but took no more than I wanted for present
use, for I had other things which my eye was more upon—as, first, tools
to work with on shore. And it was after long searching that I found out
the carpenter’s chest, which was, indeed, a very useful prize to me,
and much more valuable than a shipload of gold would have been at that
time. I got it down to my raft, whole as it was, without losing time to
look into it, for I knew in general what it contained.
My next care was for some ammunition and arms. There were two very good
fowling-pieces in the great cabin, and two pistols. These I secured
first, with some powder-horns and a small bag of shot, and two old
rusty swords. I knew there were three barrels of powder in the ship,
but knew not where our gunner had stowed them; but with much search I
found them, two of them dry and good, the third had taken water. Those
two I got to my raft with the arms. And now I thought myself pretty
well freighted, and began to think how I should get to shore with them,
having neither sail, oar, nor rudder; and the least capful of wind
would have overset all my navigation.
I had three encouragements—1st, a smooth, calm sea; 2ndly, the tide
rising, and setting in to the shore; 3rdly, what little wind there was
blew me towards the land. And thus, having found two or three broken
oars belonging to the boat—and, besides the tools which were in the
chest, I found two saws, an axe, and a hammer; with this cargo I put to
sea. For a mile or thereabouts my raft went very well, only that I
found it drive a little distant from the place where I had landed
before; by which I perceived that there was some indraft of the water,
and consequently I hoped to find some creek or river there, which I
might make use of as a port to get to land with my cargo.
As I imagined, so it was. There appeared before me a little opening of
the land, and I found a strong current of the tide set into it; so I
guided my raft as well as I could, to keep in the middle of the stream.
But here I had like to have suffered a second shipwreck, which, if I
had, I think verily would have broken my heart; for, knowing nothing of
the coast, my raft ran aground at one end of it upon a shoal, and not
being aground at the other end, it wanted but a little that all my
cargo had slipped off towards the end that was afloat, and so fallen
into the water. I did my utmost, by setting my back against the chests,
to keep them in their places, but could not thrust off the raft with
all my strength; neither durst I stir from the posture I was in; but
holding up the chests with all my might, I stood in that manner near
half-an-hour, in which time the rising of the water brought me a little
more upon a level; and a little after, the water still-rising, my raft
floated again, and I thrust her off with the oar I had into the
channel, and then driving up higher, I at length found myself in the
mouth of a little river, with land on both sides, and a strong current
of tide running up. I looked on both sides for a proper place to get to
shore, for I was not willing to be driven too high up the river: hoping
in time to see some ships at sea, and therefore resolved to place
myself as near the coast as I could.
At length I spied a little cove on the right shore of the creek, to
which with great pain and difficulty I guided my raft, and at last got
so near that, reaching ground with my oar, I could thrust her directly
in. But here I had like to have dipped all my cargo into the sea again;
for that shore lying pretty steep—that is to say sloping—there was no
place to land, but where one end of my float, if it ran on shore, would
lie so high, and the other sink lower, as before, that it would
endanger my cargo again. All that I could do was to wait till the tide
was at the highest, keeping the raft with my oar like an anchor, to
hold the side of it fast to the shore, near a flat piece of ground,
which I expected the water would flow over; and so it did. As soon as I
found water enough—for my raft drew about a foot of water—I thrust her
upon that flat piece of ground, and there fastened or moored her, by
sticking my two broken oars into the ground, one on one side near one
end, and one on the other side near the other end; and thus I lay till
the water ebbed away, and left my raft and all my cargo safe on shore.
My next work was to view the country, and seek a proper place for my
habitation, and where to stow my goods to secure them from whatever
might happen. Where I was, I yet knew not; whether on the continent or
on an island; whether inhabited or not inhabited; whether in danger of
wild beasts or not. There was a hill not above a mile from me, which
rose up very steep and high, and which seemed to overtop some other
hills, which lay as in a ridge from it northward. I took out one of the
fowling-pieces, and one of the pistols, and a horn of powder; and thus
armed, I travelled for discovery up to the top of that hill, where,
after I had with great labour and difficulty got to the top, I saw my
fate, to my great affliction—viz. that I was in an island environed
every way with the sea: no land to be seen except some rocks, which lay
a great way off; and two small islands, less than this, which lay about
three leagues to the west.
I found also that the island I was in was barren, and, as I saw good
reason to believe, uninhabited except by wild beasts, of whom, however,
I saw none. Yet I saw abundance of fowls, but knew not their kinds;
neither when I killed them could I tell what was fit for food, and what
not. At my coming back, I shot at a great bird which I saw sitting upon
a tree on the side of a great wood. I believe it was the first gun that
had been fired there since the creation of the world. I had no sooner
fired, than from all parts of the wood there arose an innumerable
number of fowls, of many sorts, making a confused screaming and crying,
and every one according to his usual note, but not one of them of any
kind that I knew. As for the creature I killed, I took it to be a kind
of hawk, its colour and beak resembling it, but it had no talons or
claws more than common. Its flesh was carrion, and fit for nothing.
Contented with this discovery, I came back to my raft, and fell to work
to bring my cargo on shore, which took me up the rest of that day. What