The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner, Volume 1

by Daniel Defoe

the slugs hithis leg about the knee, and broke the bone. He started up, growling atfirst, but finding his leg broke, fell down again, and then got up uponthree legs, and gave the most hideous roar that ever I heard. I was alittle surprised that I had not hit him on the head; however, I took upthe second piece immediately, and, though he began to move off, firedagain, and shot him in the head, and had the pleasure to see him drop,and make but little noise, but lie struggling for life. Then Xury tookheart, and would have me let him go on shore; "Well, go," said I; so theboy jumped into the water, and taking a little gun in one hand, swam toshore with the other hand, and coming close to the creature, put themuzzle of the piece to his ear, and shot him in the head again, whichdispatched him quite.

  This was game indeed to us, but this was no food; and I was very sorryto lose three charges of powder and shot upon a creature that was goodfor nothing to us. However, Xury said he would have some of him; so hecomes on board, and asked me to give him the hatchet. "For what, Xury?"said I, "Me cut off his head," said he. However, Xury could not cut offhis head, but he cut off a foot, and brought it with him, and it was amonstrous great one.

  I bethought myself however, that perhaps the skin of him might one wayor other be of some value to us; and I resolved to take off his skin ifI could. So Xury and I went to work with him; but Xury was much thebetter workman at it, for I knew very ill how to do it. Indeed it tookus both up the whole day, but at last we got off the hide of him, andspreading it on the top of our cabin, the sun effectually dried it intwo days' time, and it afterwards served me to lie upon.

  After this stop, we made on to the southward continually for ten ortwelve days, living very sparing on our provisions, which began to abatevery much, and going no oftener into the shore than we were obliged tofor fresh water: my design in this was, to make the river Gambia orSenegal, that is to say, any where about the Cape de Verd, where I wasin hopes to meet with some European ship; and if I did not, I knew notwhat course I had to take, but to seek for the islands, or perish thereamong the Negroes, I knew that all the ships from Europe, which sailedeither to the coast of Guinea or to Brazil, or to the East Indies, madethis Cape, or those islands; and in a word, I put the whole of myfortune upon this single point, either that I must meet with some ship,or must perish.

  When I had pursued this resolution about ten days longer, as I havesaid, I began to see that the land was inhabited; and in two or threeplaces, as we sailed by, we saw people stand upon the shore to look atus; we could also perceive they were quite black, and stark naked. I wasonce inclined to have gone off shore to them; but Xury was my bettercounsellor, and said to me, "No go, no go." However, I hauled in nearerthe shore that I might talk to them, and I found they run along theshore by me a good way: I observed they had no weapons in their hands,except one, who had a long slender stick, which Nury said was a lance,and that they would throw them a great way with a good aim; so I keptat a distance, but talked with them by signs as well as I could; andparticularly made signs for something to eat; they beckoned to me tostop my boat, and they would fetch me some meat. Upon this I lowered thetop of my sail, and lay by, and two of them ran up into the country, andin less than half an hour came back, and brought with them two pieces ofdry flesh and some corn, such as is the produce of their country; but weneither knew what the one or the other was: however, we were willing toaccept it, but how to come at it was our next dispute, for I was not forventuring on shore to them, and they were as much afraid of us: but theytook a safe way for us all, for they brought it to the shore and laid itdown, and went and stood a great way off till we fetched it on board,and then came close to us again.

  We made signs of thanks to them, for we had nothing to make them amends;but an opportunity offered that very instant to oblige them wonderfully;for while we were lying by the shore came two mighty creatures, onepursuing the other (as we took it) with great fury from the mountainstowards the sea; whether it was the male pursuing the female, or whetherthey were in sport or in rage, we could not tell, any more than we couldtell whether it was usual or strange, but I believe it was the latter;because, in the first place, those ravenous creatures seldom appear butin the night; and in the second place, we found the people terriblyfrightened, especially the women. The man that had the lance or dart didnot fly from them, but the rest did; however, as the two creatures randirectly into the water, they did not seem to offer to fall upon any ofthe Negroes, but plunged themselves into the sea, and swam about, as ifthey had come for their diversion: at last, one of them began to comenearer our boat than I at first expected; but I lay ready for him, for Ihad loaded my gun with all possible expedition, and bade Xury load boththe others. As soon as he came fairly within my reach, I fired, and shothim directly in the head: immediately he sunk down into the water, butrose instantly, and plunged up and down, as if he was struggling forlife, and so indeed he was: he immediately made to the shore; butbetween the wound, which was his mortal hurt, and the strangling of thewater, he died just before he reached the shore.

  It is impossible to express the astonishment of these poor creatures, atthe noise and fire of my gun; some of them were even ready to die forfear, and fell down as dead with the very terror; but when they saw thecreature dead, and sunk in the water, and that I made signs to them tocome to the shore, they took heart and came to the shore, and began tosearch for the creature. I found him by his blood staining the water;and by the help of a rope, which I slung round him, and gave the Negroesto haul, they dragged him on shore, and found that it was a most curiousleopard, spotted, and fine to an admirable degree; and the Negroes heldup their hands with admiration, to think what it was I had killedhim with.

  The other creature, frightened with the flash of fire and the noise ofthe gun, swam on shore, and ran up directly to the mountains fromwhence they came; nor could I, at that distance, know what it was. Ifound quickly the Negroes were for eating the flesh of this creature, soI was willing to have them take it as a favour from me; which, when Imade signs to them that they might take him, they were very thankfulfor. Immediately they fell to work with him; and though they had noknife, yet, with a sharpened piece of wood, they took off his skin asreadily, and much more readily, than we could have done with a knife.They offered me some of the flesh, which I declined, making as if Iwould give it them, but made signs for the skin, which they gave me veryfreely, and brought me a great deal more of their provisions, which,though I did not understand, yet I accepted. I then made signs to themfor some water, and held out one of my jars to them, turning it bottomupward, to show that it was empty, and that I wanted to have it filled.They called immediately to some of their friends, and there came twowomen, and brought a great vessel made of earth, and burnt, as Isuppose, in the sun; this they set down to me, as before, and I sentXury on shore with my jars, and filled them all three. The women were asstark naked as the men.

  I was now furnished with roots and corn, such as it was, and water; andleaving my friendly Negroes, I made forward for about eleven days more,without offering to go near the shore, till I saw the land run out agreat length into the sea, at about the distance of four or five leaguesbefore me; and the sea being very calm, I kept a large offing, to makethis point. At length, doubling the point, at about two leagues fromthe land, I saw plainly land on the other side, to seaward: then Iconcluded, as it was most certain indeed, that this was the Cape deVerd, and those the islands, called, from thence, Cape de Verd Islands.However, they were at a great distance, and I could not well tell what Ihad best to do; for if I should be taken with a gale of wind, I mightneither reach one nor the other.

  In this dilemma, as I was very pensive, I stepped into the cabin, andsat me down, Xury having the helm; when, on a sudden, the boy cried out,Master, master, a ship with a sail! and the foolish boy was frightenedout of his wits, thinking it must needs be some of his master's shipssent to pursue us, when I knew we were gotten far enough out of theirreach. I jumped out of the cabin, and immediately saw, not only theship, but what she was, viz. that it was a
Portuguese ship, and, as Ithought, was bound to the coast of Guinea, for Negroes. But, when Iobserved the course she steered, I was soon convinced they were boundsome other way, and did not design to come any nearer to the shore: uponwhich, I stretched out to sea as much as I could, resolving to speakwith them, if possible.

  With all the sail I could make, I found I should not be able to come intheir way, but that they would be gone by before I could make any signalto them: but after I had crowded to the utmost, and began to despair,they, it seems, saw me, by the help of their perspective glasses, andthat it was some European boat, which, they supposed, must belong tosome ship that was lost; so they shortened sail, to let me come up. Iwas encouraged with this, and as I had my patron's ensign on board, Imade a waft of it to them, for a signal of distress, and fired a gun,both which they saw; for they told me they saw the smoke, though theydid not hear the gun. Upon these