Robinson Crusoe (Penguin ed.)

by Daniel Defoe

  Had I now had the sense to have gone back to Hull, and have gone home, I had been happy, and my father, an emblem of our Blessed Saviour’s parable, had even kill’d the fatted calf for me; for hearing the ship I went away in, was cast away in Yarmouth Road, it was a great while before he had any assurance that I was not drown’d.

  But my ill fate push’d me on now with an obstinacy that nothing could resist; and tho’ I had several times loud calls from my reason and my more composed judgment to go home, yet I had no power to do it. I know not what to call this, nor will I urge, that it is a secret over-ruling decree that hurries us on to be the instruments of our own destruction, even tho’ it be before us, and that we rush upon it with our eyes open. Certainly nothing but some such decreed unavoidable misery attending, and which it was impossible for me to escape, could have push’d me forward against the calm reasonings and perswasions of my most retired thoughts, and against two such visible instructions as I had met with in my first attempt.

  My comrade, who had help’d to harden me before, and who was the Master’s son, was now less forward than I; the first time he spoke to me after we were at Yarmouth, which was not till two or three days, for we were separated in the town to several quarters; I say, the first time he saw me, it appear’d his tone was alter’d, and looking very melancholy, and shaking his head, ask’d me how I did, and telling his father who I was, and how I had come this voyage only for a trial, in order to go farther abroad; his father turning to me with a very grave and concern’d tone, Young man, says he, you ought never to go to sea any more, you ought to take this for a plain and visible token that you are not to be a seafaring man. Why, sir, said I, will you go to sea no more? That is another case, said he, it is my calling, and therefore my duty; but as you made this voyage for a trial, you see what a taste Heaven has given you of what you are to expect if you persist; perhaps this is all befallen us on your account, like Jonah in the Ship of Tarshish.11 Pray, continues he, what are you? and on what account did you go to sea? Upon that I told him some of my story; at the end of which he burst out with a strange kind of passion, What had I done, says he, that such an unhappy wretch should come into my ship? I would not set my foot in the same ship with thee again for a thousand pounds. This indeed was, as I said, an excursion of his spirits which were yet agitated by the sense of his loss, and was farther than he could have authority to go. However he afterwards talk’d very gravely to me, exhorted me to go back to my father, and not tempt Providence to my ruin; told me I might see a visible hand of Heaven against me, And young man, said he, depend upon it, if you do not go back, where ever you go, you will meet with nothing but disasters and disappointments, till your father’s words are fulfilled upon you.

  We parted soon after; for I made him little answer, and I saw him no more; which way he went, I know not. As for me, having some money in my pocket, I travelled to London by land; and there, as well as on the road, had many struggles with my self, what course of life I should take, and whether I should go home, or go to sea.

  As to going home, shame opposed the best motions that offered to my thoughts; and it immediately occurr’d to me how I should be laugh’d at among the neighbours, and should be asham’d to see, not my father and mother only, but even every body else; from whence I have since often observed, how incongruous and irrational the common temper of mankind is, especially of youth, to that reason which ought to guide them in such cases, viz. that they are not asham’d to sin, and yet are asham’d to repent; not asham’d of the action for which they ought justly to be esteemed fools, but are asham’d of the returning, which only can make them be esteem’d wise men.

  In this state of life however I remained some time, uncertain what measures to take, and what course of life to lead. An irresistible reluctance continu’d to going home; and as I stay’d a while, the remembrance of the distress I had been in wore off; and as that abated, the little motion I had in my desires to a return wore off with it, till at last I quite laid aside the thoughts of it, and look’d out for a voyage.

  That evil influence which carried me first away from my father’s house, that hurried me into the wild and indigested notion of raising my fortune; and that imprest those conceits so forcibly upon me, as to make me deaf to all good advice, and to the entreaties and even command of my father: I say the same influence, whatever it was, presented the most unfortunate of all enterprises to my view; and I went on board a vessel bound to the coast of Africa; or, as our sailors vulgarly call it, a voyage to Guinea.

  It was my great misfortune that in all these adventures I did not ship my self as a sailor; whereby, tho’ I might indeed have workt a little harder than ordinary, yet at the same time I had learn’d the duty and office of a fore-mast man; and in time might have qualified my self for a Mate or Lieutenant, if not for a Master: But as it was always my fate to choose for the worse, so I did here; for having money in my pocket, and good clothes upon my back, I would always go on board in the habit of a gentleman; and so I neither had any business in the ship, or learn’d to do any.

  It was my lot first of all to fall into pretty good company in London, which does not always happen to such loose and unguided young fellows as I then was; the Devil generally not omitting to lay some snare for them very early: But it was not so with me, I first fell acquainted with the Master of a ship who had been on the coast of Guinea; and who having had very good success there, was resolved to go again; and who taking a fancy to my conversation, which was not at all disagreeable at that time, hearing me say I had a mind to see the world, told me if I wou’d go the voyage with him I should be at no expence; I should be his mess-mate and his companion, and if I could carry any thing with me, I should have all the advantage of it that the trade would admit; and perhaps I might meet with some encouragement.

  I embrac’d the offer, and entering into a strict friendship with this Captain, who was an honest and plain-dealing man, I went the voyage with him, and carried a small adventure with me, which by the disinterested honesty of my friend the Captain, I encreased very considerably; for I carried about 40l. in such toys and trifles as the Captain directed me to buy. This 40l. I had mustered together by the assistance of some of my relations whom I corresponded with, and who, I believe, got my father, or at least my mother, to contribute so much as that to my first adventure.

  This was the only voyage which I may say was successful in all my adventures, and which I owe to the integrity and honesty of my friend the Captain, under whom also I got a competent knowledge of the mathematicks and the rules of navigation, learn’d how to keep an account of the ship’s course, take an observation; and, in short, to understand some things that were needful to be understood by a sailor: For, as he took delight to introduce me, I took delight to learn; and, in a word, this voyage made me both a sailor and a merchant: For I brought home L. 5. 9 ounces of gold dust for my adventure, which yielded me in London at my return, almost 300l. and this fill’d me with those aspiring thoughts which have since so compleated my ruin.

  Yet even in this voyage I had my misfortunes too; particularly, that I was continually sick, being thrown into a violent calenture by the excessive heat of the climate; our principal trading being upon the coast, from the latitude of 15 degrees, north even to the Line it self.

  I was now set up for a Guiney trader; and my friend, to my great misfortune, dying soon after his arrival, I resolved to go the same voyage again, and I embark’d in the same vessel with one who was his Mate in the former voyage, and had now got the command of the ship. This was the unhappiest voyage that ever man made; for tho’ I did not carry quite 100l. of my new gain’d wealth, so that I had 200 left, and which I lodg’d with my friend’s widow, who was very just to me, yet I fell into terrible misfortunes in this voyage; and the first was this, viz. Our ship making her course towards the Canary Islands, or rather between those islands and the African shore, was surprised in the grey of the morning, by a Turkish rover of Sallee,12 who gave chase to us with all the sa
il she could make. We crowded also as much canvass as our yards would spread, or our masts carry, to have got clear; but finding the pirate gain’d upon us, and would certainly come up with us in a few hours, we prepar’d to fight; our ship having 12 guns, and the rogue 18. About three in the afternoon he came up with us, and bringing to by mistake, just athwart our quarter, instead of athwart our stern,13 as he intended, we brought 8 of our guns to bear on that side, and pour’d in a broadside upon him, which made him sheer off again, after returning our fire, and pouring in also his small shot from near 200 men which he had on board. However, we had not a man touch’d, all our men keeping close. He prepar’d to attack us again, and we to defend our selves; but laying us on board the next time upon our other quarter, he entered 60 men upon our decks, who immediately fell to cutting and hacking the decks and rigging. We ply’d them with small-shot, half-pikes, powder-chests, and such like, and clear’d our deck of them twice. However, to cut short this melancholy part of our story, our ship being disabled, and three of our men kill’d, and eight wounded, we were obliged to yield, and were carry’d all prisoners into Sallee, a port belonging to the Moors.

  The usage I had there was not so dreadful as at first I apprehended, nor was I carried up the country to the Emperor’s court,14 as the rest of our men were, but was kept by the Captain of the rover, as his proper prize, and made his slave, being young and nimble, and fit for his business. At this surprising change of my circumstances, from a merchant to a miserable slave, I was perfectly over-whelmed; and now I look’d back upon my father’s prophetick discourse to me, that I should be miserable, and have none to relieve me, which I thought was now so effectually brought to pass, that it could not be worse; that now the hand of Heaven had overtaken me, and I was undone without redemption. But alas! this was but a taste of the misery I was to go thro’, as will appear in the sequel of this story.

  As my new patron or master had taken me home to his house, so I was in hopes that he would take me with him when he went to sea again, believing that it would some time or other be his fate to be taken by a Spanish or Portugal man of war; and that then I should be set at liberty. But this hope of mine was soon taken away; for when he went to sea, he left me on shore to look after his little garden, and do the common drudgery of slaves about his house; and when he came home again from his cruise, he order’d me to lye in the cabin to look after the ship.

  Here I meditated nothing but my escape; and what method I might take to effect it, but found no way that had the least probability in it: Nothing presented to make the supposition of it rational; for I had no body to communicate it to, that would embark with me, no fellow-slave, no Englishman, Irishman, or Scotsman there but my self; so that for two years, tho’ I often pleased my self with the imagination, yet I never had the least encouraging prospect of putting it in practice.

  After about two years an odd circumstance presented it self, which put the old thought of making some attempt for my liberty, again in my head: My patron lying at home longer than usual, without fitting out his ship, which, as I heard, was for want of money; he used constantly, once or twice a week, sometimes oftener, if the weather was fair, to take the ship’s pinnace, and go out into the road a-fishing; and as he always took me and a young Maresco with him to row the boat, we made him very merry, and I prov’d very dexterous in catching fish; insomuch that sometimes he would send me with a Moor, one of his kinsmen, and the youth the Maresco, as they call’d him, to catch a dish of fish for him.

  It happen’d one time, that going a fishing in a stark calm morning, a fog rose so thick, that tho’ we were not half a league from the shore we lost sight of it; and rowing we knew not whither or which way, we labour’d all day, and all the next night, and when the morning came we found we had pull’d off to sea instead of pulling in for the shore; and that we were at least two leagues from the shore: However we got well in again, tho’ with a great deal of labour, and some danger; for the wind began to blow pretty fresh in the morning; but particularly we were all very hungry.

  But our patron warn’d by this disaster, resolved to take more care of himself for the future; and having lying by him the long-boat of our English ship they had taken, he resolved he would not go a fishing any more without a compass and some provision; so he ordered the carpenter of his ship, who also was an English slave, to build a little state-room or cabin in the middle of the long-boat, like that of a barge, with a place to stand behind it to steer and hale home the main-sheet; and room before for a hand or two to stand and work the sails; she sail’d with that we call a shoulder of mutton sail; and the boom gib’d over the top of the cabin, which lay very snug and low, and had in it room for him to lye, with a slave or two, and a table to eat on, with some small lockers to put in some bottles of such liquor as he thought fit to drink in; particularly his bread, rice and coffee.

  We went frequently out with this boat a fishing, and as I was most dextrous to catch fish for him, he never went without me: It happen’d that he had appointed to go out in this boat, either for pleasure or for fish, with two or three Moors of some distinction in that place, and for whom he had provided extraordinarily; and had therefore sent on board the boat over night, a larger store of provisions than ordinary; and had order’d me to get ready three fuzees with powder and shot, which were on board his ship; for that they design’d some sport of fowling as well as fishing.

  I got all things ready as he had directed, and waited the next morning with the boat washed clean, her antient and pendants out, and every thing to accommodate his guests; when by and by my patron came on board alone, and told me his guests had put off going, upon some business that fell out, and order’d me with the man and boy, as usual, to go out with the boat and catch them some fish, for that his friends were to sup at his house; and commanded that as soon as I had got some fish I should bring it home to his house; all which I prepar’d to do.

  This moment my former notions of deliverance darted into my thoughts, for now I found I was like to have a little ship at my command; and my master being gone, I prepar’d to furnish my self, not for a fishing business, but for a voyage; tho’ I knew not, neither did I so much as consider whither I should steer; for any where to get out of that place was my way.

  My first contrivance was to make a pretence to speak to this Moor, to get something for our subsistence on board; for I told him we must not presume to eat of our patron’s bread; he said, that was true; so he brought a large basket of rusk or bisket of their kind, and three jars with fresh water into the boat; I knew where my patron’s case of bottles stood, which it was evident by the make were taken out of some English prize; and I convey’d them into the boat while the Moor was on shore, as if they had been there before, for our master: I convey’d also a great lump of bees-wax into the boat, which weighed above half a hundred weight, with a parcel of twine or thread, a hatchet, a saw, and a hammer, all which were of great use to us afterwards; especially the wax to make candles. Another trick I try’d upon him, which he innocently came into also; his name was Ismael, who they call Muly, or Moely; so I call’d to him, Moely, said I, our patron’s guns are on board the boat, can you not get a little powder and shot, it may be we may kill some alcamies (a fowl like our curlieus) for our selves, for I know he keeps the gunner’s stores in the ship? Yes, says he, I’ll bring some, and accordingly he brought a great leather pouch which held about a pound and a half of powder, or rather more; and another with shot, that had five or six pound, with some bullets; and put all into the boat: At the same time I had found some powder of my master’s in the great cabin, with which I fill’d one of the large bottles in the case, which was almost empty; pouring what was in it into another: and thus furnished with every thing needful, we sail’d out of the port to fish: The castle which is at the entrance of the port knew who we were, and took no notice of us; and we were not above a mile out of the port before we hal’d in our sail, and set us down to fish: The wind blew from the N. NE. which was contrary to my desire;
for had it blown southerly I had been sure to have made the coast of Spain, and at least reach’d to the Bay of Cadiz; but my resolutions were, blow which way it would, I would be gone from that horrid place where I was, and leave the rest to fate.

  After we had fish’d some time and catcht nothing, for when I had fish on my hook, I would not pull them up, that he might not see them; I said to the Moor, this will not do, our master will not be thus serv’d, we must stand farther off: He thinking no harm agreed, and being in the head of the boat set the sails; and as I had the helm I run the boat out near a league farther, and then brought her to as if I would fish; when giving the boy the helm, I stept forward to where the Moor was, and making as if I stoopt for something behind him, I took him by suprise with my arm under his twist, and tost him clear over-board into the sea; he rose immediately, for he swam like a cork, and call’d to me, begg’d to be taken in, told me he would go all over the world with me; he swam so strong after the boat that he would have reach’d me very quickly, there being but little wind; upon which I stept into the cabin, and fetching one of the fowling-pieces, I presented it at him, and told him, I had done him no hurt, and if he would be quiet I would do him none; but said I, you swim well enough to reach to the shore and the sea is calm, make the best of your way to shore, and I will do you no harm, but if you come near the boat I’ll shoot you thro’ the head; for I am resolved to have my liberty; so he turn’d himself about and swam for the shore, and I make no doubt but he reach’d it with ease, for he was an excellent swimmer.

  I could have been content to ha’ taken this Moor with me, and ha’ drown’d the boy, but there was no venturing to trust him: When he was gone I turn’d to the boy, who they call’d Xury, and said to him, Xury, if you will be faithful to me I’ll make you a great man, but if you will not stroak your face to be true to me, that is, swear by Mahomet and his father’s beard, I must throw you into the sea too; the boy smil’d in my face, and spoke so innocently that I could not mistrust him; and swore to be faithful to me, and go all over the world with me.