by Daniel Defoe
Such impression did this make upon me, that after the storm was over, I laid aside all my works, my building, and fortifying, and apply’d my self to make bags and boxes to separate the powder, and keep it a little and a little in a parcel, in hope, that whatever might come, it might not all take fire at once, and to keep it so apart, that it should not be possible to make one part fire another: I finish’d this work in about a fort night, and I think my powder, which in all was about 240 l. weight, was divided in not less than a hundred parcels; as to the barrel that had been wet, I did not apprehend any danger from that, so I plac’d it in my new cave, which in my fancy I call’d my kitchin, and the rest I hid up and down in holes among the rocks, so that no wet might come to it, marking very carefully where I laid it.
In the interval of time while this was doing I went out once at least every day with my gun, as well to divert my self, as to see if I could kill any thing fit for food, and as near as I could to acquaint my self with what the island produc’d. The first time I went out I presently discover’d that there were goats in the island, which was a great satisfaction to me; but then it was attended with this misfortune to me, viz. that they were so shy, so subtle, and so swift of foot, that it was the difficultest thing in the world to come at them: But I was not discourag’d at this, not doubting but I might now and then shoot one, as it soon happen’d, for after I had found their haunts a little, I laid wait in this manner for them: I observ’d if they saw me in the valleys, tho’ they were upon the rocks, they would run away as in a terrible fright; but if they were feeding in the valleys, and I was upon the rocks, they took no notice of me, from whence I concluded, that by the position of their opticks, their sight was so directed downward, that they did not readily see objects that were above them; so afterward I took this method, I always climbed the rocks first to get above them, and then had frequently a fair mark. The first shot I made among these creatures, I kill’d a she-goat which had a little kid by her which she gave suck to, which griev’d me heartily; but when the old one fell, the kid stood stock still by her till I came and took her up, and not only so, but when I carried the old one with me upon my shoulders, the kid follow’d me quite to my enclosure, upon which I laid down the dam, and took the kid in my arms, and carried it over my pale, in hopes to have bred it up tame, but it would not eat, so I was forc’d to kill it and eat it my self; these two supply’d me with flesh a great while, for I eat sparingly; and sav’d my provisions (my bread especially) as much as possibly I could.
Having now fix’d my habitation, I found it absolutely necessary to provide a place to make a fire in, and fewel to burn; and what I did for that, as also how I enlarg’d my cave, and what conveniencies I made, I shall give a full account of in its place: But I must first give some little account of my self, and of my thoughts about living, which it may well be supposed were not a few.
I had a dismal prospect of my condition, for as I was not cast away upon that island without being driven, as is said, by a violent storm quite out of the course of our intended voyage, and a great way, viz. some hundreds of leagues out of the ordinary course of the trade of mankind, I had great reason to consider it as a determination of Heaven, that in this desolate place, and in this desolate manner I should end my life; the tears would run plentifully down my face when I made these reflections, and sometimes I would expostulate with my self, Why Providence should thus compleatly ruin its creatures, and render them so absolutely miserable, so without help abandon’d, so entirely depress’d, that it could hardly be rational to be thankful for such a life.
But something always return’d swift upon me to check these thoughts, and to reprove me; and particularly one day walking with my gun in my hand by the sea-side, I was very pensive upon the subject of my present condition, when reason as it were expostulated with me t’other way, thus: Well, you are in a desolate condition, ’tis true, but pray remember, Where are the rest of you? Did not you come eleven of you into the boat, where are the ten? Why were not they sav’d and you lost? Why were you singled out? Is it better to be here or there, and then I pointed to the sea? All evils are to be consider’d with the good that is in them, and with what worse attends them.
Then it occurr’d to me again, how well I was furnish’d for my subsistence, and what would have been my case if it had not happen’d, Which was an hundred thousand to one, that the ship floated from the place where she first struck and was driven so near to the shore that I had time to get all these things out of her: What would have been my case, if I had been to have liv’d in the condition in which I at first came on shore, without necessaries of life, or necessaries to supply and procure them? Particularly said I aloud, (tho’ to my self) what should I ha’ done without a gun, without ammunition, without any tools to make any thing, or to work with, without clothes, bedding, a tent, or any manner of covering, and that now I had all these to a sufficient quantity, and was in a fair way to provide my self in such a manner, as to live without my gun when my ammunition was spent; so that I had a tolerable view of subsisting without any want as long as I liv’d; for I consider’d from the beginning how I would provide for the accidents that might happen, and for the time that was to come, even not only after my ammunition should be spent, but even after my health or strength should decay.
I confess I had not entertain’d any notion of my ammunition being destroy’d at one blast, I mean my powder being blown up by lightning, and this made the thoughts of it so surprising to me when it lighten’d and thunder’d, as I observ’d just now.
And now being to enter into a melancholy relation of a scene of silent life, such perhaps as was never heard of in the world before, I shall take it from its beginning, and continue it in its order. It was, by my account, the 30th. of Sept. when, in the manner as above said, I first set foot upon this horrid island, when the sun being, to us, in its autumnal equinox, was almost just over my head, for I reckon’d my self, by observation, to be in the latitude of 9 degrees 22 minutes north of the Line.
After I had been there about ten or twelve days, it came into my thoughts, that I should lose my reckoning of time for want of books and pen and ink, and should even forget the Sabbath days from the working days; but to prevent this, I cut it with my knife upon a large post, in capital letters, and making it into a great cross, I set it up on the shore where I first landed, viz. I came on shore here on the 30th of Sept. 1659. Upon the sides of this square post, I cut every day a notch with my knife, and every seventh notch was as long again as the rest, and every first day of the month as long again as that long one; and thus I kept my kalandar, or weekly, monthly, and yearly reckoning of time.
In the next place we are to observe, that among the many things which I brought out of the ship in the several voyages, which, as above mention’d, I made to it, I got several things of less value, but not all less useful to me, which I omitted setting down before; as in particular, pens, ink, and paper, several parcels in the Captain’s, Mate’s, gunner’s, and carpenter’s keeping, three or four compasses, some mathematical instruments, dials, perspectives, charts, and books of navigation, all which I huddled together, whether I might want them or no; also I found three very good Bibles which came to me in my cargo from England, and which I had pack’d up among my things; some Portugueze books also, and among them two or three Popish prayer-books, and several other books, all which I carefully secur’d. And I must not forget, that we had in the ship a dog and two cats, of whose eminent history I may have occasion to say something in its place; for I carry’d both the cats with me; and as for the dog, he jump’d out of the ship of himself, and swam on shore to me the day after I went on shore with my first cargo, and was a trusty servant to me many years; I wanted nothing that he could fetch me, nor any company that he could make up to me, I only wanted to have him talk to me, but that would not do: As I observ’d before, I found pen, ink and paper, and I husbanded them to the utmost; and I shall shew, that while my ink lasted, I kept things very exact; but after that
was gone, I could not, for I could not make any ink by any means that I could devise.
And this put me in mind that I wanted many things, notwithstanding all that I had amass’d together, and of these, this of ink was one, as also spade, pick-axe and shovel to dig or remove the earth; needles, pins, and thread; as for linnen, I soon learn’d to want that without much difficulty.
This want of tools made every work I did go on heavily, and it was near a whole year before I had entirely finished my little pale or surrounded habitation: The piles or stakes, which were as heavy as I could well lift, were a long time in cutting and preparing in the woods, and more by far in bringing home, so that I spent some times two days in cutting and bringing home one of those posts, and a third day in driving it into the ground; for which purpose I got a heavy piece of wood at first, but at last bethought myself of one of the iron crows, which however tho’ I found it, yet it made driving those posts or piles very laborious and tedious work.
But what need I ha’ been concerned at the tediousness of any thing I had to do, seeing I had time enough to do it in, nor had I any other employment if that had been over, at least, that I could foresee, except the ranging the island to seek for food, which I did more or less every day.
I now began to consider seriously my condition, and the circumstance I was reduc’d to, and I drew up the state of my affairs in writing, not so much to leave them to any that were to come after me, for I was like to have but few heirs, as to deliver my thoughts from daily poring upon them, and afflicting my mind; and as my reason began now to master my despondency, I began to comfort my self as well as I could, and to set the good against the evil, that I might have something to distinguish my case from worse, and I stated it very impartially, like debtor and creditor, the comforts I enjoy’d, against the miseries I suffer’d, thus,
EVIL
GOOD
I am cast upon a horrible desolate island, void of all hope of recovery.
But I am alive, and not drown’d as all my ship’s company was.
I am singled out and separated, as it were, from all the world to be miserable.
But I am singled out too from all the ship’s crew to be spared from death; and he that miraculously saved me from death, can deliver me from this condition.
I am divided from mankind, a solitaire, one banish’d from human society.
But I am not starv’d and perishing on a barren place, affording no sustenance.
I have not clothes to cover me.
But I am in a hot climate, where if I had clothes I could hardly wear them.
I am without any defence or means to resist any violence of man or beast.
But I am cast on an island, where I see no wild beasts to hurt me, as I saw on the coast of Africa: And what if I had been shipwreck’d there?
I have no soul to speak to, or relieve me.
But God wonderfully sent the ship in near enough to the shore, that I have gotten out so many necessary things as will either supply my wants, or enable me to supply my self even as long as I live.
Upon the whole, here was an undoubted testimony, that there was scarce any condition in the world so miserable, but there was something negative or something positive to be thankful for in it; and let this stand as a direction from the experience of the most miserable of all conditions in this world, that we may always find in it something to comfort our selves from, and to set in the description of good and evil, on the credit side of the accompt.
Having now brought my mind a little to relish my condition, and given over looking out to sea to see if I could spy a ship, I say, giving over these things, I began to apply my self to accommodate my way of living, and to make things as easy to me as I could.
I have already described my habitation, which was a tent under the side of a rock, surrounded with a strong pale of posts and cables, but I might now rather call it a wall, for I rais’d a kind of wall up against it of turfs, about two foot thick on the out-side, and after some time, I think it was a year and half, I rais’d rafters from it leaning to the rock, and thatch’d or cover’d it with boughs of trees, and such things as I could get to keep out the rain, which I found at some times of the year very violent.
I have already observ’d how I brought all my goods into this pale, and into the cave which I had made behind me: But I must observe too that at first this was a confus’d heap of goods, which as they lay in no order, so they took up all my place, I had no room to turn my self; so I set my self to enlarge my cave and works farther into the earth; for it was a loose sandy rock, which yielded easily to the labour I bestowed on it; and so when I found I was pretty safe as to beasts of prey, I work’d side-ways to the right hand into the rock, and then turning to the right again, work’d quite out and made me a door to come out, on the out-side of my pale or fortification.
This gave me not only egress and regress, as it were a back way to my tent and to my storehouse, but gave me room to stow my goods.
And now I began to apply my self to make such necessary things as I found I most wanted, as particularly a chair and a table, for without these I was not able to enjoy the few comforts I had in the world, I could not write, or eat, or do several things with so much pleasure without a table.
So I went to work; and here I must needs observe, that as reason is the substance and original of the mathematicks, so by stating and squaring every thing by reason, and by making the most rational judgment of things, every man may be in time master of every mechanick art. I had never handled a tool in my life, and yet in time by labour, application and contrivance, I found at last that I wanted nothing but I could have made it, especially if I had had tools; however I made abundance of things, even without tools, and some with no more tools than an adze and a hatchet, which perhaps were never made that way before, and that with infinite labour: For example, If I wanted a board, I had no other way but to cut down a tree, set it on an edge before me, and hew it flat on either side with my axe, till I had brought it to be as thin as a plank, and then dubb it smooth with my adze. It is true, by this method I could make but one board out of a whole tree, but this I had no remedy for but patience, any more than I had for the prodigious deal of time and labour which it took me up to make a plank or board: But my time or labour was little worth, and so it was as well employ’d one way as another.
However, I made me a table and a chair, as I observ’d above, in the first place, and this I did out of the short pieces of boards that I brought on my raft from the ship: But when I had wrought out some boards, as above, I made large shelves of the breadth of a foot and a half one over another, all along one side of my cave, to lay all my tools, nails, and iron-work, and in a word, to separate every thing at large in their places, that I might come easily at them; I knock’d pieces into the wall of the rock to hang my guns and all things that would hang up.
So that had my cave been to be seen, it look’d like a general magazine of all necessary things, and I had every thing so ready at my hand, that it was a great pleasure to me to see all my goods in such order, and especially to find my stock of all necessaries so great.
And now it was when I began to keep a journal of every day’s employment, for indeed at first I was in too much hurry, and not only hurry as to labour, but in too much discomposure of mind, and my journal would ha’ been full of many dull things. For example, I must have said thus: Sept. the 30th. After I got to shore and had escap’d drowning, instead of being thankful to God for my deliverance, having first vomited with the great quantity of salt water which was gotten into my stomach, and recovering my self a little, I ran about the shore, wringing my hands, and beating my head and face, exclaiming at my misery, and crying out, I was undone, undone, till tyr’d and faint I was forc’d to lye down on the ground to repose, but durst not sleep for fear of being devour’d.
Some days after this, and after I had been on board the ship, and got all that I could out of her, yet I could not forbear getting up to the top of a little mountain, and looki
ng out to sea in hopes of seeing a ship, then fancy at a vast distance I spy’d a sail, please my self with the hopes of it, and then after looking steadily till I was almost blind, lose it quite, and sit down and weep like a child, and thus encrease my misery by my folly.
But having gotten over these things in some measure, and having settled my household-stuff and habitation, made me a table and a chair, and all as handsome about me as I could, I began to keep my journal, of which I shall here give you the copy (tho’ in it will be told all these particulars over again) as long as it lasted, for having no more ink, I was forc’d to leave it off.
The JOURNAL.
September 30, 1659. I poor miserable Robinson Crusoe, being shipwreck’d, during a dreadful storm, in the offing, came on shore on this dismal unfortunate island, which I call’d The Island of Despair, all the rest of the ship’s company being drown’d, and my self almost dead.
All the rest of that day I spent in afflicting my self at the dismal circumstances I was brought to, viz. I had neither food, house, clothes, weapon, or place to fly to, and in despair of any relief, saw nothing but death before me, either that I should be devour’d by wild beasts, murther’d by savages, or starv’d to death for want of food. At the approach of night, I slept in a tree for fear of wild creatures, but slept soundly tho’ it rain’d all night.
October 1. In the morning I saw to my great surprise the ship had floated with the high tide, and was driven on shore again much nearer the island, which as it was some comfort on one hand, for seeing her sit upright, and not broken to pieces, I hop’d, if the wind abated, I might get on board, and get some food and necessaries out of her for my relief; so on the other hand, it renew’d my grief at the loss of my comrades, who I imagin’d if we had all staid on board might have sav’d the ship, or at least that they would not have been all drown’d as they were; and that had the men been sav’d, we might perhaps have built us a boat out of the ruins of the ship, to have carried us to some other part of the world. I spent great part of this day in perplexing my self on these things; but at length seeing the ship almost dry, I went upon the sand as near as I could, and then swam on board; this day also it continu’d raining, tho’ with no wind at all.
