The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1808)

by Daniel Defoe

but preparing the twelfth time to go on board, I foundthe wind began to rise; however, at low water I went on board, andthough I thought I had rummaged the cabin so effectually, as thatnothing more could be found, yet I discovered a locker with drawers init, in one of which I found two or three razors, and one pair of largescissars, with some ten or a dozen of good knives and forks; in anotherI found about thirty-six pounds value in money, some European coin, someBrasil, some pieces of eight, some gold, some silver.

  I smiled to myself at the sight of this money. "O drug!" said I, aloud,"what art thou good for? thou art not worth to me, no not the taking offof the ground; one of those knives is worth all this heap; I have nomanner of use for thee; even remain where thou art, and go to the bottomas a creature whose life is not worth saving." However, upon secondthoughts, I took it away, and wrapping all this in a piece of canvass, Ibegan to think of making another raft; but while I was preparing this, Ifound the sky overcast, and the wind began to rise, and in a quarter ofan hour it blew a fresh gale from the shore. It presently occurred tome, that it was in vain to pretend to make a raft with the wind offshore, and that it was my business to be gone before the tide of floodbegan, otherwise I might not be able to reach the shore at all;accordingly I let myself down into the water, and swam cross thechannel which lay between the ship and the sands, and even that withdifficulty enough, partly with the weight of things I had about me, andpartly the roughness of the water, for the wind rose very hastily, andbefore it was quite high water it blew a storm.

  But I was gotten home to my little tent, where I lay with all my wealthabout me very secure. It blew very hard all that night, and in themorning when I looked out, behold no more ship was to be seen. I was alittle surprised, but recovered myself with this satisfactoryreflection, viz. that I had lost no time, nor abated no diligence to getevery thing out of her that could be useful to me, and that indeed therewas little left in her that I was able to bring away, if I had hadmore time.

  I now gave over any more thoughts of the ship, or of any thing out ofher, except what might drive on shore from her wreck, as indeed diverspieces of her afterwards did; but those things were of small use to me.

  My thoughts were now wholly employed about securing myself againsteither savages, if any should appear, or wild beasts, if any were in theisland; and I had many thoughts of the method how to do this, and whatkind of dwelling to make; whether I should make me a cave in the earth,or a tent upon the earth: and, in short, I resolved upon both, themanner and description of which it may not be improper to give anaccount of.

  I soon found the place I was in was not for my settlement, particularlybecause it was upon a low moorish ground near the sea, and I believedwould not be wholesome, and more particularly because there was no freshwater near it; so I resolved to find a more healthy and more convenientspot of ground.

  I consulted several things in my situation which I found would be properfor me: 1st, Health, and fresh water, I just now mentioned, 2dly,Shelter from the heat of the sun. 3dly, Security from ravenouscreatures, whether man or beast. 4thly, A view to the sea, that, if Godsent any ship in sight, I might not lose any advantage for mydeliverance, of which I was not willing to banish all myexpectation yet.

  In search of a place proper for this, I found a little plain on the sideof a rising hill, whose front towards this little plain was steep as ahouse-side, so that nothing could come down upon me from the top: on theside of this rock there was a hollow place worn a little way in like theentrance or door of a cave, but there was not really any cave or wayinto the rock at all.

  On the flat of the green, just before this hollow place, I resolved topitch my tent: this plain was not above an hundred yards broad, andabout twice as long, and lay like a green before my door, and at the endof it descended irregularly every way down into the low grounds by thesea-side. It was on the N.N.W. side of the hill, so that I was shelteredfrom the heat every day, till it came to a W. and by S. sun, orthereabouts, which in those countries is near the setting.

  Before I set up my tent, I drew a half-circle before the hollow place,which took in about ten yards in its semi-diameter from the rock, andtwenty yards in its diameter, from its beginning and ending.

  In this half circle I pitched two rows of strong stakes, driving theminto the ground till they stood very firm, like piles, the biggest endbeing out of the ground about five foot and a half, and sharpened on thetop; the two rows did not stand above six inches from one another.

  Then I took the pieces of cable which I had cut in the ship, and laidthem in rows one upon another, within the circle between these two rowsof stakes, up to the top, placing other stakes in the inside, leaningagainst them, about two foot and a half high, like a spur to a post; andthis fence was so strong, that neither man or beast could get into it orover it: this cost me a great deal of time and labour, especially to cutthe piles in the woods, bring them to the place, and drive them intothe earth.

  The entrance into this place I made to be not by a door, but by a shortladder, to go over the top: which ladder, when I was in, I lifted overafter me: and so I was completely fenced in, and fortified, as Ithought, from all the world, and consequently slept secure in the night,which otherwise I could not have done, though, as it appeared afterward,there was no need of all this caution from the enemies that Iapprehended danger from.

  Into this fence or fortress, with infinite labour, I carried all myriches, all my provisions, ammunition, and stores, of which you have theaccount above; and I made me a large tent, which, to preserve me fromthe rains, that in one part of the year are very violent there, I madedouble, viz. one smaller tent within, and one larger tent above it, andcovered the uppermost with a large tarpaulin which I had saved amongthe sails.

  And now I lay no more for awhile in the bed which I had brought onshore, but in a hammock, which was indeed a very good one, and belongedto the mate of the ship.

  Into this tent I brought all my provisions, and every thing that wouldspoil by the wet; and having thus enclosed all my goods, I made up theentrance, which till now I had left open, and so passed and repassed, asI said, by a short ladder.

  When I had done this, I began to work my way into the rock, and bringingall the earth and stones that I dug down, out through my tent, I laidthem up within my fence in the nature of a terrace, that so it raisedthe ground within about a foot and a half; and thus I made me a cavejust behind my tent, which served me like a cellar to my house.

  It cost me much labour, and many days, before all these things werebrought to perfection, and therefore I must go back to some other thingswhich took up some of my thoughts. At the same time it happened, afterI had laid my scheme for the setting up my tent, and making the cave,that a storm of rain falling from a thick dark cloud, a sudden flash oflightning happened, and after that a great clap of thunder, as isnaturally the effect of it. I was not so much surprised with thelightning, as I was with a thought which darted into my mind as swift asthe lightning itself; O my powder! my very heart sunk within me, when Ithought, that at one blast all my powder might be destroyed; on which,not my defence only, but the providing me food, as I thought, entirelydepended; I was nothing near so anxious about my own danger; though, hadthe powder took fire, I had never known who had hurt me.

  Such impression did this make upon me, that, after the storm was over, Ilaid aside all my works, my building, and fortifying, and applied myselfto make bags and boxes to separate the powder, and to keep it a littleand a little in a parcel, in hope, that, whatever might come, it mightnot all take fire at once, and to keep it so apart, that it should notbe possible to make one part fire another. I finished this work in abouta fortnight; and I think my powder, which in all was about two hundredand forty pounds weight, was divided in not less than a hundred parcels.As to the barrel that had been wet, I did not apprehend any danger fromthat, so I placed it in my new cave, which in my fancy I called mykitchen; and the rest I hid up and down in holes among the rocks, sothat no wet might come to it, marking very carefully whe
re I laid it.

  In the interval of time while this was doing, I went out once at leastevery day with my gun, as well to divert myself, as to see if I couldkill any thing fit for food, and as near as I could to acquaint myselfwith what the island produced. The first time I went out I presentlydiscovered that there were goats in the island, which was a greatsatisfaction 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 itwas the most difficult thing in the world to come at them. But I was notdiscouraged at this, not doubting but I might now and then shoot one, asit soon happened; for after I had found their haunts a little, I laidwait in this manner for them: I observed, if they saw me in the vallies,though they were upon the rocks, they would run away as in a terriblefright; but if they were feeding in the vallies, and I was upon therocks, they took no notice of me; from whence I concluded, that by theposition of their optics, their sight was so directed downward, thatthey did not readily