by Daniel Defoe
mused a great while on the course they should take, andbeaten their brains in considering their present circumstances, theyresolved, at last while it was dark, to send the old savage (Friday'sfather) out as a spy, to learn if possible something concerning them, aswhat they came for, and what they intended to do, and the like. The oldman readily undertook it, and stripping himself quite naked, as most ofthe savages were, away he went. After he had been gone an hour or two,he brings word that he had been among them undiscovered, that he foundthey were two parties, and of two several nations who had war with oneanother, and had had a great battle in their own country, and that bothsides having had several prisoners taken in the fight, they were by merechance landed in the same island for the devouring their prisoners, andmaking merry; but this coming so by chance to the same place had spoiledall their mirth; that they were in a great rage at one another, and wereso near, that he believed they would fight again as soon as daylightbegan to appear; he did not perceive that they had any notion ofanybody's being on the island but themselves. He had hardly made an endof telling the story, when they could perceive, by the unusual noisethey made, that the two little armies were engaged in a bloody fight.
Friday's father used all the arguments he could to persuade our peopleto lie close, and not be seen; he told them their safety consisted init, and that they had nothing to do but to lie still, and the savageswould kill one another to their hands, and the rest would go away; andit was so to a tittle. But it was impossible to prevail, especially uponthe Englishmen, their curiosity was so importunate upon theirprudentials, that they must run out and see the battle; however, theyused some caution, viz. they did not go openly just by their owndwelling, but went farther into the woods, and placed themselves toadvantage, where they might securely see them manage the fight, and, asthey thought, not to be seen by them; but it seems the savages did seethem, as we shall find hereafter.
The battle was very fierce, and if I might believe the Englishmen, oneof them said he could perceive that some of them were men of greatbravery, of invincible spirits, and of great policy in guiding thefight. The battle, they said, held two hours before they could guesswhich party would be beaten; but then that party which was nearest ourpeople's habitation began to appear weakest, and, after some time more,some of them began to fly; and this put our men again into a greatconsternation, lest any of those that fled should run into the grovebefore their dwelling for shelter, and thereby involuntarily discoverthe place, and that by consequence the pursuers should do the like insearch for them. Upon this they resolved, that they would stand armedwithin the wall, and whoever came into the grove they should sally outover the wall, and kill them, so that if possible not one should returnto give an account of it; they ordered also, that it should be done withtheir swords, or by knocking them down with the stock of the musket,not by shooting them, for fear of raising an alarm by the noise.
As they expected it fell out: three of the routed army fled for life,and crossing the creek ran directly into the place, not in the leastknowing whither they went, but running as into a thick wood for shelter.The scout they kept to look abroad gave notice of this within, with thisaddition to our men's great satisfaction, viz. that the conquerors hadnot pursued them, or seen which way they were gone. Upon this theSpaniard governor, a man of humanity, would not suffer them to kill thethree fugitives; but sending three men out by the top of the hill,ordered them to go round and come in behind them, surprise and take themprisoners; which was done: the residue of the conquered people fled totheir canoes, and got off to sea; the victors retired, and made nopursuit, or very little, but drawing themselves into a body together,gave two great screaming shouts, which they suppose were by way oftriumph, and so the fight ended; and the same day, about three o'clockin the afternoon, they also marched to their canoes. And thus theSpaniards had their island again free to themselves, their fright wasover, and they saw no savages in several years after.
After they were all gone, the Spaniards came out of their den, andviewing the field of battle, they found about two-and-thirty dead menupon the spot; some were killed with great long arrows, several of whichwere found sticking in their bodies, but most of them were killed withtheir great wooden swords, sixteen or seventeen of which they found inthe field of battle, and as many bows, with a great many arrows. Theseswords were great unwieldy things, and they must be very strong men thatused them; most of those men that were killed with them had their headsmashed to pieces, as we may say, or, as we call it in English, theirbrains knocked out, and several of their arms and legs broken; so thatit is evident they fight with inexpressible rage and fury. They foundnot one wounded man that was not stone dead; for either they stay bytheir enemy till they have quite killed them, or they carry all thewounded men, that are not quite dead, away with them.
This deliverance tamed our Englishmen for a great while; the sight hadfilled them with horror, and the consequence appeared terrible to thelast degree; especially upon supposing that some time or other theyshould fall into the hands of those creatures, who would not only killthem as enemies, but kill them for food as we kill our cattle. And theyprofessed to me, that the thoughts of being eaten up like beef ormutton, though it was supposed it was not to be till they were dead, hadsomething in it so horrible that it nauseated their very stomachs, madethem sick when they thought of it, and filled their minds with unusualterror, that they were not themselves for some weeks after.
This, as I said, tamed even the three English brutes I have beenspeaking of, and for a great while after they were very tractable, andwent about the common business of the whole society well enough;planted, sowed, reaped, and began to be all naturalized to the country;but some time after this they fell all into such simple measures againas brought them into a great deal of trouble.
They had taken three prisoners, as I had observed; and these three beinglusty stout young fellows, they made them servants, and taught them towork for them; and as slaves they did well enough; but they did not taketheir measures with them as I did by my man Friday, viz. to begin withthem upon the principle of having saved their lives, and then instructedthem in the rational principles of life, much less of religion,civilizing and reducing them by kind usage and affectionate arguings;but as they gave them their food every day, so they gave them their worktoo, and kept them fully employed in drudgery enough; but they failed inthis by it, that they never had them to assist them and fight for themas I had my man Friday, who was as true to me as the very flesh uponmy bones.
But to come to the family part: Being all now good friends (for commondanger, as I said above, had effectually reconciled them,) they began toconsider their general circumstances; and the first thing that cameunder their consideration was, whether, seeing the savages particularlyhaunted that side of the island, and that there were more remote andretired parts of it equally adapted to their way of living, andmanifestly to their advantage, they should not rather remove theirhabitation, and plant in some more proper place for their safety, andespecially for the security of their cattle and corn.
Upon this, after long debate, it was conceived that they should notremove their habitation, because that some time or other they thoughtthey might hear from their governor again, meaning me; and if I shouldsend any one to seek them, I would be sure to direct them on that side,where if they should find the place demolished they would conclude thesavages had killed us all, and we were gone, and so our supply wouldgo away too.
But as to their corn and cattle, they agreed to remove them into thevalley where my cave was, where the land was as proper to both, andwhere indeed there was land enough; however, upon second thoughts theyaltered one part of that resolution too, and resolved only to removepart of their cattle thither, and plant part of their corn there; andso, if one part was destroyed, the other might be saved; and one pieceof prudence they used, which it was very well they did; viz. that theynever trusted these three savages, which they had taken prisoners, withknowing any thing of the plantation they had made in that valley, or o
fany cattle they had there; much less of the cave there, which they keptin case of necessity as a safe retreat; and thither they carried alsothe two barrels of powder which I had left them at my coming away.
But however they resolved not to change their habitation; yet theyagreed, that as I had carefully covered it first with a wall andfortification, and then with a grove of trees; so seeing their safetyconsisted entirely in their being concealed, of which they were nowfully convinced, they set to work to cover and conceal the place yetmore effectually than before: to this purpose, as I had planted trees(or rather thrust in stakes which in time all grew to be trees) for somegood distance before the entrance into my apartment, they went on in thesame manner, and filled up the rest of that whole space of ground, fromthe trees I had set quite down to the side of the creek, where, as Isaid, I landed my floats, and even into the very ooze where the tideflowed, not so much as leaving any place to land, or
