by Daniel Defoe
driven out to sea, the Lord alone knows whither, in my foolishattempt to surround the island.
Here they built themselves two handsome huts, and contrived them in amanner like my first habitation being close under the side of a hill,having some trees growing already to the three sides of it; so that byplanting others it would be very easily covered from the sight, unlessnarrowly searched for. They desired some dry goat-skins for beds andcovering, which were given them; and upon their giving their words thatthey would not disturb the rest, or injure any of their plantations,they gave them hatchets, and what other tools they could spare; somepeas, barley, and rice, for sowing, and, in a word, any thing theywanted but arms and ammunition.
They lived in this separate condition about six months, and had got intheir first harvest, though the quantity was but small, the parcel ofland they had planted being but little; for indeed having all theirplantation to form, they had a great deal of work upon their hands; andwhen they came to make boards, and pots, and such things, they werequite out of their element, and could make nothing of it; and when therainy season came on, for want of a cave in the earth, they could notkeep their grain dry, and it was in great danger of spoiling: and thishumbled them much; so they came and begged the Spaniards to help them,which they very readily did; and in four days worked a great hole inthe side of the hill for them, big enough to secure their corn and otherthings from the rain: but it was but a poor place at best compared tomine; and especially as mine was then; for the Spaniards had greatlyenlarged it, and made several new apartments in it.
About three quarters of a year after this separation a new frolic tookthese rogues, which, together with the former villany they hadcommitted, brought mischief enough upon them, and had very near been theruin of the whole colony. The three new associates began, it seems, tobe weary of the laborious life they led, and that without hope ofbettering their circumstances; and a whim took them that they would makea voyage to the continent from whence the savages came, and would try ifthey could not seize upon some prisoners among the natives there, andbring them home, so as to make them do the laborious part of thework for them.
The project was not so preposterous if they had gone no farther; butthey did nothing and proposed nothing but had either mischief in thedesign or mischief in the event; and if I may give my opinion, theyseemed to be under a blast from Heaven; for if we will not allow avisible curse to pursue visible crimes, how shall we reconcile theevents of things with divine justice? It was certainly an apparentvengeance on their crime of mutiny and piracy that brought them to thestate they were in; and as they shewed not the least remorse for thecrime, but added new villanies to it, such as particularly that piece ofmonstrous cruelty of wounding a poor slave because he did not, orperhaps could not understand to do what he was directed, and to woundhim in such a manner as, no question, made him a cripple all his life,and in a place where no surgeon or medicine could be had for his cure;and what was still worse, the murderous intent, or, to do justice to thecrime, the intentional murder, for such to be sure it was, as wasafterwards the formed design they all laid to murder the Spaniards incold blood, and in their sleep.
But I leave observing, and return to the story: The three fellows camedown to the Spaniards one morning, and in very humble terms desired tobe admitted to speak with them; the Spaniards very readily heard whatthey had to say, which was this, that they were tired of living in themanner they did, that they were not handy enough to make the necessariesthey wanted; and that, having no help, they found they should bestarved; but if the Spaniards would give them leave to take one of thecanoes which they came over in, and give them arms and ammunitionproportioned for their defence, they would go over to the main, and seektheir fortune, and so deliver them from the trouble of supplying themwith any other provisions.
The Spaniards were glad enough to be rid of them; but yet very honestlyrepresented to them the certain destruction they were running into; toldthem they had suffered such hardships upon that very spot, that theycould, without any spirit of prophecy, tell them that they would bestarved or murdered, and bade them consider of it.
The men replied audaciously, they should be starved if they stayed here,for they could not work, and would not work; and they could but bestarved abroad; and if they were murdered, there was an end of them,they had no wives or children to cry after them; and, in short, insistedimportunately upon their demand, declaring that they would go, whetherthey would give them any arms or no.
The Spaniards told them with great kindness, that if they were resolvedto go, they should not go like naked men, and be in no condition todefend themselves, and that though they could ill spare their fire-arms,having not enough for themselves, yet they would let them have twomuskets, a pistol, and a cutlass, and each man a hatchet, which theythought sufficient for them.
In a word, they accepted the offer, and having baked them bread enoughto serve them a month, and given them as much goat's flesh as they couldeat while it was sweet, and a great basket full of dried grapes, a potfull of fresh water, and a young kid alive to kill, they boldly set outin a canoe for a voyage over the sea, where it was at least fortymiles broad.
The boat was indeed a large one, and would have very well carriedfifteen or twenty men, and therefore was rather too big for them tomanage; but as they had a fair breeze and the flood-tide with them, theydid well enough; they had made a mast of a long pole, and a sail of fourlarge goat-skins dried, which they had sewed or laced together; and awaythey went merrily enough; the Spaniards called after them, "Bon veajo;"and no man ever thought of seeing them any more.
The Spaniards would often say to one another, and the two honestEnglishmen who remained behind, how quietly and comfortably they livednow those three turbulent fellows were gone; as for their ever comingagain, that was the remotest thing from their thoughts could beimagined; when, behold, after twenty-two days absence, one of theEnglishmen being abroad upon his planting work, sees three strange mencoming towards him at a distance, two of them with guns upon theirshoulders.
Away runs the Englishman, as if he was bewitched, and became frightedand amazed, to the governor Spaniard, and tells him they were allundone, for there were strangers landed upon the island, he could nottell who. The Spaniard pausing a while, says to him, "How do you mean,you cannot tell who? They are savages to be sure."--"No, no," says theEnglishman, "they are men in clothes, with arms."--"Nay then," says theSpaniard, "why are you concerned? If they are not savages, they must befriends; for there is no Christian nation upon earth but will do us goodrather than harm."
While they were debating thus, came the three Englishmen, and standingwithout the wood which was new-planted, hallooed to them; they presentlyknew their voices, and so all the wonder of that kind ceased. But nowthe admiration was turned upon another question, viz. What could be thematter, and what made them come back again?
It was not long before they brought the men in; and inquiring where theyhad been, and what they had been doing? they gave them a full account oftheir voyage in a few words, viz. that they reached the land in twodays, or something less, but finding the people alarmed at their coming,and preparing with bows and arrows to fight them, they durst not go onshore, but sailed on to the northward six or seven hours, till they cameto a great opening, by which they perceived that the land they saw fromour island was not the main, but an island: that entering that openingof the sea, they saw another island on the right hand north, and severalmore west; and being resolved to land somewhere, they put over to one ofthe islands which lay west, and went boldly on shore; that they foundthe people were courteous and friendly to them, and they gave themseveral roots, and some dried fish, and appeared very sociable: and thewomen, as well as the men, were very forward to supply them with anything they could get for them to eat, and brought it to them a great wayupon their heads.
They continued here four days, and inquired, as well as they could ofthem by signs, what nations were this way, and that way; and were toldof several fierce and terrible people
, that lived almost every way; who,as they made known by signs to them, used to eat men; but as forthemselves, they said, that they never ate men or women, except onlysuch as they took in the wars; and then they owned that they made agreat feast, and ate their prisoners.
The Englishmen inquired when they had a feast of that kind, and theytold them two moons ago, pointing to the moon, and then to two-fingers;and that their great king had two hundred prisoners now which he hadtaken in his war, and they were feeding them to make them fat for thenext feast. The Englishmen seemed mighty desirous to see thoseprisoners, but the others mistaking them, thought they were desirous tohave some of them to carry away for their own eating. So they beckonedto them, pointing to the setting of the sun, and then to the rising;which was to signify, that the next morning at sun-rising they wouldbring some for them; and accordingly the next morning they brought downfive women and eleven men, and gave them to the
