Robinson Crusoe

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I cannot express the confusion I was in, though the joy of seeing a
ship, and one that I had reason to believe was manned by my own
countrymen, and consequently friends, was such as I cannot
describe; but yet I had some secret doubts hung about me - I cannot
tell from whence they came - bidding me keep upon my guard. In the
first place, it occurred to me to consider what business an English
ship could have in that part of the world, since it was not the way
to or from any part of the world where the English had any traffic;
and I knew there had been no storms to drive them in there in
distress; and that if they were really English it was most probable
that they were here upon no good design; and that I had better
continue as I was than fall into the hands of thieves and
murderers.

Let no man despise the secret hints and notices of danger which
sometimes are given him when he may think there is no possibility
of its being real. That such hints and notices are given us I
believe few that have made any observation of things can deny; that
they are certain discoveries of an invisible world, and a converse
of spirits, we cannot doubt; and if the tendency of them seems to
be to warn us of danger, why should we not suppose they are from
some friendly agent (whether supreme, or inferior and subordinate,
is not the question), and that they are given for our good?

The present question abundantly confirms me in the justice of this
reasoning; for had I not been made cautious by this secret
admonition, come it from whence it will, I had been done
inevitably, and in a far worse condition than before, as you will
see presently. I had not kept myself long in this posture till I
saw the boat draw near the shore, as if they looked for a creek to
thrust in at, for the convenience of landing; however, as they did
not come quite far enough, they did not see the little inlet where
I formerly landed my rafts, but ran their boat on shore upon the
beach, at about half a mile from me, which was very happy for me;
for otherwise they would have landed just at my door, as I may say,
and would soon have beaten me out of my castle, and perhaps have
plundered me of all I had. When they were on shore I was fully
satisfied they were Englishmen, at least most of them; one or two I
thought were Dutch, but it did not prove so; there were in all
eleven men, whereof three of them I found were unarmed and, as I
thought, bound; and when the first four or five of them were jumped
on shore, they took those three out of the boat as prisoners: one
of the three I could perceive using the most passionate gestures of
entreaty, affliction, and despair, even to a kind of extravagance;
the other two, I could perceive, lifted up their hands sometimes,
and appeared concerned indeed, but not to such a degree as the
first. I was perfectly confounded at the sight, and knew not what
the meaning of it should be. Friday called out to me in English,
as well as he could, "O master! you see English mans eat prisoner
as well as savage mans." "Why, Friday," says I, "do you think they
are going to eat them, then?" "Yes," says Friday, "they will eat
them." "No no," says I, "Friday; I am afraid they will murder
them, indeed; but you may be sure they will not eat them."

All this while I had no thought of what the matter really was, but
stood trembling with the horror of the sight, expecting every
moment when the three prisoners should be killed; nay, once I saw
one of the villains lift up his arm with a great cutlass, as the
seamen call it, or sword, to strike one of the poor men; and I
expected to see him fall every moment; at which all the blood in my
body seemed to run chill in my veins. I wished heartily now for
the Spaniard, and the savage that had gone with him, or that I had
any way to have come undiscovered within shot of them, that I might
have secured the three men, for I saw no firearms they had among
them; but it fell out to my mind another way. After I had observed
the outrageous usage of the three men by the insolent seamen, I
observed the fellows run scattering about the island, as if they
wanted to see the country. I observed that the three other men had
liberty to go also where they pleased; but they sat down all three
upon the ground, very pensive, and looked like men in despair.
This put me in mind of the first time when I came on shore, and
began to look about me; how I gave myself over for lost; how wildly
I looked round me; what dreadful apprehensions I had; and how I
lodged in the tree all night for fear of being devoured by wild
beasts. As I knew nothing that night of the supply I was to
receive by the providential driving of the ship nearer the land by
the storms and tide, by which I have since been so long nourished
and supported; so these three poor desolate men knew nothing how
certain of deliverance and supply they were, how near it was to
them, and how effectually and really they were in a condition of
safety, at the same time that they thought themselves lost and
their case desperate. So little do we see before us in the world,
and so much reason have we to depend cheerfully upon the great
Maker of the world, that He does not leave His creatures so
absolutely destitute, but that in the worst circumstances they have
always something to be thankful for, and sometimes are nearer
deliverance than they imagine; nay, are even brought to their
deliverance by the means by which they seem to be brought to their
destruction.

It was just at high-water when these people came on shore; and
while they rambled about to see what kind of a place they were in,
they had carelessly stayed till the tide was spent, and the water
was ebbed considerably away, leaving their boat aground. They had
left two men in the boat, who, as I found afterwards, having drunk
a little too much brandy, fell asleep; however, one of them waking
a little sooner than the other and finding the boat too fast
aground for him to stir it, hallooed out for the rest, who were
straggling about: upon which they all soon came to the boat: but it
was past all their strength to launch her, the boat being very
heavy, and the shore on that side being a soft oozy sand, almost
like a quicksand. In this condition, like true seamen, who are,
perhaps, the least of all mankind given to forethought, they gave
it over, and away they strolled about the country again; and I
heard one of them say aloud to another, calling them off from the
boat, "Why, let her alone, Jack, can't you? she'll float next
tide;" by which I was fully confirmed in the main inquiry of what
countrymen they were. All this while I kept myself very close, not
once daring to stir out of my castle any farther than to my place
of observation near the top of the hill: and very glad I was to
think how well it was fortified. I knew it was no less than ten
hours before the boat could float again, and by that time it would
be dark, and I might be at more liberty to see their motions, and
to hear their discourse, if they had any. In the meantime I fitted
myself up for a battle as before, though with more caution, knowing
I had to do with another kind of enemy than I had at first. I
ordered Friday also, whom I had made an excellent marksman with his
gun, to load himself with arms. I took myself two fowling-pieces,
and I gave him three muskets. My figure, indeed, was very fierce;
I had my formidable goat-skin coat on, with the great cap I have
mentioned, a naked sword by my side, two pistols in my belt, and a
gun upon each shoulder.

It was my design, as I said above, not to have made any attempt
till it was dark; but about two o'clock, being the heat of the day,
I found that they were all gone straggling into the woods, and, as
I thought, laid down to sleep. The three poor distressed men, too
anxious for their condition to get any sleep, had, however, sat
down under the shelter of a great tree, at about a quarter of a
mile from me, and, as I thought, out of sight of any of the rest.
Upon this I resolved to discover myself to them, and learn
something of their condition; immediately I marched as above, my
man Friday at a good distance behind me, as formidable for his arms
as I, but not making quite so staring a spectre-like figure as I
did. I came as near them undiscovered as I could, and then, before
any of them saw me, I called aloud to them in Spanish, "What are
ye, gentlemen?" They started up at the noise, but were ten times
more confounded when they saw me, and the uncouth figure that I
made. They made no answer at all, but I thought I perceived them
just going to fly from me, when I spoke to them in English.
"Gentlemen," said I, "do not be surprised at me; perhaps you may
have a friend near when you did not expect it." "He must be sent
directly from heaven then," said one of them very gravely to me,
and pulling off his hat at the same time to me; "for our condition
is past the help of man." "All help is from heaven, sir," said I,
"but can you put a stranger in the way to help you? for you seem to
be in some great distress. I saw you when you landed; and when you
seemed to make application to the brutes that came with you, I saw
one of them lift up his sword to kill you."

The poor man, with tears running down his face, and trembling,
looking like one astonished, returned, "Am I talking to God or man?
Is it a real man or an angel?" "Be in no fear about that, sir,"
said I; "if God had sent an angel to relieve you, he would have
come better clothed, and armed after another manner than you see
me; pray lay aside your fears; I am a man, an Englishman, and
disposed to assist you; you see I have one servant only; we have
arms and ammunition; tell us freely, can we serve you? What is
your case?" "Our case, sir," said he, "is too long to tell you
while our murderers are so near us; but, in short, sir, I was
commander of that ship - my men have mutinied against me; they have
been hardly prevailed on not to murder me, and, at last, have set
me on shore in this desolate place, with these two men with me -
one my mate, the other a passenger - where we expected to perish,
believing the place to be uninhabited, and know not yet what to
think of it." "Where are these brutes, your enemies?" said I; "do
you know where they are gone? There they lie, sir," said he,
pointing to a thicket of trees; "my heart trembles for fear they
have seen us and heard you speak; if they have, they will certainly
murder us all." "Have they any firearms?" said I. He answered,
"They had only two pieces, one of which they left in the boat."
"Well, then," said I, "leave the rest to me; I see they are all
asleep; it is an easy thing to kill them all; but shall we rather
take them prisoners?" He told me there were two desperate villains
among them that it was scarce safe to show any mercy to; but if
they were secured, he believed all the rest would return to their
duty. I asked him which they were. He told me he could not at
that distance distinguish them, but he would obey my orders in
anything I would direct. "Well," says I, "let us retreat out of
their view or hearing, lest they awake, and we will resolve
further." So they willingly went back with me, till the woods
covered us from them.

"Look you, sir," said I, "if I venture upon your deliverance, are
you willing to make two conditions with me?" He anticipated my
proposals by telling me that both he and the ship, if recovered,
should be wholly directed and commanded by me in everything; and if
the ship was not recovered, he would live and die with me in what
part of the world soever I would send him; and the two other men
said the same. "Well," says I, "my conditions are but two; first,
that while you stay in this island with me, you will not pretend to
any authority here; and if I put arms in your hands, you will, upon
all occasions, give them up to me, and do no prejudice to me or
mine upon this island, and in the meantime be governed by my
orders; secondly, that if the ship is or may be recovered, you will
carry me and my man to England passage free."

He gave me all the assurances that the invention or faith of man
could devise that he would comply with these most reasonable
demands, and besides would owe his life to me, and acknowledge it
upon all occasions as long as he lived. "Well, then," said I,
"here are three muskets for you, with powder and ball; tell me next
what you think is proper to be done." He showed all the
testimonies of his gratitude that he was able, but offered to be
wholly guided by me. I told him I thought it was very hard
venturing anything; but the best method I could think of was to
fire on them at once as they lay, and if any were not killed at the
first volley, and offered to submit, we might save them, and so put
it wholly upon God's providence to direct the shot. He said, very
modestly, that he was loath to kill them if he could help it; but
that those two were incorrigible villains, and had been the authors
of all the mutiny in the ship, and if they escaped, we should be
undone still, for they would go on board and bring the whole ship's
company, and destroy us all. "Well, then," says I, "necessity
legitimates my advice, for it is the only way to save our lives."
However, seeing him still cautious of shedding blood, I told him
they should go themselves, and manage as they found convenient.

In the middle of this discourse we heard some of them awake, and
soon after we saw two of them on their feet. I asked him if either
of them were the heads of the mutiny? He said, "No." "Well,
then," said I, "you may let them escape; and Providence seems to
have awakened them on purpose to save themselves. Now," says I,
"if the rest escape you, it is your fault." Animated with this, he
took the musket I had given him in his hand, and a pistol in his
belt, and his two comrades with him, with each a piece in his hand;
the two men who were with him going first made some noise, at which
one of the seamen who was awake turned about, and seeing them
coming, cried out to the rest; but was too late then, for the
moment he cried out they fired - I mean the two men, the captain
wisely reserving his own piece. They had so well aimed their shot
at the men they knew, that one of them was killed on the spot, and
the other very much wounded; but not being dead, he started up on
his feet, and called eagerly for help to the other; but the captain
stepping to him, told him it was too late to cry for help, he
should call upon God to forgive his villainy, and with that word
knocked him down with the stock of his musket, so that he never
spoke more; there were three more in the company, and one of them
was slightly wounded. By this time I was come; and when they saw
their danger, and that it was in vain to resist, they begged for
mercy. The captain told them he would spare their lives if they
would give him an assurance of their abhorrence of the treachery
they had been guilty of, and would swear to be faithful to him in
recovering the ship, and afterwards in carrying her back to
Jamaica, from whence they came. They gave him all the
protestations of their sincerity that could be desired; and he was
willing to believe them, and spare their lives, which I was not
against, only that I obliged him to keep them bound hand and foot
while they were on the island.

While this was doing, I sent Friday with the captain's mate to the
boat with orders to secure her, and bring away the oars and sails,
which they did; and by-and-by three straggling men, that were
(happily for them) parted from the rest, came back upon hearing the
guns fired; and seeing the captain, who was before their prisoner,
now their conqueror, they submitted to be bound also; and so our
victory was complete.

It now remained that the captain and I should inquire into one
another's circumstances. I began first, and told him my whole
history, which he heard with an attention even to amazement - and
particularly at the wonderful manner of my being furnished with
provisions and ammunition; and, indeed, as my story is a whole
collection of wonders, it affected him deeply. But when he
reflected from thence upon himself, and how I seemed to have been
preserved there on purpose to save his life, the tears ran down his
face, and he could not speak a word more. After this communication
was at an end, I carried him and his two men into my apartment,
leading them in just where I came out, viz. at the top of the
house, where I refreshed them with such provisions as I had, and
showed them all the contrivances I had made during my long, long
inhabiting that place.

All I showed them, all I said to them, was perfectly amazing; but
above all, the captain admired my fortification, and how perfectly
I had concealed my retreat with a grove of trees, which having been
now planted nearly twenty years, and the trees growing much faster
than in England, was become a little wood, so thick that it was
impassable in any part of it but at that one side where I had
reserved my little winding passage into it. I told him this was my
castle and my residence, but that I had a seat in the country, as
most princes have, whither I could retreat upon occasion, and I
would show him that too another time; but at present our business
was to consider how to recover the ship. He agreed with me as to
that, but told me he was perfectly at a loss what measures to take,
for that there were still six-and-twenty hands on board, who,
having entered into a cursed conspiracy, by which they had all
forfeited their lives to the law, would be hardened in it now by
desperation, and would carry it on, knowing that if they were
subdued they would be brought to the gallows as soon as they came
to England, or to any of the English colonies, and that, therefore,
there would be no attacking them with so small a number as we were.

I mused for some time on what he had said, and found it was a very
rational conclusion, and that therefore something was to be
resolved on speedily, as well to draw the men on board into some
snare for their surprise as to prevent their landing upon us, and
destroying us. Upon this, it presently occurred to me that in a
little while the ship's crew, wondering what was become of their
comrades and of the boat, would certainly come on shore in their
other boat to look for them, and that then, perhaps, they might
come armed, and be too strong for us: this he allowed to be
rational. Upon this, I told him the first thing we had to do was
to stave the boat which lay upon the beach, so that they might not
carry her of, and taking everything out of her, leave her so far
useless as not to be fit to swim. Accordingly, we went on board,
took the arms which were left on board out of her, and whatever
else we found there - which was a bottle of brandy, and another of
rum, a few biscuit-cakes, a horn of powder, and a great lump of
sugar in a piece of canvas (the sugar was five or six pounds): all
which was very welcome to me, especially the brandy and sugar, of
which I had had none left for many years.

When we had carried all these things on shore (the oars, mast,
sail, and rudder of the boat were carried away before), we knocked
a great hole in her bottom, that if they had come strong enough to
master us, yet they could not carry off the boat. Indeed, it was
not much in my thoughts that we could be able to recover the ship;
but my view was, that if they went away without the boat, I did not
much question to make her again fit to carry as to the Leeward
Islands, and call upon our friends the Spaniards in my way, for I
had them still in my thoughts.

CHAPTER XVIII - THE SHIP RECOVERED

WHILE we were thus preparing our designs, and had first, by main
strength, heaved the boat upon the beach, so high that the tide
would not float her off at high-water mark, and besides, had broke
a hole in her bottom too big to be quickly stopped, and were set
down musing what we should do, we heard the ship fire a gun, and
make a waft with her ensign as a signal for the boat to come on
board - but no boat stirred; and they fired several times, making
other signals for the boat. At last, when all their signals and
firing proved fruitless, and they found the boat did not stir, we
saw them, by the help of my glasses, hoist another boat out and row
towards the shore; and we found, as they approached, that there
were no less than ten men in her, and that they had firearms with
them.

As the ship lay almost two leagues from the shore, we had a full
view of them as the came, and a plain sight even of their faces;
because the tide having set them a little to the east of the other
boat, they rowed up under shore, to come to the same place where
the other had landed, and where the boat lay; by this means, I say,
we had a full view of them, and the captain knew the persons and
characters of all the men in the boat, of whom, he said, there were
three very honest fellows, who, he was sure, were led into this
conspiracy by the rest, being over-powered and frightened; but that
as for the boatswain, who it seems was the chief officer among
them, and all the rest, they were as outrageous as any of the
ship's crew, and were no doubt made desperate in their new
enterprise; and terribly apprehensive he was that they would be too
powerful for us. I smiled at him, and told him that men in our
circumstances were past the operation of fear; that seeing almost
every condition that could be was better than that which we were
supposed to be in, we ought to expect that the consequence, whether
death or life, would be sure to be a deliverance. I asked him what
he thought of the circumstances of my life, and whether a
deliverance were not worth venturing for? "And where, sir," said
I, "is your belief of my being preserved here on purpose to save
your life, which elevated you a little while ago? For my part,"
said I, "there seems to be but one thing amiss in all the prospect
of it." "What is that?" say she. "Why," said I, "it is, that as
you say there are three or four honest fellows among them which
should be spared, had they been all of the wicked part of the crew
I should have thought God's providence had singled them out to
deliver them into your hands; for depend upon it, every man that
comes ashore is our own, and shall die or live as they behave to
us." As I spoke this with a raised voice and cheerful countenance,
I found it greatly encouraged him; so we set vigorously to our
business.

We had, upon the first appearance of the boat's coming from the
ship, considered of separating our prisoners; and we had, indeed,
secured them effectually. Two of them, of whom the captain was
less assured than ordinary, I sent with Friday, and one of the
three delivered men, to my cave, where they were remote enough, and
out of danger of being heard or discovered, or of finding their way
out of the woods if they could have delivered themselves. Here
they left them bound, but gave them provisions; and promised them,
if they continued there quietly, to give them their liberty in a
day or two; but that if they attempted their escape they should be
put to death without mercy. They promised faithfully to bear their
confinement with patience, and were very thankful that they had
such good usage as to have provisions and light left them; for
Friday gave them candles (such as we made ourselves) for their
comfort; and they did not know but that he stood sentinel over them
at the entrance.

The other prisoners had better usage; two of them were kept
pinioned, indeed, because the captain was not able to trust them;
but the other two were taken into my service, upon the captain's
recommendation, and upon their solemnly engaging to live and die
with us; so with them and the three honest men we were seven men,
well armed; and I made no doubt we should be able to deal well
enough with the ten that were coming, considering that the captain
had said there were three or four honest men among them also. As
soon as they got to the place where their other boat lay, they ran
their boat into the beach and came all on shore, hauling the boat
up after them, which I was glad to see, for I was afraid they would
rather have left the boat at an anchor some distance from the
shore, with some hands in her to guard her, and so we should not be
able to seize the boat. Being on shore, the first thing they did,
they ran all to their other boat; and it was easy to see they were
under a great surprise to find her stripped, as above, of all that
was in her, and a great hole in her bottom. After they had mused a
while upon this, they set up two or three great shouts, hallooing
with all their might, to try if they could make their companions
hear; but all was to no purpose. Then they came all close in a
ring, and fired a volley of their small arms, which indeed we
heard, and the echoes made the woods ring. But it was all one;
those in the cave, we were sure, could not hear; and those in our
keeping, though they heard it well enough, yet durst give no answer
to them. They were so astonished at the surprise of this, that, as
they told us afterwards, they resolved to go all on board again to
their ship, and let them know that the men were all murdered, and
the long-boat staved; accordingly, they immediately launched their
boat again, and got all of them on board.

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