Robinson Crusoe

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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; but to
prevent this, I cut 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 - "I came on shore here on the 30th
September 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 calendar, 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 mentioned, I made to it, I got several things of less value,
but not at 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
packed up among my things; some Portuguese books also; and among
them two or three Popish prayer-books, and several other books, all
which I carefully secured. 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 carried both the cats
with me; and as for the dog, he jumped 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 observed before, I found pens, ink, and paper, and I husbanded
them to the utmost; and I shall show 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 amassed together; and of these, ink was one; as also
a spade, pickaxe, and shovel, to dig or remove the earth; needles,
pins, and thread; as for linen, I soon learned 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 my 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 sometimes 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, though I
found it, made driving those posts or piles very laborious and
tedious work. But what need I have been concerned at the
tediousness of anything 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
circumstances I was reduced 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 likely to have but few heirs - as to
deliver my thoughts from daily poring over them, and afflicting my
mind; and as my reason began now to master my despondency, I began
to comfort myself 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 very impartially, like debtor and creditor, the
comforts I enjoyed against the miseries I suffered, thus:-

Evil: I am cast upon a horrible, desolate island, void of all hope
of recovery.

Good: But I am alive; and not drowned, as all my ship's company
were.

Evil: I am singled out and separated, as it were, from all the
world, to be miserable.

Good: 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.

Evil: I am divided from mankind - a solitaire; one banished from
human society.

Good: But I am not starved, and perishing on a barren place,
affording no sustenance.

Evil: I have no clothes to cover me.

Good: But I am in a hot climate, where, if I had clothes, I could
hardly wear them.

Evil: I am without any defence, or means to resist any violence of
man or beast.

Good: 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
shipwrecked there?

Evil: I have no soul to speak to or relieve me.

Good: But God wonderfully sent the ship in near enough to the
shore, that I have got out as many necessary things as will either
supply my wants or enable me to supply myself, 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 ourselves from, and to set, in the
description of good and evil, on the credit side of the account.

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 begun to apply myself to arrange
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 raised a kind of wall
up against it of turfs, about two feet thick on the outside; and
after some time (I think it was a year and a half) I raised rafters
from it, leaning to the rock, and thatched or covered 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 observed 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 confused heap of goods, which, as
they lay in no order, so they took up all my place; I had no room
to turn myself: so I set myself to enlarge my cave, and work
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 worked sideways, to the
right hand, into the rock; and then, turning to the right again,
worked quite out, and made me a door to come out on the outside of
my pale or fortification. This gave me not only egress and
regress, as it was a back way to my tent and to my storehouse, but
gave me room to store my goods.

And now I began to apply myself to make such necessary things as I
found I most wanted, 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 origin of the
mathematics, so by stating and squaring everything by reason, and
by making the most rational judgment of things, every man may be,
in time, master of every mechanic 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 brought it
to be thin as a plank, and then dub 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 employed one way as another.

However, I made me a table and a chair, as I observed 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 ironwork on; and, in a word, to
separate everything at large into their places, that I might come
easily at them. I knocked 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 looked like a general magazine of all necessary
things; and had everything 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 that 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 have been full of many dull things; for example, I
must have said thus: "30TH. - After I had got to shore, and escaped
drowning, instead of being thankful to God for my deliverance,
having first vomited, with the great quantity of salt water which
had got into my stomach, and recovering myself 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, tired and faint, I was forced to lie down on the ground to
repose, but durst not sleep for fear of being devoured."

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 looking out to sea, in hopes of
seeing a ship; then fancy at a vast distance I spied a sail, please
myself 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 increase my misery by my folly.

But having gotten over these things in some measure, and having
settled my household staff 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 (though in it will
be told all these particulars over again) as long as it lasted; for
having no more ink, I was forced to leave it off.

CHAPTER V - BUILDS A HOUSE - THE JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 30, 1659. - I, poor miserable Robinson Crusoe, being
shipwrecked during a dreadful storm in the offing, came on shore on
this dismal, unfortunate island, which I called "The Island of
Despair"; all the rest of the ship's company being drowned, and
myself almost dead.

All the rest of the day I spent in afflicting myself at the dismal
circumstances I was brought to - viz. I had neither food, house,
clothes, weapon, nor place to fly to; and in despair of any relief,
saw nothing but death before me - either that I should be devoured
by wild beasts, murdered by savages, or starved to death for want
of food. At the approach of night I slept in a tree, for fear of
wild creatures; but slept soundly, though it rained 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 set upright, and not broken to pieces, I hoped, 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
renewed my grief at the loss of my comrades, who, I imagined, if we
had all stayed on board, might have saved the ship, or, at least,
that they would not have been all drowned as they were; and that,
had the men been saved, 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 myself 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 continued raining, though with no wind at all.

FROM THE 1ST OF OCTOBER TO THE 24TH. - All these days entirely
spent in many several voyages to get all I could out of the ship,
which I brought on shore every tide of flood upon rafts. Much rain
also in the days, though with some intervals of fair weather; but
it seems this was the rainy season.

OCT. 20. - I overset my raft, and all the goods I had got upon it;
but, being in shoal water, and the things being chiefly heavy, I
recovered many of them when the tide was out.

OCT. 25. - It rained all night and all day, with some gusts of
wind; during which time the ship broke in pieces, the wind blowing
a little harder than before, and was no more to be seen, except the
wreck of her, and that only at low water. I spent this day in
covering and securing the goods which I had saved, that the rain
might not spoil them.

OCT. 26. - I walked about the shore almost all day, to find out a
place to fix my habitation, greatly concerned to secure myself from
any attack in the night, either from wild beasts or men. Towards
night, I fixed upon a proper place, under a rock, and marked out a
semicircle for my encampment; which I resolved to strengthen with a
work, wall, or fortification, made of double piles, lined within
with cables, and without with turf.

From the 26th to the 30th I worked very hard in carrying all my
goods to my new habitation, though some part of the time it rained
exceedingly hard.

The 31st, in the morning, I went out into the island with my gun,
to seek for some food, and discover the country; when I killed a
she-goat, and her kid followed me home, which I afterwards killed
also, because it would not feed.

NOVEMBER 1. - I set up my tent under a rock, and lay there for the
first night; making it as large as I could, with stakes driven in
to swing my hammock upon.

NOV. 2. - I set up all my chests and boards, and the pieces of
timber which made my rafts, and with them formed a fence round me,
a little within the place I had marked out for my fortification.

NOV. 3. - I went out with my gun, and killed two fowls like ducks,
which were very good food. In the afternoon went to work to make
me a table.

NOV. 4. - This morning I began to order my times of work, of going
out with my gun, time of sleep, and time of diversion - viz. every
morning I walked out with my gun for two or three hours, if it did
not rain; then employed myself to work till about eleven o'clock;
then eat what I had to live on; and from twelve to two I lay down
to sleep, the weather being excessively hot; and then, in the
evening, to work again. The working part of this day and of the
next were wholly employed in making my table, for I was yet but a
very sorry workman, though time and necessity made me a complete
natural mechanic soon after, as I believe they would do any one
else.

NOV. 5. - This day went abroad with my gun and my dog, and killed a
wild cat; her skin pretty soft, but her flesh good for nothing;
every creature that I killed I took of the skins and preserved
them. Coming back by the sea-shore, I saw many sorts of sea-fowls,
which I did not understand; but was surprised, and almost
frightened, with two or three seals, which, while I was gazing at,
not well knowing what they were, got into the sea, and escaped me
for that time.

NOV. 6. - After my morning walk I went to work with my table again,
and finished it, though not to my liking; nor was it long before I
learned to mend it.

NOV. 7. - Now it began to be settled fair weather. The 7th, 8th,
9th, 10th, and part of the 12th (for the 11th was Sunday) I took
wholly up to make me a chair, and with much ado brought it to a
tolerable shape, but never to please me; and even in the making I
pulled it in pieces several times.

NOTE. - I soon neglected my keeping Sundays; for, omitting my mark
for them on my post, I forgot which was which.

NOV. 13. - This day it rained, which refreshed me exceedingly, and
cooled the earth; but it was accompanied with terrible thunder and
lightning, which frightened me dreadfully, for fear of my powder.
As soon as it was over, I resolved to separate my stock of powder
into as many little parcels as possible, that it might not be in
danger.

NOV. 14, 15, 16. - These three days I spent in making little square
chests, or boxes, which might hold about a pound, or two pounds at
most, of powder; and so, putting the powder in, I stowed it in
places as secure and remote from one another as possible. On one
of these three days I killed a large bird that was good to eat, but
I knew not what to call it.

NOV. 17. - This day I began to dig behind my tent into the rock, to
make room for my further conveniency.

NOTE. - Three things I wanted exceedingly for this work - viz. a
pickaxe, a shovel, and a wheelbarrow or basket; so I desisted from
my work, and began to consider how to supply that want, and make me
some tools. As for the pickaxe, I made use of the iron crows,
which were proper enough, though heavy; but the next thing was a
shovel or spade; this was so absolutely necessary, that, indeed, I
could do nothing effectually without it; but what kind of one to
make I knew not.

NOV. 18. - The next day, in searching the woods, I found a tree of
that wood, or like it, which in the Brazils they call the iron-
tree, for its exceeding hardness. Of this, with great labour, and
almost spoiling my axe, I cut a piece, and brought it home, too,
with difficulty enough, for it was exceeding heavy. The excessive
hardness of the wood, and my having no other way, made me a long
while upon this machine, for I worked it effectually by little and
little into the form of a shovel or spade; the handle exactly
shaped like ours in England, only that the board part having no
iron shod upon it at bottom, it would not last me so long; however,
it served well enough for the uses which I had occasion to put it
to; but never was a shovel, I believe, made after that fashion, or
so long in making.

I was still deficient, for I wanted a basket or a wheelbarrow. A
basket I could not make by any means, having no such things as
twigs that would bend to make wicker-ware - at least, none yet
found out; and as to a wheelbarrow, I fancied I could make all but
the wheel; but that I had no notion of; neither did I know how to
go about it; besides, I had no possible way to make the iron
gudgeons for the spindle or axis of the wheel to run in; so I gave
it over, and so, for carrying away the earth which I dug out of the
cave, I made me a thing like a hod which the labourers carry mortar
in when they serve the bricklayers. This was not so difficult to
me as the making the shovel: and yet this and the shovel, and the
attempt which I made in vain to make a wheelbarrow, took me up no
less than four days - I mean always excepting my morning walk with
my gun, which I seldom failed, and very seldom failed also bringing
home something fit to eat.

NOV. 23. - My other work having now stood still, because of my
making these tools, when they were finished I went on, and working
every day, as my strength and time allowed, I spent eighteen days
entirely in widening and deepening my cave, that it might hold my
goods commodiously.

NOTE. - During all this time I worked to make this room or cave
spacious enough to accommodate me as a warehouse or magazine, a
kitchen, a dining-room, and a cellar. As for my lodging, I kept to
the tent; except that sometimes, in the wet season of the year, it
rained so hard that I could not keep myself dry, which caused me
afterwards to cover all my place within my pale with long poles, in
the form of rafters, leaning against the rock, and load them with
flags and large leaves of trees, like a thatch.

DECEMBER 10. - I began now to think my cave or vault finished, when
on a sudden (it seems I had made it too large) a great quantity of
earth fell down from the top on one side; so much that, in short,
it frighted me, and not without reason, too, for if I had been
under it, I had never wanted a gravedigger. I had now a great deal
of work to do over again, for I had the loose earth to carry out;
and, which was of more importance, I had the ceiling to prop up, so
that I might be sure no more would come down.

DEC. 11. - This day I went to work with it accordingly, and got two
shores or posts pitched upright to the top, with two pieces of
boards across over each post; this I finished the next day; and
setting more posts up with boards, in about a week more I had the
roof secured, and the posts, standing in rows, served me for
partitions to part off the house.

DEC. 17. - From this day to the 20th I placed shelves, and knocked
up nails on the posts, to hang everything up that could be hung up;
and now I began to be in some order within doors.

DEC. 20. - Now I carried everything into the cave, and began to
furnish my house, and set up some pieces of boards like a dresser,
to order my victuals upon; but boards began to be very scarce with
me; also, I made me another table.

DEC. 24. - Much rain all night and all day. No stirring out.

DEC. 25. - Rain all day.

DEC. 26. - No rain, and the earth much cooler than before, and
pleasanter.

DEC. 27. - Killed a young goat, and lamed another, so that I caught
it and led it home in a string; when I had it at home, I bound and
splintered up its leg, which was broke.

N.B. - I took such care of it that it lived, and the leg grew well
and as strong as ever; but, by my nursing it so long, it grew tame,
and fed upon the little green at my door, and would not go away.
This was the first time that I entertained a thought of breeding up
some tame creatures, that I might have food when my powder and shot
was all spent.

DEC. 28,29,30,31. - Great heats, and no breeze, so that there was
no stirring abroad, except in the evening, for food; this time I
spent in putting all my things in order within doors.

JANUARY 1. - Very hot still: but I went abroad early and late with
my gun, and lay still in the middle of the day. This evening,
going farther into the valleys which lay towards the centre of the
island, I found there were plenty of goats, though exceedingly shy,
and hard to come at; however, I resolved to try if I could not
bring my dog to hunt them down.

JAN. 2. - Accordingly, the next day I went out with my dog, and set
him upon the goats, but I was mistaken, for they all faced about
upon the dog, and he knew his danger too well, for he would not
come near them.

JAN. 3. - I began my fence or wall; which, being still jealous of
my being attacked by somebody, I resolved to make very thick and
strong.

N.B. - This wall being described before, I purposely omit what was
said in the journal; it is sufficient to observe, that I was no
less time than from the 2nd of January to the 14th of April
working, finishing, and perfecting this wall, though it was no more
than about twenty-four yards in length, being a half-circle from
one place in the rock to another place, about eight yards from it,
the door of the cave being in the centre behind it.

All this time I worked very hard, the rains hindering me many days,
nay, sometimes weeks together; but I thought I should never be
perfectly secure till this wall was finished; and it is scarce
credible what inexpressible labour everything was done with,
especially the bringing piles out of the woods and driving them
into the ground; for I made them much bigger than I needed to have
done.

When this wall was finished, and the outside double fenced, with a
turf wall raised up close to it, I perceived myself that if any
people were to come on shore there, they would not perceive
anything like a habitation; and it was very well I did so, as may
be observed hereafter, upon a very remarkable occasion.

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