Journeys Through Bookland V3

C >> Charles H. Sylvester >> Journeys Through Bookland V3

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I resolved to feast him the next day by roasting a piece of a kid;
this I did by hanging it before the fire on a string, as I had seen
many people do in England, setting two poles up, one on each side of
the fire, and one across the top, and tying the string to the cross
stick, letting the meat turn continually. This Friday admired very
much; but when he came to taste the flesh, he took so many ways to
tell me how well he liked it, that I could not but understand him: and
at last he told me, as well as he could, he would never eat man's
flesh any more, which I was very glad to hear.

The next day, I set him to work beating some corn out, and sifting it
in the manner I used to do, as I observed before; and he soon
understood how to do it as well as I, especially after he had seen
what the meaning of it was, and that it was to make bread of; for
after that, I let him see me make my bread, and bake it too; and in a
little time, Friday was able to do all the work for me, as well as I
could do it myself.

[Illustration: FRIDAY ROASTING THE KID]

This was the pleasantest year of all the life I led in this place.
Friday began to talk pretty well, and understand the names of almost
everything I had occasion to call for, and of every place I had to
send him to, and talk a great deal to me: so that, in short, I began
now to have some use for my tongue again, which, indeed, I had very
little occasion for before, that is to say, about speech.

Besides the pleasure of talking to him, I had a singular satisfaction
in the fellow himself: his simple, unfeigned honesty appeared to me
more and more every day, and I began really to love the creature; and
on his side I believe he loved me more than it was possible for him
ever to love anything before.

I had a mind once to try if he had any inclination for his own country
again; and having taught him English so well that he could answer me
almost any questions, I asked him whether the nation that he belonged
to never conquered in battle. At which he smiled, and said, "Yes, yes,
we always fight the better"; that is, he meant, always get the better
in fight; and so we began the following discourse:

Master.--You always fight the better; how came you to be taken
prisoner, then, Friday?

Friday.--My nation beat much for all that.

Master.--How beat? If your nation beat them, how came you to be taken?

Friday.--They more many than my nation, in the place where me was:
they take one, two, three and me: my nation over-beat them in the
yonder place, where me no was; there my nation take one, two, great
thousand.

Master.--But why did not your side recover you from the hands of your
enemies, then?

Friday.--They run, one, two, three, and me, and make go in the canoe;
my nation have no canoe that time.

Master.--Well, Friday, and what does your nation do with the men they
take; do they carry them away and eat them, as these did?

Friday.--Yes, my nation eat mans too, eat all up.

Master.--Where do they carry them?

Friday.--Go to other place, where they think.

Master.--Do they come hither?

Friday.--Yes, yes, they come hither; come other else place.

Master.--Have you been here with them?

Friday.--Yes, I been here (points to the N.W. side of the island,
which it seems was their side).

By this, I understood that my man Friday had formerly been among the
savages who used to come on shore on the further part of the island,
on the same man-eating occasions that he was now brought for: and,
some time after, when I took the courage to carry him to that side,
being the same formerly mentioned, he presently knew the place, and
told me he was there once, when they ate up twenty men, two women, and
one child. He could not tell twenty in English, but he numbered them,
by laying so many stones in a row, and pointing to me to tell them
over.

CRUSOE AND THE PIRATES

I was fast asleep in my hutch one morning, when my man Friday came
running in to me, and called aloud, "Master, Master, they are come,
they are come!" I jumped up, and, regardless of danger, I went, as
soon as I could get my clothes on, through my little grove, which, by
the way, was by this time grown to be a very thick wood; I say,
regardless of danger, I went without my arms, which was not my custom
to do; but I was surprised, when, turning my eyes to the sea, I
presently saw a boat at about a league and a half distant, standing in
for the shore, with a shoulder-of-mutton sail, as they call it, and
the wind blowing pretty fair to bring them in: also I observed
presently, that they did not come from that side which the shore lay
on, but from the southernmost end of the island. Upon this I called
Friday in, and bade him lie close, for these were not the people we
looked for, and we might not know yet whether they were friends or
enemies. In the next place, I went in to fetch my perspective glass,
to see what I could make of them; and, having taken the ladder out, I
climbed up to the top of the hill, as I used to do when I was
apprehensive of anything, to take my view the plainer, without being
discovered.

I had scarce set my foot upon the hill, when my eye plainly discovered
a ship lying at anchor, at about two leagues and a half distance from
me, S.S.E., but not above a league and a half from the shore. By my
observation, it appeared plainly to be an English ship, and the boat
appeared to be an English longboat.

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 about me--I cannot tell from whence
they came--bidding me keep upon my guard; for that I had better
continue as I was, than fall into the hands of thieves and murderers.

[Illustration: I DISCOVERED A SHIP LYING AT ANCHOR]

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.

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 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.

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 afterward, 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 further than to my
place of observation; 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 goatskin coat on, with my
great cap, a naked sword by my side, two pistols in my belt, and a gun
upon each shoulder.

It was my design 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, were, 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 was. 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 in; 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 what to think of it."

"Where are those brutes, your enemies," said I; "do you know where
they are gone?"

[Illustration: THEY STARTED UP]

"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.

"They had only two pieces," he answered, "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 everything I would direct.

"Well," said 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," said 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."

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 if either of them were
the men who, he had said, were the heads of the mutiny. He said, "No."
"Well, then," said I, "you may let them escape; Providence seems to
have awakened them on purpose to save themselves. Now," said 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 it 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 up 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
afterward 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 upon the island.

While this was being done, I sent Friday with the captain's mate to
the boat, with orders to secure her, and bring away the oars and sail,
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.

At present our business was to consider how to recover the ship, and
the captain agreed with me that there should be no attacking them with
so small a number as we were.

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 off; 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.

When we had carried all these things on shore (the oars, mast, sail,
and rudder of the boat were carried 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 us to the Leeward Islands.

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 broken a hole
in her bottom too big to be quickly stopped, and were sat down musing
what we should do, we heard the ship fire a gun, and make a waft with
her ancient, 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 toward 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 they 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
rode up under shore, to come to the same place where the other had
landed, and where the boat lay.

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 awhile 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 we heard, and the echoes made the woods ring;
but it was all one; our first prisoners, who were in the cave, 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 afterward, they resolved to go
all on board again to their ship, and let them know that the men were
all murdered, and the longboat staved; accordingly, they immediately
launched their boat again, and got all of them on board.

The captain was terribly amazed, and even confounded, at this,
believing they would go on board the ship again, and set sail, giving
their comrades over for lost, and so he should still lose the ship,
which he was in hopes we should have recovered; but he was quickly as
much frighted the other way.

They had not been long put off with the boat, when we perceived them
all coming on shore again; but with this new measure in their conduct,
which it seems they consulted together upon, viz., to leave three men
in the boat, and the rest to go on shore, and go up into the country
to look for their fellows.

We had no remedy but to wait and see what the issue of things might
present; the seven men came on shore, and the three who remained in
the boat put her off to a good distance from the shore, and came to an
anchor to wait for them; so that it was impossible for us to come at
them in the boat. Those that came on shore kept close together,
marching toward the top of the little hill under which my habitation
lay; and we could see them plainly, though they could not perceive us;
we should have been very glad if they would have come nearer to us, so
that we might have fired at them, or that they would have gone further
off, that we might come abroad. But when they were come to the brow of
the hill, where they could see a great way into the valleys and woods,
which lay toward the northeast part, and where the island lay lowest,
they shouted and hallooed till they were weary; and not caring, it
seems, to venture far from the shore, nor far from one another, they
sat down together under a tree to consider it.

We waited a great while, though very impatient for their removing; and
were very uneasy, when, after a long consultation, we saw them all
start up, and march down toward the sea; it seems they had such
dreadful apprehensions of the danger of the place, that they resolved
to go on board the ship again, give their companions over for lost,
and so go on with their intended voyage with the ship.

As soon as I perceived them go toward the shore, I imagined it to be
as it really was, that they had given over their search, and were
going back again; and the captain, as soon as I told him my thoughts,
was ready to sink at the apprehensions of it; but I presently thought
of a stratagem to fetch them back again. I ordered Friday and the
captain's mate to go over the little creek westward, and so soon as
they came to a little rising ground, at about half a mile distance, I
bade them halloo out, as loud as they could, and wait till they found
the seamen heard them; that as soon as ever they heard the seamen
answer them, they should return it again; and then, keeping out of
sight, take a round, always answering when the others hallooed, to
draw them as far into the island and among the woods as possible, and
then wheel about again to me by such ways as I directed them.

They were just going into the boat when Friday and the mate hallooed;
and they presently heard them, and, answering, ran along the shore
westward, toward the voice they heard, when they were stopped by the
creek, where, the water being up, they could not get over, and called
for the boat to come up and set them over; as, indeed, I expected.
When they had set themselves over, I observed that the boat being gone
a good way into the creek, and, as it were, in a harbor within the
land, they took one of the three men out of her, to go along with
them, and left only two in the boat, having fastened her to a stump of
a little tree on the shore. This was what I wished for; and
immediately leaving Friday and the captain's mate to their business, I
took the rest with me; and, crossing the creek out of their sight, we
surprised the two men before they were aware--one of them lying on the
shore, and the other being in the boat; the fellow on shore was
between sleeping and waking, and going to start up; the captain, who
was foremost, ran in upon him, and knocked him down; and then called
out to him in the boat to yield, or he was a dead man. There needed
very few arguments to persuade a single man to yield, when he saw five
men upon him, and his comrade knocked down; besides, this was, it
seems, one of the three who were not so hearty in the mutiny as the
rest of the crew, and therefore was easily persuaded not only to
yield, but afterward to join very sincerely with us.

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