myself, I concluded that this island (which was so exceedingly pleasant, fruitful, and no farther from the
mainland than as I had seen) was not so entirely abandoned as I might imagine; that although there were no
stated inhabitants who lived on the spot, yet that there might sometimes come boats off from the shore, who,
either with design, or perhaps never but when they were driven by cross winds, might come to this place; that
I had lived there fifteen years now and had not met with the least shadow or figure of any people yet; and
that, if at any time they should be driven here, it was probable they went away again as soon as ever they
could, seeing they had never thought fit to fix here upon any occasion; that the most I could suggest any
danger from was from any casual accidental landing of straggling people from the main, who, as it was likely,
if they were driven hither, were here against their wills, so they made no stay here, but went off again with all
possible speed; seldom staying one night on shore, lest they should not have the help of the tides and daylight
back again; and that, therefore, I had nothing to do but to consider of some safe retreat, in case I should see
any savages land upon the spot.
CHAPTER XI . FINDS PRINT OF MAN'S FOOT ON THE SAND
Robinson Crusoe
Now, I began sorely to repent that I had dug my cave so large as to bring a door through again, which door,
as I said, came out beyond where my fortification joined to the rock: upon maturely considering this,
therefore, I resolved to draw me a second fortification, in the manner of a semicircle, at a distance from my
wall, just where I had planted a double row of trees about twelve years before, of which I made mention:
these trees having been planted so thick before, they wanted but few piles to be driven between them, that
they might be thicker and stronger, and my wall would be soon finished. So that I had now a double wall; and
my outer wall was thickened with pieces of timber, old cables, and everything I could think of, to make it
strong; having in it seven little holes, about as big as I might put my arm out at. In the inside of this I
thickened my wall to about ten feet thick with continually bringing earth out of my cave, and laying it at the
foot of the wall, and walking upon it; and through the seven holes I contrived to plant the muskets, of which I
took notice that I had got seven on shore out of the ship; these I planted like my cannon, and fitted them into
frames, that held them like a carriage, so that I could fire all the seven guns in two minutes' time; this wall I
was many a weary month in finishing, and yet never thought myself safe till it was done.
When this was done I stuck all the ground without my wall, for a great length every way, as full with stakes
or sticks of the osier. like wood, which I found so apt to grow, as they could well stand; insomuch that I
believe I might set in near twenty thousand of them, leaving a pretty large space between them and my wall,
that I might have room to see an enemy, and they might have no shelter from the young trees, if they
attempted to approach my outer wall.
Thus in two years' time I had a thick grove; and in five or six years' time I had a wood before my dwelling,
growing so monstrously thick and strong that it was indeed perfectly impassable: and no men, of what kind
soever, could ever imagine that there was anything beyond it, much less a habitation. As for the way which I
proposed to myself to go in and out (for I left no avenue), it was by setting two ladders, one to a part of the
rock which was low, and then broke in, and left room to place another ladder upon that; so when the two
ladders were taken down no man living could come down to me without doing himself mischief; and if they
had come down, they were still on the outside of my outer wall.
Thus I took all the measures human prudence could suggest for my own preservation; and it will be seen at
length that they were not altogether without just reason; though I foresaw nothing at that time more than my
mere fear suggested to me.
CHAPTER XII . A CAVE RETREAT
WHILE this was doing, I was not altogether careless of my other affairs; for I had a great concern upon me
for my little herd of goats: they were not only a ready supply to me on every occasion, and began to be
sufficient for me, without the expense of powder and shot, but also without the fatigue of hunting after the
wild ones; and I was loath to lose the advantage of them, and to have them all to nurse up over again.
For this purpose, after long consideration, I could think of but two ways to preserve them: one was, to find
another convenient place to dig a cave underground, and to drive them into it every night; and the other was
to enclose two or three little bits of land, remote from one another, and as much concealed as I could, where I
might keep about half.a.dozen young goats in each place; so that if any disaster happened to the flock in
general, I might be able to raise them again with little trouble and time: and this though it would require a
good deal of time and labour, I thought was the most rational design.
Accordingly, I spent some time to find out the most retired parts of the island; and I pitched upon one, which
was as private, indeed, as my heart could wish: it was a little damp piece of ground in the middle of the
hollow and thick woods, where, as is observed, I almost lost myself once before, endeavouring to come back
that way from the eastern part of the island. Here I found a clear piece of land, near three acres, so surrounded
CHAPTER XII . A CAVE RETREAT
Robinson Crusoe
with woods that it was almost an enclosure by nature; at least, it did not want near so much labour to make it
so as the other piece of ground I had worked so hard at.
I immediately went to work with this piece of ground; and in less than a month's time I had so fenced it round
that my flock, or herd, call it which you please, which were not so wild now as at first they might be
supposed to be, were well enough secured in it: so, without any further delay, I removed ten young she.goats
and two he.goats to this piece, and when they were there I continued to perfect the fence till I had made it as
secure as the other; which, however, I did at more leisure, and it took me up more time by a great deal. All
this labour I was at the expense of, purely from my apprehensions on account of the print of a man's foot; for
as yet I had never seen any human creature come near the island; and I had now lived two years under this
uneasiness, which, indeed, made my life much less comfortable than it was before, as may be well imagined
by any who know what it is to live in the constant snare of the fear of man. And this I must observe, with
grief, too, that the discomposure of my mind had great impression also upon the religious part of my
thoughts; for the dread and terror of falling into the hands of savages and cannibals lay so upon my spirits,
that I seldom found myself in a due temper for application to my Maker; at least, not with the sedate calmness
and resignation of soul which I was wont to do: I rather prayed to God as under great affliction and pressure
of mind, surrounded with danger, and in expectation every night of being murdered and devoured before
morning; and I must testify, from my experience, that a temper of peace, thankfulness, love, and affection, is
much the more proper frame for prayer than that of terror and discomposure: and that under the dread of
mischief impending, a man is no more fit for a comforting performance of the duty of praying to God than he
is for a repentance on a sick.bed; for these discomposures affect the mind, as the others do the body; and the
discomposure of the mind must necessarily be as great a disability as that of the body, and much greater;
praying to God being properly an act of the mind, not of the body.
But to go on. After I had thus secured one part of my little living stock, I went about the whole island,
searching for another private place to make such another deposit; when, wandering more to the west point of
the island than I had ever done yet, and looking out to sea, I thought I saw a boat upon the sea, at a great
distance. I had found a perspective glass or two in one of the seamen's chests, which I saved out of our ship,
but I had it not about me; and this was so remote that I could not tell what to make of it, though I looked at it
till my eyes were not able to hold to look any longer; whether it was a boat or not I do not know, but as I
descended from the hill I could see no more of it, so I gave it over; only I resolved to go no more out without
a perspective glass in my pocket. When I was come down the hill to the end of the island, where, indeed, I
had never been before, I was presently convinced that the seeing the print of a man's foot was not such a
strange thing in the island as I imagined: and but that it was a special providence that I was cast upon the side
of the island where the savages never came, I should easily have known that nothing was more frequent than
for the canoes from the main, when they happened to be a little too far out at sea, to shoot over to that side of
the island for harbour: likewise, as they often met and fought in their canoes, the victors, having taken any
prisoners, would bring them over to this shore, where, according to their dreadful customs, being all
cannibals, they would kill and eat them; of which hereafter.
When I was come down the hill to the shore, as I said above, being the SW. point of the island, I was
perfectly confounded and amazed; nor is it possible for me to express the horror of my mind at seeing the
shore spread with skulls, hands, feet, and other bones of human bodies; and particularly I observed a place
where there had been a fire made, and a circle dug in the earth, like a cockpit, where I supposed the savage
wretches had sat down to their human feastings upon the bodies of their fellow.creatures.
I was so astonished with the sight of these things, that I entertained no notions of any danger to myself from it
for a long while: all my apprehensions were buried in the thoughts of such a pitch of inhuman, hellish
brutality, and the horror of the degeneracy of human nature, which, though I had heard of it often, yet I never
had so near a view of before; in short, I turned away my face from the horrid spectacle; my stomach grew
sick, and I was just at the point of fainting, when nature discharged the disorder from my stomach; and
CHAPTER XII . A CAVE RETREAT
Robinson Crusoe
having vomited with uncommon violence, I was a little relieved, but could not bear to stay in the place a
moment; so I got up the hill again with all the speed I could, and walked on towards my own habitation.
When I came a little out of that part of the island I stood still awhile, as amazed, and then, recovering myself,
I looked up with the utmost affection of my soul, and, with a flood of tears in my eyes, gave God thanks, that
had cast my first lot in a part of the world where I was distinguished from such dreadful creatures as these;
and that, though I had esteemed my present condition very miserable, had yet given me so many comforts in
it that I had still more to give thanks for than to complain of: and this, above all, that I had, even in this
miserable condition, been comforted with the knowledge of Himself, and the hope of His blessing: which was
a felicity more than sufficiently equivalent to all the misery which I had suffered, or could suffer.
In this frame of thankfulness I went home to my castle, and began to be much easier now, as to the safety of
my circumstances, than ever I was before: for I observed that these wretches never came to this island in
search of what they could get; perhaps not seeking, not wanting, or not expecting anything here; and having
often, no doubt, been up the covered, woody part of it without finding anything to their purpose. I knew I had
been here now almost eighteen years, and never saw the least footsteps of human creature there before; and I
might be eighteen years more as entirely concealed as I was now, if I did not discover myself to them, which
I had no manner of occasion to do; it being my only business to keep myself entirely concealed where I was,
unless I found a better sort of creatures than cannibals to make myself known to. Yet I entertained such an
abhorrence of the savage wretches that I have been speaking of, and of the wretched, inhuman custom of their
devouring and eating one another up, that I continued pensive and sad, and kept close within my own circle
for almost two years after this: when I say my own circle, I mean by it my three plantations . viz. my castle,
my country seat (which I called my bower), and my enclosure in the woods: nor did I look after this for any
other use than an enclosure for my goats; for the aversion which nature gave me to these hellish wretches was
such, that I was as fearful of seeing them as of seeing the devil himself. I did not so much as go to look after
my boat all this time, but began rather to think of making another; for I could not think of ever making any
more attempts to bring the other boat round the island to me, lest I should meet with some of these creatures
at sea; in which case, if I had happened to have fallen into their hands, I knew what would have been my lot.
Time, however, and the satisfaction I had that I was in no danger of being discovered by these people, began
to wear off my uneasiness about them; and I began to live just in the same composed manner as before, only
with this difference, that I used more caution, and kept my eyes more about me than I did before, lest I should
happen to be seen by any of them; and particularly, I was more cautious of firing my gun, lest any of them,
being on the island, should happen to hear it. It was, therefore, a very good providence to me that I had
furnished myself with a tame breed of goats, and that I had no need to hunt any more about the woods, or
shoot at them; and if I did catch any of them after this, it was by traps and snares, as I had done before; so that
for two years after this I believe I never fired my gun once off, though I never went out without it; and what
