appearance of any such thing. I cannot explain, by any possible energy of words, what a strange longing I felt
in my soul upon this sight, breaking out sometimes thus: "Oh that there had been but one or two, nay, or but
one soul saved out of this ship, to have escaped to me, that I might but have had one companion, one
fellow.creature, to have spoken to me and to have conversed with!" In all the time of my solitary life I never
felt so earnest, so strong a desire after the society of my fellow. creatures, or so deep a regret at the want of
it.
There are some secret springs in the affections which, when they are set a.going by some object in view, or,
though not in view, yet rendered present to the mind by the power of imagination, that motion carries out the
soul, by its impetuosity, to such violent, eager embracings of the object, that the absence of it is
insupportable. Such were these earnest wishings that but one man had been saved. I believe I repeated the
words, "Oh that it had been but one!" a thousand times; and my desires were so moved by it, that when I
spoke the words my hands would clinch together, and my fingers would press the palms of my hands, so that
if I had had any soft thing in my hand I should have crushed it involuntarily; and the teeth in my head would
strike together, and set against one another so strong, that for some time I could not part them again. Let the
naturalists explain these things, and the reason and manner of them. All I can do is to describe the fact, which
was even surprising to me when I found it, though I knew not from whence it proceeded; it was doubtless the
effect of ardent wishes, and of strong ideas formed in my mind, realising the comfort which the conversation
of one of my fellow.Christians would have been to me. But it was not to be; either their fate or mine, or both,
forbade it; for, till the last year of my being on this island, I never knew whether any were saved out of that
ship or no; and had only the affliction, some days after, to see the corpse of a drowned boy come on shore at
the end of the island which was next the shipwreck. He had no clothes on but a seaman's waistcoat, a pair of
open.kneed linen drawers, and a blue linen shirt; but nothing to direct me so much as to guess what nation he
was of. He had nothing in his pockets but two pieces of eight and a tobacco pipe . the last was to me of ten
times more value than the first.
It was now calm, and I had a great mind to venture out in my boat to this wreck, not doubting but I might find
something on board that might be useful to me. But that did not altogether press me so much as the
possibility that there might be yet some living creature on board, whose life I might not only save, but might,
by saving that life, comfort my own to the last degree; and this thought clung so to my heart that I could not
be quiet night or day, but I must venture out in my boat on board this wreck; and committing the rest to God's
providence, I thought the impression was so strong upon my mind that it could not be resisted . that it must
come from some invisible direction, and that I should be wanting to myself if I did not go.
Under the power of this impression, I hastened back to my castle, prepared everything for my voyage, took a
quantity of bread, a great pot of fresh water, a compass to steer by, a bottle of rum (for I had still a great deal
of that left), and a basket of raisins; and thus, loading myself with everything necessary. I went down to my
CHAPTER XIII . WRECK OF A SPANISH SHIP
Robinson Crusoe
boat, got the water out of her, got her afloat, loaded all my cargo in her, and then went home again for more.
My second cargo was a great bag of rice, the umbrella to set up over my head for a shade, another large pot of
water, and about two dozen of small loaves, or barley cakes, more than before, with a bottle of goat's milk
and a cheese; all which with great labour and sweat I carried to my boat; and praying to God to direct my
voyage, I put out, and rowing or paddling the canoe along the shore, came at last to the utmost point of the
island on the north.east side. And now I was to launch out into the ocean, and either to venture or not to
venture. I looked on the rapid currents which ran constantly on both sides of the island at a distance, and
which were very terrible to me from the remembrance of the hazard I had been in before, and my heart began
to fail me; for I foresaw that if I was driven into either of those currents, I should be carried a great way out to
sea, and perhaps out of my reach or sight of the island again; and that then, as my boat was but small, if any
little gale of wind should rise, I should be inevitably lost.
These thoughts so oppressed my mind that I began to give over my enterprise; and having hauled my boat
into a little creek on the shore, I stepped out, and sat down upon a rising bit of ground, very pensive and
anxious, between fear and desire, about my voyage; when, as I was musing, I could perceive that the tide was
turned, and the flood come on; upon which my going was impracticable for so many hours. Upon this,
presently it occurred to me that I should go up to the highest piece of ground I could find, and observe, if I
could, how the sets of the tide or currents lay when the flood came in, that I might judge whether, if I was
driven one way out, I might not expect to be driven another way home, with the same rapidity of the currents.
This thought was no sooner in my head than I cast my eye upon a little hill which sufficiently overlooked the
sea both ways, and from whence I had a clear view of the currents or sets of the tide, and which way I was to
guide myself in my return. Here I found, that as the current of ebb set out close by the south point of the
island, so the current of the flood set in close by the shore of the north side; and that I had nothing to do but to
keep to the north side of the island in my return, and I should do well enough.
Encouraged by this observation, I resolved the next morning to set out with the first of the tide; and reposing
myself for the night in my canoe, under the watch.coat I mentioned, I launched out. I first made a little out to
sea, full north, till I began to feel the benefit of the current, which set eastward, and which carried me at a
great rate; and yet did not so hurry me as the current on the south side had done before, so as to take from me
all government of the boat; but having a strong steerage with my paddle, I went at a great rate directly for the
wreck, and in less than two hours I came up to it. It was a dismal sight to look at; the ship, which by its
building was Spanish, stuck fast, jammed in between two rocks. All the stern and quarter of her were beaten
to pieces by the sea; and as her forecastle, which stuck in the rocks, had run on with great violence, her
mainmast and foremast were brought by the board . that is to say, broken short off; but her bowsprit was
sound, and the head and bow appeared firm. When I came close to her, a dog appeared upon her, who, seeing
me coming, yelped and cried; and as soon as I called him, jumped into the sea to come to me. I took him into
the boat, but found him almost dead with hunger and thirst. I gave him a cake of my bread, and he devoured it
like a ravenous wolf that had been starving a fortnight in the snow; I then gave the poor creature some fresh
water, with which, if I would have let him, he would have burst himself. After this I went on board; but the
first sight I met with was two men drowned in the cook.room, or forecastle of the ship, with their arms fast
about one another. I concluded, as is indeed probable, that when the ship struck, it being in a storm, the sea
broke so high and so continually over her, that the men were not able to bear it, and were strangled with the
constant rushing in of the water, as much as if they had been under water. Besides the dog, there was nothing
left in the ship that had life; nor any goods, that I could see, but what were spoiled by the water. There were
some casks of liquor, whether wine or brandy I knew not, which lay lower in the hold, and which, the water
being ebbed out, I could see; but they were too big to meddle with. I saw several chests, which I believe
belonged to some of the seamen; and I got two of them into the boat, without examining what was in them.
Had the stern of the ship been fixed, and the forepart broken off, I am persuaded I might have made a good
voyage; for by what I found in those two chests I had room to suppose the ship had a great deal of wealth on
board; and, if I may guess from the course she steered, she must have been bound from Buenos Ayres, or the
Rio de la Plata, in the south part of America, beyond the Brazils to the Havannah, in the Gulf of Mexico, and
CHAPTER XIII . WRECK OF A SPANISH SHIP
Robinson Crusoe
so perhaps to Spain. She had, no doubt, a great treasure in her, but of no use, at that time, to anybody; and
what became of the crew I then knew not.
I found, besides these chests, a little cask full of liquor, of about twenty gallons, which I got into my boat
with much difficulty. There were several muskets in the cabin, and a great powder.horn, with about four
pounds of powder in it; as for the muskets, I had no occasion for them, so I left them, but took the
powder.horn. I took a fire.shovel and tongs, which I wanted extremely, as also two little brass kettles, a
copper pot to make chocolate, and a gridiron; and with this cargo, and the dog, I came away, the tide
beginning to make home again . and the same evening, about an hour within night, I reached the island
again, weary and fatigued to the last degree. I reposed that night in the boat and in the morning I resolved to
harbour what I had got in my new cave, and not carry it home to my castle. After refreshing myself, I got all
my cargo on shore, and began to examine the particulars. The cask of liquor I found to be a kind of rum, but
not such as we had at the Brazils; and, in a word, not at all good; but when I came to open the chests, I found
several things of great use to me . for example, I found in one a fine case of bottles, of an extraordinary kind,
and filled with cordial waters, fine and very good; the bottles held about three pints each, and were tipped
with silver. I found two pots of very good succades, or sweetmeats, so fastened also on the top that the
salt.water had not hurt them; and two more of the same, which the water had spoiled. I found some very
good shirts, which were very welcome to me; and about a dozen and a half of white linen handkerchiefs and
coloured neckcloths; the former were also very welcome, being exceedingly refreshing to wipe my face in a
hot day. Besides this, when I came to the till in the chest, I found there three great bags of pieces of eight,
which held about eleven hundred pieces in all; and in one of them, wrapped up in a paper, six doubloons of
gold, and some small bars or wedges of gold; I suppose they might all weigh near a pound. In the other chest
were some clothes, but of little value; but, by the circumstances, it must have belonged to the gunner's mate;
though there was no powder in it, except two pounds of fine glazed powder, in three flasks, kept, I suppose,
for charging their fowling.pieces on occasion. Upon the whole, I got very little by this voyage that was of
any use to me; for, as to the money, I had no manner of occasion for it; it was to me as the dirt under my feet,
and I would have given it all for three or four pair of English shoes and stockings, which were things I greatly
wanted, but had had none on my feet for many years. I had, indeed, got two pair of shoes now, which I took
off the feet of two drowned men whom I saw in the wreck, and I found two pair more in one of the chests,
which were very welcome to me; but they were not like our English shoes, either for ease or service, being
rather what we call pumps than shoes. I found in this seaman's chest about fifty pieces of eight, in rials, but
no gold: I supposed this belonged to a poorer man than the other, which seemed to belong to some officer.
Well, however, I lugged this money home to my cave, and laid it up, as I had done that before which I had
brought from our own ship; but it was a great pity, as I said, that the other part of this ship had not come to
my share: for I am satisfied I might have loaded my canoe several times over with money; and, thought I, if I
ever escape to England, it might lie here safe enough till I come again and fetch it.
CHAPTER XIV . A DREAM REALISED
HAVING now brought all my things on shore and secured them, I went back to my boat, and rowed or
paddled her along the shore to her old harbour, where I laid her up, and made the best of my way to my old
habitation, where I found everything safe and quiet. I began now to repose myself, live after my old fashion,
and take care of my family affairs; and for a while I lived easy enough, only that I was more vigilant than I
used to be, looked out oftener, and did not go abroad so much; and if at any time I did stir with any freedom,
it was always to the east part of the island, where I was pretty well satisfied the savages never came, and
where I could go without so many precautions, and such a load of arms and ammunition as I always carried
with me if I went the other way. I lived in this condition near two years more; but my unlucky head, that was
always to let me know it was born to make my body miserable, was all these two years filled with projects
and designs how, if it were possible, I might get away from this island: for sometimes I was for making
another voyage to the wreck, though my reason told me that there was nothing left there worth the hazard of
CHAPTER XIV . A DREAM REALISED
Robinson Crusoe
my voyage; sometimes for a ramble one way, sometimes another . and I believe verily, if I had had the boat
that I went from Sallee in, I should have ventured to sea, bound anywhere, I knew not whither. I have been, in
all my circumstances, a memento to those who are touched with the general plague of mankind, whence, for
aught I know, one half of their miseries flow: I mean that of not being satisfied with the station wherein God
and Nature hath placed them . for, not to look back upon my primitive condition, and the excellent advice of
