The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe (12 page)

In the interval of this operation I took up the Bible and began to read, but my head was too much disturbed with the tobacco to bear reading, at least at that time. Having opened the book, the first words that occurred to me were these:

Call on me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

These words were very apt to my case and made some impression upon my thoughts at the time of reading them, tho’ not so much as they did afterwards. It now grew late and the tobacco had dozed my head so much I inclined to sleep. So I left my lamp burning in the cave, lest I should want any thing in the night, and went to bed.

I fell into a sound sleep and waked no more till, by the sun, it must necessarily be near three o'clock in the afternoon the next day. Nay, to this hour I am partly of opinion I slept all the next day and night and till almost three the day after. Otherwise, I know not how I should lose a day out of my reckoning in the days of the week, as it appeared some years after I had done. If I had lost it by crossing and re-crossing the Line, I should have lost more than one day, but certainly I lost a day or more in my account and never knew which way.

Be that, however, one way or the other, when I awaked I found myself refreshed, and my spirits lively and cheerful. When I got up, I was stronger than I was the day before, and my stomach better, for I was hungry. In short, I had no fit the next day, but continued much altered for the better. This was the 29th.

The 30th was my well day, of course. I went abroad with my gun, but did not care to travel too far. I killed a sea-fowl or two, something like a brand goose, and brought them home, but was not very forward to eat them. I ate some more of the turtle's eggs, which were very good. However, I was not so well the next day, which was the 1st of July, as I hoped I should have been. I had a little of the cold fit, but it was not much.

July 2.

I renewed the tobacco medicine in many ways. Dosed myself with it as at first, and doubled the quantity which I drank steeped in rum.

July 3.

I miss’d the fit for good and all, tho’ I did not recover my full strength for some weeks after. While I was thus gathering strength, my thoughts ran upon this scripture,
I will deliver thee
. As I was discouraging myself with such thoughts, it occurred to my mind that I pored so much upon my deliverance from the main affliction, I disregarded the deliverance I had receiv’d. It was then that my soul did see the light even as my eyes saw the truth of this place. This island was not to be my banishment, but my refuge, for here the beast could run free and harm no other man. Here I could meditate on the crime for which I could not be punish'd in society without bringing shame and danger to my family. Here on this island, through the grace of God, the beast and I could be free. This touched my heart very much, and immediately I gave God thanks aloud.

July 4.

In the morning I took the Bible and, beginning at the New Testament, I began to read it and imposed upon myself to read awhile every morning and every night, as long as my thoughts should engage me. It was not long after I set seriously to this work that I found my heart more deeply and sincerely affected with the wickedness of my past life.

Now I began to construe the words mentioned above,
Call on me, and I will deliver thee
, in a different sense from what I had ever done before. Then I had no notion of any thing being called deliverance, but my being delivered from the captivity I first saw myself in. But now I learned to take it in another sense. Now I looked back upon my past life and my sins appeared so dreadful, my soul sought nothing of God but deliverance from the load of guilt that bore down all my comfort.

But, leaving this part, I return to my Journal.

My condition began now to be much easier to my mind. My thoughts being directed to things of a higher nature I had a great deal of comfort within, which till now I knew nothing of. Also, as my health and strength returned, I bestirred me to furnish myself with every thing I wanted and make my way of living as regular as I could.

From the 4th of July to the 14th, I was chiefly employed in walking about with my gun in my hand, a little and a little at a time, as a man that was gathering up his strength after a fit of sickness. It is hardly to be imagined how low I was and to what weakness I was reduced. The application which I made use of was new and perhaps what had never cured an ague before. Neither can I recommend it to any one to practise, by this experiment. Tho’ it did carry off the fit it rather contributed to weakening me, for I had frequent convulsions in my nerves and limbs for some time.

I learned from it also this, in particular. Being abroad in the rainy season was the most pernicious thing to my health that could be, especially in those rains which came attended with storms and hurricanes of wind. As the rain which came in the dry season was almost always accompanied with such storms, so I found this rain was much more dangerous than the rain which fell in September and October.

I had now been on this unhappy island above 10 months. All possibility of rescue or escape from this condition seemed to be taken from me. I firmly believed no human shape had ever set foot upon that place, and yet I was lighter of heart and spirit than ever in my memory. Having secured my habitation fully to my mind, I had a great desire to make a more perfect discovery of the island and to see what other productions I might find which I yet knew nothing of.

It was on the 15th of July I began to take a more particular survey of the island itself. I went up the creek first, where, as I hinted, I brought my rafts on shore. I found, after I came about two miles up, the tyde did not flow any higher. It was no more than a little brook of running water, very fresh and good. This being the dry season, there was hardly any water in some parts of it.

On the banks of this brook I found many pleasant savannahs or meadows, plain, smooth, and covered with grass. On the rising parts of them, next to the higher grounds where the water never overflowed, I found a great deal of tobacco growing to a very great and strong stalk. There were diverse other plants which I had no knowledge of, or understanding about, and might, perhaps, have virtues of their own, which I could not find out.

I searched for the cassava root, which the Indians in all that climate make their bread of, but I could find none. I saw large plants of aloes but did not understand them. I saw several sugar-canes, but wild and, for want of cultivation, imperfect. I contented myself with these discoveries for this time and came back, musing with myself what course I might take to know the virtue of any of the fruits or plants which I should discover, but could bring it to no conclusion. For, in short, I had made so little observation while I was in the Brasils that I knew little of the plants in the field. At least, very little that might serve me to any purpose now.

The next day, the 16th, I went up the same way again. After going something farther than I had gone the day before, I found the brook and the savannahs began to cease, and the country became more woody than before. In this part I found different fruits. I found melons upon the ground, in great abundance, and grapes upon the trees. The vines, indeed, had spread over the trees and the clusters of grapes were now just in their prime, very ripe and rich. This was a surprising discovery and I was exceedingly glad of them, but I was warned by my experience to eat sparingly of them. When I was ashore in Barbary, the eating of grapes killed several of our Englishmen who were slaves there, throwing them into fluxes and fevers. I found, however, an excellent use for these grapes, and that was to cure or dry them in the sun and keep them as dried grapes or raisins are kept.

I spent all evening there and went not back to my habitation, which, by the way, was the first night I had lain from home, as I might say, discounting those nights when the beast ran free. At night I got up into a tree, where I slept well, and the next morning proceeded on my discovery, traveling near four miles, as I might judge by the length of the valley, keeping still due north, with a ridge of hills on the south and north sides of me.

At the end of this march, I came to an opening where the country seemed to descend to the west. A little spring of fresh water, which issued out of the side of the hill by me, ran the other way, due east. The country appeared so fresh, so green, so flourishing, every thing being in a constant verdure, or flourish of spring, that it looked like a planted garden.

I descended a little on the side of that delicious vale, surveying it with a secret kind of pleasure to think this was all my own. I was king and lord of all this country indefeasibly, and had a right of possession. If I could convey it, I might have it in inheritance as completely as any lord of a manor in England. I saw here abundance of cocoa trees, and orange, lemon, and citron trees, but all wild and very few bearing any fruit, at least not then. However, the green limes I gathered were not only pleasant to eat but very wholesome. I mixed their juice afterwards with water, which made it very cool and refreshing.

I found now I had business enough to gather and carry home. I resolv’d to lay up a store of grapes and limes and lemons to furnish myself for the wet season, which I knew was approaching. In order to this, I gathered a great heap of grapes in one place, a lesser heap in another place, and a great parcel of limes and melons in another place. Taking a few of each with me, I traveled homeward and resolv’d to come again and bring a bag or sack or what I could make to carry the rest home.

Having spent three days in this journey, I came home, so I must now call my tent and my cave. But before I got thither, the grapes were spoiled, the richness of the fruits and the weight of the juice having broken and bruised them. They were good for little or nothing. As to the limes, they were good, but I could bring only a few.

The next day, being the 19th, I went back, having made me two small bags to bring home my harvest. I was surprised when, coming to my heap of grapes, which were so rich and fine when I gathered them, I found them all spread about, trod to pieces, and dragged about, some here, some there, and abundance eaten and devoured. By this I concluded there were some wild creatures thereabouts which had done this, but what they were I knew not.

However, as I found there was no laying them up in heaps, and no carrying them away in a sack I took another course. I then gathered a large quantity of the grapes, and hung them upon the out-branches of the trees, that they might cure and dry in the sun. As for the limes and lemons, I carried as many back as I could well stand under.

When I came home from this journey, I contemplated with great pleasure the fruitfulness of that valley and the pleasantness of the situation, and concluded I had pitched upon a place to fix my abode which was by far the worst part of the country. Upon the whole, I began to consider of removing my habitation and to look out for a place equally safe as where I was now situate, if possible, in that pleasant fruitful part of the island.

This thought ran long in my head, and I was exceeding fond of it for some time, the pleasantness of the place tempting me. I was so enamoured of this place I spent much of my time there for the whole remaining part of the month of July. Tho’, upon second thoughts, I resolv’d not to remove, yet I built me a little kind of a bower, and surrounded it at a distance with a strong fence, being a double hedge as high as I could reach, well staked, and fill’d between with brush-wood. Here I lay very secure, sometimes two or three nights together. So I fancied now I had my country and my sea-coast house, and always one would be close no matter where I awaken'd after the full moon. This work took me up till the beginning of August.

It is worth recalling an oddity of behavior, though not one of my own. The beast had been strangely control'd since the fever vision of last month, as if the sight of the dark dream lord had made it more wary than vicious. On these three nights of late July, viz. 21-23, it did not hunt the island so much as stalk it, as an animal does patrol and mark its territory. This had ne'er happen'd afore, yet this was the first time the beast had found itself with such a territory of its own, so I pay'd it not too much mind.

I had but finish’d my fence and began to enjoy my labour when the rains came on and made me stick close to my first habitation. For tho’ I had made a tent like the other, with a piece of sail, and spread it very well, yet I had not the shelter of a hill to keep me from storms, nor a cave behind me to retreat into when the rains were extraordinary.

About the beginning of August, as I said, I had finished my bower and began to enjoy myself. The 3d of August, I found the grapes I had hung up were perfectly dried, and indeed were excellent good raisins of the sun. I began to take them down from the trees, and it was very happy I did so, as the rains which followed would have spoiled them and I should have lost the best part of my winter food. No sooner had I taken them all down, and carried most of them home to my cave, but it began to rain, and from hence, which was the 14th of August, it rained, more or less, every day till the middle of October.

From the 14th of August to the 26th, incessant rain, so I could not stir, and was now very careful not to be much wet. Still I was for three nights forced out to let the mantle of the beast come upon me, and was much pleased that it did not wander far. For these three nights it still act'd much more like a wary animal, and thru the smok'd lens I did see that it would often focus out to sea, its sight much sharper than my own, but saw nothing. In the mornings I did realize it was focus'd on that view of the waters that had appear'd in my fever vision, 'round the black rocks, and I did bethought myself that the mind of the beast might still perceive it had been a true vision, and the dark dream lord did indeed hide beneath the waves. At this I felt some humor, as a man may feel at the foolish antics of a dog.

During this confinement in my cover by the rain, I worked daily two or three hours at enlarging my cave, and by degrees worked it on towards one side till I came to the outside of the hill and made a door which came beyond my fence or wall. I came in and out this way, but I was not easy at lying so open. As I had managed myself before, I was in a perfect enclosure, whereas now, I thought I lay exposed. Yet I could not perceive there was any living thing to fear, the biggest creature I had yet seen upon the island being a goat.