The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe (18 page)

The beast and I were now in the twenty-second year of our residence in this island and were so naturalized to the place, and the manner of living, that could I have but enjoyed the certainty no savages would come to the place to disturb me, we could have been content to have capitulated for spending the rest of our time there. Even to the last moment, till I had laid me down and died.

But it was otherwise directed. It may not be amiss for all people who shall meet with my story to make this just observation from it, viz. how frequently in the course of our lives the evil which in itself we seek most to shun, and which is the most dreadful to us, is oftentimes the very means or door of our deliverance, by which alone we can be raised again from the affliction we are fallen into. I could give many examples of this in the course of my unaccountable life. But in nothing was it more remarkable than in the circumstances of my last years of solitary residence in this island.

It was now the month of December, as I said above, in my twenty-second year. This, being the southern solstice (for winter I cannot call it), was the particular time of my harvest and required my being pretty much abroad in the fields. When going out pretty early in the morning, even before it was thorough daylight, I was surprised with seeing a light of some fire upon the shore, at a distance from me of about two miles, towards the end of the island where I had observ’d some savages had been, as before. And not on the other side, but, to my great affliction, it was on my side of the island.

I was indeed terribly surprised at the sight, and stopped short within my grove, not daring to go out, lest I might be surprised. Yet I had no more peace within from the apprehensions I had that if these savages, in rambling over the island, should find my corn standing or cut, or any of my works and improvements, they would conclude there were people in the place and would then never give over till they had found me out. In this extremity, I went back to my castle, pulled up the ladder after me, and made all things without look as wild and natural as I could.

Then I prepared myself within, putting myself in a posture of defence. I loaded all my cannon, as I called them, that is to say, my muskets, which were mounted upon my new fortification, and all my pistols, and resolv’d to defend myself to the last gasp. I continued in this posture about two hours, and began to be mighty impatient for intelligence abroad, for I had no spies to send out.

After sitting awhile longer and musing what I should do in this, I was not able to bear sitting in ignorance any longer. Setting up my ladder to the side of the hill where there was a flat place, and then pulling the ladder up after me, I set it up again and mounted to the top of the hill. Pulling out my perspective-glass, which I had taken on purpose, I laid me down flat on my belly on the ground and began to look for the place.

I found there were no less than nine naked savages, with dark eyes and skin the color of wetted clay, sitting round a small fire they had made. Not to warm them, for they had no need of that, the weather being extremely hot, but, as I supposed, to dress some of their barbarous diet of human flesh, which they had brought with them. Whether alive or dead, I could not tell.

They had two canoes with them, which they had haul’d up upon the shore, and as it was then tyde of ebb, they seemed to me to wait for the return of the flood to go away again. It is not easy to imagine what confusion this sight put me into, especially seeing them come on my side of the island, and so near me too. But when I considered their coming must be always with the current of the ebb, I began, afterwards, to be more sedate in my mind, being satisfied I might go abroad with safety all the time of the tyde of flood, if they were not on shore before. Having made this observation, I went abroad about my harvest-work with the more composure.

As I expected, so it proved. As soon as the tyde made to the westward, I saw them all take boat and paddle away. I should have observ’d for an hour or more before they went off they went a dancing, and I could discern their hunch'd postures and gestures by my glass, altho' something unnamable in their writhing motions did bother my thoughts. I could not perceive, by my nicest observation, but they were stark naked and had not the least covering upon them.

As soon as I saw them shipped and gone, I took two guns upon my shoulders, and two pistols in my girdle, and my great sword by my side, and with all the speed I was able to make went away to the hill where I had discovered the first appearance of all. As soon as I got thither, which was not in less than an hour (for I could not go apace, being so loaden with arms as I was), I perceived there had been three canoes more of savages at that place. Looking out farther, I saw they were all at sea together, making over for the main.

This was a dreadful sight to me, especially as, going down to the shore, I could see the marks of horror which the dismal work they had been about had left behind it, viz. the blood, the bones, and part of the flesh of human bodies, all eaten and devoured by those wretches with merriment and sport. Even my trees and stones had been mark'd with their strange symbols.

I was so fill’d with indignation at the sight, I now began to premeditate the destruction of the next I saw there, let them be whom or how many soever. I took my hatchet to the trees to gouge the marks from their bark, and I could sense a great satisfaction in the spirit of the beast when this was done. When the tyde came it took the bits of flesh, and I scrub'd the stones as a sailor scrubs his deck until the dark symbols vanish'd and the stones were cleansed.

It seemed evident to me the visits which they made thus to this island were not very frequent, for it was above fifteen months before any more of them came on shore there again. I neither saw them nor any footsteps or signals of them in all that time. As to the rainy seasons, then they are sure not to come abroad, at least not so far. Yet all this while I lived uncomfortably, by reason of the constant apprehensions of their coming upon me by surprise. I observe the expectation of evil is more bitter than the suffering, especially if there is no room to shake off that expectation or those apprehensions.

During all this time I was in the murdering humour, and took up most of my hours in contriving how to fall upon them the very next time I should see them, especially if they should be divided into two parties, as they were the last time.

I spent my days now in great perplexity and anxiety of mind, expecting I should, one day or other, fall into the hands of these merciless creatures. If I did at any time venture abroad, it was not without looking round me with the greatest care and caution imaginable. And now I found, to my great comfort, how happy it was I had provided a tame flock or herd of goats. I durst not, upon any account, fire my gun, especially near that side of the island where they usually came, lest I should alarm the savages. If they had fled from me now, I was sure to have them come again, with perhaps two or three hundred canoes with them, and then I knew what to expect.

However, I wore out a year and three months more before I ever saw any more of the savages, and then I found them again. It is true, they might have been there once or twice, but either they made no stay or at least I did not see them. Nor did any memories of them come from the beast, which had once again reach'd one of its territorial phases and stalked our shores and savannahs and woods each night of the moon. The perturbation of my mind, and its mind, during this fifteen or sixteen months' interval, was very great. In the day great troubles overwhelmed my mind, and in the night I dreamed often of killing the savages, and of the reasons why I might justify the doing of it.

But in the month of May, as near as I could calculate, and in my four and twentieth year, I had a very strange encounter.

It was in the middle of May, on the sixteenth day, I think, as well as my poor wooden calendar would reckon, for I marked all upon the post still, and four nights had past since the beast last ran free. It blew a very great storm of wind all day with a great deal of lightning and thunder, and a very foul night it was after it. In many ways it did remind me of that night on the Yarmouth Roads, when white worms did rise from the sea,
shoggoths
as the crew called them, to ravage our ship and scuttle it faster than e'en two dozen sailors could. The sea threw itself at the shore in great, loud hills of water, in a word as loud as the wind and the thunder. I knew not what was the particular occasion of it, but as I was reading and taken up with very serious thoughts about my present condition, I was surprised with the noise of a gun fired at sea.

This was, to be sure, a surprise quite of a different nature from any I had met with before, for the notions this put into my thoughts were quite of another kind. I started up in the greatest haste imaginable, clapped my ladder to the middle place of the rock, and pulled it after me. Mounting it the second time, I got to the top of the hill the very moment a flash of fire bid me listen for a second gun, which, in about half a minute, I heard.

I considered this must be some ship in distress and they had some comrade, or some other ship in company, and fired these guns for signals to obtain help. I had the presence of mind at that minute to think tho’ I could not accept help from them, it might be I might help them. So I brought together all the dry wood I could get at hand, and making a good handsome pile, I set it on fire upon the hill. The wood was dry and blazed, and tho’ the wind blew very hard, yet it burnt fairly out, so I was certain if there was any such thing as a ship they must needs see it, and no doubt they did. As soon as ever my fire blazed up I heard another gun, and after that several others, all from the same quarter.

I plied my fire all night long. When it was broad day and the air cleared up, I saw something at a great distance at sea, full east of the island, whether a sail or a hull I could not distinguish, no, not with my glass. The distance was so great, and the weather still something hazy also.

I looked at it all day, and soon perceived it did not move, so I concluded it was a ship at anchor. Being eager, you may be sure, to be satisfied, I took my gun in my hand, and ran towards the south side of the island. Getting up there, the weather by this time being perfectly clear, I could see, to my great sorrow, the wreck of a ship, cast away in the night upon those jagged black rocks which I found when I was out in my raft.

It seemed these men, whoever they were, being out of their knowledge, and the black rocks being under water at this time, had been driven upon them in the night, the wind blowing hard. Had they seen the island, as I must suppose they did not, they must have endeavour’d to have saved themselves on shore by the help of their boat. But their firing off guns for help when they saw, as I imagined, my fire, fill’d me with many thoughts. In the condition I was in, I could do no more than look on upon the misery of the poor men and pity them.

I cannot explain, by any possible energy of words, what a strange longing of desires I felt in my soul upon this sight. In all the time of my solitary life, I never felt so earnest a desire after the society of my fellow-creatures, or so deep a regret at the want of it. Let the naturalists explain these things and the reason and manner of them. It was doubtless the effect of ardent wishes and of strong ideas formed in my mind, realizing the comfort which the conversation of one of my fellow-Englishmen would have been to me.

But it was not to be. Till the last year of my being on this island, I never knew whether any were saved out of that ship or no. I had only the affliction, some days after, to see the corpse of a drown’d boy come on shore at the end of the island which was next the shipwreck, only a mile from the heathen church of the savages. He had no cloathes on but a seaman's waistcoat, a pair of open-kneed linen drawers, and a blue linen shirt. 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 on my raft 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 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 perhaps balance the scales for the lost mate of my own voyage. Committing the rest to Providence, I thought the impression was so strong upon my mind it could not be resisted, it must come from some invisible direction, and I should be wanting to myself if I did not go.

Under the power of this impression, I hastened back to my castle, prepared every thing for my voyage, and thus, loading myself with every thing necessary, I went down to my raft, put her afloat, and loaded all my cargo on her. Praying to God to direct my voyage, I resolv’d the next morning to set out with the first of the tyde.

I first made a little out to sea, full north, till I began to feel the benefit of the current 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 raft. Having a strong steerage with my paddle, I went at a great rate 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 of the black spires. All the stern and quarter of her were beaten to pieces with the sea. As her forecastle, which stuck in the rocks, had run on with great violence, her mainmast and foremast were broken short off. But her bowsprit was sound, and the head and bow appeared firm. When I came close a dog appeared upon her, who, seeing me coming, yelped and cried as soon as I called him. I took him onto the raft, but found him almost dead with hunger and thirst, so weak he could not flee from me, tho' it was plain in his eyes he desired to do so. I gave him a cake of my bread and he devour’d it like a ravenous wolf. I then gave the poor creature some fresh water, with which, if I would have let him, he would have burst himself.