The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe (20 page)

I was frighten'd, I must acknowledge, when I perceived him run my way and when, as I thought, I saw him pursued by the whole body. Now I expected that part of my dream was coming to pass, and that he would certainly take shelter in my grove. But I could not depend upon my dream for the rest of it, viz. that the other savages would not pursue him thither and find him there. However, I kept my station, and my spirits began to recover when I found there was not above three men that followed him. Still more was I encouraged when I found he outstript them in running and gained ground of them. If he could but hold it for half an hour, I saw he would fairly get away from them all, for he ran true and the three ran in a shambling manner, not true running but a manner of throwing one leg before the other, as a man who has not yet found his "sea legs," as sailors call them, sometimes will walk on deck.

There was between them and my castle the creek, which I mentioned often in the first part of my story, where I landed my cargoes out of the ship. This I saw the poor wretch must swim over or he would be taken there. When the escaping savage came thither, he made nothing of it, tho’ the tyde was then up. Plunging in, he swam through in about thirty strokes, landed, and ran on with exceeding strength and swiftness.

When the three persons came to the creek, I found two of them could swim, but the third would not. Standing on the other side, he looked at the others, but went no farther, and soon after went back again, which, as it happened, was very well for him in the end. I observ’d the two who swam, tho' clumsy apace, were yet more than twice as fast swimming over the creek as the fellow was that fled from them. It came now upon my thoughts, and indeed irresistibly, that now was the time to get me a servant and perhaps a companion or assistant, and I was called plainly by Providence to save this poor creature's life. I ran down the ladders with all possible expedition, fetched my two guns, and getting up again to the top of the hill I crossed towards the sea. Having a very short cut, and all down hill, I placed myself in the way between the pursuers and the pursued, hallooing aloud to him that fled. Looking back, he was at first perhaps as much frightened at me as at them. I beckoned with my hand to him to come back.

In the mean time, I advanced towards the two that followed. Rushing at once upon the foremost, I knocked him down with the stock of my piece. I was loth to fire because I would not have the rest hear, tho’ at that distance they would not have known what to make of it. Having knock'd this fellow down, the other who pursued him stopped as if he had been frightened and I advanced apace towards him. As I came nearer, I perceived he had a bow and arrow and was fitting it to shoot at me. I was then necessitated to shoot at him first, which I did, and killed him at the first shot.

The poor savage who fled, tho’ he saw both his enemies fallen and killed, was so frightened with the fire and noise of my piece he stood stock-still and neither came forward nor went backward. He seemed rather inclined still to fly. I hallooed again to him and made signs to come forward, which he understood and came a little way. Then stopped again. And then a little farther, and stopped again. I could then perceive he stood trembling, as if he had been taken prisoner just to be killed, as his two enemies were. I beckoned to him again to come to me and gave him all the signs of encouragement I could think of. He came nearer and nearer, kneeling down every ten or twelve steps in token of acknowledgment for saving his life. I smiled at him and looked pleasantly and beckoned to him to come still nearer. At length he came close to me. He kneeled down again, kissed the ground, and laid his head upon the ground, and taking me by the foot, set my foot upon his head. This, it seems, was in token of swearing to be my slave for ever. I took him up, and made much of him, and encouraged him all I could.

But there was more work to do yet. I perceived the savage whom I knocked down was not killed but stunned with the blow, and began to come to himself. I pointed to him and showed my savage he was not dead. Upon this he spoke some words to me, and tho’ I could not understand them, I thought they were pleasant to hear, for they were the first sound of a man's voice I had heard for above twenty-five years.

But there was no time for such reflections now. The savage who was knocked down recovered himself so far as to sit up upon the ground and I perceived my savage, for so I call him now, began to be afraid. When I saw that, I presented my other piece at the other man as if I would shoot him. Upon this my savage made a motion to me and took up the other savage's great wooden sword, which had fallen when I struck him. My savage no sooner had it but he ran to his enemy and, at one blow, cut off his head so cleverly no executioner in Germany could have done it sooner or better. When he had done this, he came laughing to me in triumph and brought me the sword again and, with abundance of gestures which I did not understand, laid it down just before me with the head of the savage he had killed.

I turned to go away, and beckoned him to follow me, making signs to him more might come after them. Upon this, he made signs to me he should bury the bodies with sand, that they might not be seen by the rest if they followed. I made signs to him again to do so. He fell to work and in an instant he had scraped a hole in the sand with his broad hands big enough to bury the first in, then dragged him into it and covered him, and did so by the other also. I believe he had buried them both in a quarter of an hour. Then calling him away, I carried him, not to my castle, but quite away to my cave, on the farther part of the island. So I did not let my dream come to pass in that part, viz. that he came into my grove for shelter.

Here I gave him bread and a bunch of raisins to eat and a draught of water, which I found he was indeed in great distress for, by his running. Having refreshed him, I made signs for him to go and lie down to sleep, showing him a place where I had laid some rice-straw and a blanket upon it which I used to sleep upon myself sometimes. The poor creature lay down and went to sleep.

He was a comely fellow, oddly made, with long straight limbs, not too large or tall, well shaped despite the hunch to his back, and, as I reckon, about twenty-six years of age. The smell of fish did hang about him like a cloud, as if it were his only sustenance. His hands were long and flat, with fingers as long again, and I bethought myself that he could wrap his whole head within them. Likewise were his feet and toes long, and broad, with a tiny claw on each rather than a toenail, yet as I examin'd them more I was amaz'd to see a thin web of skin twixt each splayed toe, as one would see on the feet of a duck.

He had a very good countenance, not a fierce and surly aspect, but seem'd to have something very manly in his face. Yet he had all the sweetness and softness of an European in his countenance too, especially when he smiled. His hair was long and black, not curled like wool. His forehead very high and large. A great vivacity and sparkling sharpness in his large, dark eyes, 'tho not as wide apart as those of the other savages. The colour of his skin was, again, not quite the slick grey of the other savages, but very dusky. And yet not an ugly, mottled, nauseous dusky, but of a bright kind of a polished slate colour that had in it something very agreeable, tho’ not very easy to describe. His face was round and plump, his nose small and thin, not flat like the Negroes, yet with long slits. A very good mouth, thin lips, and his long, thin teeth well set, and as white as ivory.

I left him sleeping and went to tend my businesses.

After the savage had slumbered about half an hour he awoke and came out of the cave to me, for I had been milking my goats, which I had in the enclosure just by. When he espied me he came running to me, laying himself down again upon the ground with all the possible signs of an humble thankful disposition. At last, he laid his head flat upon the ground close to my foot and set my other foot upon his head as he had done before. After this, he made all the signs to me of subjection, servitude, and submission imaginable. I understood him in many things, and let him know I was very well pleased with him.

In a little time I began to speak to him, and teach him to speak to me. First, I let him know his name should be FRIDAY, which was the day I saved his life. I likewise taught him to say "Master," and then let him know that was to be my name. I likewise taught him to say "Yes" and "No" and to know the meaning of them. I gave him some milk in an earthen pot and let him see me drink it before him and sop my bread in it. I gave him a cake of bread to do the like, which he complied with and made signs it was very good for him.

I kept there with him all night. As soon as it was day, I beckoned to him to come with me and let him know I would give him some cloathes, at which he seemed very glad, for he was stark naked. As we went by the place where he had buried the two men, he showed me the marks he had made to find them again, making signs to me we should dig them up and eat them. At this I appeared very angry, expressed my abhorrence of it, made as if I would vomit at the thoughts of it, and beckoned with my hand to him to come away. He did, with great submission. I then led him up to the top of the hill to see if his enemies were gone. Pulling out my perspective glass, I looked and saw plainly the place where they had been, but no appearance of them or their canoes. It was plain they were gone and had left their two comrades behind without any search after them.

But I was not content with this discovery. Having now more courage, and consequently more curiosity, I took my man Friday with me. Away we marched to the place where these creatures had been. I had a mind now to get some fuller intelligence of them. When I came to the place, my very blood ran chill in my veins at the horror of the spectacle. Indeed, it was a dreadful sight, at least it was so to me. Friday made nothing of it. The place was covered with human bones, the ground dyed with their blood, and great pieces of flesh were left here and there, half-eaten, mangled, and scorched. I saw three skulls, five hands, and the bones of three or four legs and feet, and abundance of other parts of bodies. The trees and stones had been marked again as well.

Friday, by his signs, made me understand they brought over four prisoners to feast upon. Three of them were eaten up, and he, pointing to himself, was the fourth. There had been a great battle between them and their next king, whose subject he had been one of, and they had taken a great number of prisoners in order to feast upon them.

Whilst I took the hatchet again to the trees, I caus'd Friday to gather all the skulls, bones, flesh, and whatever remained and lay them together in a heap, and make a great fire upon it, and burn them all to ashes. I found him unnerved by my destruction of the marks, and that he had still a hankering after some of the flesh and was still a cannibal in his nature. I discovered so much abhorrence at the very thoughts of it, I had, by some means, let him know I would kill him if he offered it.

When he had done this, we came back to our castle and there I fell to work for my man Friday. First of all I gave him a pair of linen drawers, which I had out of the poor gunner's chest I found in the wreck. Then I made him a jerkin of goat's-skin, as well as my skill would allow, for I was now grown a tolerable good taylor. I gave him a cap, which I made of hare's-skin. Thus he was cloathed, for the present, tolerably well. It is true, he went awkwardly in these cloathes at first. Wearing the drawers was very awkward to him, and the sleeves of the waistcoat gall'd his shoulders and the inside of his arms, which had many thin folds of flesh much like the fins of a fish. I bethought myself wearing cloathes for him must be as it is for the beast, an unexpected and foreign experience, that is to say, one they had no call for. But after a little easing them where he complained they hurt, and using himself to them, he took to them at length very well.

The next day after I came home to my hutch with him, I began to consider where I should lodge him. That I might do well for him and yet be easy myself, I made a little tent for him in the vacant place between my two fortifications, in the inside of the last and in the outside of the first. As there was a door or entrance there into my cave, I made a formal framed door case and a door to it of boards, and set it up in the passage a little within the entrance. I bar'd it up in the night, taking in my ladders too. Friday could no way come at me in the inside of my innermost wall without making so much noise in getting over that it must needs waken me.

But I needed none of all this precaution. Never man had a more faithful, loving, sincere servant than Friday was to me. His very affections were tied to me like those of a child to a father. I dare say he would have sacrificed his life for the saving of mine. The many testimonies he gave me of this put it out of doubt and soon convinced me I needed to use no precautions as to my safety on his account.

I was delighted with Friday and made it my business to teach him every thing that was proper to make him useful, handy, and helpful, but especially to make him speak and understand me when I spoke. He was the aptest scholar that ever was and was so merry, so diligent, and so pleased when he could but understand me, or make me understand him, that it was very pleasant to me to talk to him.

After I had been two or three days returned to my castle, I thought in order to bring Friday off from his horrid way of feeding, and from the relish of a cannibal's stomach, I ought to let him taste other flesh. I took him out with me one morning to the woods. I went, indeed, intending to kill a kid out of my own flock, and bring it home and dress it, but as I was going, I saw a she-goat lying down in the shade, and two young kids sitting by her. I catched hold of Friday.

"Hold," said I. "Stand still," and made signs to him not to stir. I presented my piece, shot, and kill’d one of the kids. The poor creature, who had indeed seen me kill the savage, his enemy, but did not know how it was done, was surprised, trembled, and looked so amazed I thought he would have sunk down. He did not see the kid I shot at, or perceive I had killed it, but ripped up his waistcoat, to feel whether he was not wounded. He came and kneel’d down to me and, embracing my knees, said a great many things I did not understand. I could see the meaning was to pray me not to kill him.