The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe (22 page)

I found it was not so easy to imprint right notions in his mind about the Devil as it was about the being of a God. The poor creature became insistent we again discuss'd his sleeping Kathooloo, and it was clear to me the two had become one in his mind, and it seem'd easiest to continue his lessons with such a belief.

He then so puzzled me by a question meerly natural and innocent, I scarce knew what to say to him. I had been talking a great deal to him of the power of God, his omnipotence, his aversion to sin, his being a consuming fire to the workers of iniquity, and Friday listened with great seriousness to me all the while.

After this, I had been telling him how Kathooloo was God's enemy in the hearts of men, and used all his malice and skill to defeat the good designs of Providence, and to ruin the kingdom of Christ in the world, and the like.

"Well," said Friday, "but you say God is so strong, so great. Is he not much strong, much might as Great Kathooloo?"

"Yes, yes," said I, "Friday, God is stronger than Kathooloo. God is above Kathooloo, and therefore we pray to God to tread him down under our feet and enable us to resist his temptations."

"But," said he again, "if God much stronger, much might as Kathooloo, why God no kill Great Kathooloo in his sleep, so make him no more do wicked?"

I was surprised at this question. After all, tho’ I was now an old man, I was but a young doctor and ill qualified for a casuist, or a solver of difficulties. At first, I could not tell what to say, so I pretended not to hear him and asked him what he said. But he was too earnest for an answer to forget his question, so he repeated it in the very same broken words as above.

By this time I had recovered myself a little, and I said, "God will at last punish him severely. He is reserved for the judgment, and is to be cast into the bottomless pit to dwell with everlasting fire."

This did not satisfy Friday; but he returns upon me, repeating my words, "
Reserve at last
! Me no understand. Why not kill Great Kathooloo now? Why not kill great ago?"

"You may as well ask me," said I, "why God does not kill you and me when we do wicked things here that offend him. We are preserved to repent and be pardoned."

He mused some time on this. "Well, well," said he, "that well. So you, I, Kathooloo, all wicked, all preserve, repent, God pardon all."

Here I was run down again by him to the last degree. I therefore diverted the present discourse between me and my man, rising up as upon some sudden occasion of going out. Sending him for something a good way off, I prayed to God he would enable me to instruct this poor savage. When he came again to me, I entered into a long discourse with him upon the subject of the redemption of man by the Saviour of the world, and of the doctrine of the gospel preached from heaven. How the fallen angels had no share in the redemption, he came only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and the like.

I had, God knows, more sincerity than knowledge in all the methods I took for this poor creature's instruction. In laying things open to him, I really informed and instructed myself in many things that either I did not know or had not considered before. I had more affection in my inquiry after things upon this occasion than ever I felt before. Whether this poor wild wretch was the better for me or no, I had great reason to be thankful that ever he came to me.

In this thankful frame I continu'd all the remainder of my time. The conversation which employed the hours between Friday and me was such as made the three years which we lived there together perfectly and completely happy, if any such thing as complete happiness can he formed in a sublunary state. This savage was now a good Christian, a much better than I.

I acquainted Friday with my own history, or at least so much of it as related to my coming to this place. I let him into the mystery, for such it was to him, of gunpowder and bullet, and taught him how to shoot. I gave him a knife, which he was delighted with. I made him a belt with a frog hanging to it, such as in England we wear hangers in, and in the frog, instead of a hanger, I gave him a hatchet, which was not only as good a weapon, in some cases, but much more useful upon other occasions. He also took to wearing the great wooden broad-sword he had claimed from the other savage. It was carv'd of iron-wood and very heavy, yet he did swing it with grace like the most skill'd swords-man.

I gave him an account of the wreck which I had been on board of, told him of the beast killing the mate, the panic in the water, and showed him, as near as I could, the place where the ship lay. However, she was all beaten in pieces before, and gone. I showed him the ruins of our long-boat, which we lost when we escaped, and which I could not stir with my whole strength then, but was now fallen almost all to pieces.

Upon seeing this boat, Friday stood musing a great while, and said nothing. I asked him what it was he studied upon?

At last, said he, "Me see such boat like come to place at my nation."

I did not understand him a good while, but at last, when I had examined farther into it, I understood by him a boat, such as that had been, came on shore upon the country where he lived. As he explain'd it, it was driven thither by stress of weather. I imagined some European ship must have been cast away upon their coast and the boat might get loose and drive ashore. But I was so dull I never once thought of men making their escape from a wreck thither, much less whence they might come, so I only inquired after a description of the boat.

Friday described the boat to me well enough, but brought me better to understand him when he added with some warmth, "We save the white mans from drown."

Then I presently asked him, if there were any white mans, as he called them, in the boat?

"Yes," he said, "the boat full of white mans." I asked him how many? He told upon his fingers seventeen, and I asked him then what became of them? He told me, "They live, they dwell at my nation."

This put new thoughts into my head. I imagined these might be the men belonging to the Spanish ship that was cast away in the sight of my island. Who, after the ship was struck on the black rocks, and they saw her lost, had saved themselves in their boat, and were landed upon that wild shore among the savages.

Upon this, I inquired of him more critically what was become of them. He assured me they lived still there. The savages let them alone and gave them victuals to live on. I asked him how it came to pass they did not kill them and eat them? He said, "No, they make brother with them." then he added, "They no eat mans but when make the war fight."

It was after this some considerable time, being upon the top of the hill, at the east side of the island, Friday looked towards the main land, and, in a kind of surprise, fell a jumping and dancing, and called out to me, for I was at some distance from him. I asked him what was the matter? "O joy!" said he. "O glad! there see my country, there my nation!"

I observ’d an extraordinary sense of pleasure appear’d in his face. His eyes sparkled, and his countenance discover'd a strange eagerness, as if he had a mind to be in his own country again. This observation of mine put a great many thoughts into me, which made me at first not so easy about my new man Friday as I was before. I made no doubt but that if Friday could get back to his own nation again, he would not only forget all his religion, but all his obligation to me, and would be forward enough to give his countrymen an account of me, and come back perhaps with a hundred or two of them and make a feast upon me.

But I wronged the poor honest creature very much, for which I was very sorry afterwards. One day, walking up the same hill, but the weather being hazy at sea so we could not see the continent, I called to him, and said, "Friday, do not you wish yourself in your own country, your own nation?"

"Yes," he said. "I be much glad to be at my own nation."

"What would you do there?" said I. "Would you turn wild again, eat men's flesh again, and be a savage as you were before?"

He looked full of concern, and shaking his head, said, "No, no, Friday tell them to live good. Tell them to pray God. Tell them to eat corn-bread, cattle-flesh, milk. No eat man again."

"Why then," said I to him, "they will kill you."

He looked grave at that, and then said, "No, no. They no kill me, they willing love learn." He meant by this, they would be willing to learn. He added, they learned much of the bearded mans that came in the boat. Then I asked him if he would go back to them. He smiled at that, and told me he could not swim so far. I told him, I would make a canoe for him. He told me he would go, if I would go with him.

"I go?" said I. "Why, they will eat me if I come there."

"No, no," said he. "Me make they no eat you. Me make they much love you." Then he told me how kind they were to seventeen white men, or bearded men, as he called them, who came on shore there in distress.

I confess I still had a mind to escape away from the island, and see if I could join with those bearded men, who, I made no doubt, were Spaniards and Portuguese. Upon the whole, I was by this time so fixed upon my design of going over with him to the continent and escaping the island, I told him we would go and make a boat and he should go home in it. He answered not one word, but looked very grave and sad. I asked him what was the matter with him? He asked me, "Why you angry mad with Friday? What me done?"

I asked him what he meant. I told him I was not angry with him at all.

"No angry!" said he, repeating the words several times. "Why send Friday home away to my nation?"

"Why," said I, "Friday, did not you say you wished you were there?"

"Yes, yes," said he. "Wish be both there. No wish Friday there, no master there." With a swift motion, he pulled out his great wooden sword and gave it to me.

"What must I do with this?" said I to him.

"You take kill Friday," said he.

"What must I kill you for?" said I again.

He return’d very quick, "What you send Friday away for? Take, kill Friday, no send Friday away." This he spoke so earnestly I saw tears stand in his eyes.

I told him then, and often after, that I would never send him away from me if he was willing to stay with me, for I knew now the depth of his loyalty to me and love for me.

Therefore, without any more delay, I went to work with Friday to find out a great tree proper to fell and make a large canoe to undertake the voyage. The main thing I looked at was to get one so near the water we might launch it when it was made.

At last, Friday pitched upon a tree. I found he knew much better than I what kind of wood was fittest for it. Friday was for burning the hollow of this tree out to make it for a boat, but I showed him how to cut it with tools. After I had showed him how to use these, he did very handily. In about a month's hard labour we finished it, and made it very handsome when, with our axes, we cut and hewed the outside into the true shape of a boat. After this, however, it cost us near a fortnight's time to get her along, as it were inch by inch, upon great rollers into the water. But when she was in, she would have carried twenty men with great ease.

When she was in the water, tho’ she was so big, it amazed me to see with what dexterity and how swift my man Friday would manage her, turn her, and paddle her along. So I asked him if he would, and if we might venture over in her.

"Yes," he said, "we venture over in her very well, tho’ great blow wind."

However, I had a farther design he knew nothing of, and that was to make a mast and a sail, and to fit her with an anchor and cable. As to a mast, that was easy enough to get. I pitched upon a straight young cedar tree which I found near the place. I set Friday to work to cut it down and gave him directions how to shape and order it. But as to the sail, that was my particular care. I knew I had old sails, or rather pieces of old sails enough. But as I had had them now six and twenty years by me, I did not doubt but they were all rotten, and, indeed, most of them were so. However, I found two pieces which appeared pretty good, and with these I went to work. With a great deal of pains and awkward stitching I, at length, made a three-cornered ugly thing, like what we call in England a shoulder of mutton sail, to go with a boom at bottom.

I was near two months performing this last work, viz. rigging and fitting my mast and sails. I finished them very complete, making a small stay, and a fore-sail to it, to assist, if we should turn to windward. More than all, I fixed a rudder to the stern of her to steer with. I was but a bungling shipwright, yet as I knew the usefulness and necessity of such a thing, I applied myself with so much pains to do it that at last I brought it to pass. Tho’, considering the many dull contrivances I had for it that failed, I think it cost me almost as much labour as making the boat.

After all this was done, I had my man Friday to teach as to what belonged to the navigation of my boat. Tho’ he knew very well how to paddle a canoe, he knew nothing what belonged to a sail and a rudder, and was the most amazed when he saw me work the boat to and again in the sea by the rudder. I say, when he saw this, he stood like one astonished and amazed. However, with a little use, I made all these things familiar to him, and he became an expert sailor.

I was now entered on the six and twentieth year of my captivity in this place. Tho’ the two last years I had this man with me ought rather to be left out of the account, my habitation being quite of another kind than in all the rest of the time. I kept the anniversary of my landing here with the same thankfulness to God for his mercies as at first. I had an invincible impression upon my thoughts that my deliverance was at hand, and I should not be another year in this place. I went on, however, with my digging, planting, and fencing as usual, and did every necessary thing as before.

The rainy season was, in the mean time, upon me, when I kept more within doors than at other times. We had stowed our new vessel as secure as we could, bringing her up into the creek, where, as I said in the beginning, I landed my rafts from the ship. Hauling her up to the shore at high-water mark, I made my man Friday dig a little dock, just big enough to hold her and just deep enough to give her water enough to float in. Then, when the tyde was out, we made a strong dam across the end of it, to keep the water out. She lay dry as to the tyde from the sea. To keep the rain off we laid a great many boughs of trees, so thick she was as well thatched as a house. Thus we waited for the months of November and December, in which I designed to make my escape.