The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe (30 page)

Captain Amaral pressed me not to go by sea if I were so averse, but either to go by land and cross over the Bay of Biscay to Rochelle, from whence it was but an easy and safe journey by land to Paris, and so to Calais and Dover. Or to go up to Madrid, and so all the way by land through France. In a word, I was so prepossessed against my going by sea at all, except from Calais to Dover, I resolv’d to travel all the way by land. As I was not in haste and did not value the charge, it was by much the pleasanter way. To make it more so, my old captain brought an English gentleman, the son of a merchant in Lisbon, who was willing to travel with me. We picked up two more English merchants also, and two young Portuguese gentlemen, the last going to Paris only. In all there were six of us, and five servants. The two merchants and the two Portuguese contented themselves with one servant between two, to save the charge. As for me, I got an English sailor to travel with me as a servant beside my man Friday, who was too much a stranger to be capable of supplying the place of a servant on the road, and was very oft looked at as a sport for his dusky appearance.

In this manner I set out from Lisbon. Our company being very well mounted and armed, we made a little troop, whereof they did me the honour to call me captain, as well because I was the oldest man as because I had two servants, and, indeed, was the original of the whole journey.

As I have troubled you with none of my sea journals, so I shall trouble you now with none of my land journal. But some grim and horrible adventures happened to us in this journey I must not omit.

When we came to Madrid, we being all of us strangers to Spain, were willing to stay some time. Alas, the moon was due at the end of the month, and already my loyal Friday attracted much unwanted attention. Rather than risk my taking on the mantle of the beast within a city of the Inquisition, we set out from Madrid about the middle of October. When we came to the edge of Navarre, we were alarm'd with an account that so much snow was fallen on the French side of the mountains several travelers were obliged to come back to Pampeluna after having attempted, at an extreme hazard, to pass on.

When we came to Pampeluna itself we found it so indeed. To me, that had been always used to a hot climate, and to countries where I could scarce bear any cloathes on, the cold was insufferable. Nor, indeed, was it more painful than surprising, to come but ten days before out of Old Castile and to feel a wind so cold as to be intolerable.

Poor Friday was frightened when he saw the mountains all cover'd with snow and felt cold weather, which he had never seen or felt before in his life. That he could be brave in so many things, yet scared at the sight of snow, I found very amusing, and eventually he did laugh with me, tho' I could tell the cold did have a severe affect on one of his nature.

To mend the matter, when we came to Pampeluna, it continued snowing with so much violence the people said winter was come before its time. The roads which were difficult before were now quite impassable. In a word, the snow lay in some places too thick for us to travel, and being not hard frozen, as is the case in the northern countries, there was no going without being in danger of being buried alive every step.

We stayed no less than twenty days at Pampeluna. Much to his displeasure, Friday spent the three nights of the moon within a barn with only a small fire to warm his cold limbs. These same nights I spent myself bound to the beams of the barn, for I had shewn my man the tricks of silver coins and knots my father had long ago taught me. Most pleased were we both when these nights ended and we could rejoin to the inn, altho' it was clear the beast found such weather to its liking.

When seeing the winter coming on, and no likelihood of its being better, I proposed our little company should all go away to Fontarabia and there take shipping for Bourdeaux, which was a little voyage.

But while I was considering this, there came in four French gentlemen, who having been stopped on the French side of the passes, had found out a guide who had brought them over the mountains by such ways they were not much incommoded with the snow. Where they met with snow in any quantity, they said it was frozen hard enough to bear them and their horses.

We sent for this guide, a man named Etienne, who told us he would undertake to carry us the same way with no hazard from the snow, provided we were armed sufficiently to protect ourselves from wild beasts.

"For," he said, "upon these great snows it is frequent for some wolves to show themselves at the foot of the mountains, being made ravenous for want of food." We told him we were well enough prepared for such creatures as they were. One of the young Portuguese gentlemen, by name of Dacosta, then ask'd if our guide would ensure us from a kind of two-legged wolves which he had been told we were in most danger from on the French side of the mountains by Languedoc, and at which I saw Friday narrow his eyes in concern. My man's hand wrapt on the hilt of his wooden sword, yet I assur'd him with a glance and a shake of my head that this was meer folklore and no threat to us.

Etienne satisfy'd us there was no danger of that kind in the way we were to go. So we agreed to follow him, as did also twelve other gentlemen, with their servants.

Accordingly, we set out from Pampeluna, with our guide, on the 15th of November. I was surprised, when, instead of going forward, he came back with us on the same road we came from Madrid, about twenty miles. When having passed two rivers and come into the plain country, we found ourselves in a warm climate again where the country was pleasant and no snow to be seen. Turning to his left, Etienne approached the mountains another way. Tho’ it is true the hills and precipices looked dreadful, yet he made so many tours, such meanders, and led us by such winding ways, we past the height of the mountains without being much encumber'd with the snow. All on a sudden, he show'd us the pleasant fruitful provinces of Languedoc and Gascony, all green and flourishing, tho’, indeed, at a great distance, and we had some rough way to pass still.

We were a little uneasy, however, when we found it snowed one whole day and a night so fast we could not travel. Etienne bid us be easy. We should soon be past it all. We found, indeed, we began to descend every day and to come more north than before.

It was about two hours before night when, Etienne being something before us and not just in sight, out rush'd three wolves of a hollow way adjoining to a thick wood. Two of the wolves made at the guide, and had he been far before us he would have been devoured before we could have helped him. One of them fastened upon his horse and the other attacked the man with such violence that he had not time to draw his pistol, but hallooed and cried out to us. My man Friday being next me, I bade him ride up and see what was the matter. As soon as Friday came in sight of the man, he hallooed out as loud as the other, "O master! O master!" but, like a bold fellow, rode up to the poor man.

It was happy for Etienne it was my man Friday, for he having been used to the beast after so many years had no fear upon him, but went close up to him and with his pistol shot the wolf that attacked Etienne in the head. Any other of us would have fired at a distance, and perhaps either missed the wolf or endangered shooting the man.

But it was enough to have terrify'd a bolder man than I. Indeed, it alarmed all our company, when, with the noise of Friday's pistol, we heard on both sides the most dismal howling of wolves. The noise, redoubled by the echo of the mountains, appeared to us as if there had been a prodigious number of them. However, as Friday had kill’d this wolf, the other that had fastened upon the horse left him and fled without doing the horse any damage, having fastened upon his head where the bosses of the bridle had stuck in his teeth. But Etienne was most hurt, for the raging creature had bit him twice, once in the arm, and the other time a little above his knee. Tho’ he had made some defence, he was just as it were tumbling down by the disorder of his horse, when Friday came up and shot the wolf.

At the noise of Friday's pistol we all mended our pace and rode up as fast as the way would give us leave to see what was the matter. As soon as we came clear of the trees, which blinded us before, we saw what had been the case, and how Friday had disengaged poor Etienne, tho’ we did not presently discern what kind of creature it was he had kill'd.

Friday had delivered our guide, and when we came up to him he was helping him off from his horse, for Etienne was both hurt and frighten'd.

We were still in a wild place, and our guide very much hurt, and what to do we hardly knew. The howling of wolves ran much in my head and, indeed, except the noise I once heard on the shore of Africk, I never heard any thing that fill’d me with such strange vigour.

These things, and the approach of night, called us off. We had near three leagues to go, and Etienne hastened us down into Languedoc.

The ground was still covered with snow, tho’ not so deep and dangerous as on the mountains. The ravenous creatures, as we heard afterwards, were come down into the forest and plain country to seek for food, and had done a great deal of mischief in the villages. They kill'd a great many sheep and horses, and some people too.

We had one dangerous place to pass, which Etienne told us, if there were more wolves in the country we should find them there. This was a small plain, surrounded with woods on every side, and a long narrow defile, or lane, which we were to pass to get through the wood. Then we should come to the village where we were to lodge.

It was a little after sunset when we came into the plain. We met with nothing in the first wood, except in a little plain within the wood, which was not above two furlongs over, we saw five great wolves cross the road, full speed, one after another, as if they had been in chase of some prey. They took no notice of us and were gone out of sight in a few moments. Upon this Etienne bid us keep in a ready posture, for he believed there were more wolves a coming.

We kept our arms ready, and our eyes about us, but we saw no more wolves till we came through that wood and entered the plain. As soon as we came into the plain, we had occasion enough to look about us. The first object we met with was a dead horse which the wolves had killed, and at least a dozen of them at work. We could not say eating of him, but picking of his bones rather. They had eaten up all the flesh before.

The night was coming on, and the light began to be dusky, which made it worse on our side. The noise increasing, we could perceive it was the howling and yelling of those hellish creatures. On a sudden we observ'd 2 or 3 wolves, one on our left, one behind us, and one in our front, so we seem'd to be surrounded with them. However, as they did not fall upon us, we kept our way forward, as fast as we could make our horses go, which was only a good hard trot. In this manner we came in view of the entrance of a wood at the farther side of the plain.

On a sudden, at another opening of the wood, we heard the noise of a gun, and looking that way, out rushed a horse with a saddle and a bridle on him, flying like the wind, and sixteen or seventeen wolves after him, full speed.

Here we had a most horrible sight. Riding up to the entrance where the horse came out, we found the carcasses of another horse and of two men, devoured by the ravenous creatures. One of the men was no doubt the same whom we heard fire the gun, for there lay a gun just by him. His head and the upper part of his body were eaten up.

This fill’d us with horror, and we knew not what course to take. But the creatures resolv’d us soon, for they gathered about us in hopes of prey. I believe there were three hundred of them. It happened very much to our advantage, that at the entrance into the wood, but a little way from it, there lay some large timber-trees, which had been cut down the summer before, and I suppose lay there for carriage. I drew our little company in among those trees, and placing ourselves in a line behind one long tree, I advised them all to alight, and keeping that tree before us for a breastwork, to stand in a triangle, or three fronts, enclosing our horses in the centre. We did so, and it was well we did, for never was a more furious charge than the creatures made upon us in this place. They came on with a growling kind of noise, and mounted the piece of timber, which, as I said, was our breastwork, as if they were only rushing upon their prey.

O, what a savage battle it was. My man Friday had his great wooden sword in one hand and a pistol in the other, and lay about him as a farmer does swing his scythe, cutting down wolves as the other cuts down grain. Etienne did fight as best he could with his pistols, yet his wounds made him slow and weak and he fell beneath fierce teeth and claws. The Portuguese youth, Dacosta, and his companion were dragg'd down and screamed for several minutes afore growing quiet.

Amidst all this, tho', I was keenly aware that no wolf would approach me. Even these starv'd creatures would not come near the beast. I bethought myself to turn this to our advantage, and yet even as I consider'd this did things take an e'en darker turn.

An awful howl rang in the night, as loud as a cannon or a strike of thunder. At this sound all the wolves did fall back, even those feasting upon our fallen company. A path open'd cross the pack and a fearsome animal did lope out from the wood. As it passed the wolves did snarl and cower, and I had no doubt this was the pack leader.

Truly it was a monster among the wolves, long in the fang and as high as my waist at the shoulder. Its jaw was a handspan and half again across, and each of its claws and fangs were the size of my thumb. A thick grey pelt cover'd it, streaked with white and silver in many places, for this great animal had no doubt ruled its small kingdom for many years.

It came to a halt a few yards from our breastwork and its eyes did pass back and forth over us as a cook's eyes pass over fresh wares at the market. Of our twelve strong company, there were but seven left, if I were to count Friday and myself, and there was little hope we would survive if the wolves attacked again with this huge animal at their fore.

On a sudden, the pack leader seem'd to single me out and sent many a snarl my way. One or two wolves began a low howl, and soon all of them fill'd our ears with their cries. The huge wolf growled and snarled at me, and its teeth did gnash at the air in a manner that could only be a threat to us. Or to me.