The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe (4 page)

But as soon as it grew dusk in the evening, I changed my course, and steered south and by east, bending my course a little toward the east, that I might keep in with the shore. Having a fair, fresh gale of wind, and a smooth, quiet sea, I made such sail that I believe by the next afternoon, when I first made the land, I could not be less than 150 miles south of Sallee, quite beyond the Emperor of Morocco's dominions, or indeed of any other king thereabout, for we saw no people.

Such was the fright I had taken at the Moors, and the dreadful apprehensions I had of falling into their hands, I would not stop or go on shore or come to an anchor. The wind continuing fair till I had sailed in that manner five days, I concluded if any vessels were in chase of me they also would now give over. So I ventured to make to the coast and come to an anchor in the mouth of a little river, I knew not what, or where. Neither what latitude, what country, what nation, or what river. I neither saw, nor desired to see, any people. The principal thing I wanted was fresh water. We came into this creek in the evening, resolving to swim on shore as soon as it was dark and discover the country. But as soon as it was quite dark, we heard such dreadful noises of the barking, roaring, and howling of wild creatures, of we knew not what kinds. The sounds carry'd no fright for me, for animals can smell the beast beneath my skin and will most always shy away from my kind, but the poor boy was ready to die with fear and begged of me not to go on shore till day.

"Well, Xury," said I, "then I won't. But it may be we may see men by day who will be as bad to us as those lions."

"Then we give them the shoot gun," says Xury, laughing, "make them run wey." Such English Xury spoke by conversing among us slaves. However I was glad to see the boy so cheerful, and I gave him a dram (out of our patron's case of bottles) to cheer him up. After all, Xury's advice was good, and I took it. We dropped our little anchor and lay still all night. I say still for we slept none. In two or three hours, we saw vast great creatures of many sorts come down to the sea-shore and run into the water, wallowing and washing for the pleasure of cooling themselves. They made such hideous howlings and yellings that I never indeed heard the like, even from the beast.

Xury was dreadfully frighten'd, and indeed so was I too, for I bethought myself that the animals of Africk may not be aware of the beast and would not avoid it. But we were both more frighten'd when we heard one of these mighty creatures come swimming towards our boat. We could not see him, but we might hear him by his blowing to be a monstrous huge and furious animal. Xury said it was a lion, and it might be so for aught I know. Poor Xury cried to me to weigh the anchor and row away.

"No, Xury," said I. "We can slip our cable with the buoy to it and go off to sea. They cannot follow us far." I had no sooner said so but I perceived the creature (whatever it was) within two oars' length, which something surprised me. However, I stepped to the cabin-door and taking up my gun, fired at him. He turned about and swam towards the shore again.

But it is impossible to describe the horrible noises and cries and howlings that were raised upon the noise or report of the gun, a thing I have some reason to believe those creatures had never heard before. This convinced me there was no going on shore for us in the night upon that coast, and how to venture on shore in the day was another question too. To have fallen into the hands of any of the savages, which would not know the beast, would have been as bad as to have fallen into the hands of lions and tygers, and we were equally apprehensive of the danger of it.

Be that as it would, we were obliged to go on shore somewhere or other for water, for we had not a pint left in the boat. When or where to get it was the point. Xury said if I would let him go on shore with one of the jars, he would find if there was any water and bring some to me. I asked him why he would go? Why I should not go and he stay in the boat? The boy answered with so much affection that made me love him ever after. Said he, "If wild mans come, they eat me, you go wey."

"Well, Xury," said I, "we will both go, and if the wild mans come, we will kill them. They shall eat neither of us."

So I gave Xury a piece of rusk bread to eat and a dram out of our patron's case of bottles. We hauled the boat in as near the shore as we thought was proper, and so waded to shore, carrying nothing but our arms and two jars for water.

I did not care to go out of sight of the boat, fearing the coming of canoes with savages down the river, but the boy seeing a low place about a mile up the country, rambled to it. By and by I saw him come running towards me. I thought he was pursued by some savage, or frighted with some wild creature, and I ran forward towards him to help him, but when I came nearer I saw something hanging over his shoulders, which was a creature he had shot, like a hare but different in colour and longer legs. However, we were very glad of it and it was very good meat, but the great joy poor Xury came with was to tell me he had found good water and seen no wild mans.

But we found afterwards we need not take such pains for water, for a little higher up the creek we found the water fresh when the tyde was out, which flows but a little way up. So we fill’d our jars and feasted on the hare we had killed and prepared to go on our way, having seen no footsteps of any human creature in that part of the country. My hope was if I stood along this coast till I came to that part where the English traded, I should find some of their vessels upon their usual design of trade that would relieve and take us in.

By the best of my calculation, this place where I now was must have been that country which lies waste and uninhabited except by wild things. The Negroes having abandoned it and gone farther south for fear of the Moors. The Moors not thinking it worth inhabiting by reason of its barrenness. Both forsaking it because of the prodigious numbers of tigers, lions, and leopards, and other furious creatures which harbour there. The Moors used it for their hunting only, where they go like an army, two or three thousand men at a time. Indeed for near a hundred miles together upon this coast we saw nothing but a waste, uninhabited country by day, and heard nothing but howlings and roaring of wild creatures by night.

We made on to the southward for ten or twelve days, living very sparing on our provisions, which began to abate very much, and going no oftener into the shore than we were obliged to for fresh water. My design in this was to make the river Gambia or Senegal, that is to say, any where about the Cape de Verd, where I was in hopes to meet with some European ship. If I did not, I knew not what course I had to take, but to seek for the islands, or perish there among the Negroes. I knew all the ships from Europe which sailed either to the coast of Guinea, to Brasil, or to the East Indies made this Cape or those islands. In a word, I put the whole of my fortune upon this single point. Either I must meet with some ship, or must perish.

Several times I was obliged to land for fresh water, and once in particular, being early in the afternoon, we came to an anchor under a little point of land which was pretty high. I was fill'd with concern for Xury, as this was to be the first night of the full moon, the first since our escape from the Moors. Several times during our voyage I had ask'd what he knew of the visiting wise men and vizeers, but the boy knew only that they came to study with our former patron, and not at all of my nature or my part in these studies. So I told him that I must go ashore for the night, into the higher country, and he was to wait for me on the boat and not follow. I would return in the morning.

This upset Xury a great deal, and more so when he heard I would take no arms with me, for I did not want to risk losing my gun while the beast ran free. He cried and spoke dire warnings and said I would not be safe without him. I assur'd him I would be fine and had him remember I would be back on the shore in the morning. It upset him but I knew he would obey my commands, so great was his love for me.

As the sun set I waded into shore and bade the boy to sleep well. I wander'd till the shore was quite out of sight, and Xury could not see me as well. Here I remov'd what cloathes I had, which was precious little as I still wore the cloathes of my servitude to the Moors, viz. breeches, waistcoat, linen shirt, and kerchief. These I placed in a tree atop a high branch and walked still farther, expos'd now, were any other man there to see.

The sun went down and it was but a few hours later that the moon rose and the beast came upon me with great savage glee, for it sensed from deep within my skin it was not to be chayn'd this night. As a rule, the first night of the moon is gentle as that heavenly orb becomes full and true, but not this time, for after two years of silver chayns so quick it rush'd out that I did scream from the pain of it before its nature made me numb and distant.

I know the beast took great joy that night, for it had never been amidst such savagery, and I knew its pleasure through the smoky haze of my dream in the same way a man knows his horse or dog is happy and satisfied. It ran and kill'd and ate and howled and ran more and kill'd more and ate more. This was a danger my father had taught against us, for to appease the beast makes it stronger and gives it a better purchase upon one's thoughts and immortal soul.

I awoke the next day on a patch of soft grass that had been press'd down and made a most serviceable bed. A few scratches marr'd my arms and legs, but I was well rested and had no hunger, a fact I chose not to dwell on. It took but a short time to locate the tree with my cloathes, left on the high branch just as I had plac'd them. I walked back to the shore, where Xury greet'd me with joyous cries, for he told me the howls and screams of the night before had been far worse than any we had heard, and he feared I had met whatever fearsome creature he had heard, not knowing it was now within my skin while we spoke. "He eat you at one mouth," said Xury. One mouthful he meant.

We made our way south for the day, and that night we again dropp'd anchor and I went ashore. Xury wailed again at my leaving, but not as much as before, and I once more spent the night in the high country of Africk. The beast spent another night of savage debauchery beneath the moon, and when I came upon my own natures again, I was so deep in the forest I could not see the sun to acquaint myself with the cardinal directions. It was most unpleasant to me to spend hours walking uncloathed in the forest like a savage. After some time I found a clearing and did orient myself, yet it was still well into the second half of the day when I locat'd the tree with my cloathes, but was most put out to discover they had fallen from the tree and my good linen shirt was soiled by some creature.

It being too late to return to the boat, I call'd out to Xury from shore. The boy was in a state and from the sand I saw tears in his eyes. He cried out in joy and begg'd me not to leave him again, for he was sure a great creature had eaten me up. I told him I must spend one more night in the high country, but in the morning we would resume our journey. He was most displeas'd at the thought of another night alone, and wailed for me to let him join me on the shore. I told him he could not, for he was small and the creatures of Africk truly would "eat him at one mouth."

I left him in tears on the boat and travel'd back away from the water. I was in process of storing my cloathes in the tree again, but not my good linen shirt, which I had abandoned upon finding it soiled and foul, and had not yet removed my breeches when the sun set and the nature of the beast came over me. I did try to fight it off, for the binding of cloathes angers the beast, but it was too eager to be free in the high country again. Through the smok'd lens I watched it struggle and fight with the breeches, and become more and more savage by their simple constrictions.

The beast kill'd many creatures that night, and in my dreams were the dim memories of a dreadful monster that it fought with for close on an hour afore it fell to the inhuman power of the beast's claws and teeth.

I woke in the shade, and the first thought was I was not in the high country, for there was white sand beneath me. I still wore my breeches, though they were rent and torn to be all but useless to me. They too had been soiled, as was my good linen shirt, though these by the beast.

I started at once, for next to me on the sand was a terrible great lion, on its side as if still asleep in the morning sun. I felt great fear for a moment but then saw it was dead and could not hurt me. Indeed, one leg was torn right off as one would tear apart a roast fowl, and much of the meat of its stomach was gone. The claw marks and teeth marks were most familiar to me, and left me with no question that the beast had dispatched this great lion.

I stood up and now saw the lion had been felled and lay between myself and the coast, and there was my boat just off shore, and there was little Xury staring with wide eyes and trembling with a great fear in him. He stood upon our boat's little deck holding in his hands our biggest gun, which was almost musket-bore. He stair'd at me as one does at awful things, and I knew in his eyes his kind and goodly master now was an awful thing, for I could but suppose what he had seen in the night and now come the morning.

I waved to him and spoke kind words and told him to be not afraid, but still he shivered and held the fuzee. At last, I order'd him to shore and to bring the hatchet from the cabin. This firm tone help'd calm him and, taking the little hatchet in one hand, he swam to shore with the other hand, coming close to me, though still his eyes were wide.

I bethought myself that perhaps the skin of the lion might one way or other be of some value to us. I resolv’d to take off his skin if I could. Xury and I went to work with him, but Xury was much the better workman at it, for I knew very ill how to do it. Indeed it took us both up the whole day, but at last we got off the hide of him, and spreading it on the top of our cabin, the sun dried it in two days' time. It afterwards served me to lie upon. Xury would no longer sleep near me, nor did he smile or talk.