Part 2 (1/2)

Good: But I am in a hot climate, where, if I had clothes, I could hardly wear them

Evil: I am without any defence, or means to resist any violence of man or beast

Good: But I am cast on an island where I see no wild beasts to hurt me, as I saw on the coast of Africa; and what if I had been shi+pwrecked there?

Evil: I have no soul to speak to or relieve me

Good: But God wonderfully sent the shi+p in near enough to the shore, that I have got out as s as will either supplyas I live

Upon the whole, here was an undoubted testimony that there was scarce any condition in the world sopositive to be thankful for in it; and let this stand as a direction from the experience of the most miserable of all conditions in this world: that weto coood and evil, on the credit side of the account

Having now brought iven over looking out to sea, to see if I could spy a shi+p - I say, giving over these things, I begun to apply s as easy to me as I could

I have already described my habitation, which was a tent under the side of a rock, surrounded with a strong pale of posts and cables: but I ht now rather call it a wall, for I raised a kind of wall up against it of turfs, about two feet thick on the outside; and after some time (I think it was a year and a half) I raised rafters fro to the rock, and thatched or covered it with boughs of trees, and such things as I could get, to keep out the rain; which I found at some times of the year very violent

I have already observed how I brought all oods into this pale, and into the cave which I had made behind me But I oods, which, as they lay in no order, so they took up all my place; I had no rooe my cave, and work farther into the earth; for it was a loose sandy rock, which yielded easily to the labour I bestowed on it: and so when I found I was pretty safe as to beasts of prey, I worked sideways, to the right hand, into the rock; and then, turning to the right again, worked quite out, and made me a door to coave ress, as it was a back way to oods

And now I began to apply s as I found I most wanted, particularly a chair and a table; for without these I was not able to enjoy the few comforts I had in the world; I could not write or eat, or do several things, with so much pleasure without a table: so I went to work And here I in of theby reason, and by s, every man may be, in time, master of every mechanic art I had never handled a tool in my life; and yet, in time, by labour, application, and contrivance, I found at last that I wanted nothing but I could have made it, especially if I had had tools However, I s, even without tools; and some with no more tools than an adze and a hatchet, which perhaps were never made that way before, and that with infinite labour For example, if I wanted a board, I had no other way but to cut down a tree, set it on an edge before ht it to be thin as a plank, and then dub it smooth with my adze It is true, by this method I could make but one board out of a whole tree; but this I had no reious deal of time and labour which it took me up to make a plank or board: but my time or labour was little worth, and so it was as well employed one way as another

However, I made me a table and a chair, as I observed above, in the first place; and this I did out of the short pieces of boards that I brought on ht out soe shelves, of the breadth of a foot and a half, one over another all along one side of my cave, to lay all my tools, nails and ironwork on; and, in a word, to separate everything at large into their places, that I ht come easily at theuns and all things that would hang up; so that, had azine of all necessary things; and had everything so ready at oods in such order, and especially to find reat

And noas that I began to keep a journal of every day's employment; for, indeed, at first I was in too much hurry, and not only hurry as to labour, but in too much discomposure of s; for exaot to shore, and escaped drowning, instead of being thankful to God for reat quantity of salt water which had got intoatout, 'I was undone, undone!' till, tired and faint, I was forced to lie down on the ground to repose, but durst not sleep for fear of being devoured”

Some days after this, and after I had been on board the shi+p, and got all that I could out of her, yet I could not forbear getting up to the top of a littlea shi+p; then fancy at a vast distance I spied a sail, pleasesteadily, till I was almost blind, lose it quite, and sit down and weep like a child, and thus increase otten over these things in so settled my household staff and habitation, made me a table and a chair, and all as handsoan to keep h in it will be told all these particulars over again) as long as it lasted; for having no more ink, I was forced to leave it off

CHAPTER V

- BUILDS A HOUSE - THE JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 30, 1659 - I, poora dreadful stor, came on shore on this dismal, unfortunate island, which I called ”The Island of Despair”; all the rest of the shi+p's co drowned, and myself al ht to - viz I had neither food, house, clothes, weapon, nor place to fly to; and in despair of any relief, saw nothing but death before me - either that I should be devoured by wild beasts, es, or starved to death for want of food At the approach of night I slept in a tree, for fear of wild creatures; but slept soundly, though it rained all night

OCTOBER 1 - In the reat surprise, the shi+p had floated with the high tide, and was driven on shore again much nearer the island; which, as it was soht, and not broken to pieces, I hoped, if the wind abated, I et some food and necessaries out of her for rief at the loss of ined, if we had all stayed on board, ht have saved the shi+p, or, at least, that they would not have been all drowned as they were; and that, had the ht perhaps have built us a boat out of the ruins of the shi+p to have carried us to soreat part of this day in perplexingthe shi+p almost dry, I went upon the sand as near as I could, and then swah with no wind at all

FROM THE 1ST OF OCTOBER TO THE 24TH - All these days entirely spent in et all I could out of the shi+p, which I brought on shore every tide of flood upon rafts Much rain also in the days, though with some intervals of fair weather; but it seems this was the rainy season

OCT 20 - I oversetin shoal water, and the things being chiefly heavy, I recovered many of theht and all day, with so which ti a little harder than before, and was no more to be seen, except the wreck of her, and that only at loater I spent this day in covering and securing the goods which I had saved, that the rain ht not spoil them

OCT 26 - I walked about the shore alreatly concerned to secure ht, either froht, I fixed upon a proper place, under a rock, and marked out a sethen with a work, wall, or fortification, made of double piles, lined within with cables, and without with turf

Frooods to h soly hard

The 31st, in the un, to seek for sooat, and her kid followed me home, which I afterwards killed also, because it would not feed

NOVEMBER 1 - I set up ht;my hammock upon

NOV 2 - I set up all my chests and boards, and the pieces of timber which made my rafts, and with them formed a fence round me, a little within the place I had marked out for un, and killed tls like ducks, which were very good food In the afternoon went to work to an to order un, ti I walked out with un for two or three hours, if it did not rain; then employed myself to work till about eleven o'clock; then eat what I had to live on; and fro excessively hot; and then, in the evening, to work again The working part of this day and of the next holly e h time and necessity made me a complete natural mechanic soon after, as I believe they would do any one else

NOV 5 - This day went abroad with , and killed a wild cat; her skin pretty soft, but her flesh good for nothing; every creature that I killed I took of the skins and preserved the back by the sea-shore, I saw many sorts of sea-fohich I did not understand; but was surprised, and alazing at, not well knohat they were, got into the sea, and escapedwalk I went to ith ; nor was it long before I learned to an to be settled fair weather The 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and part of the 12th (for the 11th was Sunday) I took wholly up to ht it to a tolerable shape, but never to pleaseI pulled it in pieces several ti Sundays; for, oot which hich

NOV 13 - This day it rained, which refreshed ly, and cooled the earth; but it was accohtened me dreadfully, for fear of my powder As soon as it was over, I resolved to separate my stock of powder into as er

NOV 14, 15, 16 - These three days I spent in ht hold about a pound, or two pounds atthe powder in, I stowed it in places as secure and remote from one another as possible On one of these three days I killed a large bird that was good to eat, but I knew not what to call it

NOV 17 - This day I began to dig behind my tent into the rock, to make roos I wanted exceedingly for this work - viz a pickaxe, a shovel, and a wheelbarrow or basket; so I desisted froan to consider how to supply that want, and make me some tools As for the pickaxe, I h heavy; but the next thing was a shovel or spade; this was so absolutely necessary, that, indeed, I could do nothing effectually without it; but what kind of one tothe woods, I found a tree of that wood, or like it, which in the Brazils they call the iron- tree, for its exceeding hardness Of this, with great labour, and alht it ho heavy The excessive hardness of the wood, andwhile upon this machine, for I worked it effectually by little and little into the form of a shovel or spade; the handle exactly shaped like ours in England, only that the board part having no iron shod upon it at bottoh for the uses which I had occasion to put it to; but never was a shovel, I believe,

I was still deficient, for I wanted a basket or a wheelbarrow A basket I could not s that would bend to make wicker-ware - at least, none yet found out; and as to a wheelbarrow, I fancied I could make all but the wheel; but that I had no notion of; neither did I kno to go about it; besides, I had no possible way to eons for the spindle or axis of the wheel to run in; so I gave it over, and so, for carrying away the earth which I dug out of the cave, Ilike a hod which the labourers carry mortar in when they serve the bricklayers This was not so difficult tothe shovel: and yet this and the shovel, and the attempt which I made in vain to make a wheelbarrow, tookun, which I seldo fit to eat

NOV 23 - My other work having now stood still, because ofthese tools, when they were finished I went on, and working every day, as hteen days entirely in widening and deepening oods co all this tih to acco-roo, I kept to the tent; except that sometimes, in the wet season of the year, it rained so hard that I could not keep myself dry, which causedpoles, in the forainst the rock, and load thee leaves of trees, like a thatch

DECEMBER 10 - I began now to think my cave or vault finished, when on a sudden (it seereat quantity of earth fell down frohted me, and not without reason, too, for if I had been under it, I had never wanted a gravedigger I had now a great deal of work to do over again, for I had the loose earth to carry out; and, which was of ht be sure no more would come down

DEC 11 - This day I went to ith it accordingly, and got two shores or posts pitched upright to the top, with two pieces of boards across over each post; this I finished the next day; and setting more posts up with boards, in about a weekin rows, served me for partitions to part off the house

DEC 17 - From this day to the 20th I placed shelves, and knocked up nails on the posts, to hang everything up that could be hung up; and now I began to be in some order within doors

DEC 20 - Now I carried everything into the cave, and began to furnish my house, and set up some pieces of boards like a dresser, to order an to be very scarce with me; also, I ht and all day No stirring out

DEC 25 - Rain all day