ROBINSON CRUSOE.

CRUSOE AND HIS BOAT.

As I had now a boat, my next design was to make a cruise round the island; for as I had been on the other side in one place, crossing, as I have already described it, over the land, so the discoveries I made in that journey made me very eager to see other parts of the coast.

For this purpose, and that I might do everything with discretion and consideration, I fitted up a little mast to my boat, and made a sail to it out of some of the pieces of the ship's sails which lay in store, and of which I had a great stock by me.

Having fitted my mast and sail, and tried the boat, I found she would sail very well. Then I made little lockers or boxes at either end, to put provisions, necessaries, and ammunition, &c., into, to be kept dry, either from rain or the spray of the sea; and a hollow place I cut in the inside of the boat, where I could lay my gun, making a flap to hang down over to keep it dry.

I fixed my umbrella also in a step of the stern, like a mast, to stand over my head, and keep the heat of the sun off me, like an awning. Thus I every now and then took a little voyage upon the sea, but never went far out, or far from the little creek. But at last, being eager to view the circumference of my little kingdom, I resolved upon my tour. Accordingly I victualled my ship for the voyage, putting in two dozen of my loaves of barley bread, an earthen pot full of parched rice, (a food I

half a

ate a great deal of,) a little bottle of rum, goat and powder and shot for killing more, and two large watch-coats, of those which, as I mentioned before, I had saved out of the seamen's chests. These I took, one to lie upon, and the other to cover me in the night.

It was the 6th of November, in the sixth year of my reign, or my captivity, that I set out on this voyage, and I found it much longer than I expected. For though the island itself was not very large, yet when I came to the east side of it, I found a great ledge of rocks lying out about two leagues into the sea, some above water, some under it; and beyond that a shoal of sand, lying dry, half a league more; so that I was obliged to go a great way out to sea to double that point. When I first discovered them, I was going to give over my enterprise, and come back -not knowing how far it might oblige me to go out to sea, and, above all, doubting how I should get back again; so I came to anchor, for I had made me a kind of anchor with a piece of grappling which I got out of the ship.

Having secured my boat, I took my gun and went on shore, climbing upon a hill which seemed to overlook that point, where I saw the full extent of it, and resolved to venture. In viewing the sea from that hill where I stood, I perceived a strong and furious current which ran to the east, and even came close to the point. I took the more notice of it because I saw there might be some danger that when I came into it I might be carried out to sea by the strength of it, and not be able to make the island again. And indeed, had I not gotten first

upon this hill, I believe it would have been so; for there was the same current upon the other side of the island, only that it set off at a further distance; and I saw there was a strong eddy under the shore, so that I had nothing to do but to get out of the first current, and I should presently be in an eddy.

I lay here, however, two days, because the wind, blowing pretty fresh, made a breach of the sea upon the point; so that it was not safe for me to keep too close to the shore, for the breach, nor to go too far off because of the stream.

The third day, in the morning, the wind having abated over night, the sea was calm, and I ventured. But no sooner was I come to the point-when even I was not my boat's length from the shore-than I found myself in a great depth of water, having a current like the sluice of a mill. It carried my boat along with it with such violence that all I could do could not keep her so much as on the edge of it; but I found it hurried me further and further out from the eddy, which was on my left hand. There was no wind stirring to help me, and all I could do with my paddles signified nothing.

And now I began to give myself over for lost; for, as the current was on both sides of the island, I knew, in a few leagues' distance, they must join again, and then I should be irrecoverably gone. Nor could I see any possibility of avoiding it; so that I had no prospect before me but of perishing,—not by the sea, for that was calm enough, but of starving for hunger. I had, indeed, found a tortoise on the shore, as big almost as I could lift, and had tossed it into the boat; and I had a great jar of fresh water-that is to say, one of

my earthen pots; but what was all this to being driven into the vast ocean, where, to be sure, there was no shore, no mainland or island, for a thousand leagues at least!

And now I saw how easy it was for the providence of God to make even the most miserable condition

of mankind worse. Now I looked back upon my desolate, solitary island, as the most pleasant place in the world, and all the happiness my heart could wish for was to be put there again. Then I reproached myself with my unthankful temper, and how I had repined at my solitary condition; and now, what would I give to be on shore there again!

It is scarcely possible to imagine the consternation I was now in, being driven from my beloved island (for so it appeared to me now to be) into the wide ocean, almost two leagues, and in the utmost despair of ever recovering it again. However, I worked hard, till, indeed, my strength was almost exhausted, and kept my boat as much to the northward (that is, towards the side of the current which the eddy lay on) as possibly I could; when, about noon, as the sun passed the meridian, I thought I felt a little breeze of wind in my face, springing up from the south-southeast. This cheered my heart a little, and especially when, in about half an hour more, it blew a pretty gentle gale. By this time I had got to a frightful distance from the island, and had the least cloudy or hazy weather intervened, I had been undone another way too; for I had no compass on board, and should never have known how to have steered towards the island if I had but once lost sight of it. But the weather continuing clear, I applied myself to get up

my mast again, and spread my sail, standing away to the north as much as possible, to get out of the current.

About four o'clock in the evening, being then within a league of the island, I found the point of the rocks which occasioned this disaster stretching out, as described before, to the southward, and casting off the current more southerly, had of course made another eddy to the north. This I found very strong, but not directly setting the way my course lay, which was due west, but almost full north. However, having a fresh gale, I stretched across this eddy, slanting north-west; and in about an hour came within a mile of the shore, where, it being smooth water, I soon got to land.

When I got on shore, I fell on my knees and gave God thanks for my rescue, resolving to lay aside all thoughts of any deliverance by my boat; and refreshing myself with such things as I had, I brought my boat close to the shore, in a little cove that I had spied under some trees, and laid me down to sleep, being quite spent with the labour and fatigue of the voyage.

I was now at a great loss which way to get home with my boat. I had run so much hazard, and knew too much of the case, to think of attempting it by the way I went out; and what might be at the other side (I mean the west side) I knew not, nor had I any mind to run any more ventures. I only resolved, in the morning, to make my way westward along the shore, and to see if there was no creek where I might lay up my frigate in safety,

So