by Daniel Defoe
I found my foot not so large by a great deal. Boththese things filled my head with new imaginations, and gave me thevapours again to the highest degree, so that I shook with cold like onein an ague; and I went home again, filled with the belief that some manor men had been on shore there; or, in short, that the island wasinhabited, and I might be surprised before I was aware; and what courseto take for my security I knew not.
O what ridiculous resolutions men take when possessed with fear! Itdeprives them of the use of those means which reason offers for theirrelief. The first thing I proposed to myself was, to throw down myenclosures, and turn all my tame cattle wild into the woods, lest theenemy should find them, and then frequent the island in prospect of thesame or the like booty: then to the simple thing of digging up my twocorn fields, lest they should find such a grain there, and still beprompted to frequent the island: then to demolish my bower and tent,that they might not see any vestiges of habitation, and be prompted tolook farther, in order to find out the persons inhabiting.
These were the subject of the first night's cogitataions after I wascome home again, while the apprehensions which had so over-run my mindwere fresh upon me, and my head was full of vapours, as above. Thus fearof danger is ten thousand times more terrifying than danger itself, whenapparent to the eyes; and we find the burthen of anxiety greater, bymuch, than the evil which we are anxious about: and, which was worsethan all this, I had not that relief in this trouble from theresignation I used to practise, that I hoped to have. I looked, Ithought, like Saul, who complained not, only that the Philistines wereupon him, but that God had forsaken him; for I did not now take due waysto compose my mind, by crying to God in my distress, and resting uponhis providence, as I had done before, for my defence and deliverance;which, if I had done, I had at least been more cheerfully supportedunder this new surprise, and perhaps carried through it with moreresolution.
This confusion of my thoughts kept me awake all night; but in themorning I fell asleep; and having, by the amusement of my mind, been, asit were, tired, and my spirits exhausted, I slept very soundly, andwaked much better composed than I had ever been before. And now I beganto think sedately; and, upon the utmost debate with myself, I concludedthat this island, which was so exceeding pleasant, fruitful, and nofarther from the main land than as I had seen, was not so entirelyabandoned as I might imagine; that although there were no statedinhabitants who lived on the spot, yet that there might sometimes comeboats off from the shore, who, either with design, or perhaps never butwhen they were driven by cross winds, might come to this place; that Ihad lived here fifteen years now, and had not met with the least shadowor figure of any people yet; and that if at any time they should bedriven here, it was probable they went away again as soon as ever theycould, seeing they had never thought fit to fix here upon any occasion;that the most I could suggest any danger from, was from any casualaccidental landing of straggling people from the main, who, as it waslikely, if they were driven hither, were here against their wills, sothey made no stay here, but went off again with all possible speed;seldom staying one night on shore, lest they should not have the help ofthe tides and daylight back again; and that, therefore, I had nothing todo but to consider of some safe retreat, in case I should see anysavages land upon the spot.
Now I began sorely to repent that I had dug my cave so large as to bringa door through again, which door, as I said, came out beyond where myfortification joined to the rock: upon maturely considering this,therefore, I resolved to draw me a second fortification, in the samemanner of a semi-circle, at a distance from my wall, just where I hadplanted a double row of trees about twelve years before, of which I mademention: these trees having been planted so thick before, they wantedbut few piles to be driven between them, that they might be thicker andstronger, and my wall would be soon finished: so that I had now a doublewall; and my outer wall was thickened with pieces of timber, old cables,and every thing I could think of, to make it strong; having in it sevenlittle holes, about as big as I might put my arm out at. In the insideof this, I thickened my wall to about ten feet thick, with continuallybringing earth out of my cave, and laying it at the foot of the wall,and walking upon it; and through the seven holes I contrived to plantthe muskets, of which I took notice that I had got seven on shore out ofthe ship; these I planted like my cannon, and fitted them into frames,that held them like a carriage, so that I could fire all the seven gunsin two minutes' time: this wall I was many a weary month in finishing,and yet never thought myself safe till it was done.
When this was done, I stuck all the ground without my wall, for a greatlength every way, as full with stakes, or sticks, of the osier-likewood, which I found so apt to grow, as they could well stand; insomuch,that I believe I might set in near twenty thousand of them, leaving apretty large space between them and my wall, that I might have room tosee an enemy, and they might have no shelter from the young trees, ifthey attempted to approach my outer wall.
Thus, in two years' time, I had a thick grove; and in five or six years'time I had a wood before my dwelling, growing so monstrous thick andstrong, that it was indeed perfectly impassable; and no men, of whatkind soever, would ever imagine that there was any thing beyond it, muchless a habitation. As for the way which I proposed to myself to go inand out (for I left no avenue,) it was by setting two ladders, one to apart of the rock which was low, and then broke in, and left room toplace another ladder upon that; so when the two ladders were taken down,no man living could come down to me without doing himself mischief; andif they had come down, they were still on the outside of my outer wall.
Thus I took all the measures human prudence could suggest for my ownpreservation; and it will be seen, at length, that they were notaltogether without just reason; though I foresaw nothing at that timemore than my mere fear suggested to me.
While this was doing, I was not altogether careless of my other affairs;for I had a great concern upon me for my little herd of goats; they werenot only a ready supply to me on every occasion, and began to besufficient for me, without the expense of powder and shot, but alsowithout the fatigue of hunting after the wild ones; and I was loth tolose the advantage of them, and to have them all to nurse upover again.
For this purpose, after long consideration, I could think of but twoways to preserve them: one was, to find another convenient place to diga cave under ground, and to drive them into it every night; and theother was, to enclose two or three little bits of land, remote from oneanother, and as much concealed as I could, where I might keep about halfa dozen young goats in each place; so that if any disaster happened tothe flock in general, I might be able to raise them again with littletrouble and time: and this, though it would require a great deal of timeand labour, I thought was the most rational design.
Accordingly, I spent some time to find out the most retired parts of theisland; and I pitched upon one, which was as private, indeed, as myheart could wish for: it was a little damp piece of ground, in themiddle of the hollow and thick woods, where, as is observed, I almostlost myself once before, endeavouring to come back that way from theeastern part of the island. Here I found a clear piece of land, nearthree acres, so surrounded with woods, that it was almost an enclosureby nature; at least, it did not want near so much labour to make it soas the other pieces of ground I had worked so hard at.
I immediately went to work with this piece of ground, and in less than amonth's time I had so fenced it round, that my flock, or herd, call itwhich you please, who were not so wild now as at first they might besupposed to be, were well enough secured in it: so, without any fartherdelay, I removed ten young she-goats and two he-goats to this piece;and when they were there, I continued to perfect the fence, till I hadmade it as secure as the other; which, however, I did at more leisure,and it took me up more time by a great deal. All this labour I was atthe expense of, purely from my apprehensions on the account of the printof a man's foot which I had seen; for, as yet, I never saw any humancreature come near the island; and I had now lived two years
under thisuneasiness, which, indeed, made my life much less comfortable than itwas before, as may be well imagined by any who know what it is to livein the constant snare of the fear of man. And this I must observe, withgrief too, that the discomposure of my mind had too great impressionsalso upon the religious part of my thoughts: for the dread and terror offalling into the hands of savages and cannibals lay so upon my spirits,that I seldom found myself in a due temper for application to my Maker,at least not with the sedate calmness and resignation of soul which Iwas wont to do: I rather prayed to God as under great affliction andpressure of mind, surrounded with danger, and in expectation every nightof being murdered and devoured before morning; and I must testify frommy experience, that a temper of peace, thankfulness, love, andaffection, is much the more proper frame for prayer than that of terrorand discomposure; and that under the dread of mischief impending, a manis no more fit for a comforting performance of the