 THE HISTORY OF ROBINSON CRUSO I was born in the year 1632 in York. My father, having gained a handsome fortune by honest trade, gave me a good education, and when I grew old enough wished me to devote myself to some profession. But my mind was set on a seafaring life, and at length, having run away from home, I set sail in a ship bound for London. But after many perils, our ship was wrecked in Yarmouth roads. I then travelled on foot to London, where I met with a guinea trader whom I agreed to join in his speculations and voyages. At first we were very successful, but in my second expedition we were chased by a Moorish rover, captured and taken prisoners to Sully. Hence, however, I managed to escape in a fishing boat, and was happy enough to hail a Portuguese vessel whose captain kindly took me in. I was, however, soon persuaded to make another voyage to the African coast in search of Negroes. Another shipwreck was, alas, to be my lot. A violent hurricane arose. The ship struck on a rock, and throwing a boat over the ship's side, the crew got into her, hoping to escape. But the rolling waves soon overturned the boat, and we were all separated in the sea. As for me, I was carried by a wave towards the shore, and at length left upon the land more dead than alive. When I recovered I found myself quite alone, on what appeared to be a desert island, a sense of loneliness mingled with gratitude for my preservation, came over me, and kneeling down I thanked God for his mercy in saving my life, and implored him to help and support me for the time to come. Then I set myself with all due diligence to secure all I could for my comfort and safety. Being almost consumed by intense thirst, I first went in search of some water. I then climbed up into a tree, where I slept soundly until morning. On awakening I saw that the tide had so far gone down as to let me come within a quarter of a mile of the ship. Although being a good swimmer, and anxious to possess myself of all the useful articles I could, I swam to the vessel and got into her. I was thankful to find the provisions were dry, and being very hungry I filled my pockets with biscuits which I ate, as I went about doing other things. Having found some spare planks, I made a raft which I loaded with bread, some hatchets, bags of nails, several cases of cordials, a carpenter's chest, worth more to me than a cargo of gold, two good fouling pieces, two pistols, some powder horns, two barrels of powder, some bullets, and two rusty swords. With these precious treasures I put to sea, and safely reached the island where I secured my raft in a bay, to a broken ore stuck in the ground, and then got my cargo safely on land. I now made a kind of hut of sea chests and planks, and laying my guns and pistols near me went to sleep. Day after day I returned to the vessel, each time bringing something away with me. The last and eleventh voyage I made was suddenly cut short, for the wind began to rise so that I had not time to make a raft, but was obliged to swim to the shore for my life. The next morning the wreck was not to be seen, and thankful for what I had saved from her, I set about constructing a dwelling. Having found a convenient spot where there was fresh water, security from man and beast, and shelter from the weather, namely a sort of hollow place before a cave, I proceeded in the following manner. I first drew a half circle before the hollow place, and in it I placed two rows of strong stakes firmly into the ground. They stood about five and a half feet high, and were sharpened at the top. These I so thickly interwoven with some pieces of cable, which I had brought from the ship, that an impenetrable wall was formed. The entrance was at the top, by a short ladder which I lifted in after me. Into this enclosure I carried all my stores, and made a large tent to secure myself and them from the weather. Meantime I daily made excursions in the island, always with my gun. I found plenty of wild goats and pigeons, which I managed to shoot. I was not entirely without companions, for though I had no human friend, yet I had saved from the wreck two cats and a dog, the last of which was of the greatest use to me in many ways. In one of my rambles I caught a parrot, which I taught to speak, in which afforded me much pleasure. After I had been about ten days on shore, a fear, lest I should cease to be able to tell the sun days from the other days, caused me to invent a reckoning of my own. Having set up a wooden post, I cut upon it these words. I came on shore here the thirtieth of September, 1659, and every day added a fresh notch. Every seventh notch I made as long again as the others. I must not forget to mention that I brought three good Bibles and a few other books from the ship, also some mathematical instruments, and some pens, ink, and paper. When my dwelling was finished I made for myself a table and chair. One day, having need of a bag, and which had had a few grains of corn in it, I threw the contents on the earth, outside my tent, little thinking what would be the issue. It was just before the heavy rains, and about a month afterwards I saw some young green stalks shooting out of the ground. These proved to be ears of barley and rice. When I had been about a year on the island I was taken seriously ill, and then it was I found the greatest comfort from my best possession, the Bible. I now began regularly to sow and gather in my harvests of barley and rice, for I had saved my seed and sown it again until I had a good stock. As to my dress I had a great high-crowned hat made of goat skin, a jacket, the shirt of which came down to my knees, and a pair of open-need britches, the hair of which hung down to the middle of my legs. In the place of shoes and stockings I had a kind of slipper made also of goat skins. I wore a leathered girdle round my waist and a belt over my shoulder, on which to carry my basket. On one side of my girdle I hung a saw, and on the other a hatchet. Under my arm hung two pouches for my shot and powder. On my shoulder was a gun, and over my head to keep off the sun I carried a great clumsy umbrella. Thus was I indeed a strange figure. One day, feeling a desire to travel across the island, I set out and soon reached the western coast, when I was startled by seeing a mark in the sand, resembling the print of a man's feet. Suddenly I came to a place where I saw human skulls, hands and feet scattered about near the remains of a fire. I no longer doubted that cannibals had been there, and in fright and horror ran home as fast as I could. I now began to yearn for the society of a human being, the fear of savages keeping me in continual dread. At length, one morning at sunrise, I saw five canoes, full of them, come on shore, and soon after no less than thirty of them were dancing round a fire. Then I saw the cannibals drag two men out of a canoe, one of whom they immediately stunned, but the other escaped from their grasp, and fled towards me with surprising swiftness. Suddenly alarmed as I was, I determined to stand my ground, and was all the more encouraged as I saw but three of the savages pursued him. On coming to a creek one turned back, but the other two followed the poor creature through the water. I beckoned to him to stop, and going towards his enemies, I knocked the first down with the stock of my gun, and seeing that the other was aiming his arrow at me, I shot him dead. The poor savage I had saved was much terrified by the report of my gun, but he came to me and made the sign of submission by placing his head beneath my foot. Then I led him to my cave and refreshed him with bread, some raisins, and a draft of water, after which I caused him to lie down and go to sleep. I had now a companion, and by degrees taught him to converse with me. He was a very apt scholar, and soon learned to pronounce English words. I called him Friday, from the day of the week on which I saved his life. I gave him clothes, and taught him to call me master. Soon my man Friday became very useful to me, and could do anything. Many years did this faithful servant and myself remain on this desert island, but at length Friday, who I had sent to the seashore for a turtle, came running back to me in great terror, telling me, as well as he could, that he had seen some canoes and some prisoners. We took our muskets, and having fired at the cannibals, killed three and wounded five, after which the rest escaped in two canoes. We hastened to the canoe they had left, where we found a poor old black man tied hand and foot ready to be killed. Friday fell upon the poor man, and having hugged and kissed him, he explained to me that it was his own dear father. The old man told us that the savages had taken him from a ship, which lay at anchor near an adjoining island, on board which he had been, and was just leaving when they came. We soon agreed that Friday and his father should go in the canoe to the ship, and implore the captain to come round to me. Anxiously I waited until I saw the vessel bearing down, but what was my joy on discovering the captain was an Englishman. The tale is soon told. I arranged with the captain for a passage to England, for myself, my man Friday, and his father, and, after a fine passage, arrived in this happy country. I left the island on the 19th of December 1687, having been upon it twenty-eight years, two months, and nineteen days. End of the History of Robinson Crusoe. Read by Dennis Ayers in Modesto, California, for LibriVox, Spring 2008.