I am a good swimmer, but I was powerless in such a rough sea. One wave carried me forward and left me on the shore half dead with the amount of water I had swallowed. I had just enough breath left to get up, and stagger towards the land, before another wave overtook me. I soon found that it was impossible to avoid being overtaken by the sea. I saw another wave as high as a hill coming towards me. I wanted to try to swim with it even further up the beach. When it reached me, I was buried to a depth of twenty feet. I held my breath and was carried forward at high speed. This happened several times, until at last I reached the foot of a cliff. I managed to climb to the top and there I sat, free from danger.
I looked around to see if I could see any sign of my companions. There was no trace of them to be seen anywhere, and I concluded that they must have been drowned. My heart was filled with gratitude for myself, and at the same time sorrow for my companions. I was very sorry that not one of my companions appeared to have been saved from the ship. All that I ever saw of them again was a cap, three hats and two odd shoes. At the same time I was most thankful that God had spared me. I walked up and down, lifting my hands in prayer and meditating upon God's great mercy to me.
Soon I began to wonder what I should do next. I was wet through, and had no clothes into which I could change. I had nothing to eat or drink. All that I had was a knife and a tobacco box containing a little tobacco.
I walked a little way inland to see if I could find any fresh water, as I was very thirsty. On my way I cut a strong stick with which to defend myself against any animals that might attack me. After walking for some time I found a clear spring and, having drunk deeply from it, felt much better.
It began to grow dark, so that I had to find somewhere to spend the night. I decided that the safest place to sleep would be in the branches of a tree.
I found a suitable tree, climbed into it and slept as comfortably as I could.
When I awoke it was morning, the storm had ceased, and the sky was clear. I was surprised to see that during the night our ship had been lifted by the waves from the sandbank and carried to the foot of the cliffs. It was resting upon some rocks under the water and seemed to be standing upright.
Shortly after midday the tide had gone out, and I found that I could walk to within a quarter of a mile of the ship. I was determined to get on board to see if I could find anything that would be useful for my life on the island. I took off my clothes and swam out to the ship. When I reached it, I found a rope hanging over the side. With its help I was able to climb on board.
There was a great deal of water in the hold, while the bows were so low as to be almost under the water. The stern was well out of the water, and everything at that end of the ship was dry. I was pleased to discover that much of the food on board had not been touched by the salty water. As I was hungry, I filled my pockets with biscuits which I ate as I went about the ship.
I could see that I was going to need some sort of a boat to get all that I would need to the shore. I found some spare masts and some planks of wood. I tied these together with rope and made a raft strong enough to bear a heavy load.
First of all I put upon my raft all the planks of wood that I could find. Then I filled a large wooden box with bread, rice, cheese and some dried meat. In the carpenter's cabin I found his box full of tools. These were of more use to me at that moment than a bag of gold, and I put them straight away on board my raft. I needed a gun and some ammunition which I found in the captain's cabin. There were two guns and two pistols, which I took, together with some powder horns, a small bag of shot and two rusty old swords.
I knew that somewhere in the ship there were three barrels of gunpowder, and after a search I found them. Two of the barrels were dry, but the third had got wet and was useless. I put the two dry barrels on board the raft with the guns and the pistols.
I now had enough cargo on board my raft for one journey, and I began to think of getting back to the shore. I found that without either a sail or a rudder it was by no means easy to control the raft. All that I had, with which to steer it, was a broken oar that had been lying on the deck.
I was looking for a small bay which I could use as a port. After a while I found one, and luckily the tide took my raft into it. Unfortunately, as I was making up my way up the middle, I hit a sandbank and the raft became stuck. Nothing that I could do would move it until the tide came in.
While I was waiting for this to happen, I looked carefully at the shore on either side of the bay. I needed a flat, sandy stretch of beach on which to land my cargo. The first place that I chose turned out on closer inspection to be unsuitable. There was such a slope that I might have upset my precious cargo into the water. Further up the bay I noticed a flat piece of the beach which I thought would be covered by the tide when it came in.
A few hours later this was what happened, and as soon as the sand was covered I brought my raft to the shore. I made it fast by sticking the oar into the sand, and then waited until the tide turned and went out. My raft and all its cargo was left safe on shore.
About one mile from me there was a high hill and, taking one of the guns, I set off to climb to the top. I wanted to see what sort of a place I had come to. When I reached the top, I could see that I was on an island, and that there was no other land in sight.
I came back to my raft and brought its cargo up the beach as quickly as I could, as it was getting towards the evening. I used the boxes and planks that I had brought to make myself a simple shelter for the night.
I decided to try to get as much as I could from the ship before another storm broke it into pieces. On my second visit I climbed aboard as before and built another raft. After my experience of the previous day, this raft was much lighter, and I did not put so much cargo on it.
I brought some nails and some more tools from the carpenter's cabin. I found more pistols, shot and gunpowder, and also some clothing. I put these on the raft together with a spare sail, a hammock and some bedding.
When I got to the shore I set to work to make a small tent with the sail and some poles, which I had cut for the purpose. When it was finished, I brought into it everything that I knew would be spoiled by either the rain or the sun. I arranged the empty boxes in a circle round the tent, and I made a bed upon the floor. As I lay down, I had two pistols near my head and a gun by my side for protection. I was tired, as I had been busy all day, and so I was soon asleep.
Every day now, when the tide was out, I went on board the ship. Gradually I brought away all the sails and the rigging. I even brought some iron cables. These proved to be too heavy for my raft. On the way back to the shore, the raft turned over, and the cables fell into the sea. However, when the tide was out, I was able to recover the cables one by one. On one of my trips I was very pleased to discover some more food, including sugar, flour and bread.
Very soon I had been on the island for a fortnight and had made eleven trips to the ship. On my last trip I noticed a cupboard which I previously overlooked. In it were three razors, a large pair of scissors and a dozen good knives and forks. There was also some European and Brazilian money, worth about thirty-six pounds in all.
By now I had taken everything from the ship which was of value to me, and I began to consider where I should live on the island. My tent was on rather low ground near to the sea, and I did not think that it would be healthy to live there for very long. There were four points that I had to bear in mind when choosing the site of my home. First of all, I needed to find a place which would be healthy and near to some fresh water. Secondly, there ought to be protection from the heat of the sun. Thirdly, I must be safe from attacks either by savages or by wild animals. Last of all, I must have a view of the sea so that, if any ship should chance to come near to the island, I would not miss it.
QUESTIONS AND TASKS
1. How did Robinson Crusoe get to the shore?
2. Describe his first visit to the ship and what he brought to the shore.
3. What did he find on later visits to the ship?
4. What four points did Robinson Crusoe have to bear in mind when choosing a site for his island home?
