第57章

This Confusion of my Thoughts kept me waking all Night；but in the Morning I fell asleep，and having by the Amusement of my Mind，been，as it were，tyr'd，and my Spirits exhausted；I slept very soundly，and wak'd much better compos'd than I had ever been before；and now I began to think sedately；and upon the utmost Debate with my self，I concluded，That this Island，which was so exceeding pleasant，fruitful，and no farther from the main Land than as I had seen，was not so entirely abandon'd as I might imagine：That altho' there were no stated Inhabitants who liv'd on the Spot；yet that there might sometimes come Boats off from the Shore，who either with Design，or perhaps never，but when they were driven by cross Winds，might come to this Place.

That I had liv'd here fifteen Years now，and had not met with the least Shadow or Figure of any People yet；and that if at any Time they should be driven here，it was probable they went away again as soon as ever they could，seeing they had never thought fit to fix there upon any Occasion，to this Time.

That the most I cou'd suggest any Danger from，was，from any such casual accidental Landing of straggling People from the Main，who，as it was likely if they were driven hither，were here against their Wills；so they made no stay here，but went off again with all possible Speed，seldom staying one Night on Shore，least they should not have the Help of the Tides，and Day-light back again；and that therefore I had nothing to do but to consider of some safe Retreat，in Case I should see any Savages land upon the Spot.

Now I began sorely to repent，that I had dug my Cave so large，as to bring a Door through again，which Door，as I said，came out beyond where my Fortification joyn'd to the Rock；upon maturely considering this therefore，I resolv'd to draw me a second Fortification，in the same Manner of a Semicircle，at a Distance from my Wall，just where I had planted a double Row of Trees，about twelve Years before，of which I made mention：These Trees having been planted so thick before，they wanted but a few Piles to be driven between them，that they should be thicker，and stronger，and my Wall would be soon finish'd.

So that I had now a double Wall，and my Outer Wall was thickned with Pieces Of Timber，old Cables，and every Thing I could think of，to make it strong；having in it seven little Holes，about as big as I might put my Arm out at：In the In-side of this，I thickned my Wall to above ten Foot thick，with continual bringing Earth out of my Cave，and laying it at the Foot of the Wall，and walking upon it；and through the seven Holes，I contriv'd to plant the Musquets，of which I took Notice，that I got seven on Shore out of the Ship；these，I say，I planted like my Cannon，and fitted them into Frames that held them like a Carriage，that so I could fire all the seven Guns in two Minutes Time：This Wall I was many a weary Month a finishing，and yet never thought my self safe till it was done.

When this was done，I stuck all the Ground without my Wall，for a great way every way，as full with Stakes or Sticks of the Osier like Wood，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 a pretty large Space between them and my Wall，that I might have room to see an Enemy，and they might have no shelter from the young Trees，if they 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 and strong，that it was indeed perfectly impassable；and no Men of what kind soever，would ever imagine that there was any Thing beyond it，much less a Habitation：As for the Way which I propos'd to my self to go in and out，for I left no Avenue；it was by setting two Ladders，one to a Part of the Rock which was low and then broke in，and left room to place another Ladder upon that；so when the two Ladders were taken down，no Man living could come down to me without mischieving himself；and if they had come down，they were still on the Out-side of my outer Wall.

Thus I took all the Measures humane Prudence could suggest for my own Preservation；and it will be seen at length，that they were not altogether without just Reason；though I foresaw nothing at that Time，more than my meer 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 were not only a present Supply to me upon every Occasion，and began to be sufficient to me，without the Expence of Powder and Shot；but also without the Fatigue of Hunting after the wild Ones，and I was loth to lose the Advantage of them，and to have them all to nurse up over again.

To this Purpose，after long Consideration，I could think of but two Ways to preserve them；one was to find another convenient Place to dig a Cave Under-ground，and to drive them into it every Night；and the other was to enclose two or three little Bits of Land，remote from one another and as much conceal'd as I could，where I might keep about half a Dozen young Goats in each Place：So that if any Disaster happen'd to the Flock in general，I might be able to raise them again with little Trouble and Time：And this，tho' it would require a great deal of Time and Labour，I thought was the most rational Design.

Accordingly I spent some Time to find out the most retir'd Parts of the Island；and I pitch'd upon one which was as private indeed as my Heart could wish for；it was a little damp Piece of Ground in the Middle of the hollow and thick Woods，where，as is observ'd，I almost lost my self once before，endeavouring to Come back that Way from the Eastern Part of the Island：Here I found a clear Piece of Land near three Acres，so surrounded with Woods，that it was almost an Enclosure by Nature，at least it did not want near so much Labour to make it so，as the other Pieces of Ground I had work'd so hard at.