Даниэль Дефо: Робинзон Крузо / Robinson Crusoe

My new friend, the captain of the Portuguese ship advised me to send for some money, that I had left in London, as you remember, for safekeeping to the widow of my deceased friend, captain of English ship. I wrote the widow a letter, asking to send me only the half of my money, about 100 pounds. My new friend advised her to send me the money in the form of English goods. When they arrived, I thought that my fortune was made. I sold the goods at a great profit [100]for about four hundred pounds. As soon as I got this money, I bought myself a Negro slave.

I went on the next year with great success in my plantation: I raised fifty great rolls of tobacco on my own ground, more than I had disposed of for necessaries among my neighbours; and these fifty rolls, being each of above a hundredweight. And now increasing in business and wealth, my head began to be full of projects and undertakings beyond my reach.

After four years, I had learnt the language and made some friends among my fellow planters. I had not only learned the language, but had contracted acquaintance [101]and friendship among my fellow-planters, as well as among the merchants at St. Salvador, which was our port. I told them of the trade in Negro Slaves on the African coast, known as Guinea and that, in my discourses among them, I had frequently given them an account of my two voyages: the manner of trading with the negroes there, and how easy it was to purchase [102]upon the coast for trifles – such as beads, [103]toys, knives, scissors, hatchets, bits of glass, and the like – not only gold-dust, Guinea grains, elephants’ teeth, but negroes, for the service of the Brazils, in great numbers. They listened always very attentively to my discourses on these heads, but especially to that part which related to the buying of negroes.

It happened, being in company with some merchants and planters, and talking of those things very earnestly, three of them came to me next morning, and told me they came to make a secret proposal to me; and, after enjoining me to secrecy, [104]they told me that they had a mind to fit out a ship to go to Guinea; that they had all plantations as well as I, and were straitened for nothing so much as servants; they desired to make one voyage, to bring the negroes on shore privately, and divide them among their own plantations; and, in a word, the question was whether I would go with them in the ship, to manage the trading part upon the coast of Guinea; and they offered me that I should have my equal share of the negroes, without spending any money. [105]So, I agreed to go. In short, I took all possible caution to preserve my effects and to keep up my plantation.

I went aboard the ship, sailed to Guinea, on the 1st September 1659, exactly eight years after my first voyage from Hull, when our board was shipwrecked. We sailed up the coast to Cape St Augustino, when we lost sight of land. Our ship was about one hundred and twenty tons burden, [106]carried six guns and fourteen men, besides the master, his boy, and myself. We had on board no large cargo of goods, except of such toys as were fit for our trade with the negroes.

In the course, we passed the line in about twelve days’ time, and were, by our last observation, in seven degrees twenty-two minutes northern latitude, when a violent tornado, or hurricane, [107]took us quite out of our knowledge. It began from the south-east, came about to the north-west, and then settled in the north-east; from whence it blew in such a terrible manner, that for twelve days together we could do nothing but drive, and, scudding away [108]before it, let it carry us whither, and, during these twelve days, I need not say that I expected every day to be swallowed up; nor, indeed, did any in the ship expect to save their lives.

We could understand, that this terrible storm blew us far away from the trading routes. We couldn’t observe neither latitude, nor longitude, we understand, if we came to land, we would probably be eaten by savages.

In this distress, the wind still blowing very hard, one of our men early in the morning cried out, “Land!” and we had no sooner run out of the cabin to look out, in hopes of seeing whereabouts in the world we were, we knew nothing where we were, or upon what land it was we were driven – whether an island or the main, [109]whether inhabited or not inhabited. Than the ship struck upon a sand, and in a moment her motion being so stopped, the sea broke over her in such a manner that we expected we should all have perished immediately; and we were immediately driven into our close quarters, to shelter us from the very foam and spray [110]of the sea. As the rage of the wind was still great, though rather less than at first, we could not so much as hope to have the ship hold many minutes without breaking into pieces.

We could not move the ship off the sand. We climbed into a boat and left the ship. We rowed through that wild water towards the land, knowing that we were rowing towards our greatest danger. What the shore was, whether rock or sand, whether steep or shoal, [111]we knew not. The only hope that could rationally give us the least shadow of expectation was, if we might find some bay or gulf, or the mouth of some river, where by great chance we might have run our boat in, or got under the lee of the land, and perhaps made smooth water.

After we had rowed, or rather driven about a league and a half, a raging wave, mountain-like, came rolling astern of us. This one separating us as well from the boat as from one another, gave us no time to say, “O God!” for we were all swallowed up in a moment.

Though I was a good swimmer, I could not get my breath in this stormy sea. The wave that came upon me again buried me at once twenty or thirty feet deep in its own body, and I could feel myself carried with a mighty force and swiftness [112]towards the shore – a very great way; but I held my breath, and assisted myself to swim still forward with all my might. I was ready to burst with holding my breath, when, as I felt myself rising up, so, to my immediate relief, I found my head and hands shoot out above the surface of the water; and though it was not two seconds of time that I could keep myself so yet it relieved me greatly, gave me breath, and new courage.

I felt the earth under my feet. I run towards the shore, but twice more the waves came over me. The last time nearly killed me. The sea threw me hard against a rock. I held on to the rock as the next wave broke over me. When the wave withdrew, [113]I ran to the beach, climbed over the rocks, and lay down on the grass.

I was now landed and safe on shore, and began to look up and thank God that my life was saved. I believe it is impossible to express, to the life, what the transports of the soul are, when it is so saved. I can’t describe the joy of myself, who has just escaped death.

I walked about on the shore lifting up my hands, and my whole being, as I may say, wrapped up in a contemplation of my deliverance; making a thousand gestures and motions, which I cannot describe; reflecting upon all my comrades that were drowned, and that there should not be one soul saved but myself; for, as for them, I never saw them afterwards, or any sign of them, except three of their hats, one cap, and two shoes that were not fellows.

I cast my eye to the ship, when, the breach and froth of the sea being so big, [114]I could hardly see it, it lay so far of; and considered, Lord! how was it possible I could get on shore