第73章

He was a comely handsome Fellow，perfectly well made；with straight strong Limbs，not too large；tall and well shap'd，and as I reckon，about twenty six Years of Age. He had a very good Countenance，not a fierce and surly Aspect；but seem'd to have something very manly in his Face，and yet he had all the Sweetness and Softness of an European in his Countenance too，especially when he smil'd. His Hair was long and black，not curl'd like Wool；his Forehead very high，and large，and a great Vivacity and sparkling Sharpness in his Eyes. The Colour of his Skin was not quite black，but very tawny；and yet not of an ugly yellow nauseous tawny，as the Brasilians，and Virginians，and other Natives of America are；but of a bright kind of a dun olive Colour，that had in it something very agreeable；tho' not very easy to describe. His Face was round，and plump；his Nose small，not flat like the Negroes，a very good Mouth，thin Lips，and his line Teeth well set，and white as Ivory. After he had slumber'd，rather than slept，about half an Hour，he wak'd again，and comes out of the Cave to me；for I had been milking my Goats，which I had in the Enclosure just by：When he espy'd me，he came running to me，laying himself down again upon the Ground，with all the possible Signs of an humble thankful Disposition，making a many antick Gestures show it：At last he lays his Head flat upon the Ground，close to my Foot，and sets my other Foot upon his Head，as he had done before；and after this，made all the Signs to me of Subjection，Servitude，and Submission imaginable，to let me know，how he would serve me as long as he liv'd；I understood him in many Things，and let him know，I was very well pleas'd with him；in a little Time I began to speak to him，and teach him to speak to me；and first，I made him know his Name should be Friday，which was the Day I sav'd his Life；I call'd him so for the Memory of the Time；I likewise taught him to say Master，and then let him know，that was to be my Name；I likewise taught him to say，YES，and No，and to know the Meaning of them；I gave him some Milk，in an earthen Pot，and let him see me Drink it before him，and sop my Bread in it；and I gave him a Cake of Bread，to do the like，which he quickly comply'd with，and made Signs that it was very good for him.

I kept there with him all that Night；but as soon as it was Day，I beckon'd to him to come with me，and let him know，I would give him some Cloaths，at which he seem'd very glad，for he was stark naked：As we went by the Place where he had bury'd the two Men，he pointed exactly to the Place，and shew'd me the Marks that he had made to find them again，making Signs to me，that we should dig them up again，and eat them；at this I appear'd very angry，express'd my Abhorrence of it，made as if I would vomit at the Thoughts of it，and beckon'd with my Hand to him to come away，which he did immediately，with great Sub mission. I then led him up to the Top of the Hill，to see if his Enemies were gone；and pulling out my Glass，I look'd，and saw plainly the Place where they had been，but no appearance of them，or of their Canoes；so that it was plain they were gone，and had left their two Comrades behind them，without any search after them.

But I was not content with this Discovery；but having now more Courage，and consequently more Curiosity，I takes my Man Friday with me，giving him the Sword in his Hand，with the Bow and Arrows at his Back，which I found he could use very dextrously，making him carry one Gun for me，and I two for my self，and away we march'd to the Place，where these Creatures had been；for I had a Mind now to get some fuller Intelligence of them：When I came to the Place，my very Blood ran chill in my Veins，and my Heart sunk within me，at the Horror of the Spectacle：indeed it was a dreadful Sight，at least it was so to me；though Friday made nothing of it：The Place was cover'd with humane Bones，the Ground dy'd with their Blood，great Pieces of Flesh left here and there，half eaten，mangl'd and scorch'd；and in short，all the Tokens of the triumphant Feast they had been making there，after a Victory over their Enemies；I saw three Skulls，five Hands，and the Bones of three or four Legs and Feet，and abundance of other Parts of the Bodies；and Friday，by his Signs，made me under stand，that they brought over four Prisoners to feast upon；that three of them were eaten up，and that he，pointing to himself，was the fourth：That there had been a great Battle between them，and their next King，whose Subjects it seems he had been one of；and that they had taken a great Number of Prisoners，all which were carry'd to several Places by those that had taken them in the Fight，in order to feast upon them，as was done here by these Wretches upon those they brought hither.

I caus'd Friday to gather all the Skulls，Bones，Flesh，and whatever remain'd，and lay them together on a Heap，and make a great Fire upon it，and burn them all to Ashes：I found Friday had still a hankering Stomach after some of the Flesh，and was still a Cannibal in his Nature；but I discover'd so much Abhorrence at the very Thoughts of it，and at the least Appearance of it，that he durst not discover it；for I had by some Means let him know，that I would kill him if he offer'd it.