第81章

When she was in the Water，and tho' she was so big it amazed me to see with what Dexterity and how swift my Man Friday would manage her，turn her，and paddle her along；so I ask'd him if he would，and if we might venture over in her；Yes，he said，he venture over in her very well，tho' great blow Wind. However，I had a farther Design that he knew nothing of，and that was to make a Mast and Sail and to fit her with an Anchor and Cable：As to a Mast，that was easy enough to get；so I pitch'd upon a strait young Cedar-Tree，which I found near the Place，and which there was great Plenty of in the Island，and I set Friday to Work to cut it down，and gave him Directions how to shape and order it. But as to the Sail，that was my particular Care；I knew I had old Sails，or rather Pieces of old Sails enough；but as I had had them now six and twenty Years by me，and had not been very careful to preserve them，not imagining that I should ever have this kind of Use for them，I did not doubt but they were all rotten，and indeed most of them were so；however，I found two Pieces which appear'd pretty good，and with these I went to Work，and with a great deal of Pains，and awkward tedious stitching （you may be sure） for Want of Needles，I at length made a three Corner'd ugly Thing，like what we call in England，a Shoulder of Mutton Sail，to go with a Boom at bottom，and a little short Sprit at the Top，such as usually our Ships Long Boats sail with，and such as I best knew how to manage；because it was such a one as I had to the Boat，in which I made my Escape from Barbary，as related in the first Part of my Story.

I was near two Months performing this last Work，viz. rigging and fitting my Mast and Sails；for I finish'd them very compleat，making a small Stay，and a Sail，or Foresail to it，to assist，if we should turn to Windward；and which was more than all，I fix'd a Rudder to the Stern of her，to steer with；and though I was but a bungling Shipwright，yet as I knew the Usefulness，and even Necessity of such a Thing，I apply'd my self with so much Pains to do it，that at last I brought it to pass；though considering the many dull Contrivances I had for it that sail'd，I think it cost me almost as much Labour as making the Boat.

After all this was done too，I had my Man Friday to teach as to what belong'd to the Navigation of my Boat；for though he knew very well how to paddle a Canoe，he knew nothing what belong'd to a Sail，and a Rudder；and was the most amaz'd，when he saw me work the Boat too and again in the Sea by the Rudder，and how the Sail gyb'd，and fill'd this way，or that way，as the Course we sail'd chang'd；I say，when he saw this，he stood like one，astonish'd and amaz'd：However，with a little Use，I made all these Things familiar to him；and he became an expert Sailor，except that as to the Compass，I could make him understand very little of that. On the other hand，as there was very little cloudy Weather，and seldom or never any Fogs in those Parts，there was the less occasion for a Compass，seeing the Stars were always to be seen by Night，and the Shore by Day，except in the rainy Seasons，and then no body car'd to stir abroad，either by Land or Sea.

I was now entred on the seven and twentieth Year of my Captivity in this Place；though the three last Years that I had this Creature with me，ought rather to be left out of the Account，my Habitation being quite of another kind than in all the rest of the Time. I kept the Anniversary of my Landing here with the same Thankfulness to God for his Mercies，as at first；and if I had such Cause of Acknowledgment at first，I had much more so now，having such additional Testimonies of the Care of Providence over me，and the great Hopes I had of being effectually，and speedily deliver'd；for I had an invincible Impression upon my Thoughts，that my Deliverance was at hand，and that I should not be another Year in this Place：However，I went on with my Husbandry，digging，planting，fencing，as usual；I gather'd and cur'd my Grapes，and did every necessary Thing as before.

The rainy Season was in the mean Time upon me，when I kept more within Doors than at other Times；so I had stow'd our new Vessel as secure as we could，bringing her up into the Creek，where as I said，in the Beginning I landed my Rafts from the Ship，and haling her up to the Shore，at high Water mark，I made my Man Friday dig a little Dock，just big enough to hold her，and just deep enough to give her Water enough to fleet in；and then when the Tide was out，we made a strong Dam cross the End of it，to keep the Water out；and so she lay dry，as to the Tide from the Sea；and to keep the Rain off，we laid a great many Boughs of Trees，so thick，that she was as well thatch'd as a House；and thus we waited for the Month of November and December，in which I design'd to make my Adventure.