*CHAPTER VI.*
_*The Stockade; A Crusoe's Life*_*.*
By the time I had finished setting the poles into the ground, thusforming the enclosure of the house, my appetite began to assert itself;and I was again reminded that I must search for food other thancocoanuts and oranges. More substantial nourishment I must have if I wasto continue to work and retain my health and strength. But my extremeanxiety to carry along the construction of my house sufficiently far toafford a feeling of security at night, decided me to make a few moremeals of the oranges and nuts before suspending work long enough todiscover or develop resources.
Again I went to the pool and cut two more bamboos, each twenty feetlong. I then cut them in halves, making four poles each ten feet long.Carrying these to the house, I lashed one across the upright palingsmidway between the upper pole and the ground, lashing them firmly toeach of the palings. This strengthened the structure, and shaking itwith all my strength I was gratified to find that, though naturallyelastic, it was firm and strong.
As I now had a safe protection from any wild animal of moderate size andstrength, I felt that I should be secure at night. I was on an islandsomewhere to the northeast of the Caribbean sea, in fact, I reasonedthat I could be nowhere else; and from this, together with what I hadread, I concluded that there could be no very large or ferocious wildanimals in the forests about me.
I still had some time to work before sunset, and I therefore went to thebank of the stream to cut a quantity of wild canes which I proposed toweave in the form of basket work, between the palings, thus forming thewalls of my house.
Cutting the canes was easy work, and by sunset I had a great pile ofthem landed by the house.
Again satisfying the cravings of hunger with oranges and cocoanuts,washed down with water from the brook, I cut another notch in thecocoanut-shell calendar, and after sitting and listening to the variedinsect sounds until it was quite dark, I retired, to my couch within theinclosure.
Lying upon my couch, until I fell asleep, I revolved in my mind variousplans for the future. The details for the construction of my house werepretty well worked out in my mind; and the desirability of surroundingmy abode with some sort of a stockade occurred to me. I had little fearof attacks from wild animals, but I presumed that the island wasinhabited in some part of it, by what sort of people I had not yetconsidered.
Indeed, it was extremely improbable that an island in this quarter ofthe world could be totally uninhabited. Whether the islanders provedfriendly or otherwise, the idea of a stockade as a protection againstpossible surprise met with my immediate approval.
Another question of extreme importance to be considered was that of apermanent food supply. Perhaps only cocoanuts and oranges abounded inmy near vicinity; at any rate, I resolved to carefully survey theadjacent region for the purpose of ascertaining its resources.
Then the question of providing clothing for myself must be considered,for, at best, my present raiment would not long survive the rough usagewhich it was now receiving, and to which it would hereafter be subjectedin the bush. I even thought it might be well to construct a suit fromthe cocoanut-fibre cloth, and thus save my civilized clothes for the dayof my rescue.
Many other things passed through my mind in rapid succession as I layupon my couch, among them the project of starting out upon a tour ofdiscovery in an endeavor to ascertain the extent of my domain, and if itwas inhabited in any part of it.