The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

it, from the E. and ENE., so that we were a long while upon our

  voyage, and we were but ill provided with victuals for so long a

  run; and what was still worse, there was some danger that those

  English and Dutch ships whose boats pursued us, whereof some were

  bound that way, might have got in before us, and if not, some other

  ship bound to China might have information of us from them, and

  pursue us with the same vigour.

  I must confess I was now very uneasy, and thought myself, including

  the late escape from the longboats, to have been in the most

  dangerous condition that ever I was in through my past life; for

  whatever ill circumstances I had been in, I was never pursued for a

  thief before; nor had I ever done anything that merited the name of

  dishonest or fraudulent, much less thievish. I had chiefly been my

  own enemy, or, as I may rightly say, I had been nobody's enemy but

  my own; but now I was woefully embarrassed: for though I was

  perfectly innocent, I was in no condition to make that innocence

  appear; and if I had been taken, it had been under a supposed guilt

  of the worst kind. This made me very anxious to make an escape,

  though which way to do it I knew not, or what port or place we

  could go to. My partner endeavoured to encourage me by describing

  the several ports of that coast, and told me he would put in on the

  coast of Cochin China, or the bay of Tonquin, intending afterwards

  to go to Macao, where a great many European families resided, and

  particularly the missionary priests, who usually went thither in

  order to their going forward to China.

  Hither then we resolved to go; and, accordingly, though after a

  tedious course, and very much straitened for provisions, we came

  within sight of the coast very early in the morning; and upon

  reflection on the past circumstances of danger we were in, we

  resolved to put into a small river, which, however, had depth

  enough of water for us, and to see if we could, either overland or

  by the ship's pinnace, come to know what ships were in any port

  thereabouts. This happy step was, indeed, our deliverance: for

  though we did not immediately see any European ships in the bay of

  Tonquin, yet the next morning there came into the bay two Dutch

  ships; and a third without any colours spread out, but which we

  believed to be a Dutchman, passed by at about two leagues'

  distance, steering for the coast of China; and in the afternoon

  went by two English ships steering the same course; and thus we

  thought we saw ourselves beset with enemies both one way and the

  other. The place we were in was wild and barbarous, the people

  thieves by occupation; and though it is true we had not much to

  seek of them, and, except getting a few provisions, cared not how

  little we had to do with them, yet it was with much difficulty that

  we kept ourselves from being insulted by them several ways. We

  were in a small river of this country, within a few leagues of its

  utmost limits northward; and by our boat we coasted north-east to

  the point of land which opens the great bay of Tonquin; and it was

  in this beating up along the shore that we discovered we were

  surrounded with enemies. The people we were among were the most

  barbarous of all the inhabitants of the coast; and among other

  customs they have this one: that if any vessel has the misfortune

  to be shipwrecked upon their coast, they make the men all prisoners

  or slaves; and it was not long before we found a spice of their

  kindness this way, on the occasion following.

  I have observed above that our ship sprung a leak at sea, and that

  we could not find it out; and it happened that, as I have said, it

  was stopped unexpectedly, on the eve of our being pursued by the

  Dutch and English ships in the bay of Siam; yet, as we did not find

  the ship so perfectly tight and sound as we desired, we resolved

  while we were at this place to lay her on shore, and clean her

  bottom, and, if possible, to find out where the leaks were.

  Accordingly, having lightened the ship, and brought all our guns

  and other movables to one side, we tried to bring her down, that we

  might come at her bottom; but, on second thoughts, we did not care

  to lay her on dry ground, neither could we find out a proper place

  for it.

  CHAPTER XII--THE CARPENTER'S WHIMSICAL CONTRIVANCE

  The inhabitants came wondering down the shore to look at us; and

  seeing the ship lie down on one side in such a manner, and heeling

  in towards the shore, and not seeing our men, who were at work on

  her bottom with stages, and with their boats on the off-side, they

  presently concluded that the ship was cast away, and lay fast on

  the ground. On this supposition they came about us in two or three

  hours' time with ten or twelve large boats, having some of them

  eight, some ten men in a boat, intending, no doubt, to have come on

  board and plundered the ship, and if they found us there, to have

  carried us away for slaves.

  When they came up to the ship, and began to row round her, they

  discovered us all hard at work on the outside of the ship's bottom

  and side, washing, and graving, and stopping, as every seafaring

  man knows how. They stood for a while gazing at us, and we, who

  were a little surprised, could not imagine what their design was;

  but being willing to be sure, we took this opportunity to get some

  of us into the ship, and others to hand down arms and ammunition to

  those that were at work, to defend themselves with if there should

  be occasion. And it was no more than need: for in less than a

  quarter of an hour's consultation, they agreed, it seems, that the

  ship was really a wreck, and that we were all at work endeavouring

  to save her, or to save our lives by the help of our boats; and

  when we handed our arms into the boat, they concluded, by that act,

  that we were endeavouring to save some of our goods. Upon this,

  they took it for granted we all belonged to them, and away they

  came directly upon our men, as if it had been in a line-of-battle.

  Our men, seeing so many of them, began to be frightened, for we lay

  but in an ill posture to fight, and cried out to us to know what

  they should do. I immediately called to the men that worked upon

  the stages to slip them down, and get up the side into the ship,

  and bade those in the boat to row round and come on board. The few

  who were on board worked with all the strength and hands we had to

  bring the ship to rights; however, neither the men upon the stages

  nor those in the boats could do as they were ordered before the

  Cochin Chinese were upon them, when two of their boats boarded our

  longboat, and began to lay hold of the men as their prisoners.

  The first man they laid hold of was an English seaman, a stout,

  strong fellow, who having a musket in his hand, never offered to

  fire it, but laid it down in the boat, like a fool, as I thought;

  but he understood his business better than I could teach him, for

  he grappled the Pagan, and dragged him by main force out of their


  boat into ours, where, taking him by the ears, he beat his head so

  against the boat's gunnel that the fellow died in his hands. In

  the meantime, a Dutchman, who stood next, took up the musket, and

  with the butt-end of it so laid about him, that he knocked down

  five of them who attempted to enter the boat. But this was doing

  little towards resisting thirty or forty men, who, fearless because

  ignorant of their danger, began to throw themselves into the

  longboat, where we had but five men in all to defend it; but the

  following accident, which deserved our laughter, gave our men a

  complete victory.

  Our carpenter being prepared to grave the outside of the ship, as

  well as to pay the seams where he had caulked her to stop the

  leaks, had got two kettles just let down into the boat, one filled

  with boiling pitch, and the other with rosin, tallow, and oil, and

  such stuff as the shipwrights use for that work; and the man that

  attended the carpenter had a great iron ladle in his hand, with

  which he supplied the men that were at work with the hot stuff.

  Two of the enemy's men entered the boat just where this fellow

  stood in the foresheets; he immediately saluted them with a ladle

  full of the stuff, boiling hot which so burned and scalded them,

  being half-naked that they roared out like bulls, and, enraged with

  the fire, leaped both into the sea. The carpenter saw it, and

  cried out, "Well done, Jack! give them some more of it!" and

  stepping forward himself, takes one of the mops, and dipping it in

  the pitch-pot, he and his man threw it among them so plentifully

  that, in short, of all the men in the three boats, there was not

  one that escaped being scalded in a most frightful manner, and made

  such a howling and crying that I never heard a worse noise.

  I was never better pleased with a victory in my life; not only as

  it was a perfect surprise to me, and that our danger was imminent

  before, but as we got this victory without any bloodshed, except of

  that man the seaman killed with his naked hands, and which I was

  very much concerned at. Although it maybe a just thing, because

  necessary (for there is no necessary wickedness in nature), yet I

  thought it was a sad sort of life, when we must be always obliged

  to be killing our fellow-creatures to preserve ourselves; and,

  indeed, I think so still; and I would even now suffer a great deal

  rather than I would take away the life even of the worst person

  injuring me; and I believe all considering people, who know the

  value of life, would be of my opinion, if they entered seriously

  into the consideration of it.

  All the while this was doing, my partner and I, who managed the

  rest of the men on board, had with great dexterity brought the ship

  almost to rights, and having got the guns into their places again,

  the gunner called to me to bid our boat get out of the way, for he

  would let fly among them. I called back again to him, and bid him

  not offer to fire, for the carpenter would do the work without him;

  but bid him heat another pitch-kettle, which our cook, who was on

  broad, took care of. However, the enemy was so terrified with what

  they had met with in their first attack, that they would not come

  on again; and some of them who were farthest off, seeing the ship

  swim, as it were, upright, began, as we suppose, to see their

  mistake, and gave over the enterprise, finding it was not as they

  expected. Thus we got clear of this merry fight; and having got

  some rice and some roots and bread, with about sixteen hogs, on

  board two days before, we resolved to stay here no longer, but go

  forward, whatever came of it; for we made no doubt but we should be

  surrounded the next day with rogues enough, perhaps more than our

  pitch-kettle would dispose of for us. We therefore got all our

  things on board the same evening, and the next morning were ready

  to sail: in the meantime, lying at anchor at some distance from

  the shore, we were not so much concerned, being now in a fighting

  posture, as well as in a sailing posture, if any enemy had

  presented. The next day, having finished our work within board,

  and finding our ship was perfectly healed of all her leaks, we set

  sail. We would have gone into the bay of Tonquin, for we wanted to

  inform ourselves of what was to be known concerning the Dutch ships

  that had been there; but we durst not stand in there, because we

  had seen several ships go in, as we supposed, but a little before;

  so we kept on NE. towards the island of Formosa, as much afraid of

  being seen by a Dutch or English merchant ship as a Dutch or

  English merchant ship in the Mediterranean is of an Algerine man-

  of-war.

  When we were thus got to sea, we kept on NE., as if we would go to

  the Manillas or the Philippine Islands; and this we did that we

  might not fall into the way of any of the European ships; and then

  we steered north, till we came to the latitude of 22 degrees 30

  seconds, by which means we made the island of Formosa directly,

  where we came to an anchor, in order to get water and fresh

  provisions, which the people there, who are very courteous in their

  manners, supplied us with willingly, and dealt very fairly and

  punctually with us in all their agreements and bargains. This is

  what we did not find among other people, and may be owing to the

  remains of Christianity which was once planted here by a Dutch

  missionary of Protestants, and it is a testimony of what I have

  often observed, viz. that the Christian religion always civilises

  the people, and reforms their manners, where it is received,

  whether it works saving effects upon them or no.

  From thence we sailed still north, keeping the coast of China at an

  equal distance, till we knew we were beyond all the ports of China

  where our European ships usually come; being resolved, if possible,

  not to fall into any of their hands, especially in this country,

  where, as our circumstances were, we could not fail of being

  entirely ruined. Being now come to the latitude of 30 degrees, we

  resolved to put into the first trading port we should come at; and

  standing in for the shore, a boat came of two leagues to us with an

  old Portuguese pilot on board, who, knowing us to be an European

  ship, came to offer his service, which, indeed, we were glad of and

  took him on board; upon which, without asking us whither we would

  go, he dismissed the boat he came in, and sent it back. I thought

  it was now so much in our choice to make the old man carry us

  whither we would, that I began to talk to him about carrying us to

  the Gulf of Nankin, which is the most northern part of the coast of

  China. The old man said he knew the Gulf of Nankin very well; but

  smiling, asked us what we would do there? I told him we would sell

  our cargo and purchase China wares, calicoes, raw silks, tea,

  wrought silks, &c.; and so we would return by the same course we

  came. He told us our best port would have been to put in at Macao,

  where we could not ha
ve failed of a market for our opium to our

  satisfaction, and might for our money have purchased all sorts of

  China goods as cheap as we could at Nankin.

  Not being able to put the old man out of his talk, of which he was

  very opinionated or conceited, I told him we were gentlemen as well

  as merchants, and that we had a mind to go and see the great city

  of Pekin, and the famous court of the monarch of China. "Why,

  then," says the old man, "you should go to Ningpo, where, by the

  river which runs into the sea there, you may go up within five

  leagues of the great canal. This canal is a navigable stream,

  which goes through the heart of that vast empire of China, crosses

  all the rivers, passes some considerable hills by the help of

  sluices and gates, and goes up to the city of Pekin, being in

  length near two hundred and seventy leagues."--"Well," said I,

  "Seignior Portuguese, but that is not our business now; the great

  question is, if you can carry us up to the city of Nankin, from

  whence we can travel to Pekin afterwards?" He said he could do so

  very well, and that there was a great Dutch ship gone up that way

  just before. This gave me a little shock, for a Dutch ship was now

  our terror, and we had much rather have met the devil, at least if

  he had not come in too frightful a figure; and we depended upon it

  that a Dutch ship would be our destruction, for we were in no

  condition to fight them; all the ships they trade with into those

  parts being of great burden, and of much greater force than we

  were.

  The old man found me a little confused, and under some concern when

  he named a Dutch ship, and said to me, "Sir, you need be under no

  apprehensions of the Dutch; I suppose they are not now at war with

  your nation?"--"No," said I, "that's true; but I know not what

  liberties men may take when they are out of the reach of the laws

  of their own country."--"Why," says he, "you are no pirates; what

  need you fear? They will not meddle with peaceable merchants,

  sure." These words put me into the greatest disorder and confusion

  imaginable; nor was it possible for me to conceal it so, but the

  old man easily perceived it.

  "Sir," says he, "I find you are in some disorder in your thoughts

  at my talk: pray be pleased to go which way you think fit, and

  depend upon it, I'll do you all the service I can." Upon this we

  fell into further discourse, in which, to my alarm and amazement,

  he spoke of the villainous doings of a certain pirate ship that had

  long been the talk of mariners in those seas; no other, in a word,

  than the very ship he was now on board of, and which we had so

  unluckily purchased. I presently saw there was no help for it but

  to tell him the plain truth, and explain all the danger and trouble

  we had suffered through this misadventure, and, in particular, our

  earnest wish to be speedily quit of the ship altogether; for which

  reason we had resolved to carry her up to Nankin.

  The old man was amazed at this relation, and told us we were in the

  right to go away to the north; and that, if he might advise us, it

  should be to sell the ship in China, which we might well do, and

  buy, or build another in the country; adding that I should meet

  with customers enough for the ship at Nankin, that a Chinese junk

  would serve me very well to go back again, and that he would

  procure me people both to buy one and sell the other. "Well, but,

  seignior," said I, "as you say they know the ship so well, I may,

  perhaps, if I follow your measures, be instrumental to bring some

  honest, innocent men into a terrible broil; for wherever they find

  the ship they will prove the guilt upon the men, by proving this

  was the ship."--"Why," says the old man, "I'll find out a way to

  prevent that; for as I know all those commanders you speak of very

  well, and shall see them all as they pass by, I will be sure to set

  them to rights in the thing, and let them know that they had been

  so much in the wrong; that though the people who were on board at