During this confinement in my cover by the rain, I worked daily two or three hours at enlarging my cave, and by degrees worked it on towards one side, till I came to the outside of the hill; and made a door, or way out, which came beyond my fence or wall: and so I came in and out this way. But I was not perfectly easy at lying so open: for as I had managed myself before, I was in a perfect enclosure; whereas now, I thought I lay exposed; and yet I could not perceive that there was any living thing to fear, the biggest creature that I had yet seen upon the island being a goat.
September 30. I was now come to the unhappy anniversary of my landing. I cast up the notches on my post, and found I had been on shore three hundred and sixty-five days. I kept this day as a solemn fast; setting it apart for religious exercise, prostrating myself on the ground with the most serious humiliation, confessing my sins to God, acknowledging his righteous judgments upon me, and praying to him to have mercy on me through Jesus Christ; and having not tasted the least refreshment for twelve hours, even till the going down of the sun, I then ate a biscuit and a bunch of grapes, and went to bed, finishing the day as I began it. I had all this time observed no sabbath-day; for as at first I had no sense of religion upon my mind, I had, after some time, omitted to distinguish the weeks, by making a longer notch than ordinary for the sabbath-day, and so did not really know what any of the days were: but now having cast up the days, as above, I found I had been there a year; so I divided it into weeks, and set apart every seventh day for a sabbath: though I found, at the end of my account, I had lost a day or two in my reckoning. A little after this, my ink beginning to fail me, I contented myself to use it more sparingly; and to write down only the most remarkable events of my life, without continuing a daily memorandum of other things.
The rainy season and the dry season began now to appear regular to me, and I learned to divide them so as to provide for them accordingly; but I bought all my experience before I had it; and what I am going to relate was one of the most discouraging experiments that I had made at all.
I have mentioned that I had saved the few ears of barley, and rice, which I had so surprisingly found sprung up, as I thought, of themselves. I believe there were about thirty stalks of rice, and about twenty of barley; and now I thought it a proper time to sow it after the rains; the sun being in its southern position, going from me. Accordingly I dug a piece of ground, as well as I could, with my wooden spade; and dividing it into two parts, I sowed my grain; but, as I was sowing, it casually occurred to my thoughts that I would not sow it all at first, because I did not know when was the proper time for it; so I sowed about two-thirds of the seed, leaving about a handful of each: and it was a great comfort to me afterwards that I did so, for not one grain of what I sowed this time came to any thing; for the dry month following, and the earth having thus had no rain after the seed was sown, it had no moisture to assist its growth, and never came up at all till the wet season had come again, and then it grew as if it had been but newly sown. Finding my first seed did not grow, which I easily imagined was from the drought, I sought for a moister piece of ground to make another trial in; and I dug up a piece of ground near my new bower, and sowed the rest of my seed in February, a little before the vernal equinox. This having the rainy month of March and April to water it, sprung up very pleasantly, and yielded a very good crop; but having only part of the seed left, and not daring to sow all that I had, I got but a small quantity at last, my whole crop not amounting to above half a peck of each kind. But by this experiment I was made master of my business, and knew exactly when was the proper time to sow; and that I might expect two seed-times, and two harvests, every year.
While this corn was growing, I made a little discovery, which was of use to me afterwards. As soon as the rains were over, and the weather began to settle, which was about the month of November, I made a visit up the country to my bower; where, though I had not been some months, yet I found all things just as I left them. The circle or double hedge that I had made was not only firm and entire, but the stakes which I had cut out of some trees that grew thereabouts, were all shot out, and grown with long branches, as much as a willow-tree usually shoots the first year after lopping its head; but I could not tell what tree to call it that these stakes were cut from. I was surprised, and yet very well pleased, to see the young trees grow; and I pruned them, and led them to grow as much alike as I could: and it is scarce credible how beautiful a figure they grew into in three years: so that, though the hedge made a circle of about twenty-five yards in diameter, yet the trees, for such I might now call them, soon covered it, and it was a complete shade, sufficient to lodge under all the dry season. This made me resolve to cut some more stakes, and make me a hedge like this, in a semi-circle round my wall (I mean that of my first dwelling,) which I did; and placing the trees or stakes in a double row, at about eight yards distance from my first fence, they grew presently; and were at first a fine cover to my habitation, and afterwards served for a defence also; as I shall observe in its order.
I found now that the seasons of the year might generally be divided, not into summer and winter, as in Europe, but into the rainy seasons and the dry seasons, which were generally thus: From the middle of February to the middle of April, rainy; the sun being then on or near the equinox. From the middle of April till the middle of August, dry; the sun being then north of the line. From the middle of August till the middle of October, rainy; the sun being then come back to the line. From the middle of October till the middle of February, dry; the sun being then to the south of the line.
The rainy seasons held sometimes longer and sometimes shorter, as the winds happened to blow; but this was the general observation I made. After I had found, by experience, the ill consequences of being abroad in the rain, I took care to furnish myself with provisions beforehand, that I might not be obliged to go out: and I sat within doors as much as possible during the wet months. In this time I found much employment, and very suitable also to the time; for I found great occasion for many things which I had no way to furnish myself with, but by hard labour and constant application: particularly, I tried many ways to make myself a basket: but all the twigs I could get for the purpose proved so brittle, that they would do nothing. It proved of excellent advantage to me now, that when I was a boy, I used to take great delight in standing at a basketmaker's in the town where my father lived, to see them make their wicker-ware; and being, as boys usually are, very officious to help, and a great observer of the manner how they worked those things, and sometimes lending a hand, I had by these means full knowledge of the methods of it, so that I wanted nothing but the materials; when it came into my mind, that the twigs of that tree from whence I cut my stakes that grew might possibly be as tough as the sallows, willows, and osiers, in England; and I resolved to try. Accordingly, the next day, I went to my country house, as I called it; and cutting some of the smaller twigs, I found them to my purpose as much as I could desire: whereupon I came the next time prepared with a hatchet to cut down a quantity, which I soon found, for there was great plenty of them. These I set up to dry within my circle or hedge; and when they were fit for use, I carried them to my cave: and here, during the next season, I employed myself in making, as well as I could, several baskets; both to carry earth, or to carry or lay up any thing as I had occasion for. Though I did not finish them very handsomely, yet I made them sufficiently serviceable for my purpose: and thus, afterwards, I took care never to be without them; and as my wicker-ware decayed, I made more; especially strong deep baskets, to place my corn in, instead of sacks, when I should come to have any quantity of it.
Having mastered this difficulty, and employed a world of time about it, I bestirred myself to see, if possible, how to supply two other wants. I had no vessel to hold any thing that was liquid, except two runlets, which were almost full of rum; and some glass bottles, some of the common size, and others (which were case-bottles) square, for the holding of waters, spirits, &c. I had not so much as a pot to boil anything; except a great kettle, which I saved out of the ship, and which was too big for such use as I desired it, viz. to make broth, and stew a bit of meat by itself. The second thing I would fain have had, was a tobacco-pipe; but it was impossible for me to make one; however, I found a contrivance for that too at last. I employed myself in planting my second row of stakes or piles, and also in this wicker-working, all the summer or dry season; when another business took me up more time than it could be imagined I could spare.
I mentioned before, that I had a great mind to see the whole island; and that I had travelled up the brook, and so on to where I had built my bower, and where I had an opening quite to the sea, on the other side of the island. I now resolved to travel quite across to the sea-shore, on that side: so taking my gun, a hatchet, and my dog, and a larger quantity of powder and shot than usual; with two biscuit-cakes, and a great bunch of raisins in my pouch, for my store; I began my journey. When I had passed the vale where my bower stood, as above, I came within view of the sea, to the west; and it being a very clear day, I fairly descried land, whether an island or continent I could not tell; but it lay very high, extending from W. to W.S.W. at a very great distance; by my guess, it could not be less than fifteen or twenty leagues off.
I could not tell what part of the world this might be; otherwise than that I knew it must be part of America; and, as I concluded, by all my observations, must be near the Spanish dominions; and perhaps was all inhabited by savages, where, if I should have landed, I had been in a worse condition than I was now. I therefore acquiesced in the dispositions of Providence, which I began now to own and to believe ordered every thing for the best; I say, I quieted my mind with this, and left off afflicting myself with fruitless wishes of being there.