The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe

No, I dreamed as I was going out in the morning, as usual, from my castle I saw upon the shore two canoes and eleven savages coming to land. In my vision they were the same creatures I had seen through my perspective-glass, with glossy gray skin most unlike the flesh of Negroes, yet also had they wide eyes that recall'd to me the eyes of the lowest of creatures, viz. frogs and fish.

 

They brought with them another savage, whom they were going to kill in order to eat him. The savage they were going to kill jumped away and ran for his life. I thought, in my sleep, he came running into my little thick grove before my fortification to hide himself. I, seeing him alone and not perceiving the others sought him that way, showed myself to him, and smiling upon him, encouraged him. He kneeled down to me, seeming to pray me to assist him. Upon which I showed him my ladder and carried him into my cave and he became my servant. As soon as I had got this man, I said to myself, "Now I may venture to the main land. This fellow will serve me as a pilot, and will tell me what to do, and whither to go for provisions, and whither not to go for fear of being devoured."

 

I waked with this thought, and was under such inexpressible impressions of joy at the prospect of my escape in my dream that the disappointments which I felt upon coming to myself, and finding it was no more than a dream, were equally extravagant the other way and threw me into a very great dejection of spirits.

 

Upon this, however, I made this conclusion. My only way to go about an escape was to get a savage into my possession. If possible, it should be one of their prisoners whom they had condemned to be eaten and should bring hither to kill.

 

But these thoughts still were attended with this difficulty. It was impossible to effect this without attacking a whole caravan of them and killing them all. This was not only a very desperate attempt, and might miscarry, but I had scrupled the lawfulness of it to myself. My heart trembled at the thoughts of shedding so much blood, tho’ it was for my deliverance from this island. I need not repeat the arguments which occurred to me against this, they being the same mentioned before. I had other reasons to offer now, viz. that those men were enemies to my life and would devour me if they could. It was self-preservation, in the highest degree, to deliver myself from this death of a life, and I was acting in my own defence as much as if they were assaulting me. These things argued for it, yet the thoughts of shedding human blood for my deliverance were very terrible to me, and such as I could by no means reconcile myself to for a great while.

 

However, at last, after many secret disputes with myself, and after great perplexities about it (for all these arguments, one way and another, struggled in my head a long time), the eager prevailing desire of escape at length mastered all the rest. I resolv’d, if possible, to get one of those savages into my hands, cost what it would. My next thing was to contrive how to do it, and this indeed was very difficult to resolve on. As I could pitch upon no probable means for it, so I resolv’d to put myself upon the watch, to see them when they came on shore, and leave the rest to the event, taking such measures as the opportunity should present.

 

With these resolutions in my thoughts, I set myself upon the scout as often as possible, and indeed so often I was heartily tired of it. It was above a year and a half I waited. For great part of that time I went out to the west end, and to the awful church of the south-west corner of the island, almost every day to look for canoes, but none appeared. This was very discouraging and began to trouble me much. Tho’ I cannot say that it did in this case (as it had done some time before) wear off the edge of my desire to the thing. The longer it seemed to be delayed, the more eager I was for it. In a word, I was not at first so careful to shun the sight of these savages and avoid being seen by them as I was now eager to be upon them.

 

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