When he had done this, we came back to our castle and there I fell to work for my man Friday. First of all I gave him a pair of linen drawers, which I had out of the poor gunner's chest I found in the wreck. Then I made him a jerkin of goat's-skin, as well as my skill would allow, for I was now grown a tolerable good taylor. I gave him a cap, which I made of hare's-skin. Thus he was cloathed, for the present, tolerably well. It is true, he went awkwardly in these cloathes at first. Wearing the drawers was very awkward to him, and the sleeves of the waistcoat gall'd his shoulders and the inside of his arms, which had many thin folds of flesh much like the fins of a fish. I bethought myself wearing cloathes for him must be as it is for the beast, an unexpected and foreign experience, that is to say, one they had no call for. But after a little easing them where he complained they hurt, and using himself to them, he took to them at length very well.
The next day after I came home to my hutch with him, I began to consider where I should lodge him. That I might do well for him and yet be easy myself, I made a little tent for him in the vacant place between my two fortifications, in the inside of the last and in the outside of the first. As there was a door or entrance there into my cave, I made a formal framed door case and a door to it of boards, and set it up in the passage a little within the entrance. I bar'd it up in the night, taking in my ladders too. Friday could no way come at me in the inside of my innermost wall without making so much noise in getting over that it must needs waken me.
But I needed none of all this precaution. Never man had a more faithful, loving, sincere servant than Friday was to me. His very affections were tied to me like those of a child to a father. I dare say he would have sacrificed his life for the saving of mine. The many testimonies he gave me of this put it out of doubt and soon convinced me I needed to use no precautions as to my safety on his account.
I was delighted with Friday and made it my business to teach him every thing that was proper to make him useful, handy, and helpful, but especially to make him speak and understand me when I spoke. He was the aptest scholar that ever was and was so merry, so diligent, and so pleased when he could but understand me, or make me understand him, that it was very pleasant to me to talk to him.
After I had been two or three days returned to my castle, I thought in order to bring Friday off from his horrid way of feeding, and from the relish of a cannibal's stomach, I ought to let him taste other flesh. I took him out with me one morning to the woods. I went, indeed, intending to kill a kid out of my own flock, and bring it home and dress it, but as I was going, I saw a she-goat lying down in the shade, and two young kids sitting by her. I catched hold of Friday.
"Hold," said I. "Stand still," and made signs to him not to stir. I presented my piece, shot, and kill’d one of the kids. The poor creature, who had indeed seen me kill the savage, his enemy, but did not know how it was done, was surprised, trembled, and looked so amazed I thought he would have sunk down. He did not see the kid I shot at, or perceive I had killed it, but ripped up his waistcoat, to feel whether he was not wounded. He came and kneel’d down to me and, embracing my knees, said a great many things I did not understand. I could see the meaning was to pray me not to kill him.
I laughed at him, and pointing to the kid which I had killed, beckoned to him to run and fetch it, which he did. I brought home the kid and the same evening I took the skin off and cut it out as well as I could. Having a pot fit for that purpose, I boiled or stewed some of the flesh and made some very good broth. After I had begun to eat some, I gave some to my man, who seemed very glad of it, and liked it very well. The next day we roasted a piece of the kid. When Friday came to taste the flesh, he took so many ways to tell me how well he liked it that I could not but understand him. At last he told me, as well as he could, he would never eat man's flesh any more, which I was very glad to hear.
The next day, I set him to work to beating some corn out and sifting it in the manner I used to do, as I observ’d before. He soon understood how to do it as well as I, especially after he had seen what the meaning of it was. After that I let him see me make my bread and bake it too. In a little time Friday was able to do all the work for me as well as I could do it myself.
I began now to consider that having two mouths to feed, instead of one, I must provide more ground for my harvest, and plant a larger quantity of corn than I used to do. I marked out a larger piece of land and began the fence in the same manner as before, on which Friday work'd not only very willingly and very hard, but did it very cheerfully. I told him it was for corn to make more bread because he was now with me. He appeared very sensible of that part, and let me know he thought I had much more labour upon me on his account than I had for myself. He would work the harder for me if I would tell him what to do.