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4 Royal Commentaries. BooK I.
paífed the _firíl: .night, lamen.ting his affiiél:ion with as many melancholy reflexi–
ons, as we 1J1ay imagine, capable to encer inw the mind of a wretch in like ex–
tremities; fo foon as it gre~ day, he began to traver[e his Illand, and found n.
tl1e fhore fot'ne Cockles, Shrimps, and other ~reatures of like nature, which the
Sea had throwh up, and which he was forced ro eac. raw, becaufe be wanred fire
"vherewith to roaíl: them: And with chis[mal! entercainment he paífed bis time, cill
>f, A Cor of obférving fome* Turtles not far from the íhore, he watch'd a convenience uncill
Fifh. they came within bis reach, and rhe11 rhrowing themon their backs, ( wbich is
the rnanner of taking that fort of füh ) he cur the chroac, drinking che bloud m–
íl:ead of water ; and ílicing out the fleíh with a knife wbich was faflned to his
girdle, he laid che pieces to be dried, and roaíl:ed by che Sun ; the fhell he made
ufe of to rake up rain-water, which lay in little puddles, for thac is a Countrey of..
ten fubjeét to great and fudden rains. In this manner he paffed the firíl: of his
days by killing ali the Turtles thac he was able, fome of which were fo large, tbat
their fhells were as big as Targets or Bucklers; ochers were fo great, that he was
not able to turn them, nor to íl:op them in their way to che Sea, fo that in a
fhort time experience taught him,.which fort he was able to <leal with, and which
were too unwieldy for bis force : with his leífer fhells he poured water into the
greater, fome of which conrained 11. Gallons ; fo thac having made íufficienr pro–
vifions both of meat and drink, he began ·to comrive fome way to fhike fire,
that fo he inight not onely drefs his mear with it, but alfo make a finoak to give
a fign to any Ship, which was paliing in thofeSeas; confidering of this invemion,
( for Seamen are much more ingenious in all times of excremity, than men bred ac
Land) he fearched every-where ro find out a couple of hatd pebles iníl:ead of
flints, his knife ferving in the place of a íl:eel ; but tbe Ifland heing all covered
with a Dead Sand, and no íl:one appearing, he fwam into che Sea, and diving
often to che bottom , he at length found a couple of íl:ones fic for his purpofe-,
which he rubbed cogether, untill he goc them to an edge, with which being able
to ftríke fire, he drew fome threads out of bis fhirc, wbich he worked fo [mal~
that it was like cotton and [erved for t.inder) fo rhar having contrived a means
to lündle firc, he chen gatbered a great quantity of Sea-weeds, cbrown up by che
waves, which wich the íhells of Fifh, and planks ofShips, which had been wrec~
ked on_ chofe íholes, afforded nourifhmenc for bis fue! : and leíl: fudden íhowres
íhould extinguifh his fire, he made a little covering, like a final! Hut, wich che
íheils of the largeíl: Turcles or T-ortoifes that he had killed, taking greac care chac
his fire fhould not go out In che [pace of two monrhs, and fooner, he was as
unptovide~ of all chings, as he was ar firfr, for wich che greac rains, heat and moi–
fiure of that climate, bis provi!ions were corrupted ; and che greac heac of che
Sun was fo violent on him, having neither cloths co cover hirn, nor íhadow for a
íhelter, that when he was, as it were, broiled in che Sun, he had no remedy bue
to run into che Sea. In chis mifery and care he paífed three years, during which
time he faw feveral Ships at Sea, and as ofcen made his finoak; but none curned
out of their way to fee what it meant, for fear of chofe Shelves and Sands, which
wary Pilots avoid with all imaginable circumfpeétion; fo chac rh r wretch
de[pairing of ali manner of relief, eíl:eemed ic a merey for him co and ar–
rive at that period which could onely put :m end to his rniferies ; eing e5.:–
pofed in this manner to all weachers, che hair of his body grew in dm 111:mner
that he was covered ali over wich briíl:les, che hair of bishead and beard reaching
to bis waíle, chat he appeared like fome wild and favage creature. At the end of
chree years Ser'f'fmo was íl:rangely furprized with che appearance of a Man in his
Ifland, whofe Ship had, che nighc before, been caíl: away upon chofe Sands, and
had faved himfelf on a plank of che Veífel: fo foon as ic was day, he efpie !
che finoak, and imagining whence ic was, he made toward it. So foon, as they
faw each the other, it is hard to fay, v,1hich was rhe moíl: amazed; im:1-
gined, chat it was che Devil who came in che fhape of aMan to te to
defpair: the New-comer believes Serrano to be che Devil in his own proper (hape
gure, being covered over wich hair and beard : in fine, they were both afraid,
one from che other. Peter Serrano cried out , as he ran, ¡-cfw, ¡efiu, a'eliver
me fróm the Devil : che other hearing,this, took courage, an~ r~t~rning again to
him, called out, Brother, Brother, dont ji.y from me, for I ama c.,hn/fw1, M rho,1m·r :
a'nd becau[e he faw that Serrano íl:ill ran from him, he repeated theCredo, or Ap(l–
file's Creed 1 in words aloud ; which when Sernwo heard ; he knew it was no
D ril
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