Dec. 28, 29, 30.—Great heats, and no breeze; so that there was no stirring abroad, except in the evening, for food. This time I spent in putting all my things in order within doors.
January 1.—Very hot still; but I went abroad early and late with my gun, and lay still in the middle of the day. This evening, going farther into the valleys which lay towards the centre of the island, I found there was plenty of goats, though exceedingly shy and hard to come at; however, I resolved to try if I could not bring my dog to hunt them down.
Jan. 2.—Accordingly, the next day I went out with my dog, and set him upon the goats; but I was mistaken, for they all faced about upon the dog; and he knew his danger too well, for he would not come near them.
Jan. 3.—I began my fence, or wall, which, being still jealous of my being attacked by somebody, I resolved to make very thick and strong.
N.B. This wall being described before, I purposely omit what was said in the journal; it is sufficient to observe, that I was no less time than from the 3d of January to the 14th of April, working, finishing and perfecting this wall, though it was no more than about twenty-four yards in length, being a half circle from one place in the rock to another place about eight yards from it, the door of the cave being in the centre behind it.
All this time I worked very hard, the rains hindering me many days, nay, sometimes weeks together; but I thought I should never be perfectly secure until this wall was finished; and it is scarce credible what inexpressible labour every thing was done with, especially the bringing piles out of the woods, and driving them into the ground: for I made them much bigger than I need to have done.
When this wall was finished, and the outside double fenced with a turf wall raised up close to it, I persuaded myself, that if any people were to come on shore there, they would not perceive any thing like a habitation; and it was very well I did so, as may be observed hereafter, upon a very remarkable occasion.
During this time, I made my rounds in the woods for game, every day, when the rain permitted me, and made frequent discoveries, in these walks, of something or other to my advantage; particularly, I found a kind of wild pigeons, who built, not as wood pigeons, in a tree, but rather as house pigeons, in the holes of the rocks; and taking some young ones, I endeavoured to breed them up tame, and did so; but when they grew older they flew away, which, perhaps, was at first for want of feeding them; for I had nothing to give them. However, I frequently found their nests, and got their young ones, which were very good meat.
And now, in the managing my household affairs, I found myself wanting in many things, which I thought at first it was impossible for me to make, as indeed, as to some of them, it was—for instance, I could never make a cask to be hooped. I had a small runlet or two, as I observed before, but I could never arrive to the capacity of making one by them, though I spent many weeks about it; I could neither put in the heads, nor joint the staves so true to one another as to make them hold water, so I gave that also over.
In the next place, I was at great loss for candle, so that as soon as ever it was dark, which was generally by seven o’clock, I was obliged to go to bed. I remembered the lump of bees’-wax with which I made candles in my African adventure, but I had none of that now. The only remedy I had was, that, when I had killed a goat I saved the tallow, and with a little dish made of clay, which I baked in the sun, to which I added a wick of some oakum, I made me a lamp; and this gave me a light, though not a clear steady light like a candle. In the middle of all my labours, it happened that, rummaging my things, I found a little bag, which, as I hinted before, had been filled with corn for the feeding of poultry, not for this voyage, but before, as I suppose, when the ship came from Lisbon. What little remainder of corn had been in the bag was all devoured with the rats, and I saw nothing in the bag but husks and dust; and being willing to have the bag for some other use—I think it was to put powder in, when I divided it for fear of the lightning, or some such use—I shook the husks of corn out of it, on one side of my fortification, under the rock.