English by times, and without much connection. However, in two or
three days he began to talk, when he stated that, having been four years
and as many months upon the island without any human creature with whom
to converse, he had forgotten the use of his tongue. He had been so
long inured to water and such insipid food as he could pick up, that it
was some time before he could reconcile himself to the ship's victuals,
or to the taking of a dram. He stated that he was a native of Largo, in
Fifeshire, that his name was Alexander Selkirk, and that he had belonged
to a ship called the _Cinque Ports_, commanded by one Stradling, who,
upon some difference, set him on shore here, leaving him a firelock with
some powder and ball, a knife, a hatchet, a kettle, some mathematical
instruments, a Bible, and two or three other useful books, with a small
quantity of tobacco, a bed, bedding, etcetera. At first his loneliness
weighed heavily on his spirits, but in time he became inured to it, and
got the better of his melancholy. He had erected two huts, one of which
served him for a kitchen, the other for a dining-room and bed-chamber.
They were made of pimento wood, which supplied him also with fire and
candle, burning very clear, and yielding a most refreshing fragrant
smell. The roof of his hut was of long grass, and it was lined with the
skins of goats, nearly five hundred of which he had killed during his
residence on the island, besides having caught above five hundred more,
which he marked on the ears, and then set at liberty. When his
ammunition was exhausted he caught them by running, and so active was
he, that the swiftest goat upon the island was scarcely a match for him.
While the ships remained, Mr Selkirk often accompanied the men to hunt
the goats with the dogs, whom he always distanced, and frequently tired
out. At first, for want of salt, he was unable to relish his food,
which consisted of goats' flesh and crawfish, but in time he took to
seasoning it with pimento fruit, which is not unlike the black pepper of
Jamaica. At first the rats plagued him very much, growing so bold as to
gnaw his feet and clothes while he slept. However, he managed to tame
some cats which had been left on shore, and these soon kept the rats at
a distance. He also made pets of a few kids, and used to divert himself
by dancing among them, and teaching them a thousand tricks. When his
clothes were worn out, he made a fresh suit of go