PTER V--BUILDS A HOUSE--THE JOURNAL

September 30, 1659.--I, poor miserable Robinson Crusoe, being shipwrecked
during a dreadful storm in the offing, came on shore on this dismal,
unfortunate island, which I called "The Island of Despair"; all the rest
of the ship's company being drowned, and myself almost dead.

All the rest of the day I spent in afflicting myself at the dismal
circumstances I was brought to--viz. I had neither food, house, clothes,
weapon, nor place to fly to; and in despair of any relief, saw nothing
but death before me--either that I should be devoured by wild beasts,
murdered by savages, or starved to death for want of food. At the
approach of night I slept in a tree, for fear of wild creatures; but
slept soundly, though it rained all night.

_October_ 1.--In the morning I saw, to my great surprise, the ship had
floated with the high tide, and was driven on shore again much nearer the
island; which, as it was some comfort, on one hand--for, seeing her set
upright, and not broken to pieces, I hoped, if the wind abated, I might
get on board, and get some food and necessaries out of her for my
relief--so, on the other hand, it renewed my grief at the loss of my
comrades, who, I imagined, if we had all stayed on board, might have
saved the ship, or, at least, that they would not have been all drowned
as they were; and that, had the men been saved, we might perhaps have
built us a boat out of the ruins of the ship to have carried us to some
other part of the world. I spent great part of this day in perplexing
myself on these things; but at length, seeing the ship almost dry, I went
upon the sand as near as I could, and then swam on board. This day also
it continued raining, though with no wind at all.

_From the 1st of October to the 24th_.--All these days entirely spent in
many several voyages to get all I could out of the ship, which I brought
on shore every tide of flood upon rafts. Much rain also in the days,
though with some intervals of fair weather; but it seems this was the
rainy season.

_Oct._ 20.--I overset my raft, and all the goods I had got upon it; but,
being in shoal water, and the things being chiefly heavy, I recovered
many of them when the tide was out.

_Oct._ 25.--It rained all night and all day, with some gusts of wind;
during which time the ship broke in pieces, the wind blowing a little
harder than before, and was no more to be seen, except the wreck of her,
and that