of removing my ammunition I happened to open the
barrel of powder which I took up out of the sea, and which had been wet,
and I found that the water had penetrated about three or four inches into
the powder on every side, which caking and growing hard, had preserved
the inside like a kernel in the shell, so that I had near sixty pounds of
very good powder in the centre of the cask. This was a very agreeable
discovery to me at that time; so I carried all away thither, never
keeping above two or three pounds of powder with me in my castle, for
fear of a surprise of any kind; I also carried thither all the lead I had
left for bullets.

I fancied myself now like one of the ancient giants who were said to live
in caves and holes in the rocks, where none could come at them; for I
persuaded myself, while I was here, that if five hundred savages were to
hunt me, they could never find me out--or if they did, they would not
venture to attack me here. The old goat whom I found expiring died in
the mouth of the cave the next day after I made this discovery; and I
found it much easier to dig a great hole there, and throw him in and
cover him with earth, than to drag him out; so I interred him there, to
prevent offence to my nose.

CHAPTER XIII--WRECK OF A SPANISH SHIP

I was now in the twenty-third year of my residence in this island, and
was so naturalised to the place and the manner of living, that, could I
but have enjoyed the certainty that no savages would come to the place to
disturb me, I could have been content to have capitulated for spending
the rest of my time there, even to the last moment, till I had laid me
down and died, like the old goat in the cave. I had also arrived to some
little diversions and amusements, which made the time pass a great deal
more pleasantly with me than it did before--first, I had taught my Poll,
as I noted before, to speak; and he did it so familiarly, and talked so
articulately and plain, that it was very pleasant to me; and he lived
with me no less than six-and-twenty years. How long he might have lived
afterwards I know not, though I know they have a notion in the Brazils
that they live a hundred years. My dog was a pleasant and loving
companion to me for no less than sixteen years of my time, and then died
of mere old age. As for my cats, they multiplied, as I have observed, to
that degree that I was obliged to shoot several of them at first, to keep
them from devouring me