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s to me, but that there was no help for; neither was my time so much loss to me, because I had divided it; a certain part of it was every day appointed to these works; and as I resolved to use none of the corn for bread till I had a greater quantity by me, I had the next six months to apply myself wholly by labour and invention, to furnish myself with utensils proper for the performing all the operations necessary for the making the corn, when I had it, fit for my use. But first I was to prepare more land, for I had now seed enough to sow above an acre of ground. Before I did this, I had a week's work at least to make me a spade, which, when it was done, was a very sorry one indeed, and very heavy, and required double labour to work with it; however, I went through that, and sowed my seeds in two large flat pieces of ground, as near my house as I could find them to my mind, and fenced them in with a good hedge, the stakes of which were all cut off that wood which I had set before, which I knew would grow; so that in one year's time I knew I should have a quick or living hedge, that would want but little repair. This work was not so little as to take me up less than three months; because great part of that time was in the wet season, when I could not go abroad. Within-door, that is, when it rained, and I could not go out, I found employment on the following occasion, always observing, that all the while I was at work, I diverted myself with talking to my parrot, and teaching him to speak; and I quickly learnt him to know his own name; at last, to speak it out pretty loud, Pol; which was the first word I ever heard spoken in the island by any mouth but my own. This therefore was not my work, but an assistant to my work; for now, as I said, I had a great employment upon my hands, as follows: viz. I had long studied, by some means or other, to make myself some earthen vessels, which indeed I wanted sorely, but knew not where to come at them: however, considering the heat of the climate, I did not doubt but, if I could find out any such clay, I might botch up some such pot as might, being dried by the sun, be hard enough and strong enough to bear handling, and to hold any thing that was dry, and required to be kept so; and as this was necessary in preparing corn, meal, &c. which was the thing I was upon, I resolved to make some as large as I could, and fit only to stand like jars to hold what should be put into them. I
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