y would feed; but throwing them some sweet
corn, it tempted them, and they began to be tame: and now I found, that
if I expected to supply myself with goat's flesh, when I had no powder
or shot left, breeding some up tame was my only way, when perhaps I
might have them about my house like a flock of sheep.

But then it presently occurred to me, that I must keep the tame from the
wild, or else they would always run wild when they grew up; and the only
way for this was to have some enclosed piece of ground, well fenced
either with hedge or pale, to keep them up so effectually, that those
within might not break out, or those without break in.

This was a great undertaking for one pair of hands; yet as I saw there
was an absolute necessity of doing it, my first piece of work was to
find out a proper piece of ground; viz. where there was likely to be
herbage for them to eat, water for them to drink, and cover to keep them
from the sun.

Those who understand such enclosures, will think I had very little
contrivance, when I pitched upon a place very proper for all these,
being a plain open piece of meadow-land or savanna (as our people call
it in the western colonies) which had two or three little drills of
fresh water in it, and at one end was very woody; I say they will smile
at my forecast, when I shall tell them I began my enclosing of this
piece of ground in such a manner, that my hedge or pale must have been
at least two miles about; nor was the madness of it so great as to the
compass; for if it was ten miles about, I was like to have time enough
to do it in; but I did not consider; that my goats would be as wild in
so much compass, as if they had had the whole island; and I should have
so much room to chase them in, that I should never catch them.

My hedge was begun and carried on, I believe, about fifty yards, when
this thought occurred to me; so I presently stopped short, and for the
first beginning I resolved to enclose a piece of about one hundred and
fifty yards in length, and one hundred yards in breadth, which as it
would maintain as many as I should have in any reasonable time, so, as
my flock increased, I could add more ground to my enclosure.

This was acting with some prudence, and I went to work with courage. I
was about three months hedging in the first piece; and, till I had done
it, I tethered the three kids in the best part of it, and used them to
feed as near me as possible, to make them familiar;