ry 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, which 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, 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, which 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.

I was now in my twenty-third year of residence in this island, and was
so naturalized to the place, and to the manner of living, that could I
have but 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 more pleasantly with me a great deal than it did before; as, first,
I had taught my Pol, 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 live afterwards I knew not; though I know they have a
notion in the Brasils, that they live an hundred years; perhaps some of
my Polls may be alive there still, calling after poor Robin Crusoe to
this day; I wish no Englishman the ill luck to come there and hear them;
but if he did, he would certainly believe it was the devil. My dog was a
very 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, and all
I had; but at length, when the two old ones I brought with me were gone,
and after some time continually driving them from me, and letting them
have no provision with me, they all ran wild into the woods, except two
or three favourites,