was a convenience; so that I was
really rejoiced at the discovery, and resolved, without any delay, to
bring some of those things which I was most anxious about to this place;
particularly, I resolved to bring hither my magazine of powder, and all
my spare arms, viz. two fowling-pieces, for I had three in all, and
three muskets, for of them I had eight in all: so I kept at my castle
only five, which stood ready-mounted, like pieces of cannon, on my
outmost fence; and were ready also to take out upon any expedition. Upon
this occasion 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, 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, 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.

I was now in the twenty-third year of my residence in this island; and
was so naturalized to the place, and 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 a
great deal more pleasantly with me 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