162 THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES

 

very much, that there was not the least appearance, to any one’s view,
of any habitation behind them.

Near this dwelling of mine, but a little farther within the land, and
upon lower ground, lay my two pieces of corn ground, which I kept
duly cultivated and sowed, and which duly yielded me their harvest in
its season: and whenever I had occasion for more corn, I had more
land adjoining, as fit as that.

Besides this, I had my country seat, and I had now a tolerable
plantation therealso; for first, I had my little bower, as I called it,

® which I kept in repair; that is to say, I kept the hedge which circled
it in, constantly fitted up to its usual height, the ladder standing always
in the inside ; I kept the trees, which at first were no more than stakes,
but were now grown very firm and tall,—I kept them always so cut,
that they might spread and grow thick and wild, and make the more
agreeable shade, which they did effectually to my mind. In the middle
of this I had my tent always standing, being a piece of a sail spread over
poles set up for that purpose, and which never wanted any repair or
renewing ; and under this I had made me a squab, or couch, with the
skins of the creatures I had killed, and with other soft things, and a
blanket laid on them, such as belonged to our sea-bedding, which I had
saved, and a great watch-coat to cover me; and here, whenever I had
occasion to be absent from my chief seat, I took up my country habi-
tation. :

Adjoining to this, I had my enclosures for my cattle, that is to say,
my goats: and as I had taken an inconceivable deal of pains to fence
and enclose this ground, I was so uneasy to see it kept entire, lest the
goats should break through, that I never left it off, till, with infinite
labour, -yhad stuck the outside of the hedge so full of small stakes, and
so near to one another, that it was rather a pale than a hedge,
and there was scarce room to put a hand through between them,
which afterwards, when those stakes grew, as they all did in the next
rainy season, made the enclosure strong, like a wall; indeed stronger
than any wall.

This will testify for me that I was not idle, and that I spared no
pains to bring to pass whatever appeared necessary for my comfortable
support; for I considered the keeping up a breed of tame creatures
thus at my hand, would be a living magazine of flesh, milk, butter, and
cheese, for me, as long as I lived in the place, if it were to be forty
ears; and that keeping them in my reach depended entirely upon my
‘perfecting my enclosures to suck. a degree, that I might be sure
ef keeping them together; which by this method, indeed, I so
effectually. secured, that when these little stakes began to grow, I

 

  
   
  

   

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