200 CRUSOE AS A GOAT-EHERD,

As to the old one, T knew not what to de with him; he was 80
fierce I durst not go into the pit to him-—that is to say, to go about
to bring him away alive, which was what I wanted. I could have
killed him; but that was not my business, nor would it answer my
end. So I even let him out, and he ran away as if he had been |
frighted out of his wits. But T had forgot then what I learned
afterwards—that hunger will tame a lion. If I had let him stay
there three or four days without food, and then have carried him
some water to drink, and then a little corn, he would have been
as taine as one of the kids—for they are mighty sagacious, tractable
creatures where they are well used.

However, for the present I let him go, knowing no better at
that time. Then [I went to the three kids; and taking them one
by one, [ tied them with strings together, and with some difficulty
brought them all home.

It was a good while before they would feed; but throwing them
some sweet corn, it tempted them, and they began to be tame.
And now [ found that if T expected to supply myself with goat-
flesh when [ had no powder or shot left, breeding some up tame
was my only way; when, perhaps, [ 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 in
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—namely, 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