ROBINSON CRUSOR. 127

‘enced either with hedge or pale, to keep them in so effect.
ually that those within might. not break out, or those without
break in.

This was a great undertaking for one pair of hands 3 yet, as
i saw there was an absolute necessity for doing it, my first work
was to find out a proper piece of ground, 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 calli 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 by enclosing this piece of ground in
such a manner, that my. hedge or pale must have been at least
two mi’es 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 ; SOI presently stopped
short, and for the 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 stock 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 ; and very often I would go and carry
them some ears of barley, or a handful of rice, and feed them
out of my hand ; so that after my enclosure was finished, and
I let them loose, they would follow me up and down, bleating
after me for a handful of corn.

This answered my end, and in about a year and a half [
had a flock of about twelve goats, kids and all; and in two
years more I had three and forty, besides several that I took
and killed for my food, After that, I enclosed five several
pieces of ground to feed them in, with little pens to drive them
into, to take them as I wanted, ard gates out of one piece of
ground into another. ;