ROBINSON CRUSOE. 317

better ; when, on a sudden, they were invaded with a most formi-
dable fleet of no less than eight-and-twenty canoes, full of sav-
ages, armed with bows and arrows, great clubs, wooden swords,
and such like engines of war; and they brought such numbers
with them, that, in short, it put all our people into the utmoét
consternation.

As they came on shore in the evening, and at the eastern-
most side of the island, our men had that night to consult and
consider what to do; and, in the first place, knowing that their
being entirely concealed was their only safety before, and would
be much more so now, while the number of their enemies
would be so great, they therefore resolved, first of all, to take
down the huts which were built for the two Englishmen, and
drive away their goats to the old cave ; because they supposed
the savages would go directly thither, as soon as it was day, to
play the old game over again, though they did not now land
within two leagues of it, In the next place, they drove away
all the flocks of goats they had at the old bower, as I called it,
which belonged to the Spaniards ; and, in short, left as little
appearance of inhabitants anywhere as was possible ; and the
next morning early they posted themselves, with all their force,
at the plantation of the two men, to wait for their coming. As
they guessed, so it happened: these new invaders, leaving their
canoes at the east end of the island, came ranging along the
shore, directly towards the place, to the number of two hundred
and fifty, as near as our men could judge. Our army was
but small, indeed ; but, that which was worse, they had not
arms for all their number neither. The whole account, it seems,
stood thus: first, as to men, seventeen Spaniards, five English-
men, old Friday (or Friday’s father), the three slaves taken with
the women, who proved very faithful, and three other slaves,
who lived with the Spaniards. To arm these, they had eleven
muskets, five pistols, three fowling-pieces, five muskets or fowl-
ing-pieces, which were taken by me from the mutinous seamen
whom I reduced, two swords, and three old halberds.

To their slaves they did not give either musket or fusee;
but they had each a halberd, or a long staff, like a quarter-staff,
with a great spike of iron fastened into each end of it, and by
his side a hatchet ; also every one of our men had a hatchet i
Two of the women could not be prevailed upon, but they would
come into the fight, and they had bows and arrows, which the
Spaniards had taken from the savages when the first action
happened, which I have spoken of, where the Indians fought
with one another ; and the women had hatchets too.

‘