[00:02.31] February 6th, 1686.
[00:08.32] It's the rainy season again.
[00:11.79] My canoe is too small to take both of us.
[00:15.08] So Friday and I have built a large canoe,
[00:20.15] and I have managed to fit our craft up with mast and sails.
[00:28.89] When I thought of how long I took to build my first canoe,
[00:35.96] I was amazed how much faster the job has been with both of us working together.
[00:46.60] To protect our new canoe during the torrential rain, we brought her up the creek.
[00:55.89] Friday made a small dock at high water that was just big enough to hold her, and just deep enough to keep the canoe afloat.
[01:07.75] When the tide was out, we made a dam at the end of the dock to keep the sea out, and built a thatched canopy over the boat.
[01:19.18] It must be kept safe if we are to escape from the island.
[01:31.40] April 17th, 1686.
[01:39.96] The rainy season has passed.
[01:43.98] This morning, as we were about to set off on our voyage,
[01:50.33] I asked Friday if he would go down to the shore and try to find us a turtle to eat on the journey.
[02:01.31] But he soon came running back in a terrified state, saying he'd seen three canoe heading for our shores.
[02:10.87] The cannibals were back.
[02:17.52] Don't worry, I said.
[02:20.42] We have enough guns and ammunition to fight them.
[02:27.47] I hoped it was true.
[02:32.80] To keep our spirits up, we both had a dram of the precious rum that I had kept for so many years.
[02:44.83] I felt much the better for it.
[02:47.64] I think Friday did too.
[02:51.01] I then taught Friday how to load two shotguns with large shot.
[02:59.14] I myself loaded four muskets and a couple of pistols.
[03:06.42] I took a sword, and Friday armed himself with his hatchet.
[03:14.56] We were ready for them.
[03:20.68] Taking my perspective glass, we climbed the hill.
[03:26.02] From there, I could see that 21 cannibals, three prisoners and three canoes were up on the beach.
[03:37.42] A large banquet was being prepared.
[03:42.41] The cannibals had landed much nearer to my creek this time, where a thick wood came close down to the sea.
[03:53.77] I divided up the weapons between us and put a small bottle of rum in my pocket.
[04:02.68] Then we set out for the battle.
[04:09.25] We entered the wood and crept down towards the beach, keeping well out of sight.
[04:19.16] Using a small thicket as cover, we approached the cannibals who were sitting round the fire, eating the flesh of one of their prisoners.
[04:30.24] Friday went to check the numbers again.
[04:34.48] He returned with news.
[04:38.92] The Indians were not of his tribe.
[04:44.35] But, more important, one of the prisoners was a white man, a Spaniard from the shipwreck he had told me about.
[04:56.79] Climbing a tree, I soon saw that Friday was right.
[05:01.81] The Spaniard lay upon the beach, his hands and feet tied.
[05:11.04] Friday and I began cautiously to advance upon the shore.
[05:18.24] But, as we did so, several of the cannibals left their fire and ran towards the Spaniard.
[05:26.92] In a moment, he would be killed.
[05:30.73] We could delay no longer.
[05:36.35] Friday and I ran from the wood firing.
[05:41.34] The cannibals fell before us, some dead, some wounded.
[05:49.40] While Friday covered me with his guns, I hurried over to the Spaniard, cut his bonds and pressed the rum bottle to his lips.
[06:00.10] He tried to speak, but I interrupted.
[06:04.40] Senor, I said, inasmuch Spanish as I could muster.
[06:13.30] We will talk afterwards, but we must fight now.
[06:17.85] If you have any strength left, take this pistol and sword and attack.
[06:29.02] Then the Indians were upon us again.
[06:33.50] Friday held them off as long as he could, and while I was reloading, the Spaniard plunged into battle.
[06:43.67] I saw him fighting one of the Indians with the sword I had given him.
[06:49.39] The battle was a fierce one, and as I watched, I saw the Spaniard fall.
[06:58.86] I thought he must surely be killed, but at the last moment he drew his pistol and shot his attacker dead.
[07:10.70] Of the 21 cannibals on the beach, only four escaped in a canoe.
[07:19.94] Then I discovered another Indian lying in the bottom of one of the canoe.
[07:26.21] He was bound hand and foot.
[07:32.94] I immediately cut him free, but he couldn't stand or speak.
[07:41.13] Clearly, he believed he was about to be killed by yet another enemy.
[07:49.25] I gave him a dram of rum, and he was able to sit up.
[07:56.80] When Friday looked him in the face, to his amazement, he realized he was gazing at his own beloved father.
[08:08.95] Friday kissed and hugged him, crying, laughing, jumping about, dancing, singing, and then crying again.
[08:22.01] Later, he went to sit down beside his father and held his head.
[08:29.49] It was a deeply moving sight.
[08:35.73] That night, we all four dine together from a yearling goat.
[08:42.69] Friday was the interpreter.
[08:48.37] After so many years alone, here I was surrounded by three companions.
[08:56.78] It was unbelievable.
[09:02.96] After dinner, I asked Friday if he would take one of the canoes, pick up the weapons we had left on the field of battle, and bury the dead on the beach, as he had done when we first met.
[09:21.12] I also asked him to bury the remains of that awful cannibal feast.
[09:33.86] May 17th, 1686.
[09:41.18] During this last month, I have talked in some detail with Friday's father.
[09:50.29] He believes we have little to fear from the Indians who got away in the canoes.
[09:58.49] He is sure they will tell the rest of the tribe that they have been attacked by men who could dart fire and speak thunder and kill at a distance without lifting a hand.
[10:16.84] Only heavenly spirits or devils are thought to be able to use this kind of magic.
[10:25.46] So the tribe is unlikely to return to our shores again.
[10:32.01] The Spaniard, meanwhile, has offered the possibility of an escape, provided I can trust his shipmates.
[10:47.09] He told me his ship had been bound for Havana with a cargo of silver and hides.
[10:55.97] When they were wrecked, the Spanish survivors found their weapons and ammunition had been ruined by seawater.
[11:06.47] As a result, they were defenseless when they arrived on the cannibal coast.
[11:15.22] They had managed to hold off the cannibals with their bare hands, but they had no tools, and their discussions about escape always ended in tears and despair.
[11:29.63] When I heard this, I made a proposal.
[11:37.96] With my tools and with the experience I had gained and passed on to Friday, we could help the Spaniards build a ship that would at last give us all the chance of setting sail for the European colonies.
[11:56.63] The Spaniard replied that he and Friday's father would borrow one of our canoes, paddle back to their island and put the proposal to the stranded crew.
[12:09.13] He would then return with a decision.
[12:17.82] October 10th, 1686.
[12:24.10] Today the time came for the Spaniard and Friday's father to leave.
[12:31.87] I gave each of them a musket with a flint lock, and eight charges of powder and ball.
[12:39.71] I also gave them bread and raisins for the voyage.
[12:44.48] Before they went, we all four cleared and dug more land, eventually sewing 22 bushels of barley and 16 jars of rice.
[13:00.48] The harvest promises to be a good one.
[13:05.78] We will need it if we are to make the long voyage back to the European colonies in America.
[13:17.76] October 18th, 1686.
[13:26.04] As Friday and I waited for his father and the Spaniard to return, an unexpected incident occurred.
[13:35.33] Friday came running up from the beach shouting, they are come, they are come.
[13:44.31] Amazed, I ran towards the shore, so eager that I didn't take any weapons as I normally would have done.
[13:55.02] A boat was visible about a league and a half away, heading for the shore.
[14:03.87] Immediately, I knew this couldn't be the Spaniard and Friday's father.
[14:09.55] We had some very different visitors who might prove hostile.
[14:19.27] Running back to the camp, I grabbed my perspective glass and headed for the hill.
[14:26.00] From there, I could clearly see a ship lying at anchor about two and a half leagues out to sea.
[14:36.98] An English ship, and the craft heading towards the beach was an English longboat.
[14:47.29] Immediately, my heart began to pound.
[14:51.92] I felt both joy and confusion, for why should an English ship be in this part of the world?
[15:01.68] What business could she possibly have in this wilderness?
[15:09.84] When the boat landed, I could see there were 11 men in all.
[15:16.75] Then, I saw with a chill of fear that three of the men were unarmed and tightly bound.
[15:29.83] Friday immediately asked if the newcomers were going to eat their prisoners.
[15:36.57] No, I whispered, but they may murder them.
[15:42.88] I think we are watching the results of a mutiny.
[15:49.87] Two of the men appeared to be drunk.
[15:52.72] They stayed with the boat and soon fell asleep.
[16:00.26] The three prisoners waited on the sand, while the rest of their captors began to explore the beach.
[16:08.84] They did not appear to notice that the tide was going out, stranding the heavy longboat in soft sand.
[16:19.96] After a while, the men wandered up towards the trees, where they sat drinking rum for a while, and then, at last, lay down and slept.
[16:34.23] Whatever the dangers, I knew I had to contact the prisoners.
[16:39.77] Taking my weapons and leaving Friday to cover my every move, I crept up to them and asked where they had come from.
[16:51.85] They seemed amazed.
[16:58.49] Are you a man or an angel coming to rescue us? one asked.
[17:07.49] I looked down at my rough goatskin clothes.
[17:14.77] An angel would have come better dressed, I told them ruefully.
[17:23.53] While theers slept their drunken sleep, one of the men told me the story of their plight.
[17:33.27] He said he was the captain of a ship whose men had mutined against him.
[17:39.55] He, his first mate, and a passenger were to be cast away on this desolate shore.
[17:50.78] Are theers armed? I asked.
[17:57.73] He replied they had only two guns, one of which they had left in the boat.
[18:04.33] He added, they are led by a pair of villains, but some of the men have simply been led astray.
[18:15.93] As we spoke, I suddenly had an idea.
[18:20.62] I told the captain that Friday and I would rescue him on two conditions.
[18:29.33] The first was that he had to obey me at all times.
[18:37.16] The second was that if we managed to recover his ship from the mutineers, the captain would take me back to England on a free passage.
[18:51.33] The captain agreed at once.
[18:56.99] I was overjoyed, hardly able to believe in my good fortune.
[19:03.57] This was a much better chance of escape than building a ship with the Spaniards and risking being attacked by the cannibals.
[19:16.16] So we set to work on the plan that was already forming in my mind.
[19:21.45] I gave the captain, his mate and their passenger three muskets with powder and ball.
[19:32.30] When theers awoke, they found themselves prisoners at gunpoint.
[19:40.32] Little wonder they surrendered, swearing to obey the captain and help take the ship from the remainingers.
[19:53.62] The captain felt that two of the men could be trusted.
[19:59.47] The others I sent under guard to my cave, warning them that if they tried to escape, they would be shot.
[20:11.29] But our task was not over yet.
[20:14.93] There were still 26 men on board who wouldn't give up so easily, particularly as they risked being hanged on their return to England.
[20:28.83] Friday and the mate ran to the longboat to remove her oars and knock a hole in the bottom.
[20:38.58] Then we settled down to wait.
[20:44.70] Hours passed.
[20:48.55] At last, the ship, still at anchor, began to fire her guns, presumably as a signal for the landing party to return.
[21:01.59] Eventually, when none of the signaling and firing bore any result, another longboat was lowered and began to head for the shore.
[21:15.19] Soon we had a full view of the next group ofers.
[21:22.52] There were 10 men on the boat.
[21:25.68] The captain recognized them at once.
[21:31.65] Three are honest fellows, he whispered to me.
[21:36.73] I'm sure they have been forced into mutiny, but the Boson is a hardened villain, and so are his companions.
[21:49.08] We watched as theers who had just arrived in the second longboat, discovered that the bottom had been knocked out of the first.
[22:02.06] Uneasy about what had happened, they began to run along the shore, shouting out their shipmate's names.
[22:12.02] Theers then stood close together and fired off a small arms volley, which made the woods ring.
[22:22.38] The birds and wild animals screamed, just as they had done on the first day of my landing so many years ago.
[22:34.90] There was no reply to their signal.
[22:39.57] Unnerved by the silence, and then the screaming, theers became fearful and rode back to the ship as fast as they could.
[22:56.85] We were all horrified at this unexpected turn of events.
[23:02.84] If theers gave up their companions for lost and sailed the ship away, we would all be stranded.
[23:14.18] Suddenly, the longboat swung round and was rode back to the island again.
[23:21.34] This time, seven men came ashore and began to search.
[23:27.96] The remaining three crew rode the boat offshore, put down the anchor and waited.
[23:39.72] How could we capture the seven men on the shore without alarming the three in the boat?
[23:50.01] Just then, I had an idea.
[23:55.51] I asked Friday and the ship's mate to walk over to the creek without being seen, stand on rising ground and shout hello as loudly as they could.
[24:11.89] When they heard the cries, the seveners ran along the shore towards the shouting, until they came to the creek.
[24:24.82] It was high tide and they were unable to cross it.
[24:30.86] So they then called for the longboat to be brought up, just as I had hoped.
[24:39.83] Soon the longboat reached the harbor that Friday had dug, and theers got out.
[24:49.74] They left two men on guard and ran up the shore with their companions, following the shouting voices.
[24:58.90] Again, they had played into my hands.
[25:04.99] Once the crew were out of sight, we ran for the longboat, overcame the guards and hid the prisoners in the trees.
[25:18.33] Meanwhile, Friday and the mate were acting as decoys, drawing the men from one hill to another with their cries.
[25:29.08] They kept this going until theers were exhausted.
[25:35.69] Then they made their way back to us.
[25:41.26] When theers returned, night had fallen, the tide had gone out again, and the longboat was fast ground.
[25:54.25] Immediately, they flew into a panic.
[25:59.22] They were sure they had arrived on an enchanted island, where they had been tormented by spirits and devils.
[26:10.25] Their panic gave us our chance.
[26:14.34] We ambushed them in the dark, and in the battle which followed, their leader, the Boson was shot dead.
[26:25.08] The rest of theers scattered.
[26:30.57] I asked one of the prisoners to shout into the night and to advise surrender.
[26:39.76] Who must we surrender to? shouted back one of theers, a man named Tom Smith.
[26:49.37] No doubt he was still thinking that he was up against the enchantment of the island.
[26:58.76] Your captain, came the reply.
[27:03.34] He has 50 men who have been hunting you these last two hours.
[27:09.38] The Boson is killed, and I am a prisoner.
[27:13.96] If you do not yield, we are all lost.
[27:20.14] So theers laid down their weapons and were taken prisoner by my great army of eight.
[27:32.17] But we never let them know we were so few in number.
[27:38.78] In fact, the captain told theers the island had an English governor, myself, and they were to lay down their weapons and trust to the governor's mercy.
[27:57.02] Our next job was to repair the original longboat and work out how we were going to seize the ship from theers who remained on board.
[28:10.49] Meanwhile, the captain continued to lecture the formerers, assuring them that they would end up on the gallows in London, or even here on the governor's island.
[28:29.70] As for you, Atkins, and he turned to the man who had started the mutiny, you will be executed tomorrow at dawn.
[28:44.74] In fact, this was quite untrue, but it had the desired effect.
[28:52.07] Atkins fell on his knees, begging the captain to plead with the governor to show mercy and spare his life.
[29:03.46] The otherers followed his example.
[29:10.30] The captain returned to me.
[29:13.84] What next? he asked.
[29:19.48] If we are to successfully take back the ship, we must divide up the prisoners, I told him.
[29:30.08] Take Atkins and two more of the worst villains, and trust them up in the cave with the other prisoners.
[29:40.79] Once the real troublemakers are out of the way, we have a chance.
[29:48.67] Next, tell the rest of the crew that they must remain completely loyal and ensure theers still aboard the ship are captured.
[30:03.73] Take only five of the most trusted men with you, leaving their companions behind as hostages.
[30:13.00] Tell them that if there is any betrayal, the hostages will be hanged on the shore.
[30:20.84] They will believe you.
[30:24.68] Friday and I will guard the prisoners and hostages, while you and your raiding party take the ship.
[30:37.35] It all worked as planned.
[30:41.77] The captain took his raiding party in the two longboats.
[30:48.00] As they approached the ship, one of the loyal crew called some of theers out on deck.
[30:57.94] I've picked up the men from the island, he told them, but it took a long time to find them.
[31:09.47] In the dark, theers had no idea that the captain and the first mate were aboard the boat, until it was too late.
[31:21.07] Theers on deck were quickly overcome.
[31:27.43] The rest of the raiding party then swarmed on board, locking the hatches to trap theers below decks.
[31:40.34] At last, the mutiny was finally over.
[31:45.98] Our plan had worked and the ship was secured.
[31:52.79] The captain ordered seven guns to be fired.
[31:59.23] When I heard the signal, I knew the raiding party had been successful.
[32:08.79] Exhausted, I lay down and slept soundly on the shore, until the sound of a gun made me start up alarmed.
[32:21.17] Then I heard a voice calling, governor, governor!
[32:27.18] And I saw the captain climbing the hill towards me.
[32:36.32] He pointed to his ship, riding peacefully at anchor.
[32:42.74] Then he embraced me and said, my dear friend and deliverer, there's your ship, for she is all yours and so are we and all that belongs in her.
[32:59.80] I was overwhelmed.
[33:06.13] At last, I could go home.
[33:15.91] To prepare us for the voyage and to thank me for my help, the captain had brought a feast ashore with cordials, wine, beef, pork, peas and biscuit, luxuries which I had not tasted since I was shipwrecked.
[33:36.38] But best of all, he brought me clothing so that I could be a civilized man again.
[33:44.62] I had clean shirts, neck cloths, gloves, shoes, a hat, stockings, and a good suit of clothes of his own, which fitted me remarkably well.
[34:02.44] Five of the remainingers, who were still considered to be untrustworthy, were given the choice of being left on the island or returned to England in chains.
[34:19.38] When they arrived, they would be hanged.
[34:26.16] I spent a long time telling them about life on the island, and they decided to remain behind and take their chances.
[34:39.02] I left weapons and ammunition so they could protect themselves, and told them when the various crops we had planted would ripen.
[34:51.93] As they gazed at the chiefneer hanging from the yard arm of the ship, I could see they felt they had made the right decision.
[35:06.47] Meanwhile, my devoted friend Friday said he wanted to accompany me back to Europe.
[35:16.39] I readily agreed, determined to look after and protect him as he had protected me.
[35:28.11] December 19th, 1686.
[35:36.97] Today, Friday and I boarded the ship.
[35:43.62] Before we could cast off, two of the five men came swimming to the ship's side, begging to be taken off the island, claiming they would be murdered by the otherers.
[36:00.29] In the end, we agreed to take them with us, on condition they worked hard and were good quiet fellows for the rest of the voyage.
[36:14.42] Somehow, I feel we shall have no trouble from them.
[36:23.57] As I took leave of the island, I carried on board some special souvenirs of my long stay, including a goat skin cap I had made, my umbrella, Paul, my parrot, and the money I had taken from the wrecked ships.
[36:47.24] So, Friday and I have finally left the island.
[36:55.72] I have spent 27 years, two months and 19 days as a cast away, and I can hardly believe that, at long last, I am a free man.
[37:23.43] June 11th, 1687.
[37:30.15] Today we arrived back in England.
[37:36.28] The owners of the ship, hearing how I had saved the captain, ship and cargo, have given me the handsome present of almost 200 pounds sterling.
[37:52.78] Once again, I am to make a new start.
[38:00.20] So is Friday.
[38:04.47] During the voyage home, Friday often talked to me about his father, and we wondered what had happened to him and the Spaniards.
[38:17.02] Now we've just heard from another sea captain that they returned to our island and started a colony with theers.
[38:31.06] I'm sure they will be more than a match for any visiting cannibals.