three
of them. This was what I wished for; so I took them up, and served them
as we serve notorious thieves in England, viz. hanged them in chains,
for a terror to others. It is impossible to imagine that this should
have such an effect as it had; for the fowls not only never came to the
corn, but, in short, they forsook all that part of the island, and I
could never see a bird near the place as long as my scare-crows hung
there. This I was very glad of, you may be sure; and about the latter
end of December, which was our second harvest of the year, I reaped
my corn.

I was sadly put to it for a scythe or sickle to cut it down: and all I
could do was to make one as well as I could, out of one of the broad
swords, or cutlasses, which I saved among the arms out of the ship.
However, as my first crop was but small, I had no great difficulty to
cut it down: in short, I reaped it my way, for I cut nothing off but the
ears, and carried it away in a great basket which I had made, and so
rubbed it out with my hands; and at the end of all my harvesting, I
found that out of my half peck of seed I had near two bushels of rice,
and above two bushels and a half of barley; that is to say, by my guess,
for I had no measure.

However, this was great encouragement to me; and I foresaw that, in
time, it would please God to supply me with bread; and yet here I was
perplexed again; for I neither knew how to grind, or make meal of my
corn, or indeed how to clean it and part it; nor if made into meal, how
to make bread of it; and if how to make it, yet I knew not how to bake
it: these things being added to my desire of having a good quantity for
store, and to secure a constant supply, I resolved not to taste any of
this crop, but to preserve it all for seed against the next season; and,
in the mean tune, to employ all my study and hours of working to
accomplish this great work of providing myself with corn and bread.

It might be truly said, that now I worked for my bread. It is a little
wonderful, and what I believe few people have thought much upon, viz.
the strange multitude of little things necessary in the providing,
producing, curing, dressing, making, and finishing this one article
of bread.

I, that was reduced to a mere state of nature, found this to my daily
discouragement, and was made more sensible of it every hour, even after
I had got the first handful of seed-corn which, as I have said, came up
unexpectedly, and indeed t