Although he had improved at pottery, there were still things Robinson could not make by himself, such as ammunition. Eleven years had nearly exhausted his supply of bullets, forcing him to try making traps to catch prey.
Voyages generally kept ship's logs, but Robinson used the format of a diary. It was through that diary that he kept track of the passing time.
He had landed on the island on September 30, 1659. It took him nearly a month to move the supplies from the ship onto the deserted island, and on October 31, he killed a mother goat in the island's interior.
The mother goat had a kid that stayed by her side, but it refused to eat what Robinson gave it. In the end, Robinson killed the kid as well.
It was rather cruel, but considering the physical labor Robinson had done since arriving on the island, as well as the energy he had spent rowing rafts to transport supplies, bread and vegetables alone could not replenish him.
Even if a person did nothing, basic metabolism still consumed energy. Besides, Robinson had no legumes to supplement his protein intake.
Pomona chewed on a lamb chop while reading. Today's lamb chop seemed a little tough.
The purpose of gold and silver coins was to facilitate exchange. Before he discovered Friday, Robinson was the only person on the island. He put the money he carried into a drawer and deeply regretted not using it to trade for seeds worth only sixpence in England, or a handful of broad beans and peas, or a bottle of ink.
There were plenty of wheat seeds on the ship. What Robinson planted alone would have been enough to feed the entire crew. There were grapes as well, enough to brew more wine than he