And now having more seed, my first care was to prepare me more land.  I pitched upon two large flat pieces of ground near my castle, for that purpose, in which sowed my seed, and fenced it with a good hedge.  This took me up three months:  by which time the wet season coming on, and the rain keeping me within doors, I found several occasions to employ myself; and, while at work, used to divert myself in talking to my parrot, learning him to know and speak his own name Poll the first welcome word I ever heard spoke in the island.  I had been a long time in contriving how to make earthen vessels, which I wanted extremely; and when I considered the heat of the climate, I did not doubt but if I could find any such clay, I might botch up a pot, strong enough, when dried in the sun, to bear handling, and to hold any thing that was dry, as corn, meal, and other things.

To be short, the clay I found; but it would occasion the most serious person to smile, to see what aukward ways I took, and what ugly misshapen things I made; how many either fell out or cracked by the violent heat of the sun, and fell in pieces when they were removed; so that I think it was two months time before I could perfect any thing:  and even then but two clumsy things in imitation of earthen jars.  These, however, I very gently placed in wicker baskets, made on purpose for them, and between the pot and the baskets, stuffed it full of rice and barley straw, and these I presume would hold my dried corn, and perhaps the meal when the corn was bruised.  As for the smaller thing, I made them with better success, such as little round pots, flat dishes, pitchers, and pipkins, the fun baking them very hard.

Yet still I wanted one thing absolutely necessary, and that was an earthen pot, not only to hold my liquid, but also to bear the fire, which none of these could do.  It once happened that as I was putting out my fire, I found therein a broken piece of one of my vessels burnt as hard as a rock, and red as a tile.  This made me think of burning some pots; and having no notion of a kiln, or of glazing them with leaf, I fixed three large pipkins, and two or three pots in a pile one upon another.  The fire I piled round the outside, and dry wood on the top, till I saw the pots in the inside red hot, and found out that, they were net crackt at all:  and when I perceived them perfectly red, I let one of them stand in the fire about five or six hours, till the clay melted by the extremity of the heat, and would have run to glass, had I suffered it; upon which I slacked my fire by degrees, till the redness abated; and watching them till the morning, I found I had three very good pipkins, and two earthen pots, as well burnt and fit for my turn as I could desire.

No joy could be greater than mine at this discovery.  For after this, I may say, I wanted for no fort of earthen ware.  I filled one of my pipkins with water to boil me some meat, which it did admirably well, and with a piece of kid I made me some good broth, as well as my circumstances would afford me at that time.