9.4 做這隻船是上戇 ê 代誌

9.4 Chò chit-chiah chûn sī siōng gōng ê tāi-chì

Taⁿ, góa hoâi-liām Xury hit-ê cha-po͘ gín-á, hām hit-chiah kòa saⁿ-kak-phâng (shoulder-of-mutton sail) ê tn̂g sam-pán-á, kō͘ he goán iân Afrika hái-hōaⁿ hâng-hêng chhiau-kòe chi̍t-chheng mai [1,600 km]. M̄-koh, su-liām mā bô-hāu, só͘-í góa siūⁿ, góa tio̍h khì khòaⁿ goân-pún sio̍k tī tōa-chûn ê hit-chiah sió-chûn. Góa bat kóng-kòe, tī tōa hong-hō͘ tang-tiong, goán chē sió-chûn tô-lān lak-lo̍h hái, sió-chûn koh hō͘ hong chhoe kàu hn̄g-hn̄g ê hōaⁿ-téng. I ká-ná iáu thêng tī goân-lâi hia, kan-ta sió-khóa sóa-ūi, koh in-ūi hong hām éng ê koan-hē, í-keng péng-kòe, ē-sái kóng sī té hiòng thiⁿ, khàm tī chi̍t-lēng giâ-koân ê chho͘-soa tui téng-bīn, sì-chiu bô chúi.

Góa nā ū kha-chhiú kā i siu-lí chi̍t-ē, koh kā pàng lo̍h-chúi, chit-chiah chûn tō ū-kàu hó, ē-tàng hō͘ góa tńg-khì Brazil. M̄-koh, hit-sî góa khòaⁿ ē-chhut, góa bô hoat-tō͘ kā i ián-chiàⁿ, hō͘ i té hiòng ē, he tō ná góa sak bē-tāng chit-ê tó. Só͘-í, góa khì chhiū-nâ, chhò kùn-á chò kiā-á hām liàn-á, the̍h lâi chûn chia, khòaⁿ góa ē-sái chhòng-siáⁿ. Góa ka-tī án-ne siūⁿ, nā ē-tàng kā ián-chiàⁿ, kā siu-lí hāi-khì ê ūi, che tō sī chi̍t-chiah chin hó ê sió-chûn, góa tō ē-tit chē i chhut-hái.

Góa piàⁿ-sè chò, liáu gōng-la̍t, khai saⁿ/sì lé-pài ê sî-kan. Kiat-kó hoat-hiān, góa sió-sió ê khùi-la̍t bô hoat-tō͘ kā i kiāu tín-tāng, góa tō khai-sí óe soa-á, hiòng ē-bīn óe, hō͘ chûn tó lo̍h, koh an-pâi chhâ kùn-á lâi thui-sak hām ín-tō chûn-á tó chiàⁿ.

Tān-sī, tán góa chò-liáu che, góa bô hoat-tō͘ koh kā kiāu tín-tāng, mā bô hoat-tō͘ tī ē-bīn chhah liàn-á kùn, koh-khah bián kóng kā sóa khì chúi ni̍h. Góa chí-hó hòng-khì. M̄-koh, sui-bóng góa hòng-khì tùi chit-chiah sió-chûn ê kià-bāng, góa ài-boeh mō͘-hiám khì tùi-bīn lio̍k-tē ê io̍k-bōng m̄-nā bô kiám-chió, tian-tò in-ūi chò bē-kàu, soah koh-khah cheng-ka.

Lo̍h-bóe, góa án-ne siūⁿ, sī m̄-sī ē-tàng kō͘ tōa chhiū-kho͘ ka-tī chò chi̍t-chiah to̍k-bo̍k-chiu, ná chhiūⁿ jia̍t-tài ê thó͘-lâng án-ne, sīm-chì góa bô ke-si, bô kha-chhiú. Góa siūⁿ, che m̄-nā ū khó-lêng, koh chin kán-tan. Chò to̍k-bo̍k-chiu ê siūⁿ-hoat hō͘ góa chin hoaⁿ-hí, iû-kî góa pí o͘-lâng a̍h Indian lâng koh-khah lī-piān, m̄-koh góa oân-choân bô khó-lī tio̍h, pí khí Indian lâng, góa ū te̍k-pia̍t put-lī ê tiâu-kiāⁿ -- its tī chûn chò hó liáu, bô kha-chhiú thang kā i sak lo̍h-chúi. Tùi góa lâi kóng, chit-ê khùn-lân pí in bô ke-si koh-khah giâm-tiōng. In-ūi, ká-sú góa tī chhiū-nâ kéng chi̍t-châng tōa-chhiū, khai tōa khùi-la̍t kā chhò tó, kō͘ góa ê ke-si kā phut chò chûn-hêng, koh kā lāi-bīn sio a̍h óe khang, chiâⁿ chò chi̍t-chiah chûn, án-ne liáu-āu, góa soah tio̍h kā lâu tī goân ūi, bô hoat-tō͘ hō͘ i lo̍h-chúi, án-ne tùi góa ū siáⁿ lō͘-iōng?

Lí khó-lêng ē án-ne siūⁿ, teh chò chûn ê sî, góa bô khó-lêng oân-choân bô khó-lī ka-tī ê chōng-hóng; góa eng-kai sûi siūⁿ tio̍h boeh án-chóaⁿ hō͘ chûn lo̍h-chúi. M̄-koh, in-ūi kui-sim teh siūⁿ kò-chûn chhut-hái, góa chi̍t-sut-á to bô khó-lī tio̍h, boeh án-chóaⁿ hō͘ i lī-khui lio̍k-tē. Khak-si̍t, chiū tāi-chì ê pún-chit, tùi góa lâi kóng, sái chûn hâng-hái 45 mai [72 km], khah kán-tan kòe kā chûn tī lio̍k-tē sóa 45 siâm (fathom = 1.85 bí) [83 bí] hō͘ i lo̍h-chúi.

Góa chò chit-chiah chûn, sī jīm-hô thâu-náu chheng-chhó ê lâng só͘ chò siōng gōng ê tāi-chì. Góa tek-ì ka-tī ê siat-kè, kin-pún bô su-khó góa kám chò ē-kàu. Sui-jiân góa tiāⁿ-tiāⁿ siūⁿ tio̍h chûn lo̍h-chúi ê khùn-lân, m̄-koh góa chóng-sī kō͘ ē-bīn chit-kù gōng-ōe hôe-tap góa ê gî-būn --  "Seng kā chò hō͘ hó; góa pó-chèng, oân-sêng liáu-āu, góa chóng-ē ū hoat-tō͘ chhú-lí."

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9.4 做這隻船是上戇 ê 代誌

今, 我懷念 Xury 彼个查埔囡仔, 和彼隻掛三角帆 (shoulder-of-mutton sail) ê 長舢舨仔, kō͘ he 阮沿 Afrika 海岸航行超過一千 mai [1,600 km]. M̄-koh, 思念 mā 無效, 所以我想, 我著去看原本屬 tī 大船 ê 彼隻小船. 我 bat 講過, tī 大風雨當中, 阮坐小船逃難 lak 落海, 小船 koh 予風吹到遠遠 ê 岸頂. 伊 ká-ná 猶停 tī 原來 hia, 干焦小可徙位, koh 因為風和湧 ê 關係, 已經 péng 過, 會使講是底向天, 崁 tī 一稜夯懸 ê 粗沙堆頂面, 四周無水.

我若有跤手 kā 伊修理一下, koh kā 放落水, 這隻船 tō 有夠好, ē-tàng 予我轉去 Brazil. M̄-koh, 彼時我看會出, 我無法度 kā 伊偃正, 予伊底向下, 彼 tō ná 我捒袂動這个島. 所以, 我去樹林, 剉棍仔做撬仔和輾仔, 提來船 chia, 看我 ē-sái 創啥. 我家己 án-ne 想, 若會當 kā 偃正, kā 修理害去 ê 位, 這 tō 是一隻真好 ê 小船, 我 tō 會得坐伊出海.

我拚勢做, 了戇力, 開三四禮拜 ê 時間. 結果發現, 我小小 ê 氣力無法度 kā 伊撬振動, 我 tō 開始挖沙仔, 向下面挖, 予船倒落, koh 安排柴棍仔來推捒和引導船仔倒正.

但是, 等我做了這, 我無法度 koh kā 撬振動, mā 無法度 tī 下面插輾仔棍, 閣較免講 kā 徙去水 ni̍h. 我只好放棄. M̄-koh, 雖罔我放棄對這隻小船 ê 寄望, 我愛欲冒險去對面陸地 ê 慾望毋但無減少, 顛倒因為做袂到, 煞閣較增加.

落尾, 我 án-ne 想, 是毋是 ē-tàng kō͘ 大樹箍家己做一隻獨木舟, ná 像熱帶 ê 土人 án-ne, 甚至我無家私, 無跤手. 我想, 這毋但有可能, koh 真簡單. 做獨木舟 ê 想法予我真歡喜, 尤其我比烏人 a̍h Indian 人閣較利便, m̄-koh 我完全無考慮著, 比起 Indian 人, 我有特別不利 ê 條件 -- its tī 船做好了, 無跤手 thang kā 伊捒落水. 對我來講, 這个困難比 in 無家私閣較嚴重. 因為, 假使我 tī 樹林揀一叢大樹, 開大氣力 kā 剉倒, kō͘ 我 ê 家私 kā 刜做船形, koh kā 內面燒 a̍h 挖空, 成做一隻船, án-ne 了後, 我 soah 著 kā 留 tī 原位, 無法度予伊落水, án-ne 對我有啥路用?

你可能會 án-ne 想, teh 做船 ê 時, 我無可能完全無考慮家己 ê 狀況; 我應該隨想著欲按怎予船落水. M̄-koh, 因為規心 teh 想划船出海, 我一屑仔 to 無考慮著, 欲按怎予伊離開陸地. 確實, 就代誌 ê 本質, 對我來講, 駛船航海 45 mai [72 km], 較簡單過 kā 船 tī 陸地徙 45 siâm (fathom = 1.85 米) [83 米] 予伊落水.

我做這隻船, 是任何頭腦清楚 ê 人所做上戇 ê 代誌. 我得意家己 ê 設計, 根本無思考我敢做會到. 雖然我定定想著船落水 ê 困難, m̄-koh 我總是 kō͘ 下面這句戇話回答我 ê 疑問 --  "先 kā 做予好; 我保證, 完成了後, 我總會有法度處理."

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9.4

Now I wished for my boy Xury, and the long-boat with shoulder-of-mutton sail, with which I sailed above a thousand miles on the coast of Africa; but this was in vain: then I thought I would go and look at our ship’s boat, which, as I have said, was blown up upon the shore a great way, in the storm, when we were first cast away. She lay almost where she did at first, but not quite; and was turned, by the force of the waves and the winds, almost bottom upward, against a high ridge of beachy, rough sand, but no water about her. /

If I had had hands to have refitted her, and to have launched her into the water, the boat would have done well enough, and I might have gone back into the Brazils with her easily enough; but I might have foreseen that I could no more turn her and set her upright upon her bottom than I could remove the island; however, I went to the woods, and cut levers and rollers, and brought them to the boat resolving to try what I could do; suggesting to myself that if I could but turn her down, I might repair the damage she had received, and she would be a very good boat, and I might go to sea in her very easily.

I spared no pains, indeed, in this piece of fruitless toil, and spent, I think, three or four weeks about it; at last finding it impossible to heave it up with my little strength, I fell to digging away the sand, to undermine it, and so to make it fall down, setting pieces of wood to thrust and guide it right in the fall.

But when I had done this, I was unable to stir it up again, or to get under it, much less to move it forward towards the water; so I was forced to give it over; and yet, though I gave over the hopes of the boat, my desire to venture over for the main increased, rather than decreased, as the means for it seemed impossible.

This at length put me upon thinking whether it was not possible to make myself a canoe, or periagua, such as the natives of those climates make, even without tools, or, as I might say, without hands, of the trunk of a great tree. This I not only thought possible, but easy, and pleased myself extremely with the thoughts of making it, and with my having much more convenience for it than any of the negroes or Indians; but not at all considering the particular inconveniences which I lay under more than the Indians did—viz. want of hands to move it, when it was made, into the water—a difficulty much harder for me to surmount than all the consequences of want of tools could be to them; for what was it to me, if when I had chosen a vast tree in the woods, and with much trouble cut it down, if I had been able with my tools to hew and dub the outside into the proper shape of a boat, and burn or cut out the inside to make it hollow, so as to make a boat of it—if, after all this, I must leave it just there where I found it, and not be able to launch it into the water?

One would have thought I could not have had the least reflection upon my mind of my circumstances while I was making this boat, but I should have immediately thought how I should get it into the sea; but my thoughts were so intent upon my voyage over the sea in it, that I never once considered how I should get it off the land: and it was really, in its own nature, more easy for me to guide it over forty-five miles of sea than about forty-five fathoms of land, where it lay, to set it afloat in the water.

I went to work upon this boat the most like a fool that ever man did who had any of his senses awake. I pleased myself with the design, without determining whether I was ever able to undertake it; not but that the difficulty of launching my boat came often into my head; but I put a stop to my inquiries into it by this foolish answer which I gave myself—

“Let me first make it; I warrant I will find some way or other to get it along when it is done.”

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