Huck's encounter of Jim on Jackson's Island begins with his shocking discovery of a campfire, a scene that certainly echoes the famous moment when Robinson Crusoe, after years alone on his island, discovers a human footprint. Defoe's novel was originally published in 1719; throughout the 19th century it maintained its popular status, and was repeatedly reprinted, often with new illustrations, in both England and the U.S. One of the most often illustrated scenes is the moment when Crusoe, having rescued a man from cannibals, tells him his name is "Friday" -- "I likewise taught him to say Master, and then let him know that was to be my name." Friday's posture is described as "antic," and especially "humble" and "thankful": he "made all the signs to me of subjection, servitude, and submission imaginable."
This typical representation of that scene, from an American edition of Crusoe brought out twenty years before Huck was published, suggests Kemble and MT's readers may have remembered it when seeing how Jim falls on his knees to Huck.
(London and New York: 1865)