GOMES EANNES DE AZURARA; (continued 5)

These people fight with stones, and have no other arms save a short stick to hit with. They are very daring and strong fighters on the land, which is very stony, and they defend it well. All of them go naked and only wear a fork of coloured palm-leaves round about them by way of breeches, which hideth their shame, but many of them lack even this. They possess neither gold, nor silver, or money, nor jewels, nor any engines of warfare, save some things they make with stones, which they use in the place of hangers, and with which they also construct the houses wherein they dwell. They hold all gold and silver and every other metal in disdain, counting it folly in him who desireth them, and commonly there is none among them that hath a different opinion from the others. Neither care they for clothes of any kind, much or little; but rather they mock at the man who prizeth them, as they do with one who prizeth gold and silver, and all the other things I have mentioned; only they set great store on iron, which they fashion by the aid of these stones and make hooks of it to fish with. They have wheat and barley, but they are without the wit to make bread, and only make meal which they devour with flesh and butter. And they have many figs and dragon's blood trees, and dates, though poor ones, and they have also herbs which they eat. And they possess moreover sheep and goats and a sufficiency of pigs. And they number five thousand fighting men, as I have said above. They only shave with stones. Some of them call themselves Christians; and after the Infant sent Don Fernando de Castro there with his fleet, in the which he carried two thousand and five hundred men and one hundred and twenty horses, many of them became Christians; and because Don Fernando was fearful that the victuals he carried would not last, he left without conquering them altogether. And afterwards the Infant wished to send another expedition there, but the King of Castile interfered in the matter, saying that the Islands belonged to his conquest, which of a surety is not so. And hereby this very pious undertaking, to wit, that this people might live under the law of Christ, still remained to be accomplished. But this fleet was dispatched there in the year of Christ one thousand four hundred twenty and four. The inhabitants of the island think it a great evil to kill flesh or skin it, and so if they get a Christian from abroad, they are rejoiced for him to be their butcher. And when they cannot obtain as many as they need for that trade, they seek out the worst men in the island for this charge, and the women will have nothing to do with these persons, and the men will not eat with them, for they hold them to be worse than lepers among us. They light fires by sticks, rubbing one against the other. The mothers suckle their children with disgust, so that the greater part of the rearing of their babies is done by the teats of she-goats.

CHAPTER LXXX. Which speaketh of the Island of Gomera.

The fighting of the men of the island of Gomera is done with small rods like arrows, sharp and burnt in the fire. They go about naked without any clothes, and have little shame at it; for they make a mockery of clothes, saying that they are but sacks in which men put themselves. They have only a small amount of barley and the flesh of pigs and goats, but little of all this. Their food is chiefly milk and herbs, like the beasts, and the roots of rushes, and rarely meat; they eat dirty and foul things such as rats, fleas, lice, and ticks, and consider them all as good viands. They possess no houses, but live in holes and huts. Their women are almost common, and when anyone cometh where another is, at once the latter giveth him his woman by way of hospitality, and him that doeth otherwise, they hold as a bad man.^[198] Wherefore the sons do not inherit among them, but only their nephews, sons of their sisters. The greater part of their time they spend in dancing and singing, for their whole luxury consisteth in sport without work. They place all their happiness in the commerce of the sexes, for they have no teaching of a law, but only believe that there is a God. They will be seven hundred fighting men, who have a duke and certain headmen.

CHAPTER LXXXI. Of the Island of Inferno or Teneriffe.

Meseemeth I find a betterment of life among those inhabitants of the island of Inferno, for they are well supplied with wheat and barley and vegetables, with many pigs and sheep and goats, and they go clothed in skins; but they possess not houses, but only huts and dens, in the which they spend their lives. Also they draw in their privy parts, as horses do, who only extend them when they have to generate issue, or to make water. And they hold it to be as evil to act otherwise as we do in the case of those who go about without small clothes. Their fighting is done with staves made of the inner wood of the pine, fashioned like great javelins, very sharp, burnt in the fire, and dry. And they number from eight to nine bands, each with a king, whom they must always take with them, although death come to him, until the other who succeedeth to the lordship after him happeneth to die, so that they always have with them one dead and the other alive. And so, when the other dieth and there are two dead, and they have to abandon one according to their bestial ordinance, or more rightly I will say, custom, they bear him to a pit in which they throw him, and he who carrieth him on his neck exclaimeth as he throws him—"May he go to salvation." And these men are strong and daring, and have wives of their own, and they live more like men than some of these others; they fight one with the other, and in this all their principal care consisteth, and they believe that there is a God.

CHAPTER LXXXII. Of the Island of Palma.

The inhabitants of this island of Palma have neither bread nor vegetables, but only sheep and milk and herbs, and maintain themselves on these; they know not to recognise God nor any faith, but only think they believe; like the other cattle they are very bestial; and they say they have certain among them who are called kings; and their fighting is done with staves like the men of Teneriffe, except that where an iron head should be, they put a sharp horn, and another at the lower end, though not so sharp an one as that at the top. They have no fish, nor do the men of this island eat them; and, while those of all the other islands do just the contrary, seeking means to capture them and making use of them in their housekeeping, these men only do not eat fish nor are they at the pains to capture them. And the number of inhabitants will be five hundred men, which is a great marvel, that being so few they have never been conquered from the beginning of the world; and from this it is evident how all things are only as God willeth them to be, and at the times and within the bounds that please Him.

CHAPTER LXXXIII. Of how the Island of Madeira was peopled, and also the other Islands that are in that part.

Since I have related, in the fifth Chapter of this work, where I spoke of the especial things which the Infant performed for the service of God and the honour of the realm, how that among the other matters accomplished by him was the peopling of these islands, I would here tell briefly of the said peopling, and the more particularly as in the past few chapters I have spoken of the Canary Islands. Now it was so, that in the household of the Infant there were two noble esquires, brought up by that lord, men young in years and fit for great deeds. And after the Infant returned from raising the siege of Ceuta, when the united power of those Moorish Kings had encircled it, these men begged him to put them in the way to perform some honourable deed, like men who desired it much, for it seemed to them that their time was ill spent if they did not toil in some undertaking with their bodies. And the Infant, perceiving their good wills, bade them make ready a vessel in which they were to go on a warlike enterprise against the Moors, directing them to voyage in search of the land of Guinea, which he already had purposed to discover.^[199] And since it pleased God to ordain such a benefit, both for this Kingdom and also for many other parts, He guided them so that, even with the weather against them, they reached the island that is now called Porto Santo, being nigh to the island of Madeira, the which may be seven leagues in circumference. And so they remained there for some days and right well examined the land, and it seemed to them that it would be a very profitable thing to people it. And returning thence to the Kingdom, they spoke of it to the Infant, and described the goodness of the land and the desire they had as to its peopling; and this pleased the Infant much, and he straightway took order for them to obtain what was needful to enable them to return to the said island. And as they were busied in the work of making ready for their departure, there joined himself to their company Bartholomew Perestrello, a nobleman of the household of the Infant Don John; and these men, having all their things ready, set out on their voyage to the said island. And it happened that among the things they took with them to stock the said island was a she-rabbit, which had been given to Bartholomew Perestrello by a friend of his, and the rabbit went in a hutch pregnant, and it came about that it gave birth to young on the sea, and so they took all these to the island. And when they were lodged in their huts, to make ready houses for themselves, they set free that female rabbit with her young to breed; and these in a very short time multiplied so much as to overspread the land, so that our men could sow nothing that was not destroyed by them.

And it is a marvel how they found in the year following their arrival, that although they killed a very great quantity of these rabbits, there yet remained no lack of them. Wherefore they abandoned that island and passed over to the other isle of Madeira, which will be forty leagues in circumference, and twelve leagues distant from Porto Santo; and there stayed the two, to wit, John Gonçalvez and Tristam, and Bartholomew Perestrello returned to the kingdom. This second island they discovered to be good, especially in very noble flowing waters, which are made to irrigate what part they will; and there they began to make very great sowings, from the which they obtained most abundant crops. From that time they saw that the land had good air and was healthy, and they found many birds, which in the beginning they were wont to capture in their hands, and they discovered many other good things in the said island. So they let the Infant know all this, and he straightway laboured to send there other people and ornaments for a church, and clerics, so that in a very brief space a great portion of that land was put to use. And the Infant, considering how those two men were the pioneers of this settlement, bestowed on them the chief governance of the island, to wit, on John Gonçalvez Zarco, who was a noble man and had been made a knight at the siege of Tangier in a battle that the Infant won there upon a Thursday, of which the history of the Kingdom maketh a fuller mention. And this John Gonçalvez had already been present at very great actions, and especially at the raising of the siege of Ceuta and the overthrow of the Moors that took place on the day of arrival. And to this man the Infant gave the governance of the portion of the island called Funchal, and the other part called Machico^[CI][200] he bestowed on Tristam, who also was dubbed a knight in a foray that was made at Ceuta; and he was a very daring man, but not so noble in every other respect as John Gonçalvez. And the beginning of the peopling of this island took place in the year of the birth of Jesus Christ one thousand and four hundred and twenty; and at the time of the making of this history it was peopled reasonably well, for there were in it one hundred and fifty inhabitants, besides other persons such as traders and unmarried men and women and youths, and boys and girls who had been born on the said island, as well as clerics and friars, and others who came and went for their merchandise and for those things which they cannot dispense with in that island. And in the year one thousand and four hundred and forty-five the Infant despatched a knight called Gonçallo Velho,^[201] who was a Commander of the Order of Christ, to go and people other two islands that are distant from those one hundred and seventy leagues to the north-west. And one of these the Infant Don Pedro began to people with the approval of his brother; but his death followed shortly, therefore it remained afterwards for the Infant Don Henry to continue this work. And to this island Don Pedro had assigned the name of St. Michael, on account of the singular devotion which he had ever felt to that Saint. And the Infant Don Henry also caused to return to the island of Porto Santo, for the purpose of peopling it, Bartholomew Perestrello, the same man who had first voyaged there with John Gonçalvez and Tristam; but owing to the multitude of rabbits, which are almost without end, no tillage is possible there, but many cattle are reared there, and dragon's blood is also collected there and brought for sale to this Kingdom, and taken to many other parts as well. And he turned out cattle on another island which lieth seven leagues from the island of Madeira, intending to have it peopled like the other, and its name is Deserta. And of these seven islands, four are as large as that of Madeira and three are smaller. And for the profit of the Order of Christ, whose governor the Infant was at the time of the said peopling, he gave the said Order all the revenues ecclesiastical of the island of Madeira and of Porto Santo and all the revenues both ecclesiastical and temporal of the other island, of which he made Gonçallo Velho Commander. And beside all this he bequeathed to the said Order the tithes and half the sugar produce of the Island of St. Michael.

CHAPTER LXXXIV. Of how the Infant Don Henry required of the King the right over the Canaries.

In the year 1446 the Infant began to make ready his ships to return to the said conquest, but before doing aught in the same, he requested the Infant Don Pedro, his brother, who at that time was ruling the Kingdom in the name of the King, to give him a Letter forbidding all the subjects of these realms from daring to go to the Canary Islands, to make war or treat of merchandise, without the command of the said Infant. This letter was granted him, and beside this he was privileged to enjoy a fifth of whatever should be brought from there; and this was very rightly given him, considering the great expense which that noble Prince had incurred in the matter of the said conquest. And though we found the substance of that letter set forth in the former book written by Affonso Cerveira, by aid of which we prosecute this history, yet we care not to transcribe it, for it is no new thing to any one of experience to see such writings, and well we know that their style would rather induce weariness in readers, so trite is it, than the desire to see their accustomed reasonings.^[201a]

CHAPTER LXXXV. Of how the caravel of Alvaro Dornellas returned, and of the Canarians that he took.

Now in this chapter it behoveth us to return to the action of Alvaro Dornellas, about whom we wrote that he stayed in the Canary Islands. And he let himself remain there out of shame, for it seemed to him that he would be blamed if he were to turn back to the kingdom without any booty, by means of which some portion of his toil might be known. And it was so, that Affonso Marta brought his caravel, as we have told, and this was despatched to the Madeira Islands. For here the said Alvaro Dornellas ordered him to take in provisions against the price he should receive for the sale of two Canarians that he forwarded in her, and he remained to pay those persons from whom he had borrowed them in merchandise equal in value. But by the chance of the weather he failed to make the Islands, and was forced to enter the river-mouth at Lisbon, where at that season was one John Dornellas, an esquire of the King, a man of noble birth, brought up in the household of the King Don John and the King Don Edward, and a cousin of this Alvaro Dornellas of whom we are speaking, who had an equal share with him in the ownership of the said caravel. And both were of one mind to go in her, only they accorded not as to the date of their first departure, when John Dornellas received command of the King, ordering him to abstain for the time from making the said voyage, for so it was necessary for his service. And when that esquire saw how the caravel came, he knew the necessity in which his cousin must be, and he at once had provisions and men got ready in haste so that the ship might be furnished, and he also took merchandise, by means of which he thought his cousin might satisfy his debt in respect of the captives he had taken. Now this John Dornellas was a man of courage, and longed to accomplish great actions, and so he made his voyage with despatch, although it was at great expense to himself, and arrived in a short time at that island where his cousin was, namely, the one called Fuerteventura. And Alvaro Dornellas arrived there as soon as he knew of his coming, and taking aside his cousin, he said to him: "In that I have informed these Castilians that this caravel is all mine (which I said that they might have cause to help me better in my actions, thinking that you would not come to this land, and also more especially that I might fit out by their help a pinnace that is here), I beg of you, even though this thing may be in some part a lessening of your honour, that for my sake you will be pleased to endure it, and advise all^[CJ] to say none the less that the ship is mine, and that as a thing of mine it arrived here, with all it containeth. And from this moment, dear cousin, it remaineth for you to command me in some other matter, albeit a greater one, at a future time; and you may be well assured that, beside the reasons I have, if I receive this favour of you, I shall perform it with such good will as you shall see." "By God, cousin," replied John Dornellas, "though it be somewhat of a hardship for me to lessen my honour, being the man I am and with the upbringing I have had, yet I am well pleased to put all out of sight in order to do your will, although some of the men who come with me are persons of such rank that they have accompanied me here more out of friendship than from hope of profit. For here I have Diego Vasquez Portocarreiro, an esquire of the King our lord, and other good men; but I will endeavour what I can in the business." And this in fact he did, so that all ended as Alvaro Dornellas desired. But this much you ought to know, that he acted afterwards quite contrary to what his words showed. For but little time had passed when John Dornellas perceived his deceit, and on account of this they were henceforth in very great contention, and almost came to slaying one another over it, but the matter is not fit unto this place. And so when both men came to this first agreement, they straightway armed the pinnace, and arrived in company at the Island of Gomera, where Alvaro Dornellas, as the captain, spake with the chief men of the island and asked them, on behalf of the Infant Don Henry, that they would give him some assistance to go to the island of Palma to make some captures. And they with good will granted him as much as he required. And so taking some of those Canarians to aid them, they reached a port of the island of Palma, where they landed and at once concealed themselves in a valley, because it was in the day time and they feared to be discovered. But as soon as night fell, they began to journey through the island without any guide or sure path by which to direct them to any certain part, but only at any venture that God might be pleased to ordain for them, until they arrived at a place where they heard the barking of dogs, and knew by this that they were nigh to an inhabited spot. "Now that we are already sure of that we seek," said some, "let us rest here in this valley, and very early, God permitting, we will go against them, for our going now might bring to us rather injury than benefit." And so they reposed there until they saw it was time to attack their foes, and then they charged them with such vigour that in a very brief space they captured twenty. And since the Canarians gave them much trouble in their attempts to deliver their relations and friends, and also to avenge others who were left for dead, John Dornellas said to his cousin that he should take the captives and go on in advance with them, and he would hold in check the others, so that they might not diminish the booty; and in this stay, although they were hard pressed, yet they availed to escape from them, leaving fifteen of them dead in that valley, and none of the Christians died, and only two were wounded. And so they returned to the island of Gomera, where Alvaro Dornellas was compelled to stay, while his cousin departed to the Kingdom. But such lack of provisions overtook them that they looked for no other remedy than to eat some of those captives, as they felt they could be saved in no other way. However, it pleased God that before they came to this extremity, they made the port of Tavira,^[CK] which is in the kingdom of the Algarve.^[202]

CHAPTER LXXXVI. Of how Nuno Tristam was slain in the land of Guinea, and of those who died with him.

Ah, in what brief words do I find enregistered^[202a] the record of the death of such a noble knight as was this Nuno Tristam, of whose sudden end I purpose to speak in the present chapter. And of a surety I could not pass it by without tears, did I not know, almost by divine forecast, the eternal delight his soul tasteth, for it seemeth to me that I should be reckoned as covetous by all true Catholics were I to bewail the death of one whom it hath pleased God to make a sharer in His immortality. And of a surety, inasmuch as he was the first knight who by himself bestowed that honour^[CL] on another in that land, and as I made a commencement of this book with an account of the booty he obtained, so did I feel almost resolved to conclude it with his death, giving to his divine soul the primary seat of celestial glory as the firstfruits of all the others who for God's sake were to meet their end in that land. Now this noble knight was perfectly informed of the great desire and purpose of our virtuous Prince, being one who from such an early youth had been brought up in his household; and seeing how the Prince was toiling to send his ships to the land of the Negroes and much further yet, if he might accomplish it; and hearing that some caravels had already passed the river of Nile, and the things that were reported from there; it seemed to him that if he were not to make himself one of that elect company and to render service to the Infant his lord in that land in any good thing that might be done or encountered there, he could not obtain the name of a good man and true. Wherefore he straightway made him ready a caravel, and having it armed, he began his voyage and stayed not in any part, but pursued his course toward the land of the Negroes. And passing by Cape Verde, he went sixty leagues further on and came unto a river, in the which it seemed to him that there ought to be some inhabited places. Wherefore he caused to be launched two small boats he was carrying, and in them there entered twenty-two men, to wit, ten in one and twelve in the other. And as they began to take their way up the river, the tide was rising with the which they entered, and they made for some habitations that they espied on the right hand. And it came to pass that before they went on shore, there appeared from the other side twelve boats, in the which there would be as many as seventy or eighty Guineas, all Negroes, with bows in their hands. And because the water was rising, one of the boats of the Guineas crossed to the other side and put on shore those it was carrying, and thence they began to shoot arrows at our men in the boats. And the others^[CM] who remained in the boats bestirred themselves as much as they could to get at our men, and as soon as they perceived themselves to be within reach, they discharged that accursed ammunition of theirs all full of poison upon the bodies of our countrymen. And so they held on in pursuit of them until they had reached the caravel which was lying outside the river in the open sea; and they^[CN] were all hit by those poisoned arrows, in such wise that before they came on board four of them died in the boats. And so, wounded as they were, they made fast their small boats to the ship, and commenced to make ready for their voyage, seeing their case, how perilous it was; but they were not able to lift their anchors for the multitude of arrows with which they were attacked, and they were constrained to cut the cables so that not one remained. And so they began to make sail, leaving the boats behind, for they could not hoist them up. And it came to pass that of the twenty-two men that left the ship only two escaped, to wit, one André Diaz and another Alvaro da Costa, both esquires of the Infant and natives of the City of Evora; and the remaining nineteen^[CO] died, for that poison was so artfully composed that a slight wound, if it only let blood, brought men to their last end. And there died that noble Knight Nuno Tristam,^[203] very desirous as he was of this present life, in that there was no place left him to buy his death like a brave man. And there died also another Knight called John Correa and one Duarte Dollanda and Estevam Dalmeida and Diego Machado, men of noble birth and young in years, brought up by the Infant in his household; as well as other esquires and foot soldiers of the same upbringing; and seamen and others of the ship's company.

Suffice it to say that they numbered in all twenty-one,^[203a] for of the seven that had remained in the caravel two were also wounded as they were trying to raise the anchors. But whom will you have to make ready this ship that she may pursue her voyage and depart from among that evil race? for the two esquires who remained, as we said, did not wholly escape from that peril, for being wounded they came near unto death, and lay ill quite twenty days, not being able to render any aid to the others who were toiling to direct the caravel. And these latter were not more than five in number, to wit, a sailor lad very little acquainted with the art of navigating, and a boy of the Infant's household called Airas Tinoco, who went as purser, and a Guinea boy who had been captured with the first prisoners taken in that land, and two other boys, both quite young, who were living with some of those esquires that died there. Of a surety, compassion is due to their great toil at that hour. They went weeping and sorrowing for the death of such a captain and of the others their comrades and friends, and were from that time in fear of the hateful enemies they knew to be near them, from whose deadly wounds so many and such brave men had died in a very brief space. And especially they sorrowed because they found so slight a remedy whereby to seek their safety; for the sailor lad, in whom they were all putting their hope, confessed openly his scant knowledge, saying that he knew not how to direct the course of a ship or to work at anything of that kind in such wise as to be serviceable; but only if directed by another he would do what he could, as he was bidden. O, Thou great and supreme succour of all the forsaken and afflicted, who dost never desert those that cry out to Thee in their most great necessity, and who now didst hear the cries of these men who made their moan to Thee, fixing their eyes on the height of the clouds and calling upon Thee to hasten to their aid; clearly didst Thou show that Thou heardest their prayers when in such a brief space Thou didst send them heavenly aid. For Thou didst give courage and understanding to a youth who had been born and brought up in Olivença, an inland town far removed from the sea; and he, enlightened by divine grace, piloted the ship, and bade the seaman steer directly to the north, declining a little to the east, namely, to the wind that is called north-east, for he thought that there lay the kingdom of Portugal, towards which they wished to make their voyage. And as they were going thus on their way, after a part of the day was over, they went to see Nuno Tristam and the other wounded men, and they found them dead, so that they were obliged to throw them into the sea; and on that day they threw in fifteen, and four remained in the boats, and two they threw in the next day. But I write not of the feelings that would be theirs when they cast those bodies upon the multitude of waters, burying their flesh in the bellies of fish. But what importeth it to us if our bodies lack sepulture? since in our own flesh we shall see our Saviour, according to the determination of Holy Scripture, for it is the same thing whether we lie in the sea or the land, and whether we be eaten of fishes or of birds. Our chief concern is in those works of ours by which after our death we shall find the truth of all these matters that here we see in figure; and since we all believe and confess that the Pope is our Chief Vicar and Supreme Pontiff, through whose power we shall be able to receive absolution or condemnation, according to the authority of the Gospel, we are as true Catholics bound to believe that those whom he shall absolve, if they fulfil the conditions of his decree, will be placed in the company of the saints. Therefore we can say with justice to these men: "Beati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur." And moreover, all who read this history will obtain a reward from God, if they make a memorial of the death of these men in their prayers, for inasmuch as they died in the service of God and their lord, their death is happy. Now this youth whom I have mentioned was that same Airas Tinoco of whom I spoke above, and in him God put such grace that for two months together he directed the course of that ship; but all were doubtful what their end would be, for in all those two months they never caught sight of land. And at the end of this time they sighted a pinnace which was on warlike business, and they had great fear at the sight, for they thought it belonged to Moors; but after they found it pertained to a Galician pirate whose name was Pero Falcom, a new joy came upon them, and much more so when they were told that they were off the coast of Portugal, opposite a place belonging to the Master-ship of Santiago, called Sines.^[204] And so they arrived at Lagos, and thence they went to the Infant to tell him of the tragical fortune of their voyage, and laid before him the multitude of arrows by the which their companions had died. The Infant had great displeasure at the loss of these men, for wellnigh the whole number of them had he brought up, and although he well believed that their souls had found salvation, yet could he not prevent a sorrow for that humanity which was brought up in his presence for the space of so many years. And so, like a lord who felt that their deaths had come to pass in his service, he afterward had an especial care of their wives and children.

CHAPTER LXXXVII. Of how Alvaro Fernandez returned again to the land of the Negroes, and of the things he accomplished there.

One of the signs by which a noble heart is recognised is that it hath no contentment in small matters, but ever seeketh some betterment, that its honour may be increased among the deeds of the noble both in its own land and outside it. And this may we justly say of John Gonçalvez, captain of the island;^[CP] for he, not satisfied by the other voyage that his ship had made in the previous year to the land of the Negroes, made ready once more to dispatch there that same Alvaro Fernandez with his caravel well armed, and charged him to make his way still further onward to the utmost of his power, and to toil for some booty which by its novelty and greatness might give testimony of the good will he had to serve that lord who had brought him up. Now Alvaro Fernandez undertook this matter as an honourable burden, like one who had no less desire^[CQ] to carry through the mandate which his uncle had laid upon him. And when the ship had been provisioned, they made their voyage straight to Cape Verde, whereat in the past year they had captured the two Guineas of whom we have spoken in another place, and thence they passed on to the Cape of Masts,^[205] and made a stay there to put some men on shore. And for the sole purpose of seeing the land, seven of them joined together, and these, when they had been landed upon the beach, discovered the footprints of men leading along a certain path. And they followed them up and reached a well where they found goats, which it seemeth the Guineas had left there, and this would be, I think, because they perceived that they were being followed. The Christians went so far and no further, for they dared not pursue their course, and returning to their caravel, they voyaged on, and putting out their boat, found on land some elephant's dung of the bigness of a man, according to the judgment of those that saw it; and because it seemed not a place wherein to make booty they returned again to their caravel. And so journeying along the sea coast, in a few days they went on shore again, and came upon a village, and its inhabitants issued forth like men who showed they had a will to defend their houses, and among them came one armed with a good buckler and an assegai in his hand. And Alvaro Fernandez seeing him, and judging him to be the leader of the band, went stoutly at him, and gave him such a great wound with his lance that he fell down dead, and then he took from him his shield and assegai; and these he brought home to the Infant along with some other things, as will be related further on.

Now the Guineas, perceiving that man to be dead, paused from their fighting, and it appeared to our men to be neither the time nor the place to withdraw them from that fear. But rather they returned to their ship and on the next day landed a little way distant from there, where they espied some of the wives of those Guineas walking. And it seemeth that they were going nigh to a creek collecting shell-fish, and they captured one of them, who would be as much as thirty years of age, with a son of hers who would be of about two, and also a young girl of fourteen years, who had well-formed limbs and also a favourable presence for a Guinea; but the strength of the woman was much to be marvelled at, for not one of the three men who came upon her but would have had a great labour in attempting to get her to the boat. And so one of our men, seeing the delay they were making, during which it might be that some of the dwellers of the land would come upon them, conceived it well to take her son from her and to carry him to the boat; and love of the child compelled the mother to follow after it, without great pressure on the part of the two who were bringing her. From this place they went on further for a certain distance until they lighted upon a river,^[206] into the which they entered with the boat, and in some houses that they found they captured a woman, and after they had brought her to the caravel, they returned once more to the river, intending to journey higher up in order to try and make some good booty. And as they were pursuing their voyage thus, there came upon them four or five boats of Guineas prepared like men who would defend their land, and our men in the boat were not desirous to try a combat with them, seeing the great advantage their enemies had, and especially because they feared the great peril that lay in the poison with which they shot. And so they began to retreat to their ship as well as they could, but seeing how one of those boats was much in front of the others, they turned round upon it, but it retired towards its companions, and as our men were trying to reach it before it escaped (for it seemeth that it was already distant a good way from the company) their boat came so near that one of those Guineas made a shot at it and happened to hit Alvaro Fernandez with an arrow in the leg. But since he had already been warned of its poison, he drew out that arrow very quickly and had the wound washed with urine and olive oil, and then anointed it very well with theriack, and it pleased God that it availed him, although his health was in very troublous case, for during certain days he was in the very act of passing away from life. The others on the caravel, although they saw their captain thus wounded, desisted not from voyaging forward along that coast until they arrived at a narrow strip of sand stretching in front of a great bay, and here they put out their boat and went inside to see what kind of land they would find; and when they were in sight of the beach they saw coming toward them full 120 Guineas, some with shields and assegais, others with bows. And as soon as they came near the water these began to play and dance like men far removed from any sorrow; but our men in the boat, wishful to escape from the invitation to that festival, returned to their ship. And this took place 110 leagues beyond Cape Verde,^[207] and all that coast trendeth commonly to the south. And this caravel went further this year than all the others, wherefore with right good will a guerdon of 200 doubloons was granted unto it, that is to say 100 which the Infant Don Pedro, who was then Regent, ordered to be given, and another 100 which it obtained from the Infant Don Henry. And had it not been for the illness of Alvaro Fernandez, by which he was much disabled, the caravel would have gone further still, but it was obliged to return from that last place I have mentioned, and it came straight to the Isle of Arguim, and thence to the Cape of the Ransom, where they found that Ahude Meymam of whom we have already spoken at times in this history. And although they did not carry an interpreter, yet by making signs they obtained a negress, whom the Moors gave them in exchange for some cloths they brought with them, and had they not brought so little they could have obtained much more, judging by the desire that the Moors showed. And thence they made their voyage towards the Kingdom, where they received the doubloons as I have already said, together with many other guerdons from the Infant their lord, who was very joyful at their coming on account of the advance they had made in their expedition.

CHAPTER LXXXVIII. Of how the nine caravels departed from Lagos, and of the Moors they captured.

Although the news of the death of Nuno Tristam caused in many people of our Kingdom a great fear of following up the war they had commenced; for the one party said to the other that it was a very doubtful matter to undertake fighting with men who so plainly carried death about with them; yet there were not wanting men to attempt the enterprise with good will. For manifest as the danger was, yet sufficient for all things were the hearts of those who would fain earn the name of good men; and especially were they moved to this by the knowledge they had of the Infant's desire and by seeing the great increasements that he made to those who toiled thereat, for, as Vegetius saith, "Men are valiant where valour is rewarded." And so in this year certain captains, with nine caravels, were moved to go to that land of the Negroes; and of these the first was Gil Eannes, a knight who dwelt in the town of Lagos. And the second was a noble esquire brought up in the Infant's household from early boyhood. Now this was a very bold youth, and none the less endowed with many other good qualities, and you will find his deeds writ more fully in the Chronicle of the Kingdom, and especially where it speaketh of the great deeds that were achieved in Ceuta; and this man's name was Francisco Vallarinho. The third was that Stevam Affonso of whom we have already spoken in other places of this our history, and he had under his captaincy three caravels. There was Laurence Diaz, of whom we have also spoken ere now, and Laurence Delvas and John Bernaldez, a pilot, each of whom brought his caravel. And there was moreover in this company a caravel belonging to the Bishop of Algarve, which an esquire of his commanded. And these,^[CR] by the Infant's ordinance, went to the Island of Madeira to take in their supplies; and from the said Island there departed, with these caravels that went from this land,^[CS] two ships, to wit, one commanded by its owner, Tristam, one of the captains who lived in the isle, and another in which sailed Garcia Homem, son-in-law to John Gonçalvez Zarco, the other captain. And so making their voyage all together, they arrived at the Island of Gomera, and here they landed the nineteen Canarians who had been captured in spite of the sureties, as you have heard further back; and they also took up certain men who had remained there belonging to the Infant's household and to the Island of Madeira. "Now," said those on the ships to the Canarians of that island, "we would fain try our fortune in the Island of Palma, if perchance we can make any booty wherewith to do service to the Infant our lord; and we would know for our better despatch if it will please you to give us some of your men who are ready to help us." "You know already," replied the Canarians by means of their interpreters, "that everything which is for the service of the Infant we will do with all our power." And true it is that they all went to the said island; but their going availed them nought, because the Canarians were already forewarned by sight of the caravel of Laurence Diaz, which had arrived there some days before. And after the great labour they had gone through in this affair, the two caravels of the Island returned, perceiving that they could not make any booty. But Gil Eannes, that knight of Lagos, and the others, pursued their voyage until they arrived sixty leagues beyond Cape Verde, where they met with a river which was of a good width, and into it they entered with their caravels;^[208] but that entry was not very profitable for the Bishop's caravel, forasmuch as it chanced to touch on a sand-bank and sprang a leak, in such wise that they could not get it off any more; but the crew escaped with everything they cared to take from it. And while some were occupied with this, Stevam Affonso and his brother went on shore; but the inhabitants were in another part, and intending to go in search of them they departed from there, guiding themselves by the glimpse of a track they found near the place. And after pursuing their way for some little distance they said they found much of the land sown, and many cotton trees and many fields sown with rice, and also other trees of different kinds. And he^[CT] said that all that land seemed to him like marshes.

And it appeareth that Diegaffonso had gone on in front before the others, and with him fifteen of those who had a pre-eminent desire to achieve some deed, among whom was a youth of the Infant's household called John Villes, who was with them as purser. And as they were entering into a very thick grove of trees, the Guineas issued out against them from one side with their assegais and bows, and came as near them as they could, and Fortune so willed it that of the seven who were wounded five died straightway on the spot, of whom two were Portuguese and three strangers. And as the affair was at this point, Stevam Affonso arrived with the others who were coming behind. And he, seeing the perilous place they were in, brought them all back as best he could, and in this retirement they had not a little trouble, because the Guineas were numerous and carried hurtful weapons, even as you perceive those were which in such a brief space killed our men. And at this time four youths who were brought up in the Infant's household received a pre-eminent meed of praise, and the chief of them was that Diego Gonçalvez, a noble esquire, of whose manly parts we have already left an account in other places. Another was one Henry Lourenço, who was also a youth desirous of toil for the increase of his honour. And of the other two one had for his name Affonseannes, and one Fernandeannes. And as soon as they arrived at their caravels they held a council and agreed to return, seeing that they were already discovered, and that their ships were overflowing with the crew they had taken from the Bishop's caravel. But although they gave this reason, I hold that the principal cause of their departure was the fear of their enemies, whose terrible manner of fighting was such as to strike any man of understanding with great terror. For it cannot be named true courage, unless they had some other and greater need of fighting, willingly to enter into combat with men who they knew had the power to do them so much injury. And there remained the bodies of those dead men among the thickness of the trees, and their souls departed to see the things of the other world; and may it please God, if they are not yet in His holy kingdom, to take them to Himself. And for pity's sake, all ye others that hold the Christian faith, say your prayers for them, for in asking for them ye ask for yourselves also. And the caravels returning as they had arranged, arrived at the Island of Arguim to provide themselves with water, of which they had need. And then they determined to go to the Cape of the Ransom,^[209] where they went on shore and found the track of some Moors. And although by reason of the heat a journey by land was very perilous, yet considering that they were returning without booty to the kingdom, they felt constrained to adventure the risk, and so they began to follow up that track until after two leagues they reached the Moors and with little labour captured eight and forty of them. And thence they resolved to make their way straight to the Kingdom; and so in truth did all save only Stevam Affonso, who sailed to the Island of Palma, where he went on shore with the greater part of those he brought with him. And there they happened to light at once upon some Canarians, of whom they took two women; but this was not fated to pass without a very harmful return on the part of the enemy. For they turned upon our men as they were carrying off the booty, and attacked them so boldly that there were some there who would willingly have left a part of that spoil to any who would have secured them from destruction. But that bold and good esquire Diego Gonçalvez, forgetting not his courage, stoutly took a crossbow from the hands of one of those archers there, and also the bolts and quiver, and placing himself among our men shot at the Canarians; and so much did he toil in the using of his arrows that in a very brief space he killed seven of those enemies. And among them there died one of their kings, who was recognised by a palm he carried in his hand, for it seemeth that their custom is for a king to have that pre-eminence among the others. And as you know that with all men it is a natural thing that when the chief dieth all the others do fly, so those men, seeing their captain to be dead, ceased from their fighting, giving place to our men that they might put themselves in safety; and so they came to the Kingdom with their booty, although one of those Canarian women died before they disembarked at the town of Lagos.

CHAPTER LXXXIX. How Gomez Pirez went to the Rio do Ouro, and of the Moors that he captured.

When this year of 1446 arrived, Gomez Pirez remembered what he had said to the Moors when he came to the Rio do Ouro in the year preceding; and forasmuch as he could not pass to that land without the licence and aid of the Infant, he began to require of him that he would assist him to go whither he had promised the Moors to return. And omitting some other reasonings that passed between them the Infant granted him the said licence and made him ready two caravels, that is to say, one decked and the other a fishing-boat, in which were twenty men (or with Gomez Pirez one and twenty), and among them was a youth of the Infant's household called John Gorizo, who had it in charge to write down all the receipts and expenses with the Moors.^[210] And it was already the accustomed thing for all the ships that were sent out by the Infant, when they left this realm, to go first of all to the Island of Madeira to take in their victuals; and so soon as they arrived there Gomez Pirez spake with that purser and said that he would depart immediately towards the Rio do Ouro in the smaller caravel; and that John Gorizo should remain in the other and take in the things they had to carry; and that when the latter arrived there he^[CU] would have arranged his traffic with the Moors. And so the first caravel departed, and arrived at the entering in of the Rio do Ouro, where they lay on their anchors for a space. "Let us go," said Gomez Pirez to the men he brought with him, "to the end of this river, where I promised the Moors the year before that I would come and traffic, for there is no reason in our staying here, since the Moors appear not." And so they made their voyage there and arrived at a port called Porto da Caldeira,^[211] where they cast anchor. And in order that the Moors might have knowledge of their coming, on the day after their arrival Gomez Pirez bade them make a small smoky fire on a hill that was near the port. And when he saw that they came not on that day he had another made, and others also by night and by day until, after three days were passed, the Moors began to arrive, and Gomez Pirez began to speak with them by means of his interpreters, asking them to have some Guineas brought there, in exchange for whom he would give them cloth. "We," replied they, "are not merchants, nor are there any near here, but they are all engaged in trafficking in the Upland; yet, if they knew it, they would make great endeavour to come here, for they are men well supplied both with Guineas and gold, as well as some other things with which you might be well content."^[212] Then spake Gomez Pirez to some of those men, and asked them to go and summon them, saying he would give them a certain fee for it; but the Moors received the money and pretended they were going to call them, but in the end they would never put themselves to the trouble of it, although Gomez Pirez waited there for the space of one-and-twenty days. And so full of trust were the Moors toward our men that five or six of them willingly entered into the caravel, and meanwhile there arrived the other ship of John Gorizo, which had remained in the Island. And when the one-and-twenty days were passed, and Gomez Pirez perceived how the Moors were cheating him, and how they would not go and summon the merchants, he said to them that until then he had granted them security in the name of the Lord Infant his lord, but that since they did not deal straightly, from henceforth they were to beware of him and to consider the security as ended. And so forthwith he drave out all the men he had in the caravel, and made sail forthwith, moving away four leagues from thence to the other side of the river; and on the day after he had arrived there, he saw two Moors coming towards the beach, and these by his command were captured in brief space. Gomez Pirez spake with them apart, and asked them if they had news of any other Moors being at hand. "We know," replied they, "that ten are gone to an island that is at the end of this river, and that there is an inhabited place near there in which there will be some forty or fifty souls." "Now, since this is so," said Gomez Pirez to John Gorizo, "make you ready six of your other men and take one of these boats and go on shore in search of those Moors who are in the island, as this man telleth me; and be careful," added he, "that you find a way to seize them before they throw themselves into the water, because I hear that all are very expert swimmers, and they might escape you if you were not advised of this."

So these men departed, and Gomez Pirez had another boat made ready, in the which he put eleven men with himself and went on shore, and there he spake to them in this wise: "My friends, you well know how we are come to this part chiefly to do service to God, and then to the Lord Infant our master, and all this not without a profitable return for ourselves. And because I have learned that in front of that island whither I despatched those other companions of ours, there is a village containing some forty or fifty souls, the most that can fight therein will number from twenty to five and twenty, and I truly believe that if we go against them as we ought, we shall make a great booty among them without grave peril to ourselves. Wherefore my advice is that we set out against them forthwith, so that if any of those on the island escape, they may not be able to give the news of our coming to warn our foe and to cause him to flee. And this I make known to you as a man who desireth your counsel and approval." "What needeth there," replied the others, "any more talking or taking of counsel, but rather go you whither you wish, and God be with you. We will follow as we ought; for in regard to a man of such authority, and one who hath seen and passed through so many dangers both on sea and land, it would be matter of scorn if any of us were to think of correcting what you had determined." Now let us leave these men in their good purpose and speak of the six who went to the island; for these put all their energy in rowing their boat to arrive at that Island before the tide ebbed, because the Moors could easily escape at low water. And when they came near it, they agreed that four of them should go on shore and that two should proceed in the boat along the land, so that if the Moors attempted to throw themselves into the water, they could easily seize them, and also that if it were needful for them to leap forth and help their companions, they could do so. And as the four were making their way by land, the Moors caught sight of them, and either because they were men of courage or because they thought they had an advantage, they straightway rushed upon the Christians, hurling their assegais at a very short distance from them. These our men received upon their shields, and then they came to close combat, in which the four men had the better of the enemy, but the two men who were in the boat seeing clearly the toil of their companions, sprang upon land to aid them, and their coming was a sign of defeat for the foe, who began at once to retire and then altogether took to flight. And of the ten, which was the number of the Moors, two who tried to throw themselves into the water were drowned forthwith, either because they knew not well how to swim or for some other hindrance. And when the Christians saw that they were throwing themselves into the water, they leapt into their boat, and so inside and out they captured the eight. And when they had them bound, John Gorizo said to the others: "Let us go to the land whither we saw Gomez Pirez faring in the other boat, for he departed immediately after us, and of a surety it was only because he willed to attack the village which the Moors told him was situate there. And since we have now accomplished our undertaking, let us go and aid him, for perchance he will need our help, or at any rate they will at least know our good will." And this John Gorizo said, because when they were going to the Island, they well perceived the course that the other boat was taking. And all held this counsel to be good; and so leaving these men now to follow their way to where Gomez Pirez goeth, let us speak of the fortune of the others.

CHAPTER XC. Of the Moors that Gomez Pirez took in the other village.

Returning now to the deed of Gomez Pirez, let us suppose that council to be ended and consider that they are faring on their way, guided by those Moors whose words persuaded them to leave their ship. And it was so, that as they were already going near unto where they were told the village stood, they espied the Moors coming out of their encampment, and Gomez Pirez, catching sight of them, shouted lustily to the others to pursue them. "Run," said he, "for all our victory is in the speed of our feet, as you see that the foemen are beginning to make them ready." And his command was more than enough in their ears, for hardly had he uttered the first word, when they were already among the Moors, and crying out "Santiago" and "Portugal," in a very brief space they leapt into the middle of the village, and there at the first onset seized one and twenty of those people, what of men, women, and children. But I believe the most of these would be such as could not flee, for of the twelve Christians who reached that place, four separated themselves from the rest and ran after those that were flying; yet their toil availed them little, for they could never come up with them to take them, and at last their strength commenced to fail and they started to turn back. And as they were returning to their ships, well content with their victory, they met with the others who were coming to their aid, and there was united an almost equal joyfulness, for each party on its side was content with the victory it had gained, and much more because this had been without any loss. And so they went to their ships, where they took rest with the victuals they had, offering one to the other with a right good will, as is done in places where the like meetings take place, for a common proverb saith: "A poor man hath joy in a little." Gomez Pirez would not allow himself altogether to rest upon this victory, and content himself with what he had already gained, but while the others were in converse he took aside one of those Moors and asked him if he knew of any inhabited place near at hand. And he replied that he only knew one, but it was six leagues off, and this would hold not less than a hundred souls. "It were all one," said Gomez Pirez, "if there were three hundred of them, for we will go on all the same, since we are at the matter;" and so he ordered sail to be made on the sudden, and directed his ships whither the Moor pointed out to him that the village lay. And when he perceived that he was already four leagues from the place he had left, he had his boat put on shore with seventeen men of those he thought the best and the most daring, and three he left to guard the caravels. And then he had the Moor put in front as a guide. And because it seemeth they went by night, and the Moor knew not certainly where the place lay, but could only make guess of it, they would have passed it by, had it not been for the barking of a dog, by whose voice they discovered the place where the Moors were lying and turned back on them. But when they had reached the village, morning commenced to break, so that part of the Moors were already gone afield. However, with their accustomed cry, they came upon the place, and though the Moors defended themselves, they captured one and thirty of them; and I think this would be because it appeareth that the greater and principal men were already away, and the others that remained were old men and women and children. And they straightway asked of these what had become of the others who had departed thence? "They are," answered they, "three leagues from here toward the sea-shore, whither they went in search of food for themselves and for us." "Well, then," said Gomez Pirez, "my purpose is that we should go against them, for since we have already undertaken this toil, we should err if we did not make an end of it; wherefore eat something if you have it with you, that you may take some refreshment, and let us use one of these men to direct us to where these Moors are." True it is there were some there who would willingly have rested, if the contrary reasonings of the captain and of other some who agreed with his design had not prevented them. "Take two men of this company," said Gomez Pirez to John Fernandez (that good esquire of whom we have already told you how he went seven months in that land), "and conduct these Moors to the ships, and we will go in search of the others who left here before we arrived to-day."

CHAPTER XCI. Of what happened to John Fernandez when he was taking along the Moors.

Now as John Fernandez was going on his way with his prisoners in front of him, feeling not very sure that he would not find some foemen who perchance would make him lose his booty; and as he was looking around him on every side, for the land was level;^[213] he happened to espy, some distance off, five persons coming towards him. And he was very glad at the sight, because it appeared to him that they were coming straight for him; but he began to ponder thereon. "Now," said he to the others, "you can see those Moors there how they are coming straight for us. Meseemeth they are five while we are three, and one of us must needs guard the prisoners; so do you," quoth he to John Bertollomeu, "remain with them in the rear, and Lourenceannes and I will move on towards those who are coming, and we will go straight against them. For the further off we fight from these prisoners so much the more will it be to our advantage, since it might happen that they would mingle with those we have and it would be an occasion for some of the last to get free." And on this they began to pursue their way straight toward those who came against them, thinking they were fighting Moors, but they found it quite otherwise, for all five were women, and these they took with right good will, as something that increased their capital without toil; and then they conducted them with the others to their ships.

CHAPTER XCII. How Gomez Pirez and the others who were with him took the other Moors.

So Gomez Pirez pursued his voyage, as you have heard he had said to the others after they reached the village; and when he was now distant a good space from the place where they had made their booty, he caught sight of a Moor coming on an ass; and it appeareth that he had left the spot where the other Moors remained. But as soon as the Moor caught sight of our men he threw himself from his ass and began to turn back, running to where he had left his companions. And since the land was level, and the Moor was fresh, and had sight of our men coming a long way off; because of all this the Christians could not follow him, being greatly wearied from the toil and loss of sleep they had now had for two days. But they kept him in sight as long as they were able, and at the end they were obliged to lose him, yet they failed not to keep a straight course until they reached the huts of a village, where it seemeth the other Moors were, and in it they found no one; and this would be about the hour of terce. And as they were gazing around the moorland as far as their eyes could reach, they perceived the Moors who had set out from thence; and tired as they were, they followed after them by the space of a league and a half, when they came upon them by the sea, near which they had retreated to some very great rocks;^[214] and our men laboured to seek them out, but many as they were, yet on account of the difficulty of the place, they could not capture more than seven. And so they persevered in this toil all that day until nearly nightfall, but over and above their weariness, they sorely felt hunger and thirst, for which they had no remedy. And when they had searched all the places they deemed likely for anyone to hide in, they agreed to turn back. And true it is that some declared it would be well for some of them to remain there that night, to see if those Moors would come out, who were lying hid, but there was no one who dared to remain, so weakly did they feel their bodies to be; but rather they determined one and all to turn back to their caravels. And it seemeth that it pleased our Lord God to have a mind to their weakness, for He ordained that they should meet upon that path, by the which they were going, two camels already saddled. And this was a great help to their repose, for they took it in turn to ride them until they came to their ships, where they found they had a booty of nine-and-seventy souls.

On the next day it was agreed among them that inasmuch as their ships were not able to lodge so many Moors on account of the salt they were carrying from this realm—and this was in order to salt the skins of the sea-calves lest they should have no other booty, or perchance it was to enter into ransoming with the Moors—therefore they should throw all that salt overboard, as in fact they did. And they were minded still to depart and run down that other coast, and on account of a storm that came upon them, they determined there to caulk their ships that they might the better encounter the fortunes of the sea as they returned. And when their ships had finished their repairing, Gomez Pirez took aside one of those Moors to know where there might be any other Moors that he could capture; but although the Moor told him where lay certain villages and they went to them, directing their course toward the south, they found neither Moor nor Mooress in them nor any other creature. And so they made their way by certain places where the Moor thought they would find them, until they were right well assured that the Moors had knowledge of them, and that it would be lost labour for them to go further in their search. Wherefore they agreed to turn back to the Kingdom, seeing that their food was failing them, and especially their water, of which they could have no fresh supply in that land. And so they directed their voyage until they returned to Lagos, on the borders of which the Infant was staying at a place that is called Mexilhueira.

CHAPTER XCIII. Of the caravel that went to Meça, and of the Moors that it found.

In the following year, which was 1447 from the birth of Christ, the Infant considering that the Moors would not enter into trafficking at the Rio do Ouro, and that even though they had been minded to do it aforetime, yet now their good will would be altogether lacking on account of the Moors who had been captured by Gomez Pirez, as you have heard at length, wished to make trial if perchance the matter might better be accomplished by trafficking at that place which is called Meça.^[215] And that he might also obtain a better knowledge of that land, he straightway ordered them to make ready a caravel of an esquire of his called Diego Gil, the which was a man who had right well served him in the wars of the Moors both by land and by sea. And after he had taken order for these things, he had tidings that a merchant of Castile, named Marcos Cisfontes, was possessed of twenty-six Moors, from that place, who were already ransomed in exchange for certain Guineas. And in order that his ship might have some cargo on its outward voyage, he let the said merchant know that, if it pleased him, his Moors should be transported to that place in the caravel which he had made ready, if only he would give him a certain part of his profits in the said ransom. And to say truth, it was not so much the hope of gain from those men, as for two other reasons, that the Infant was content to do this—in the first place that he might have a better opportunity of seeing the land and knowing in what manner they would enter into the traffic of merchandise; and in the second place, that he might bring from thence those Guineas,^[216] for he believed they would receive the faith of Christ. That merchant was right well pleased with the terms the Infant sent to offer him, and so the caravel was immediately got ready and the cargo embarked, and the ship made its voyage straight to Meça, where they talked much about the trafficking, but could not bring anything to an agreement. Wherefore John Fernandez, that esquire who had remained for those seven months among the Moors of the Sahara, as you have already heard, spake to Diego Gil and to Rodrigueannes, another esquire whom the Infant was sending there to carry out the trafficking, and also to a Castilian merchant who was there to ransom the Moors. And he said: "If you are willing, I will go on land to arrange this ransom." And taking his sureties, he went amongst them, and bargained in such wise that he had fifty-one Guineas brought to the caravel, in exchange for whom eighteen Moors^[217] were given. And then it came to pass that the wind arose with such force from the side of the South that he was obliged to raise sail and return to the Kingdom. Then there was brought to the Infant a lion, which he afterwards sent to a place in Ireland which is called Galway, to a servitor of his who dwelt in that land, for they knew that never had such a beast been seen in that part. And so John Fernandez remained until another ship returned for him. And in this same year Antam Gonçalvez returned to the Rio do Ouro to see if he could persuade the Moors to come to traffick, but his going there turned out to be very dangerous. For as he was lying on his anchors up the river, the Moors straightway came down to the beach. And among them was one who clearly showed that he held lordship over them, and of him Antam Gonçalvez received sureties; but he warned him that he was not to trust the others except when he himself was present. And it was so, that when that Moor was distant from there, because the other Moors showed signs of confidence to the Christians, Antam Gonçalvez willed to go on land, thinking moreover that the Moor who had given him security would be there. And as soon as he came near the shore, and saw not that captain or lord of the enemy, he would not land. But as he could not well speak with them, being at a distance, he had the boat pulled very near the beach, and there the foemen clearly discovered the hidden guile that was in them, for they hurled their assegais like men who would fain display the mortal enmity they felt for our people. And had it not been for the great hardihood of Antam Gonçalvez, he had there met his end in a brief space with all his company. But as it was, he had the boat rowed off very lustily, though this could not be accomplished except with much labour, for the multitude of assegais that fell upon them. But it pleased God that they escaped out of that place and left some of those Moors wounded; and of the Christians one was wounded in such wise that within a few days he made his end, whenas the ship was already at sea.

And in this same year there went another caravel of a servitor of the Infant, whose name was George Gonçalvez, in which voyaged the said Gonçalvez and another; and they brought back from the Rio do Ouro much oil and many skins of sea-calves. And in this chapter the affairs of this year come to an end, for we find no other deeds in it that are worthy of being recounted.

CHAPTER XCIV. How Vallarte went to the land of Guinea, and the fashion of his remaining there.

The fame of the affair having spread through the different parts of the world, it arrived at the Court of the King of Denmark and Sweden and Norway;^[218] and as you see how noble men venture themselves with the desire to see and know such things, it came to pass that a gentleman of the household of that Prince, covetous of seeing the world, received his license and came to this realm. And staying for a time in the house of the Infant, he came one day and asked him that he would be pleased to arm him a caravel and put him in the way to go to the land of the Negroes. The Infant, as he was easily moved to anything wherein a good man might gain for himself honour or increase, straightway ordered a caravel to be armed as completely as might be, and told him to go to Cape Verde and see if they could obtain sureties from the King of that land, for he was informed that this man was a very great lord; and he was to convey the Prince's letters to him and also to tell him certain things from himself for the service of God and His holy faith. And all this because they assured him the said King was a Christian; and the conclusion of all was, that if he did truly hold the law of Christ, it would please him to aid in the war against the Moors of Africa, in the which the King Don Affonso, who then reigned in Portugal, and the Infant in his name, with the others their vassals and countrymen, were continually toiling. All things were very quickly ready, and that esquire, who was named Vallarte, embarked in his ship, and with him a Knight of the Order of Christ called Fernandaffonso, who was of the Infant's service and upbringing, and was sent by him in that caravel because Vallarte was a foreigner and knew not so well the customs and ways of the ship's company. And he came in order that he might direct the sailors and other matters that pertained to the governance of the vessel, and also that he might be as it were an envoy, if they chanced to see that King. And therefore he took two natives of that land as interpreters; but the chief captaincy belonged to Vallarte. And after enduring great toils on the sea, they made such a voyage that six months after the day that they first left Lisbon, they reached the Island of Palma that is in the land of the Negroes near Cape Verde. And there they took counsel about the manner in which they should henceforth act, according to the regulations they carried with them from the Infant; and then they sailed forward because that was not yet the port where they had to rest. And when they were at the extremity of the cape, in a place which among the natives of that land is called Abram, they had their boat put out and went on shore, and Vallarte went in it with some others and they found many of those Negroes already there. And Vallarte asked them to give him one of their people and he would give them one of his, so that there might be security between them and they could have their parleying; but they made reply that such a thing they could not do without the leave of a knight who lived there as a governor of that land, whose name was Guitanye. And he, as soon as he knew of this requirement, came there and was well pleased to grant what Vallarte asked. And as soon as one of these Negroes had reached the caravel, Fernandaffonso, who knew our Portuguese language best, began to speak with him, saying as follows: "The reason why we required of you to come to this ship was that you might tell your lord, by our authority, how we are the subjects of a great and powerful Prince of Spain, who is at the limits of the west, and by whose command we have come here to converse on his behalf with the great and good King of this land." And they caused him to read one of the letters they were carrying, the which was declared to him by one of their interpreters, so that he might repeat it to that knight who had sent him there. "How much soever," quoth he, "you desire to see Boor, who is our great King, you cannot for the present have a message from him, for it is certain that he is very distant from here, busied in making war upon another great lord who willeth not to obey him." "And if he were still in his house," said Fernandaffonso, "in how many days could they go to him with our message and also return with the reply?" "From six to seven days would be the greatest delay," replied the Guinea. "Then," said Fernandaffonso, "it would be well for you to tell this knight with whom you live to send a man there with the message, and to let him know all that I have already told you, and if your lord will do after this wise he will render a great service to his king and bring much profit to his land." "Now," said the Guinea, "I will tell all very truly to Guitanye."

Then they presented him with victuals, of the which he ate and drank, and afterward gave him one of the letters they brought, for him to show it to his lord; and this, he was to say, contained what they had told him, and he was to bear it as a token of friendship. But already when that Guinea reached the land, where was the knight who had despatched him, another like unto him was there named Satam, and another known as Minef, who had arrived there a little time before. And of this last the foulness was extreme, and those who were there said that nothing more foul could be painted, and his apparel was no great testimony to his honour, for he appeared there very ill-clad, although he had a greater power than some of the others. And whilst that Guinea was telling the knight of his embassy, the boat lay near the beach waiting for a reply, the which was very difficile to come at because the Guineas crowded round the man who came from the caravel, with a mind to know what he said, and also with desire to see the letter he bore, so that the knights were put to great trouble to remove them from there for a space. And in the end they could get no reply in all that day, although the knight went far into the water to speak with those in the boat, for such was the multitude of Guineas that they would never let him finish, and so all was left over for the next day, on which the boat went ashore very early. But the knight was already there in a canoe wherewith he would have journeyed to the caravel, but when he saw the boat coming he returned ashore. And he had a she-goat brought, and a kid, and paste, and boiled flour with butter, and bread with meal, and corn in the ear, and an elephant's tooth, and some seed of which that bread was made, and milk, and palm wine. And there happened to be there a knight who had arrived that same night, called Amallam, and he was the son of an uncle of that Guitanye by whose favour he had received that land, and it seemeth he would fain have spoken with those in the boat, but the Guinea would not allow him, saying that it was not right, as he had commenced the matter. And on this account he advised our men to return and take away those things for their refreshment, and after they had eaten to come back; and in the meanwhile they would hold their council. But if before this they were divided in mind through their conversing, they were much more so in the afternoon; and because we should have to be very prolix were we to recount minutely all that passed between one and the other in their parleying, let it suffice to say that this knight Guitanye went several times to the caravel, making the journey in a canoe and taking four men with him. And he talked with our men concerning the traffic, and said that he was able to set everything in order, because that, when King Boor bestowed land on a knight, the latter could do therewith like the king himself, so that whatever he did, the king held it as well done. Howbeit, our men said that they carried orders to do nothing until they should have first spoken to that king, and upon this matter there passed much reasoning; and the end was that he should nevertheless send to the house of the king with their message. And whilst they were tarrying for the messenger who was there, that Guitanye went to the ship in all security, taking with him of the best viands that he had, with elephant's teeth, and certain other things, and he also received drink-money, and cloth, with other precious articles that our men gave him, and he showed himself to be very content with their converse. And one day they came to ask him that he would have an elephant killed for them, to strip off its skin, and teeth, and bones, with some part of the flesh, to which the Guinea replied that this could be accomplished without great toil. "Then," said Vallarte, "if you will put us in the way to this, for each one of us two that returneth here, you shall have a tent of linen cloth, in the which from twenty-five to thirty men can lodge, and so light that one can carry it on his neck." And our men went many times to the land with him and were at his call, but not so near that they could capture them. And it happened once on a time that the boat was near to the shore and with the rush of the sea it touched on the dry land, whereupon those in it were much affrighted; and when the knight perceived it, he told them to be of good courage, for all those were his men, and they would do them no displeasure; and so in everything that Guinea knight showed himself to be a true man. But Fortune, aided at times by the ill counsel of some, ordained matters in such wise that our men had not so agreeable an end to this commencement. For it was so, that whilst that Guitanye was in search of the elephant as he had promised, Vallarte, like a man of little discretion, would go on shore one day, for it seemeth that for some time they had called him. And true it is that he was told beforehand that he should abstain from going, yet he must needs land, as a man summoned by Fortune to witness the hour of his great trouble. And as he was near the shore, there appeared a Negro carrying a gourd with wine or water, and pretending that he was desirous to give it him; and Vallarte bade those who were rowing to draw near; and although some said to him that such an approach was unwise, yet they had to obey his orders, to the great injury of all. For as the boat was being taken into shore they went so near the land, to take the said gourd from the negro, that it touched ground. And whilst Vallarte was looking at a multitude of those Negroes who were lying under the shade of a tree, one of the interpreters they carried, called Affonso, made as though he would take the gourd and let himself slip out. And when the others perceived this and tried to bring the boat back, there came upon them a wave and overturned it altogether; and then the Negroes hastened up very lustily and fell in a body on the boat, hurling their assegais. So that of all the number who set out from the caravel in that journey, there returned not to the ship more than one, who threw himself into the water and swam; but we find not what end the others had, inasmuch as that man who came away by swimming said that he only saw one slain, and that when he looked behind him, yea, three or four times, he always saw Vallarte seated on the poop of the boat. But at the time when we were writing this history, there came into the Infant's power some captives who were natives of that part, and they said that in a castle very far inland were four Christians, of whom one was dead already, but the other three were still living, and some held that these would be the lost men, according to the tokens that the Negro gave. And Fernandaffonso, considering this untoward event, and also that he had no boat wherewith he could return on shore to gain news of the others, had his anchors raised and returned to the Kingdom.^[219]

CHAPTER XCV. How Antam Gonçalvez went and received the Island of Lançarote in the Infant's name.

Of so well tried a usance in that land of the Moors were now the dwellers in Lagos, that not only were they content to go there and make war on the inhabitants, but there were some even who, not satiate with fishing in the accustomed places of their fathers and grand-fathers, essayed to go and fish in the seas of that coast. And they sought license of the Infant and promised him a certain sum for it, that he would let them pass there and set in order their fishery. And I believe that this was not required in vain, for it may well be conceived that some of those who had gone there before had perceived the sea to be so replete with fish that they were moved to make such a request. Wherefore having arranged with the Infant for a certain quantity of money which they had to give him for the right which belonged to him there, they directed their expedition, sailing on their course until they reached a place called the Cabo dos Ruyvos.^[220] And here they began to set in order their fishery, and of the fish they found a very great abundance. And when they had been there for some days and already had a good part of their fish dried, and another portion set upon poles to dry it, the Moors came upon them, very wroth at such daring, and they almost killed the fishermen, and this in fact they would have done if it had not been for their good diligence in retreating. So that in the end they turned all their anger upon the fish that was spread out to dry, and this they cut in pieces with their arms with no less anger than they would have done to their foemen if they could have reached them. And two of those fishermen were wounded in that retirement, though not with dangerous wounds, but only with such that they were healed of them in a very brief space. And they turned back to their native town, not repenting them of their voyage, for they brought with them sufficient gain in the fish that they had already dried and packed in their ship in precaution against the fortune that afterwards happened to them. And in this year the Infant, who was desirous to follow up much further his first design, seeing that for matters to come to better perfection he needed one of the Islands of Canary, contracted with that Monsieur Maciot, of whom we have already spoken, who had the lordship of the Island of Lançarote, to give it up to him. And he, satisfied by a present or fixed rent for every year, gave up the said Island with all its seigniory to the Infant, and the latter made chief captain thereof that noble knight Antam Gonçalvez, first of all; and he went and took possession of the said Island in his name, and remained therein some time animating its inhabitants to the service and obedience of his lord with such benignity and sweetness that in a very brief space his virtue was confessed of all.