Now the characters in which they write[186]and the language which they speak are not like those of the other Moors, but are clean different; yet they are all of the sect of Mohammed, and are called Arabs[CC]and Azanegues and Berbers.[187]And they all go in the manner I have already said, to wit, in tents with their herds, wherever it pleaseth them, without any rule or governance or law, for each goeth as he willeth and doeth what pleaseth him in so far as he hath power. They make war with the Negroes more by thieving than by force, for they have not so great strength as these last.[188]And to their land come some Moors and they sell them of those Negroes whom they have kidnapped, or else they take them to Momdebarque, which is beyond the kingdom of Tunis, to sell[189]to the Christian merchants who go there, and they give them these slaves in exchange for bread and some other things, just as they do now at the Rio do Ouro, as will be related further on. And 'tis well for you to know that in all the land of Africa which stretcheth from Egypt to the West, the Moors have no other kingdom than the kingdom of Fez, in the which lieth that of Marocco and ofTafilet; and the kingdom of Tunis, in which is that of Tlemcen[CD]and of Bugia; and all the rest of the country is possessed by these Arabs and Azanegues, who are shepherds on horseback and foot, and who travel over the plains as I have already related. And it is said that in the land of the Negroes there is another kingdom called Melli, but this is not certain;[190]for they bring the Negroes from that kingdom, and sell them like the others, whereas 'tis manifest that if they were Moors they would not sell them so.
And returning to the hap of John Fernandez, who went off thus with those shepherds; He reported that, as he journeyed with them over those sands he oftentimes had not sufficient milk. And it fell out one day that two horsemen passed by there who were journeying in the direction of that Ahude Meymam, of whom we have already spoken before, and they asked this John Fernandez if he wished to go to the place where that Moor lived? "Well it pleaseth me," answered John Fernandez, "for I have heard that he is a noble man, and I would fain go to see and know him." So then the others placed him on a camel and they began to journey in the direction where they thought the Moor was, and they travelled so far that the water they were carrying fell very low, on which account they went three days without drinking. And he saith that they know not the place where any people dwell save by keeping their eyes on the heavens,[191]and where they see crows andhussos francos,[192]they judge there are people, for in all that country there is no fixed road save those that go by the sea coast. And that John Fernandez said that those Moors with whom he travelled guided themselves by the winds alone, as is done on the sea, and by those birds which we have already mentioned. Andthey journeyed so far through that land, enduring their thirst, until they reached the place where was that Ahude Meymam with his sons and with others who accompanied him, in number as many as one hundred and fifty men. And to him John Fernandez made his reverence, and the Moor received him right well, and ordered him to be supplied with the food on which he supported himself, to wit, milk, so that at the time he was picked up by the caravels he was well nourished and of a good colour. He reported that the heats of that land are very great, and so is the dust of those sands, and the men on foot many, and therefore few on horseback, for the remainder who are not such as to travel on foot go on camels, of which latter some are white and make fifty leagues[193]in the day. And there is a great sufficiency of these camels, not of the white in particular, but of all colours, and there are also many flocks and herds, though the pastures be so few, as we have already noted. And he further saith that they have captive Negroes, and that the men of rank possess abundant gold, which they bring from that land where the Negroes live; and that there are in that land many ostriches[CE]and deer, and gazelles and partridges and hares, and that the swallows which depart hence[CF]in the summer go and winter there on those sands, and I believe this is on account of the heat; and other small birds go there as well, but he saith that the storks pass over to the land of the Negroes, where they abide through the winter.
[CA]In text "Tagaoz."
[CB]ThePalma Christi.
[CC]In text "Alarves."
[CD]In text "Tremecam."
[CE]In text "Emas."
[CF]Portugal.
CHAPTER LXXVIII.Of the leagues that the caravels of the Infant went beyond the Cape, and of other things of all kinds.
It was the opinion among many people in Spain, and of other parts as well, that those great birds called ostriches did not hatch their eggs, but that as soon as they laid them on the sand they left them there; but it was found to be quite the contrary, for they lay twenty and thirty eggs and hatch them like other birds. And he[CG]reporteth that the things in that land, by which those who live by merchandise may gain profit, are those Negroes, whereof they have many whom they kidnap; and gold, which they get from the land of the latter; and hides, and wool, and butter, together with cheeses, of which there are many there; and also dates in great abundance, which are brought from another part, and amber, and the perfume of the civet, and resin,[194]and oil, and skins of sea-wolves, which are in great numbers in the Rio do Ouro as you have heard. And they could also obtain somewhat of the merchandise of Guinea, of which there are many kinds and very good, as will be recounted further on. And it was found that up to this era of 1446 years from the birth of Jesus Christ, fifty and one caravels had voyaged to those parts; but of the sum of the Moors that they captured we will speak at the end of this first book. And these caravels passed beyond the Cape[CH]four hundred and fifty leagues. And it is found that all that coast goeth to the south, with many promontories, according to what this our Prince had added to the navigating chart. And it should be understood that what had been known for certain of the coast of the great sea was six hundred[195]leagues, and to them are nowadded these four hundred and fifty. And what was shown on themappemondewith respect to this coast was not true, for they only depicted it at hazard; but this which is now placed on the charts was a matter witnessed by the eye, as you have already heard.[196]
[CG]Fernandez.
[CH]Bojador.
CHAPTER LXXIX.Which speaketh of the Island of Canary and of the manner of living there.
Meseemeth I ought to give an account of many things in this book, for if I speak of them so briefly, those that read the history will remain still in desire and wishful to learn the details by which to perfect their knowledge. And since I told in the beginning of this book how the Infant Don Henry despatched an expedition to the Canary Islands, and afterwards how the ships sailed there to make some captures, I would now set forth the number of these islands and the manner of their inhabitants, and of their beliefs, and after that, everything that pertaineth to them. And, as I have found in ancient writings, in the time that the King Don Henry reigned in Castile, who was son of Don John the first, who was vanquished at the battle of Aljubarrota, a certain nobleman of France called Monsieur Jean de Béthencourt, who was a noble and Catholic man, and desired to render service to God, having learnt that these islands belonged to infidels, set out from his country with the purpose of subduing them. And coming into Castile he obtained ships and men, more than he brought, and he went against them and had great toil in their conquest; but at last he made subject three, and four remained to be subdued. And for that Monsieur Jean had now used all the provisions and money which he brought with him, he wasobliged to go back to his country with the intention of returning again to finish the conquest of the whole number; and in those three which he had already conquered he left as captain a nephew of his, called Monsieur Maciot.[197]But Monsieur Jean, when he arrived in France, returned no more to this land; some said because he fell ill of grave disorders which prevented him from returning to accomplish his good purpose; others again declared that he was kept back by the King of France on account of the wars in which he was engaged, in the which he needed his services; so the said Monsieur Maciot remained there for a time until he passed over to the Island of Madeira, as will be related further on. And the peopling of these three islands, at the time of the putting together of this book, was as follows: in the island called Lançarote there dwelt sixty men, and in that of Fuerteventura eighty, and in the other, called Ferro, there would be twelve men. And these are the three which were subdued by that great lord of France. And all their inhabitants are Christians, and carry out among them the divine offices, having churches and priests. But there is another island called Gomera, which Monsieur Maciot laboured to conquer with the aid of some Castilians whom he took in his company, and they were unable to perfect their conquest, although among those Canarians there are some Christians. And the number of its inhabitants will be seven hundred men, and in the other island of Palma there dwell five. And in the sixth island, which is that of Teneriffe or Inferno, because it hath on the top a chasm through which fire continually issueth forth, there dwell six thousand fighting men. The seventh island they call Grand Canary, in which there will be five thousand fighting men. These three islands, from the commencement of the world, have never been subdued, but many men have already been carried off from them, and by means of these nearly alltheir manner of life hath been learnt. And because they seemed to me very different from the usage of other races, I would here discourse a little about it, so that those who have received such grace from the Lord that they are outside the tale of such bestiality, may praise the Lord for it, because it pleased Him that all things should be made in such different manners, and that those who are placed in the holy law of Christ, and for His love would suffer some hardness of life, may get them great courage to enable them to support it well, when they recollect that these others are men likewise and that they spend such a hard and rough life with pleasure and delight to themselves. Now of all these islands which I have already named Grand Canary is the largest, and it will be in circumference six-and-thirty leagues. Its people are not without cunning, but of little good faith; and they know that there is a God from whom those who work good will receive good, and those who work evil will receive evil. And they have two men amongst them whom they call kings, and one duke, but all the rule of the island is in the hands of certain knights, who cannot be less than one hundred and ninety in number, nor as many as two hundred. And when five or six of these are dead, the other knights meet together and select as many more of them who are also the sons of knights, for they must not choose others, and these they put in the place of those who are dead, so that the number may always be full. And some declare that these men are of the noblest birth recorded, for they have ever been of the lineage of knights without admixture of villein blood. And these knights know their creed, but the others know nothing of it, but say only that they believe what their knights believe. And they must violate all the virgin girls, and after one of the knights hath slept with the girl, then her father or he may marry her to whomsoever hepleaseth. But before they sleep with them they fatten them with milk until their skin is wrinkled like that of a fig, for they hold that the thin girl is not as good as the fat one; and they say that so the womb is enlarged, enabling them to bear big children. And so, when she is stout, they exhibit her naked to those knights, and he who hath a mind to violate her, telleth her father that she is now fat enough. And her father or mother maketh her enter into the sea during some days for a certain time in each day, and she is then relieved of some of her excessive fatness, and then they take her to the knight, and when she hath been violated her father taketh her home.
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 poorones, 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 manypigs 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 spentif 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 dubbeda 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, andits 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.
[CI]In the text, "Machito."
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 shipmight 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 othergood 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 theirrelations 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]
[CJ]Your men.
[CK]The text has the old form, "Tavilla."
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 asI 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 Guineascrossed 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 inyears, 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 wasbidden. O, Thou great and supreme succour of all the forsaken and afflicted, who dost never desert those that cry out toThee 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.
[CL]Of knighthood.
[CM]Guineas.
[CN]Our men.
[CO]Not counting Tristam himself.]
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 thiswould 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 ata 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.
[CP]Madeira.
[CQ]Than his uncle.
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 acaravel 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 intoit 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 broughtup 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 andwith 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.
[CR]Caravels.
[CS]Portugal.
[CT]Stevam.
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, forthere 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."