§ II.
His trading on the coast; offer to escape; imprisonment; exile; escape and new imprisonment; his sending to Elamba and Bahia das Vaccas; many strange occurrences.
[Trading in Loango.]
When I was sent to Longo [Loango], which is fifteen leagues to the northward of the River Zaire, and carried all commodities fit for that country, as long glass beads, and round blue beads, and seed beads, and looking-glasses, blue and red coarse cloth, and Irish rugs, which were very rich commodities. Here we sold our cloth at a great rate, for we had for one yard of cloth three elephants’ teeth, that weighed 120 pounds; and we bought great store of palm-cloth[36] and elephants’ tails.[37] So, in little time we laded our pinnace. For this voyage I was very welcome to the governor, who promised me my liberty if I would serve him. So I went in his pinnace two years and a half upon the coast.
[An Attempted Escape.]
Then there came a ship of Holland to the city, the merchant of which ship promised to carry me away. And, when they were ready to depart I went secretly on board, but I was betrayed by Portugals which sailed in the ship, and was fetched on shore by sergeants of the city and put in prison, and lay with great bolts of iron two months, thinking that the governor would have put me to death. But at last I was banished for ever to the Fort of Massangano, to serve in the conquest of those parts. Here I lived a most miserable life for the space of six years without any hope to see the sea again.
[A Second Attempt at Escape.]
In this fort there were Egyptians and Moriscoes that were banished as myself. To one of these Egyptians[38] I brake my mind, and told him that it were better for us to venture our lives for our liberty than to live in that miserable place. This Egyptian was as willing as myself, and told me he would procure ten of his consorts to go with us. So we got three Egyptians and seven Portugals. That night we got the best canoe that we could find, and went down the river Cuanza, and being as far down as Mani Cabech,[39] which is a little lord in the province of Elamba [Lamba], we went on shore with our twelve muskets, powder and shot. Here we sunk our canoe, because they should not know where we went on shore. We made a little fire in the wood, and scorched Guinea wheat,[40] which we [had] brought from Massangano, to relieve us, for we had none other food.