The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea. Vol. I

by Gomes Eannes de Zurara

Lançarote, as I said, was a man of great good sense, as all those with him knew well: so that they did not care to examine his reasons; but all exclaimed with one voice, that it was very good what he had said.

And so these two captains made ready to go forthwith, and they took with them thirty men, to wit, six in each boat, and set out from the island where they were, about sunset. And rowing all that night, they arrived about daybreak at the island that they sought. And as soon as they recognized it by the signs that the Moors had told them of, they hugged the shore for some way until they arrived, as it grew light, at a settlement of Moors, which was close to the beach; where were collected together all the people of the island. And seeing this, our men stopped for a while to consult what they ought to do. And they were greatly in a strait betwixt two courses, for they did not know whether they should return to the caravels, as their chief captain had ordered them, or whether they should at once attack the settlement that was so near. And while they were still undetermined, each one thinking for himself, Martin Vicente arose and said "Of a surety, our doubts give us food for thought; for, if we transgress the orders of our captain, we shall fall into a mistake; and all the more so if any damage or danger were to come upon us; for then it would be an occasion, not only of loss to ourselves, but of our being very badly reputed. On the other hand we have come here chiefly to procure an interpreter through whom the Infant our Lord may get news of this land, a matter he greatly desires, as all of you know. But now we are so near this settlement that, as it is already morning, we shall not be able to get off to the caravels without being discovered, and if discovered we cannot hope, after that, to obtain an interpreter here; for these Moors will all have fled on to the continent, which as you see is close by—aye, and not only the inhabitants of this island, but also those of the other islands near at hand, being at once warned and prepared by these from here. And so our journey will bring in but small profit, and the Infant our Lord, for this turn, will not have what he desireth from this land. But it appeareth to me, and this is my counsel, if you agree, that we attack the Moors whilst they are unprepared; because they will be conquered by the disunion that will prevail amongst them through our arrival, and, though we gain nothing there save an interpreter, we should be contented with that. And as for disobeying our captain's order, provided God assist us to do something good, as I hope He will, it should not be reckoned against us, and, even if it be, we shall be lightly pardoned for two reasons. First, because if we do not fight it is certain that our coming here will be all in vain; and the design of the Infant our Lord will fail by reason of our being discovered; and secondly, because, although we are commanded to return we are not forbidden to fight. And to fight seemeth to me to be reasonable; for we are here thirty in number, and the Moors, as you have heard, are only 170 or 180 all told, of whom fifty or sixty should be fighting men; and so, if it seem good to you, let us not delay any longer, for the day is coming on quickly enough, and, if we delay, our expedition and purpose will be of little avail indeed."

All replied that his counsel was very good, and that they would go forward at once. And when all this reasoning was done, they looked towards the settlement and saw that the Moors, with their women and children, were already coming as quickly as they could out of their dwellings, because they had caught sight of their enemies. But they, shouting out "St. James", "St. George", "Portugal", at once attacked them, killing and taking all they could.

Then might you see mothers forsaking their children, and husbands their wives, each striving to escape as best he could. Some drowned themselves in the water; others thought to escape by hiding under their huts; others stowed their children among the sea-weed, where our men found them afterwards, hoping they would thus escape notice.

And at last our Lord God, who giveth a reward for every good deed, willed that for the toil they had undergone in his service, they should that day obtain victory over their enemies, as well as a guerdon and a payment for all their labour and expense; for they took captive of those Moors, what with men, women, and children, 165, besides those that perished and were killed. And when the battle was over, all praised God for the great mercy that he had shewn them, in that he had willed to give them such a victory, and with so little damage to themselves. And as soon as they had their captives put safely in their boats, and others securely tied on land (because the boats were small and they were not able to store so many in them at once), they sent a man to go as far as possible along the shore, to see if he could get sight of the caravels. He set out at once; and one full league from the place where the others were staying, he had sight of the caravels coming; for Lançarote, as he had promised, had started as soon as it was dawn. Now the scout put a white ensign on his pike, and began to make signs to the caravels with it, and they as soon as they espied him, directed their course to that part where they saw the signal. And on their way they lighted on a channel through which the boats could easily go to the island, and forthwith they launched a small boat they had, and pulled to land to hear the news, which was told them every whit by the fellow who there awaited them. And he said also that they ought to land and help them to bring off to the caravels those captives who remained on shore under guard of seven men, who were staying with them on the island. For the other boats were already coming along the shore with the other Moors they were carrying.

And when Lançarote, with those squires and brave men that were with him, had received the like news of the good success that God had granted to those few that went to the island; and saw that they had enterprised so great a deed; and that God had been pleased that they should bring it to such a pass; they were all very joyful, praising loudly the Lord God for that he had deigned to give such help to such a handful of his Christian people.

But to the man who asketh me if their pleasure at the affair was altogether sincere, and without being in some way feigned, even though slightly, I would say "nay"—for those on whom God hath bestowed stout and lofty hearts, cannot feel really contented if they are not present at every brave deed they reasonably can meet with; nor are such altogether without that envy which, in a like case, is not one of the chief vices, but may rather be named a virtue, if it rest on a sound reason, as with good men and true.

After the Moorish prisoners had all been transferred from the boats to the caravels, some of our Christian folk were left to watch them and the rest landed, and went over the island, until they found the others under guard of the seven men of whom we have spoken before. And when they had collected all their prisoners together, it was already late, for in that land there is a difference in the length of days from ours; and the deed was all the greater, by reason of the distance of the caravels from the scene of action and of the great number of the Moors.

Then our men rested and enjoyed themselves as their share of the toil required. But Lançarote did not forget to learn from the Moorish prisoners what it was his duty to learn, about the place in which he was now staying and its opportunities; and he ascertained of them by his interpreter, that all about there were other inhabited islands, where they would be able to make large captures with little trouble.

And so, taking counsel about this, they determined to go and seek the said islands.