We have already told how Tristam, one of the captains of the Island of Madeira, had armed a caravel to go in company with the others. And although he had a right good will to serve the Infant and much desired to profit himself (for he was abundantly covetous), yet such was his fortune that as soon as he passed Cape Branco, immediately the wind became contrary for him. And thereat he turned backwards; and although he afterwards toiled hard to return and pursue his first way, yet never again was he able to fill his sails save with a contrary wind, and with this he returned to the island from which he had started. Also Alvaro Dornellas, an esquire and servant of the Infant, and a good man and brave, armed another caravel, in the which he laboured hard to achieve some deed for his honour, yet was he never able to capture more than two Canarians, whom he took in one of those islands; and with them he sent back his caravel, giving the charge to an esquire to have it repaired for him and to return there against the next year. And further on we will relate something of the fortune of this esquire, in that he toiled greatly for his honour.
[BQ] Madeira.]
CHAPTER LXXI.
Of how the men of Pallenço took the six Moors.
Dinis Diaz, as we have already said, armed a caravel of Don Alvaro de Castro and started at the beginning in company with Pallenço, who was taking out a pinnace, not that he intended to make use of it in aught save only in entering the river of Nile; for since it was an old one, he meant to abandon it whenever he should perceive it to be past service. And so the two, pursuing their voyage, came to the Isle of Arguim, and after they had taken in water, they agreed to continue so far on their way until they reached the land of the Negroes, according to the purpose with which they had set out from this Kingdom. And when they had already passed a good distance beyond the point of Santa Anna[[164]] and were becalmed one day, Pallenço said that it would not be an evil thing to land some men, who might essay to make capture of the Moors. "Wherefore is it," replied Dinis Diaz, "that men should be employed in such an adventure? Let us rather go straight on our way, for if God shall bring us to that land of Guinea, we shall surely find Moors more than sufficient to load our ships." True it is, as Dinis Diaz said, that many Moors were to be found there, but they were not so easy to capture as he thought; for, believe me, they are very brave men and full of artifices in their defence, and this you will see clearly in the next chapters when we shall speak of their combats. "Friend," replied Pallenço, "even though it happen that we take many Moors there, what shall we lose if God give us some here first? At any rate," said he, "it seemeth well to me that we should try if we can take them, and it might please God now for us to capture so many here as to save us from voyaging further for this time." "Since it is so," said Dinis Diaz, "order it as you please." So Pallenço straightway made ready his pinnace to go on shore, and although the sea was very calm, yet there was a very great surf on the coast which never permitted the pinnace to touch the beach; but he, desirous of finishing what he had begun, said to his company: "You see, my friends, that the roughness of the sea near this coast will not allow us to touch the shore; nevertheless my will would be to land, but as I know not how to swim, it would be folly for me to dare such a thing. But if there are any amongst you that can go on shore by swimming, I will surely thank them much to do it, and afterwards you will not be without that praise which good men and true deserve for their valorous deeds." "It is true," replied some, "that we have a good will to do your pleasure, but two dangers will follow from it. The first is that we know not how we shall get on shore, for these waves here may pitch us about in such wise that we lose the mastery over our limbs and we shall perish very quickly, for such things have already happened on other occasions. The second danger is that, if we go on land and meet some people with whom perchance we ought not to fight without your aid, and if the sea is in such a state that you cannot reach the shore, what shall we do?" And as you see that where many men are, their opinions differ, so whilst Pallenço was listening to the reasons these men gave, others went apart and would not hear any part of that counsel, but suddenly appeared naked before Pallenço, prepared to throw themselves into the water. "Here we are," said they, "order us what to do, for death is the same in every part, and if God hath determined that we should die in His service, this is the best time in which to finish our lives." After this, admonished by their captain, they made ready their clothes and arms as well as they could and fell to swimming; and so it pleased God that, rough as the sea was there, all twelve of them gained the shore as they had left the ships. Then they began to take their way along the beach, and they had not gone far when one of them who was in front spake to the others, telling them to be quiet, for that he saw the footprints of people, and the best was that they appeared to him to be recent. "Meseemeth," said he, "that we should go after them, for by the appearance of their footmarks, they ought not to be far off." "And for what," said the others, "did we adventure ourselves before our companions to leap into the sea, if we were to do otherwise?" Then they ordered three men to go in front and to keep their eyes on the track, and the others were to follow after them. And when they had gone in that expectation for the space of two leagues, they discovered a valley, and herein those men who were in the van caught sight of the Moors whose track they were following; but they seemed to them to be so few that, with the good will that was in them, they felt grieved, even though they had a greater assurance of victory. And so they turned their faces toward the others, who were coming behind, to advise them of the booty that was before them; and their words were brief, for scarcely had they begun to speak of "Moors" when the men behind were already beginning to run, and to raise their battle-cries as they ran; and the sound of these both warned and saddened their enemies. But for the last there was no other remedy save flight, for they had little care of their poor and scanty goods; and sure I am that those who escaped thence were slow to return with longing regret for their baggage. Now our men had commenced their chace early, and were already wearied by their landing from the pinnace and by their going along the road; therefore they were not able to follow much upon the track; and on this account their booty was much diminished, for they captured no more than nine persons. "It would be well," said some, "were we to set aside six of our people to take these prisoners to the ships, and that the other six remaining should search through that thick undergrowth, for there perchance we shall find some[[BR]] in hiding." Accordingly those who were to return with the captives straightway separated from the others and began to bind their prisoners in the best way they could; but it seemeth that they did it not as well as the case required, although six were sufficient for[[BS]] nine, as you have already heard that others had previously convoyed many more without any contrary hap. And since women are usually stubborn, one woman of that company began to take it in conceipt to refuse to walk, throwing herself on the ground and letting herself be dragged along by the hair and the legs, having no pity on herself; and her over-great stubbornness compelled our men to leave her there bound, intending to return for her another day. And as they were going along in this contention, the others[[BT]] began to disperse, fleeing some to one side and some to another, and two of them got away, not counting the Mooress whom they had already left bound; and though our men laboured hard to catch them, they were not successful, for it appeareth that the spot was such that they were easily able to conceal themselves. And so they were forced to bring those six to the beach with many complaints of their ill fortune; and herein the others shared who arrived later without having found anything. Some among them still wished to return for the Mooress who had been left behind in bonds, but as it was very late and the sea was dangerous, they gave up the attempt, and afterward they had no opportunity, for the pinnace departed straightway; and so remained the Mooress with her foolish stubbornness, strongly bound in that wood, wherein I believe she would meet with a troublous death, for those who escaped thence, being frightened by the first encounter, would not return that way very soon. And as these ships went on their course, the wind began to freshen and to blow very strongly, and so greatly were the said ships beaten about by the storm that the pinnace commenced to leak and to take in so much water that Pallenço perceived that it could not well voyage any further. For if it did, there was a doubt whether it would reach the place he desired, and also there might chance to come such a wind that the caravel would be separated from them, and their lives would be put in peril. So he said to Dinis Diaz that he should receive him into his ship, and also the rest of the crew, together with all the fittings and tackle of the pinnace, as well as much of the wood for fuel; and when these had been brought on board, they scuttled the pinnace and set forward on their voyage.
[BR] Natives.
[BS] I.e., to guard.
[BT] Captives.
CHAPTER LXXII.
Of what happened to Rodrigueannes de Travaços and Dinis Diaz.
We have already told how Rodrigueannes and Dinis Diaz sailed in company, but this is the fitting place where it behoveth us to declare certainly all that happened to them. And it was so, that they, sailing in company after the manner we have already told, which we believe was after the scuttling of the pinnace, came to Cape Verde; and thence they went to the islands,[[165]] and took in water, and knew for sure by the tracks all over them that other ships had already passed by that way. From there they began to make proof of the Guineas, in search of whom they had come there, but they found them so well prepared, that though they essayed to get on shore many a time, they always encountered such a bold defence that they dared not come to close quarters. "It may be," said Dinis Diaz, "that these men will not be so brave in the night time as by day; therefore I wish to try what their courage is, and I can readily know it this next night." And this in fact was put in practice, for as soon as the sun had quite hidden its light, he went on shore, taking with him two men, and came upon two inhabited places which seemed to him so large that he thought it best to leave them, for his expedition was not in order to adventure anything, but only that he might advise his other comrades of what they should do. Then he returned to the ship and there described to Rodrigueannes and the others all that he had found. "We," said he, "should be acting with small judgment, were we wishful to adventure a conflict like this; for I discovered a village divided into two large parts full of habitations, and you know that the people of this land are not so easily captured as we desire, for they are very strong men, very wary and very well prepared in their combats, and the worst is that they have their arrows poisoned with a very dangerous herb. Wherefore it seemeth to me that we ought to turn back, for all our toil will be the cause of our death, if we should make an attempt upon these people." To this the others replied that it was well said, for they all knew that he spake the truth. Then they mended their sails and commenced to leave. Now Dinis Diaz said that he had seen one thing on that island that seemed to him a novelty, as far as his knowledge went, that is he saw, among the cows, two strange animals, very ugly in comparison with the other cattle; but as these two were going in company with them, I hold that they might perchance be buffaloes,[[166]] which are animals in the nature of oxen. And it was so, that as those men were returning, Rodrigueannes, who was leaving that land ill-contented because he had found no opportunity of displaying the good-will he nourished to achieve some honourable action, said to Dinis Diaz that it seemed to him it would be well were they to send some of their men on shore, for it might happen that some Moors would come to seize the wood of the pinnace which they had left scuttled, and if they chanced on them, they could not fail to capture some. And as Dinis Diaz agreed with this, they put out their boats, in the which they dispatched twenty men to the shore. And clear it is that Rodrigueannes was not mistaken in his thought, for the Moors were already engaged in collecting that wood on the shore; and when they saw that the boats were coming to the land, they drew away a space from the beach, as men who said: "these are arrived in search of us, therefore let us seek out a way by which we may not only secure ourselves, but even do them hurt as well." So they threw themselves into two ambushes with the object of enticing our men away from the shore and employing their strength safely and without danger to themselves. Meanwhile the Christians landed, and halted for a space to order their movements, and this because they discovered such traces of the Moors that they thought they could not be removed far from there; yet they perceived by the number of the footmarks that the enemy was many more in number than their forces could cope with, and this made some ask that they should return, saying that it was not a thing to be attempted. But others said, "There is no help for it; we are already on shore, and it would be a disgrace were we to turn back; let the boats return, and let us go forward in search of our enemies, and let all our fortune rest in God's hand." And of the first twenty that were there six turned back to the boats to take them to the ships, and the fourteen[[BU]] went forward as they found that the tracks led in the direction of the Upland. But their toil in marching was not long, for lo, the first ambuscade began to disclose itself, and in it there would be about forty Moors, who issued forth against them[[BV]] very eagerly, like men who felt they had victory in their grasp, as well by reason of their numbers, which were greater, as on account of the others who were lying in the other ambuscade, on whom they relied to come and aid them. But although the Moors came on thus boldly, the Christians did not turn their backs to them, but on the contrary made ready their weapons, and after the manner of fearless men awaited the coming of their foes. And after this there began a very fierce combat between them, in the which lances and arrows were not without employment, and they found neither harness nor coat of mail to stay their course. Now there were no stones on the field of which the Moors could much avail themselves; and as they were without armour and the Christians employed all their efforts in wounding and slaying them, the Moors began to feel themselves overmatched, and they withdrew from our men as far as they could. And in this fight a page of the Infant's Household, called Martin Pereira, toiled hard, and his shield was as full of the enemy's weapons as though it were the back of a porcupine when he lifteth his quills.
[BU] In text, Eighteen.