[CU] Pirez.
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.