[1] At this place Grynaeus calls him Batrinense; though he had named him rightly Bati-mansa before.--Astl.
[2] This is now called Cape St Mary.--E.
[3] This seems to allude to what is now called Bald Cape, about twenty miles south from Cape St Mary, and stretching somewhat farther west; from which there extends breakers or sunken rocks a considerable distance from the land.--E.
At the end of two days sail in this manner, always in sight of land, we discovered on the third day the mouth of a river about half a mile wide[4], and towards evening we observed a little gulf or inlet, which we supposed might be the entrance of another river; but as it grew late, we came to anchor for the night. Next morning we sailed into this gulf, and found that it was the mouth of a large river, not a great deal less in my opinion than the Gambia, and both its banks were full of very beautiful tall trees. We cast anchor within the mouth of this river, and agreed to send two armed boats on shore with our interpreters to get intelligence respecting the country, according to our usual practice. This was done accordingly, and our interpreters, brought back word that the river was called Kasamansa, from a Negro lord of that name who resided at a place about thirty miles up the river; but who was absent from his residence, on a warlike expedition against the lord of a neighbouring territory.
[4] Between the mouth of the Gambia and that of the Casamansa, there are three inlets, which appear to be smaller mouths of the latter river. The most northern of these is named St Peter, the most southerly Oyster river; the intermediate one has no name.--E.
On receiving this intelligence, we sailed from this river next day, without attempting any traffic with the natives. This river of Kasamansa is twenty-five leagues, or 100 miles to the south of the Gambia[5]. Standing on about twenty-five miles farther, we came to a cape which is a little more elevated than the rest of the coast, and as its front had a red colour, we named it Cape Roxo , or Rosso . Proceeding forwards, we came to the mouth of a pretty large river about a crossbow-shot wide, which we did not enter, but to which we gave the name of the river of St Ann. Farther on still, we came to the mouth of another river, not less than the former, which we named St Dominic, or St Domingo[7]; distant from Cape Rosso, by our estimation, between fifty-five and sixty miles. In another days sailing, we came to a very large river, which at first appeared to be a gulf, and was judged to be about twenty miles in breadth; but we could observe the beautiful trees on the south side, and it took us a considerable time to sail across to that side. On getting over to that side, we observed several islands in the sea, and as we wished to procure some intelligence concerning the country, we came to an anchor. Next morning two almadias came off to us from the land, one of which was as long as a caravel, and carried about thirty hands; the other was smaller, and was manned by sixteen Negroes. They came towards us with great eagerness; and, not knowing what might be their design, we took to our arms and waited their approach. As they drew near, they fixed a white cloth to the end of an oar, which they held up as a signal of peace, and we answered them in a similar manner. The Negroes then came alongside of our ships, the largest of the almadias coming up to the caravel in which I was. They gazed at every thing they saw, examining the form of the ship, the masts, yards, sails, and rigging with much attention, and they seemed astonished at seeing the white colour of our people. Our interpreters spoke to them, in order to learn the name of the country, but could not understand a word of their language, which was a great mortification to us, as we were obliged to leave the place without getting any intelligence; but we purchased a few gold rings from one of the Negroes, agreeing about the price by signs.
[5] The actual distance is barely a degree of latitude, or less than seventy English miles. Cada Mosto probably estimated by the log, the more circuitous track by sea.--E.
[6] Cada Mosto does not mention the remarkable change which takes place here in the direction of the coast. From the Gambia to Cape Rosso, the coast runs direct south; after which its direction is E.S.E. to the mouth of the river St Ann.--E.
[7] Called in modern charts, Rio S. Dominica.--E.
Finding ourselves in a country where our interpreters were of no use, and considering therefore that it would be to no purpose for us to proceed any farther, we determined to return. We stayed two days in the mouth of this large river, which we therefore named Rio Grande[8], and where we found the north pole very low[9]. In this place we found great irregularity in the tides; for, whereas at Venice, and all other places in Europe, the flux and reflux are each of six hours continuance, the tide here only flows four hours, and ebbs eight, and the violence of the flowing tide is quite incredible, insomuch that we had great difficulty to stem it with three anchors a-head. Nay, such was its impetuosity, that we were sometimes obliged to hoist our sails, and even then it exceeded the force of the wind.