Who were the Captains of the other Caravels, and of the first booty that
they made.
The chief captain, as we have said, was Lançarote; the second was Gil
Eannes, whom we have noticed as the first to pass the Cape of Bojador;
besides these, there were there--Stevam Affonso, a noble man, who
afterwards died in the Canary islands, Rodrigo Alvarez, John Diaz, a
shipowner, and John Bernaldez, all of whom together were very well
prepared for the expedition.[N77]
And pursuing their voyage, they arrived at the Isle of Herons, on the
eve of Corpus Christi Day, where they rested a little and refreshed
themselves on the multitude of young birds that they found there, for it
was the breeding season.
Then they took counsel about their intended actions and Lançarote began
to set forth his reasons in this manner:--"My friends! we have left our
land to do service to God and to the Infant our Lord, who may expect
from us with good reason some performance to his advantage; both from
the bringing up that some of us have had of him; and because we are men
of such a kind that very shame should force us to do more and greater
things than any who came here before. For with such a fleet, it would be
matter for great shame to turn back to Portugal without a worthy booty.
And because the Infant hath learnt, by some of those Moors whom Nuno
Tristam brought home, that in the Island of Naar, which is close by,
there are little less than 200 souls; it seemeth good to me therefore
that Martin Vicente and Gil Vasquez, who have already been by it and
seen where it lieth, should go with these boats, and with those men only
who can row, against one side of the island, and that if they can find
it, they should return quickly along the coast until they reach us, for
we, God willing, will set sail very early in the morning and go towards
the island; so that on their returning we shall be so near as to be able
to hear the news they bring and take counsel as to what it behoves us to
do."
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.