How they went to Tira.
Though all had toiled in that action, and though all deserve a meed of
praise and honour for the same, yet principally the aforesaid Diego
Gonçalvez and that man of Lagos who passed over with him are to be
praised, for the reason that I have already mentioned: for to the
beginnings of an enterprise the greater praises are due. And, in fact,
it was so regarded by the Infant, for he bestowed a rich reward upon
them afterwards, as he was ever accustomed to do upon those who served
him well. So, when those captured Moors had been brought on board the
ships, our men began at once to ask of some of them, separately, where
they thought they would find the others that had escaped from the
company; and our prisoners made reply that their opinion was that the
rest would be at a settlement called Tira, which was on the mainland by
the sea-shore, about eight leagues distant. And considering that the
earlier they went after them the more profitable their going would be,
for they imagined that such a short time having elapsed they would find
the Moors quite off their guard--for this reason, then, they set off at
once that very night with three caravels, the smallest and lightest in
their fleet, and all the other people went in the boats, taking with
them two Moorish women to show them the way. And in the first quarter of
the night they arrived at a point where they left their ships and
landed; and because they did not conceive it yet to be a fit time to
start, they rested there till the dawn began to break, and by the aid of
its brightness they began to make their way. And coming to a crossing of
a little arm of the sea, they fell in with a multitude of canoes, among
which was the boat which the Moors had taken from the caravels of
Lisbon, but it was now almost broken up. However, they took it with them
to carry back to the caravels. And passing on, they fell in with a Moor,
whom they killed--as I believe because he himself sought the way to it.
And so they arrived over against Tira and two other villages, but they
did not find in these anything that they sought, since the Moors had all
fled. And so they had to turn back to the caravels, and thence they
passed over to Tider, where they rested by reason of the water that was
there. While they were staying there, the captains bade some of them go
for asses, that the weak ones might return on them to the ships; and
while these were carrying out what had been commanded them, they met
with five Moors, whom they took with but little trouble. And so being
returned, Lançarote said that as it was now late they should rest for
that night, and that on the next day he wished to discuss certain
matters with them, which they would know then.