How those caravels arrived at the river of Nile, and of the Guineas that
they took.
Now these caravels having passed by the land of Sahara, as hath been
said, came in sight of the two palm trees[N140] that Dinis Diaz had met
with before, by which they understood that they were at the beginning of
the land of the Negroes. And at this sight they were glad indeed, and
would have landed at once, but they found the sea so rough upon that
coast that by no manner of means could they accomplish their purpose.
And some of those who were present said afterwards that it was clear
from the smell that came off the land how good must be the fruits of
that country, for it was so delicious that from the point they reached,
though they were on the sea, it seemed to them that they stood in some
gracious fruit garden ordained for the sole end of their delight. And if
our men showed on their side a great desire of gaining the land, no less
did the natives of it show their eagerness to receive them into it; but
of the reception they offered I do not care to speak, for according to
the signs they made to our men from the first, they did not intend to
abandon the beach without very great loss to one side or the other. Now
the people of this green land[N141] are wholly black, and hence this is
called Land of the Negroes, or Land of Guinea. Wherefore also the men
and women thereof are called "Guineas," as if one were to say "Black
Men." And when the men in the caravels saw the first palms and lofty
trees as we have related, they understood right well that they were
close to the river of Nile, at the point where it floweth into the
western sea, the which river is there called the Senegal.[AQ] For the
Infant had told them that in little more than 20 leagues after the
sighting of those trees they should look out for the same river, for so
he had learnt from several of his Azanegue prisoners.[N142] And so, as
they were going along scanning the coast to see if they could discern
the river, they perceived before them, as it might be about two leagues
of land measure, a certain colour in the water of the sea which was
different from the rest, for this was of the colour of mud. And they
thought that this might arise from shoals, so they took their soundings
for the safety of their ships, but they found no difference in this
place from the others in which there was no such movement, and at this
they were all amazed, especially by the difference in colour. And it
happened that one of those who were throwing in the sounding lead, by
chance and without any certain knowledge, put his hand to his mouth and
found the water sweet. "Here we have another marvel," cried he to the
others, "for this water is sweet;" and at this they threw a bucket
forthwith into the sea and put the water to the test, all drinking of it
as a thing in which nothing was wanting to make it as good as possible.
"Of a surety," said they, "we are near the river of Nile, for it seemeth
that this water belongeth to the same, and by its great might the stream
doth cut through the sea and so entereth into it."[N143] Thereat they
made signs to the other caravels, and all of them began to coast in and
look for the river, and they were not very long in arriving at the
estuary.
[Footnote AQ: Canaga.]
And when they were close to its mouth, they let down their anchors on
the seaward side, and the crew of the caravel of Vicente Diaz launched
their boat, and into it jumped as many as eight men, and among them was
that Esquire of Lagos called Stevam Affonso, of whom we have already
spoken, and who afterwards died in [AR]Canary; he had undertaken a part
of the armament of that caravel.
[Footnote AR: Grand.]
And as all the eight were going in the boat, one of them, looking out
towards the mouth of the river, espied the door of a hut, and said to
his companions: "I know not how the huts of this land are built, but
judging by the fashion of those I have seen before, that should be a hut
that I see before me, and I presume it belongs to fishing folk who have
come to fish in this stream. And if you think well, it seemeth to me
that we ought to go and land beyond that point, in such wise that we may
not be discovered from the door of the hut; and let some land, and
approach from behind those sandbanks, and if any natives are lying in
the hut, it may be that they will take them before they are perceived."
Now it appeared to the others that this was good advice, and so they
began to put it into execution. And as soon as they reached the land,
Stevam Affonso leapt out, and five others with him, and they proceeded
in the manner that the other had suggested. And while they were going
thus concealed even until they neared the hut, they saw come out of it a
negro boy, stark naked, with a spear in his hand. Him they seized at
once, and coming up close to the hut, they lighted upon a girl, his
sister, who was[AS] about eight years old. This boy the Infant
afterwards caused to be taught to read and write, with all other
knowledge that a Christian should have; and many Christians there be who
have not this knowledge as perfectly as he had, for he was taught the
prayer of Pater Noster, and the Ave Maria, and the Articles of Faith,
and the precepts of the Law,[AT] and the various works of mercy, and
many other things; so that some said of this youth that the Infant had
bidden train him for a priest, with the purpose of sending him back to
his native land, there to preach the faith of Jesus Christ. But I
believe that afterwards he died without ever reaching man's estate. So
those men entered into the hut, where they found a black shield made of
hide, quite round in shape, a little larger than those used in that
country, the which had in the middle of it a boss of the same hide as
the shield itself, to wit, of an elephant's ear, as was afterwards
learnt from certain Guineas who saw it; for they said that they made all
their shields of the hide of that animal, and that they found it so much
thicker than was necessary[AU] that they cut off from it more than half,
lessening it with devices they had made for this purpose. And the same
men said, moreover, that the size of the elephants was so great that the
flesh of one would make a good meal for 2,500 men, and that this meat
they reckoned among themselves to be very good, and that they made no
use of the tusks, but threw them away; and I learnt that in the East of
this part of the Mediterranean Sea[N144] the tusks of one of those
elephants were well worth 1,000 doubloons. And when they had captured
those young prisoners and articles of plunder, they took them forthwith
to their boat. "Well were it," said Stevam Affonso to the others, "if we
were to go through this country near here, to see if we can find the
father and mother of these children, for, judging by their age and
disposition, it cannot be that the parents would leave them and go far
off." The others said that he should go, with good luck, wherever he
pleased, for there was nothing to prevent them following him. And after
they had journeyed a short way, Stevam Affonso began to hear the blows
of an axe, or of some other iron instrument, with which some one was
carpentering upon a piece of timber, and he stopped a little to assure
himself of what he had heard, and put the others into the same
attention. And then they all recognised that they were near what they
sought. "Now," said he, "do you come behind and allow me to go in front,
because, if we all move forward in company, however softly we walk, we
shall be discovered without fail, so that ere we come at him, whosoever
he be, if alone, he must needs fly and put himself in safety; but if I
go softly and crouching down, I shall be able to capture him by a sudden
surprise without his perceiving me; but do not be so slow of pace that
you will come late to my aid, where perhaps I may be in such danger as
to need you."
[Footnote AS: Lit., would be.]
[Footnote AT: Of God.]
[Footnote AU: For a shield.]
And they agreeing to this, Stevam Affonso began to move forward; and
what with the careful guard that he kept in stepping quietly, and the
intentness with which the Guinea laboured at his work, he never
perceived the approach of his enemy till the latter leapt upon him. And
I say leapt, since Stevam Affonso was of small frame and slender, while
the Guinea was of quite different build; and so he[AV] seized him
lustily by the hair, so that when the Guinea raised himself erect,
Stevam Affonso remained hanging in the air with his feet off the ground.
The Guinea was a brave and powerful man, and he thought it a reproach
that he should thus be subjected by so small a thing. Also he wondered
within himself what this thing could be; but though he struggled very
hard, he was never able to free himself, and so strongly had his enemy
entwined himself in his hair, that the efforts of those two men could be
compared to nothing else than a rash and fearless hound who has fixed on
the ear of some mighty bull. And, to speak truth, the help that the rest
of the company were to render to Stevam Affonso seemed to be rather
tardy, so that I believe that his heart had quite repented him of his
first purpose. And if at this point there had been room for a bargain, I
know he would have deemed it profitable to leave his gain to secure
himself from loss. But while those two were in their struggle, Affonso's
companions came upon them, and seized the Guinea by his arms and neck in
order to bind him. And Stevam Affonso, thinking that he was now taken
into custody and in the hands of the others, let go of his hair;
whereupon, the Guinea, seeing that his head was free, shook off the
others from his arms, flinging them away on either side, and began to
flee. And it was of little avail to the others to pursue him, for his
agility gave him a great advantage over his pursuers in running, and in
his course he took refuge in a wood full of thick undergrowth; and while
the others thought they had him, and sought to find him, he was already
in his hut, with the intention of saving his children and taking his
arms, which he had left with them. But all his former toil was nothing
in comparison of the great grief which came upon him at the absence of
his children, whom he found gone--but as there yet remained for him a
ray of hope, and he thought that perchance they were hidden somewhere,
he began to look towards every side to see if he could catch any glimpse
of them. And at this appeared Vicente Diaz, that trader who was the
chief captain of that caravel to which the boat belonged wherein the
others had come on land. And it appears that he, thinking that he was
only coming out to walk along the shore, as he was wont to do in Lagos
town, had not troubled to bring with him any arms except a boat-hook.
But the Guinea, as soon as he caught sight of him, burning with rage as
you may well imagine, made for him with right good will.
[Footnote AV: Affonso.]
And although Vicente Diaz saw him coming on with such fury, and
understood that for his own defence it were well he had somewhat better
arms, yet thinking that flight would not profit him, but rather do him
harm in many ways, he awaited his enemy without shewing him any sign of
fear. And the Guinea rushing boldly upon him, gave him forthwith a wound
in the face with his assegai, with the which he cut open the whole of
one of his jaws; in return for this the Guinea received another wound,
though not so fell a one as that which he had just bestowed. And because
their weapons were not sufficient for such a struggle, they threw them
aside and wrestled; and so for a short space they were rolling one over
the other, each one striving for victory. And while this was proceeding,
Vicente Diaz saw another Guinea, one who was passing from youth to
manhood; and he came to aid his countryman; and although the first
Guinea was so strenuous and brave and inclined to fight with such good
will as we have described, he could not have escaped being made prisoner
if the second man had not come up: and for fear of him he[AW] now had to
loose his hold of the first.[AX] And at this moment came up the other
Portuguese, but the Guinea, being now once again free from his enemy's
hands, began to put himself in safety with his companion, like men
accustomed to running, little fearing the enemy who attempted to pursue
them. And at last our men turned back to their caravels, with the small
booty they had already stored in their boats.
[Footnote AW: Diaz.]
[Footnote AX: The Guinea.]