Of how the caravel of Alvaro Dornellas returned, and of the Canarians
that he took.
Now in this chapter it behoveth us to return to the action of Alvaro
Dornellas, about whom we wrote that he stayed in the Canary Islands. And
he let himself remain there out of shame, for it seemed to him that he
would be blamed if he were to turn back to the kingdom without any
booty, by means of which some portion of his toil might be known. And it
was so, that Affonso Marta brought his caravel, as we have told, and
this was despatched to the Madeira Islands. For here the said Alvaro
Dornellas ordered him to take in provisions against the price he should
receive for the sale of two Canarians that he forwarded in her, and he
remained to pay those persons from whom he had borrowed them in
merchandise equal in value. But by the chance of the weather he failed
to make the Islands, and was forced to enter the river-mouth at Lisbon,
where at that season was one John Dornellas, an esquire of the King, a
man of noble birth, brought up in the household of the King Don John and
the King Don Edward, and a cousin of this Alvaro Dornellas of whom we
are speaking, who had an equal share with him in the ownership of the
said caravel. And both were of one mind to go in her, only they accorded
not as to the date of their first departure, when John Dornellas
received command of the King, ordering him to abstain for the time from
making the said voyage, for so it was necessary for his service. And
when that esquire saw how the caravel came, he knew the necessity in
which his cousin must be, and he at once had provisions and men got
ready in haste so that the ship might be furnished, and he also took
merchandise, by means of which he thought his cousin might satisfy his
debt in respect of the captives he had taken. Now this John Dornellas
was a man of courage, and longed to accomplish great actions, and so he
made his voyage with despatch, although it was at great expense to
himself, and arrived in a short time at that island where his cousin
was, namely, the one called Fuerteventura. And Alvaro Dornellas arrived
there as soon as he knew of his coming, and taking aside his cousin, he
said to him: "In that I have informed these Castilians that this caravel
is all mine (which I said that they might have cause to help me better
in my actions, thinking that you would not come to this land, and also
more especially that I might fit out by their help a pinnace that is
here), I beg of you, even though this thing may be in some part a
lessening of your honour, that for my sake you will be pleased to endure
it, and advise all[CJ] to say none the less that the ship is mine, and
that as a thing of mine it arrived here, with all it containeth. And
from this moment, dear cousin, it remaineth for you to command me in
some other matter, albeit a greater one, at a future time; and you may
be well assured that, beside the reasons I have, if I receive this
favour of you, I shall perform it with such good will as you shall see."
"By God, cousin," replied John Dornellas, "though it be somewhat of a
hardship for me to lessen my honour, being the man I am and with the
upbringing I have had, yet I am well pleased to put all out of sight in
order to do your will, although some of the men who come with me are
persons of such rank that they have accompanied me here more out of
friendship than from hope of profit. For here I have Diego Vasquez
Portocarreiro, an esquire of the King our lord, and other good men; but
I will endeavour what I can in the business." And this in fact he did,
so that all ended as Alvaro Dornellas desired. But this much you ought
to know, that he acted afterwards quite contrary to what his words
showed. For but little time had passed when John Dornellas perceived his
deceit, and on account of this they were henceforth in very great
contention, and almost came to slaying one another over it, but the
matter is not fit unto this place. And so when both men came to this
first agreement, they straightway armed the pinnace, and arrived in
company at the Island of Gomera, where Alvaro Dornellas, as the captain,
spake with the chief men of the island and asked them, on behalf of the
Infant Don Henry, that they would give him some assistance to go to the
island of Palma to make some captures. And they with good will granted
him as much as he required. And so taking some of those Canarians to aid
them, they reached a port of the island of Palma, where they landed and
at once concealed themselves in a valley, because it was in the day time
and they feared to be discovered. But as soon as night fell, they began
to journey through the island without any guide or sure path by which to
direct them to any certain part, but only at any venture that God might
be pleased to ordain for them, until they arrived at a place where they
heard the barking of dogs, and knew by this that they were nigh to an
inhabited spot. "Now that we are already sure of that we seek," said
some, "let us rest here in this valley, and very early, God permitting,
we will go against them, for our going now might bring to us rather
injury than benefit." And so they reposed there until they saw it was
time to attack their foes, and then they charged them with such vigour
that in a very brief space they captured twenty. And since the Canarians
gave them much trouble in their attempts to deliver their relations and
friends, and also to avenge others who were left for dead, John
Dornellas said to his cousin that he should take the captives and go on
in advance with them, and he would hold in check the others, so that
they might not diminish the booty; and in this stay, although they were
hard pressed, yet they availed to escape from them, leaving fifteen of
them dead in that valley, and none of the Christians died, and only two
were wounded. And so they returned to the island of Gomera, where Alvaro
Dornellas was compelled to stay, while his cousin departed to the
Kingdom. But such lack of provisions overtook them that they looked for
no other remedy than to eat some of those captives, as they felt they
could be saved in no other way. However, it pleased God that before they
came to this extremity, they made the port of Tavira,[CK] which is in
the kingdom of the Algarve.[N202]
[Footnote CJ: Your men.]
[Footnote CK: The text has the old form, "Tavilla."]