This rock is the cause of the great currents on this coast, which were so powerful, that the fleet had much ado with a brisk favourable wind to stem the current between that place and Rio Infante in three or four days; but at length they joyfully passed these currents without damage, as Diaz had done formerly, and the general, encouraged by his good fortune, gave thanks to God, saying, he verily believed it was the good pleasure of God that they should attain to the discovery of the Indies.
Thus continuing the voyage till Christmas day, they had discovered seventy leagues to the eastwards, and had arrived in the latitude in which India was said to be in his instructions. The fleet continued to sail for so long a time without going to land, as to be in want of water, insomuch that they had to dress their provisions in sea water, and were forced to reduce the allowance of drink to one pint of water per man each day. But on Friday the 11th January 1498, drawing near the land, the boats were sent out to view the coast, where they saw many Negroes, both men and women, all of whom were of great stature, and followed our boats along the coast. As these people appeared quiet and civil, the general called Martin Alonzo, who could speak many of the Negro languages, and desired him and another to leap on shore, which they immediately did. Alonzo and his companion were well received by the natives, especially by their chief, to whom the general sent a jacket, a pair of breeches, and a cap, all of a red colour, and a copper bracelet, of which he was very proud, and returned thanks to the general, saying, "that he might have any thing he wished for or needed that his country produced." All which, as Martin Alonzo understood their language389, he reported to the general, who was much pleased that by this means an intercourse could be opened with the natives. Alonzo and another of our people were accordingly permitted by the general to go for one night along with the natives to their town, where the chief dressed himself out in his new garments, and was beheld with much admiration by his people in his finery, clapping their hands for joy. This salutation was repeated three or four times on their way to the town, and when there, the chief made the circuit of the whole village, that all the people might see and admire his new and strange attire. When this ceremonial was ended, the chief retired to his own house, where he commanded Alonzo and his companion to be well lodged and entertained, and gave them for supper a hen exactly the same as one of ours, and a kind of pap, or porridge, made of a yellow grain called Mylyo390, of which likewise they made bread. Many of the Negroes repaired that night to their lodging to have a near view of the strangers; and next day, the chief sent them back to the ships, accompanied by some Negroes, laden with hens for the general, who returned thanks for the same by means of Alonzo his interpreter. During five days that our ships remained off this coast, no kind of harm was done or offered by the inhabitants, who seemed quiet and gentle, and to have many noble men, for which reason, he called this place Terra da boa gente, or the land of Good People391. The town in which Martin Alonzo was had its houses constructed of straw, yet well furnished within. The women were more numerous than the men, as in a company of forty women, there were only twenty men. These people were armed with long bows and arrows, and had darts headed with iron, having many copper bracelets, on their arms and legs, with copper ornaments in their hair. They have also iron daggers, with pewter handles and ivory sheaths; so that it is manifest they have plenty of copper and tin. They have likewise abundance of salt, which they make from sea water, which they carry in gourds to certain caves where the salt is made. They were so fond of linen, that they gave a great quantity of copper in exchange for an old shirt, and were so quiet and civil, that they brought water to our boats from a river about two cross-bow shots from the landing, which our people named Rio do Cobre, or Copper River.
"Osorius places the arrival of the Portuguese on this part of the coast a day earlier than Castaneda, and gives the following additional information. On the 10th January 1498, they discovered some small islands, about 230 miles from their last watering-place, having a very beautiful appearance, and consisting of verdant meadows, intermixed with groves of lofty trees, where they could see the inhabitants walking on the shore in great numbers. Here De Gama landed, and sent one of his men, who was well versant in the Negro languages to visit the king, and who was received with much civility, receiving presents of the produce of the country on his dismissal. Before leaving Lisbon, De Gama received ten malefactors on board who had been condemned to die, but were pardoned on condition of going on this voyage, for the purpose of being left wherever De Gama pleased, that they might examine the country, and be enabled to give him an account of the inhabitants on his return. On setting sail from this place, De Gama left two of these exiles on shore, to inform themselves of the character and manners of the natives392.
From this place our fleet departed on the 15th January, and proceeding on their voyage, came to another country of very low land, having very thick tall trees; and proceeding onwards, they found a river which was very open at the mouth, near which he came to anchor on Thursday the 24th of January, as the general deemed it proper to examine this country, and to try if any intelligence could be here procured concerning India. That same evening, he and his brother Nicholas Coello393 entered the river; and, at day-break next morning, the land was observed to be extremely low and covered with water, having many trees of great height, thickly loaded with various kinds of fruits, the country appearing very pleasant. They saw likewise certain boats with some of the natives coming towards the ship, at which the general was well pleased, as he conceived from their having some degree of maritime knowledge in these parts, that he could not now be very far from India, or at least should soon hear news of that country. The natives were Negroes of good stature, all naked, except each a small apron of cloth made of cotton. On reaching the ships, they came on board without hesitation, and behaved themselves as if they had been long acquainted with our people. They were well received, and were presented with bells and other toys, but did not understand any of the languages spoken by Martin Alonzo, or any of the other interpreters on board, so that the only intercourse was by signs. They departed after good entertainment, and afterwards they and many others returned to the ships in their boats, bringing with them such provisions as their country afforded. The natives seemed much satisfied with their reception; and besides those who came to the ships by water, many others came by land394, among whom were several women who were tolerably handsome, especially the young maidens; but all were as naked as the men. They have three holes in their lips, in which they wear small pieces of tin by way of ornament. The natives took several of our men along with them to make merry at one of their towns, whence they brought water to our ships.
After the general had been three days in this river, two of the nobles, or head men of the natives, came on board to visit him, who were naked like the rest, except that their aprons were much larger, and one of them had a handkerchief on his head, embroidered with silk, while the other wore a nightcap of green satin395. Observing their cleanliness, or civility, the general treated these people courteously, and gave them victuals, apparel, and other things, of which they seemed to make but small account; and by certain signs, shewn by a young man, it was understood that his country was at a considerable distance, where he had seen ships as large as ours. This intelligence gave great hopes to our people that the Indies were not far off, which was much confirmed by the chiefs who had been on board, sending off for sale certain cloths made of cotton, on which there were marks of ochre. In respect of all these encouraging tokens, the general named this river Ho rio dos bos Sinaes, or River of Good Signs; and called the place San Rafael, after the name of his own Ship396.
389
The Portuguese ships appear to have been now on the coast of Natal, or the land of the Caffres, certainly a more civilized people than the Hottentots of the cape. But the circumstance of Alonzo understanding their language is quite inexplicable: as he could hardly have been lower on the western coast than Minz, or perhaps Congo. Yet, as a belt of Caffres are said to cross the continent of Africa, to the north of the Hottentots, it is barely possible that some Caffre slaves may have reached the western coast. –E.
393
The text here ought probably to be thus amended, "He and his brother,
395
De Faria alleges that the people of this river were not so black as the other Africans, and wore habits of different kinds of stuffs, both cotton and silk, of various colours, and that they understood Arabic; and adds, that they informed De Gama there were white people to the eastwards, who sailed in ships like those of the Portuguese. Osorius likewise says, that one of the natives spoke Arabic very imperfectly, and that De Gama left two of his convicts at this place, which he called San Rafael. –Clarke.
396
There is no circumstance in the text from which the situation of this river can even be conjectured. Clarke, p.440, alleges that it was Soffala; and yet, in a note in his preceding page, says, "That De Gama seems to have passed Cape Corientes during the night, and to have kept so far from land, on account of a strong current setting on shore, as not to have noticed Sofala." In the notes on the Lusiad, this river of Good Signs is ascertained to have been one of the mouths of the Zambeze, or Cuama River, which divides Mocaranga from the coast of Mozambique; the different mouths of which run into the sea between the latitudes of 19° and 18° S. –E.