Gomes Eannes de Zurara

“ And this surmise was not confined to a few, but prevailed throughout the greater part of the rank and file. "Friends," said the captains, "it is for war, and for war alone, that we are come to this land; and this being so, we must not be timid, for if we fight our battle by day it will be much more to our honour than if we fight by night—attacking the Moors of this island, and expelling them, by sheer force of arms rather than by any cunning or stratagem. ”

“ For they turned upon our men as they were carrying off the booty, and attacked them so boldly that there were some there who would willingly have left a part of that spoil to any who would have secured them from destruction. But that bold and good esquire Diego Gonçalvez, forgetting not his courage, stoutly took a crossbow from the hands of one of those archers there, and also the bolts and quiver, and placing himself among our men shot at the Canarians; and so much did he toil in the using of his arrows that in a very brief space he killed seven of those enemies. ”

“ None of the natives had any boats, and there was no good store of harbours. On one island was a mountain, which they reckoned as 30,000 feet high, and on its summit a fortress-like rock, with a mast atop of it rigged with a yard and lateen sail—a manifest proof of enchantment. No wealth was found in any of the islands, and hence perhaps the venture of 1341 was not followed up by Portugal for many years; but it is probable that the results of this year are commemorated in the delineation of the Fortunate Isles upon the Laurentian Portolano of 1351. ”

“ So Pallenço straightway made ready his pinnace to go on shore, and although the sea was very calm, yet there was a very great surf on the coast which never permitted the pinnace to touch the beach; but he, desirous of finishing what he had begun, said to his company: "You see, my friends, that the roughness of the sea near this coast will not allow us to touch the shore; nevertheless my will would be to land, but as I know not how to swim, it would be folly for me to dare such a thing. ”

“ Returning now to the deed of Gomez Pirez, let us suppose that council to be ended and consider that they are faring on their way, guided by those Moors whose words persuaded them to leave their ship. And it was so, that as they were already going near unto where they were told the village stood, they espied the Moors coming out of their encampment, and Gomez Pirez, catching sight of them, shouted lustily to the others to pursue them. "Run," said he, "for all our victory is in the speed of our feet, as you see that the foemen are beginning to make them ready." ”

“ My friends, you well know how we are come to this part chiefly to do service to God, and then to the Lord Infant our master, and all this not without a profitable return for ourselves. And because I have learned that in front of that island whither I despatched those other companions of ours, there is a village containing some forty or fifty souls, the most that can fight therein will number from twenty to five and twenty, and I truly believe that if we go against them as we ought, we shall make a great booty among them without grave peril to ourselves. ”

“ Then Alvaro Vasquez called Diego Gil, that other esquire of whom we spoke before, for he knew him for a brave man and one of his own upbringing; and they went through the other caravels in such wise that they gathered together those persons whom they thought sufficient for their safety. And all together they went on shore—there being yet some part of the night left for their march—but ere they had pressed on any farther, Alvaro Vasquez, wishful to admonish them, spake unto them thus. ”

“ And as Dinis Diaz agreed with this, they put out their boats, in the which they dispatched twenty men to the shore. And clear it is that Rodrigueannes was not mistaken in his thought, for the Moors were already engaged in collecting that wood on the shore; and when they saw that the boats were coming to the land, they drew away a space from the beach, as men who said: "these are arrived in search of us, therefore let us seek out a way by which we may not only secure ourselves, but even do them hurt as well." ”

“ All the men opposed to us are not sufficient to withstand ten of ours in a fight. For they are but a handful of Moorish knaves, who have never learnt to fight except like beasts, and the first man to be wounded among them will frighten all the others, so that they will not know how to face our arms any longer. Bold indeed would be the men that have their armed ships in the Strait of Ceuta, and through all the Levant Sea, if they were to dread such a hostile gathering as this. ”

“ Friends, you know the end for which we came forth from our country; how it was for the service of God, and of the Infant our lord, and for the honour and profit of ourselves, wherein by the grace of that great Lord who created all things, we have had a good enough profit of our booty without any danger to ourselves; yet all our honour is in being 500 leagues from our country in unknown lands, increasing our past victories with new adventures. And since God knoweth our good wills, He hath appointed us a place and time in the which we may gain an honourable victory ”

“ Therefore, my lord, since your Grace gave order to seek for this land of Guinea, you know well how in this place you have fitted out the more part of your armaments, wherein you received all the service that lay in our power. And since, my lord, after the due obedience we must render to the King, your nephew, our lord, we are most chiefly bound to love and serve you, we have been considering some manner in which our service to you may [Pg 148] be of special moment, in such wise that by the desert of our great toil, our honour may be exalted in the memories of the men of future ages. ”

“ And they straightway asked of these what had become of the others who had departed thence? "They are," answered they, "three leagues from here toward the sea-shore, whither they went in search of food for themselves and for us." "Well, then," said Gomez Pirez, "my purpose is that we should go against them, for since we have already undertaken this toil, we should err if we did not make an end of it; wherefore eat something if you have it with you, that you may take some refreshment, and let us use one of these men to direct us to where these Moors are." ”

“ Every work to be perfect requireth to be placed in the ternary number, that is to say, it must have a beginning, a middle, and an end; and for the more perfect understanding of this, it is well we should know that there are three ternaries in the General Universal of the world, and the first of these we call "super-excellent," and we can find no certain name to signify its perfection to us, for it is unknown of sensuality, and common natures cannot understand it; but an obedient faith, with great humility, rendered more lively by the grace of God, placeth in it a steadfast strength. ”

“ Have mercy on us by Thy sacred pity, and aid us, for we are Thy [Pg 163] servants, sinners though we be, for the greatness of Thy benignity is more than the multitude of our sins. And if Thou didst exert Thy power to open a way for the Children of Israel through the midst of the waters, and madest the sun to turn back at the request of Joshua against the course of Nature, why wilt Thou not show as great a favour to this Thy people, so that Thy miracle may appear before our eyes, and that these waters may rise before their time, and that our voyage may be directed to gain a perfect victory. ”

“ And if perchance the island is now void of inhabitants, we can then give sure news of this to the Infant our lord; and from this it would appear that our expedition was not without great profit, since the Moors were not content to fly from us once, but with the fear of us had altogether abandoned their huts and the land where they were born and lived."
Firmly stood by this opinion most of the chief men; yet the lower people nevertheless desired that no other matter should be undertaken, but that they should turn back to the kingdom. ”

“ How Antam Gonçalvez went and received the Island of Lançarote in the Infant's name.
Of so well tried a usance in that land of the Moors were now the dwellers in Lagos, that not only were they content to go there and make war on the inhabitants, but there were some even who, not satiate with fishing in the accustomed places of their fathers and grand-fathers, essayed to go and fish in the seas of that coast. And they sought license of the Infant and promised him a certain sum for it, that he would let them pass there and set in order their fishery. ”

“ Let us rather go straight on our way, for if God shall bring us to that land of Guinea, we shall surely find Moors more than sufficient to load our ships." True it is, as Dinis Diaz said, that many Moors were to be found there, but they were not so easy to capture as he thought; for, believe me, they are very brave men and full of artifices in their defence, and this you will see clearly in the next chapters when we shall speak of their combats. "Friend," replied Pallenço, "even though it happen that we take many Moors there, what shall we lose if God give us some here first? ”

“ And these latter were not more than five in number, to wit, a sailor lad very little acquainted with the art of navigating, and a boy of the Infant's household called Airas Tinoco, who went as purser, and a Guinea boy who had been captured with the first prisoners taken in that land, and two other boys, both quite young, who were living with some of those esquires that died there. Of a surety, compassion is due to their great toil at that hour. ”

“ But, after all, the map knowledge shown of Africa to the south of latitude 26° N. was so incomplete and so vague—perhaps even in the Laurentian Portolan the engrafting of a great theory on a tiny plant of fact—that the claim of first discovery in [Pg cxxxviii] more southern regions cannot well be refused to Gil Eannes, Dinis Diaz, Cadamosto, and the other explorers of the Infant's school.
On the other hand, all the Atlantic groups, except the Cape Verdes and some of the Azores, were evidently known in whole or part to some of the fourteenth-century navigators and draughtsmen. ”

“ And arriving at the island, he began to make signs to the Moors, who had come down to the shore as soon as they saw the caravel sailing towards them.
And of them he had one Moor for his security while he surrendered the master of the caravel, and a Jew who was in his company. But when the Moors had them in their power, the Mooress, of whom the Alcayde sought to make the ransom, threw herself into the water, and like one practised in that kind of thing very quickly got to land and joined her relations and her friends. ”

“ How the Infant replied to the men of Lagos, and of the armament that was made ready against the said island.
"Great matters," replied the Infant, "be often disprized where things of small moment are much commended; for better is the mean man who liberally offereth his whole self than the grandee who in niggardly wise tendereth his share. And, moreover, the offering of your good wills is of greater price than the great services of more powerful men, which were not granted me with so good a grace. ”

“ The news of this sight ran through all the caravels, as they came up one after another, and in this all received great pleasure, and especially the common people, in that they saw the captains had taken their determination to attempt the enterprise, and would not now be hindered by the non-arrival of the others, as hath been written above. And as people who did not know how to conceal their gladness, they made their instruments to sound, and raised chants, and so fell to eating and drinking as men full of good confidence of victory. ”

“ And if God shall crown our deed with a victorious issue, we shall be able, besides effecting the destruction of our enemies, to make booty of great worth, through which you will receive for your fifth a great profit, and in this we also shall not be without our share. And to this, my Lord, may it please you to make your answer, that we may speedily pursue our voyage, while the summer time giveth us favourable weather therefor. ”

“ The lines of Portuguese advance, a generation after his death, continued to follow his initiative so closely, that, when a different route to the Indies was suggested by Columbus, the government of John II refused to treat it seriously. And yet it was to the Infant's movement—in part, at least—that Columbus owed his conception. "It was in Portugal," says Ferdinand Columbus, "that the Admiral began to surmise that if men could sail so far south, one might also sail west and find lands in that direction." ”

“ For manifest as the danger was, yet sufficient for all things were the hearts of those who would fain earn the name of good men; and especially were they moved to this by the knowledge they had of the Infant's desire and by seeing the great increasements that he made to those who toiled thereat, for, as Vegetius saith, "Men are valiant where valour is rewarded." And so in this year certain captains, with nine caravels, were moved to go to that land of the Negroes; and of these the first was Gil Eannes, a knight who dwelt in the town of Lagos. ”

“ The inhabitants of this island of Palma have neither bread nor vegetables, but only sheep and milk and herbs, and maintain themselves on these; they know not to recognise God nor any faith, but only think they believe; like the other cattle they are very bestial; and they say they have certain among them who are called kings; [Pg 244] and their fighting is done with staves like the men of Teneriffe, except that where an iron head should be, they put a sharp horn, and another at the lower end, though not so sharp an one as that at the top. ”