In The
Morning, The Viceroy Gave Permission To His Troops To Plunder The Town;
But This Was Speedily Prevented By The Houses Taking Fire, Which In A
Few Hours Reduced The Whole To Ashes, So That The Booty Did Not Exceed
150,000 Ducats.
In fact the town was purposely set on fire by the
private orders of the viceroy, lest the men might have been so satiated
by the riches of the place as to retard his ulterior designs.
The ships
in the harbour were likewise destroyed by fire, to the no small risk of
the Portuguese ships which were very near.
In fitting out for this expedition, the viceroy had not laid in any
considerable store of provisions, as he expected to have got supplies on
the coast; but on sending to the neighbouring villages none was to be
had, as the last crop had been utterly eaten up by locusts, many of
which were found preserved in pots for food by the natives, and being
tasted by the Portuguese were found palatable, and not unlike shrimps.
This made them conclude that there were land shrimps, as in some places,
particularly in the vineyards about Rome, there are crabs found not
unlike those of the sea. Hence if locusts were not so numerous and
destructive, so as to blast the hopes of harvest and to be dreaded like
a plague, they might be useful as food; and we know from Scripture that
St John fed upon them in the desert.
Leaving Dabul, the viceroy proceeded for Diu, expecting to procure
provisions along the coast. Payo de Sousa, having seen some cattle
feeding on the banks of a river, went up the stream in his galley in
hopes of procuring some; but was opposed by the natives, and he and
George Guedez were both slain. Diego Mendez succeeded in the command of
that galley, and while continuing the voyage towards Diu he met one of
the Mameluke galleys going from Diu to Dabul, which was well manned and
commanded by a courageous and experienced Turk; who, on discovering the
Portuguese galley ordered all his soldiers to conceal themselves, so
that Mendez immediately boarded without suspecting any danger, on which
the Turks rushed out from their concealment and had almost gained the
Portuguese galley; but the Portuguese recovered from their surprise, and
made themselves masters of the Turkish galley, slaying every one of the
enemy without losing a single man on their side. The chief booty taken
on this occasion consisted of a young and beautiful Hungarian lady of
noble birth, who was brought to the viceroy, and given by him to Gaspard
de la India, who gave her to Diego Pereyra, who afterwards married her.
Farther on, they took in the river of Bombaim, now called Bombay, a bark
with twenty-four Moors belonging to Guzerat, by whose means they
procured a supply of sheep and rice, while some cattle were procured in
other places, and a farther supply was got at the fort of Maim, all the
people flying to the mountains from terror of the Portuguese, having
heard of what had happened at Dabul.
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