The 27th We Were A Little Past Calicut, Abreast Of Paniany, Our Lat.
At
noon being 10 deg.
30' N. In the morning of the 28th, we saw Cochin, which
is known by the towers and castle, being in lat 9 deg. 40' N. or thereby.
All the way from Goa to Cochin we never had above twenty fathoms,
though, sometimes four or five leagues from the land; and when only
three, four, or six miles off, the depths were from ten to twelve
fathoms. From lat 11 deg. 30' N. to Cochin, the land was all very low by the
water side; but up the country it was very high all along. Four or five
leagues to the north of Cochin, there is a high land within the country,
somewhat like a table mountain, yet rounded on the top, having long high
mountains to the north of this hill. All this day, the 28th, we sailed
within six or eight miles of the land, in nine, ten, and twelve fathoms.
We anchored on the 30th in fifteen fathoms, about twenty-six leagues to
the north of Cape Comorin right over against a little village, whence
presently came off six or eight canoes with water and all kinds of
provisions; the name of this place is Beringar, which our mariners
usually call Bring-John, being in the kingdom of Travancor. The 1st
February, the king sent me a message, offering to load my ship with
pepper and cinnamon, if I would remain and trade with him. The 5th we
were abreast of Cape Comorin, where we had a fresh gale of wind at E. by
N. which split our fore-top-sail and main bonnet, yet a canoe with eight
men came off to us three or four leagues from the land. We were here
troubled with calms and great heat, and many of our men fell sick, of
which number I was one. On the 8th we were forced back to the roads of
Beringar. This place has good refreshments for ships, and the people
are very harmless, and not friends to the Portuguese. From this place to
Cape Comorin, all the inhabitants of the sea coast are Christians, and
have a Portuguese priest or friar residing among them. It is to be
remarked, that the whole coast, even from Damaun to Cape Comorin, is
free from danger, and there is fair shoaling all the way from Cochin to
that cape, having sixteen, eighteen, and twenty fathoms close to the
land, and no ground five or six leagues off, after you come within
twenty-five or thirty leagues of the Cape. The variation at Damaun was
16 deg. 30'; halfway to the Cape about 15 deg., and 14 deg. at the cape, the
latitude of which is 7 deg. 30' N. [exactly 7 deg. 57'].
In the afternoon we were fair off the Cape, and found much wind at
E.S.E. giving small hope of being able to go eastwards till the end of
the monsoon, which our Indians reported would be about the end of April.
So I bore up, and came to anchor, four or five leagues within the Cape,
in twenty fathoms close by two rocks.
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