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 _Mylyo_[17], 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 People[18]. 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 natives[19].
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 Coello[20] 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
land[21], 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 satin[22]. 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.
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