They Gave Thanks To God, That, Whereas It Had Been Represented To Them, That In This Season, Which Was The Winter Of The Indies, There Were Always Great Storms In This Gulf, They Now Experienced Fair Weather.

On Friday the 18th of May, twenty- three days after leaving Melinda, during all which time they had seen no land, they came in sight of India, at eight leagues distance, the land seeming very high.

Canaca, the pilot, tried the lead and found forty-five fathoms, upon which he altered his course to the south-east, having fallen in with the land too far to the north. Upon the Saturday, he again drew near the land, but did not certainly know it, as the view was obscured by rain, which, always falls in India at this season, being their winter. On Sunday the 20th of May, the pilot got view of certain high hills which are directly behind the city of Calicut, and came so near the land that he was quite sure of the place; on which he came up with great joy to the general, demanding his _albrycias_, or reward, as this was the place at which he and his company were so desirous to arrive. The general was greatly rejoiced at this news, and immediately satisfied the pilot, after which, he summoned all the company to prayers, saying the _salve_, and giving hearty thanks to God, who had safely conducted them to the long wished-for place of his destination. When prayer was over, there was great festivity and joy in the ships, which came that same evening to anchor two leagues from Calicut. Immediately upon anchoring, some of the natives came off to the ships in four boats, called _almadias_, inquiring whence our ships came, as they had never before seen any resembling their construction upon that coast. These natives were of a brown colour, and entirely naked, excepting very small aprons. Some of them immediately came on board the general, and the Guzerat pilot informed him these were poor fishermen; yet the general received them courteously, and ordered his people to purchase the fish which they had brought for sale. On conversing with them, he understood that the town whence they came, which was in sight, was not Calicut, which lay farther off, and to which they offered to conduct our fleet. Whereupon the general requested them to do this; and, departing from this first anchorage, the fleet was conducted by these fishermen to Calicut.

Calicut is a city on the coast of Malabar, a province of the second India, which begins at the mount of Delhi, and ends at Cape Comory, being sixty- one leagues in length, and fifteen leagues broad[48]. The whole of this country is very low, and apt to be covered with water, having many islands in its rivers, which flow into the Indian Sea. This country of Malabar is divided from the kingdom of Narsinga by a very high hill. The Indians report that this land of Malabar was covered by the sea of old, which then reached to the foot of the hills, and thence to a hill, where now the islands of the Maldives are found, which were then firm land; and that in after times it destroyed that latter country, and laid bare the country of Malabar, in which are many pleasant and rich cities, dependent upon trade, which they carry on principally with Calicut, which exceeds all cities of our days in riches and in vice.

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