Princes.
Saldanna and Lorenzo went thence to the mouth of the Red Sea, where they
defeated some Moors at the islands of _Kanakani_[17] beyond Cape Guardafu.
On the upper coast of Arabia, they burnt one ship belonging to the Moors
which was laden with frankincense, and they drove another on shore which
carried a number of pilgrims for Mecca.
[1] This seems to be the island named Chirapipil on a former occasion. - E.
[2] Thus I understand the expression in Lichefilds translation of
Castaneda, "Forty were armed with, shot." - E.
[3] Caliver is the old name of the matchlock or carabine, the precursor
of the modern firelock or musket. - E.
[4] A very ordinary precaution in India, to guard the passage of the wet
ditch in fortified places, both against desertion and surprise, is by
keeping numbers of crocodiles in the water. - E.
[5] A falcon or faulcon is described as a small cannon of two pound shot.
The following enumeration of the ancient English ordnance, from Sir
William Monsons Naval Tracts, in the reigns of Elizabeth and James the
First, is given in Churchills Collection, Vol. III. p. 803. I suspect
the weight of the basilisk, marked 400 pounds in this list, may be a
typographical error for 4000. - E.
Names. Bore. Weight. Shot. Powder. Random
inches. libs. libs. libs. paces.
Cannon-royal 8-1/2 8000 66 30 1930
Cannon 8 6000 60 27 2000
Cannon-serpentine 7 5500 53-1/2 25 2000
Bastard cannon 7 4500 41 20 1800
Demi-cannon 6-3/4 4000 30-1/2 18 1700
Cannon-petro 6 3000 24-1/2 14 1600
Culverin 5-1/2 4500 17-1/2 12 2500
Basilisk 5 400* 15 10 3000
Demi-culverin 4 3400 9-1/2 8 2500
Bastard culverin 4 3000 5 5-3/4 1700
Sacar 3-1/2 1400 5-1/2 5-1/2 1700
Minion 3-1/2 1000 4 4 1500
Faulcon 2-1/2 660 2 3-1/2 1500
Falconet 2 500 1-1/2 3 1500
Serpentine 1-1/2 400 3/4 1-1/2 1400
Rabanet 1 300 1/2 1/3 1000
[6] Two weights of that name are described as used in India for the sale
of pepper and other commodities, the small and the large bahar; the
former consisting of three, and the latter of four and a half peculs.
The pecul is said to weigh 5 1/2 pounds avoirdupois: Consequently the
smaller bahar is equal to 16 1/2, and the larger to 24 3/4 English
pounds. A little farther on in the present work of Castaneda, 4000
bahars are said to equal 1200 quintals; which would make the bahar of
Cochin equal to thirty Portuguese pounds.
