On Coming To The Shore, Certain Principal Natives Waited
At The Foot Of The Stair, Having A Live Sheep, Which
They opened alive,
taking out the bowels, and the king rode over the carcase of the sheep.
_This is a
Kind of ceremony that the witches there do use_.[16] After
this he went to the water side, with all his train on foot, saying in a
loud voice certain words of incantation. The interview with the general
took place on the water in great ceremony, and the king gave him a pilot
to carry the fleet to Calicut. Cabral left two banished men at Melinda to
inform themselves of all the circumstances of the country to the best of
their abilities. One of these, called _Machado_, when he had learned the
Arabic language, went afterwards by land to the straits of the Red Sea,
and from thence by Cambaya to _Balagarte_, and settled with the _sabayo_
or lord of Goa, passing always for a Moor. This man was afterwards very
serviceable to Albuquerque, as will be seen hereafter.
Leaving Melinda on the 7th of August, he came to Ansandina or Anche-diva,
on the 20th of that month, where he waited some days for the fleet of
Mecca, which he meant to have attacked. While there, the whole of the
crews confessed and received the sacrament. No ships appearing, the fleet
left Anchediva and sailed for Calicut, coming to anchor within a league
of that place on the 13th of September.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 621 of 812
Words from 171867 to 172118
of 224388
