While Driving Our Cattle Past A Little
Wood, We Again Fell In With The Elephants, Which Put Us In Such Fear
That We Abandoned Our Cattle And Trusted To Our Feet, Making The Best Of
Our Way To The Island.
[Footnote 119:
Perhaps alluding to the _cluck_, which occurs perpetually
in the language of the Hottentots, resembling the sound used in some
parts to urge on a horse, and which is inexpressible in
orthography. - E.]
Having made provision for our voyage of such things as could be procured
at Mozambique, we sailed for the Cape of Good Hope, passing the island
of St Lawrence, otherwise called Madagascar, which is 80 leagues from
the nearest part of the continent. I suppose that in a short time the
Portuguese will be masters of this island, as they have burned and
destroyed many of its towns and villages, and are much feared by the
natives. So far as I conjecture by my peregrinations, especially those
in India and Ethiopia, it is my opinion that the king of Portugal is
likely to be the richest king in the world, if he continue as he has
begun; and certainly his dignity and godly zeal is not unworthy of such
high fortune, as by his means the knowledge of the Christian faith is
greatly extended. In Cochin, where the viceroy of India resides, every
holiday ten or twelve Mahometans or idolaters are professed to our
religion; so that we may have good hope that in time our faith may
greatly spread with the blessing of God, who hath given such miraculous
victories to the Christians; wherefore all who profess to believe in the
holy name of Christ, ought incessantly to pray to God to assist the king
of Portugal in so godly an enterprise.
When we had sailed about two hundred miles beyond the Cape of Good Hope,
there arose a sudden tempest of contrary wind, which towed us to and fro
for seven days in great danger, but we escaped by the blessing of God.
After the cessation of this tempest, and when we had again proceeded
other two hundred miles on our voyage, a new tempest arose, which
scattered all our ships during six days that it continued, so that we
did not all meet again till our arrival at Lisbon in Portugal. I was in
a ship called the St Vincent, belonging to one Bartholomew a Florentine,
who was a citizen of Lisbon. She was a vessel of great size, and carried
seven hundred tons of spices of all kinds. We passed the island of St
Helena, near which we saw certain fishes of such enormous bigness that
one of them was as large as a great house. When they rise above water,
or gape or yawn, the upper jaw covers all the forehead, as it were a
soldier in shining armour, and when they swim along the surface of the
deep, the forehead seems three paces broad. As they swam about near the
ships, they raised such a commotion in the sea that we discharged all
our artillery to drive them away. We soon afterwards came to an island
named _Ascension,_ where we saw many birds about the size of ducks,
which were so stupid that we took them with our hands, yet immediately
afterwards they shewed wonderful fierceness. In that island we saw no
outer living creatures besides these birds, which seemed as if they had
never seen mankind before, and there were prodigious quantities of fish
around its shores.
Having sailed many days beyond that island, we seemed to have returned
again into our own world, as the north star, the guide of mariners,
appeared to us. Here we have a good opportunity of refuting the opinion
of those who think that it is impossible to sail in the regions of the
antartic pole by the guidance of the north star; for it is undeniable
that the Portuguese sail by the aid of the north polar star, although
entirely hidden from their sight in the antartic region of the sea. Yet
they frequently refresh the virtue of the needle by means of that stone
which ever naturally points towards the north. A few days afterwards we
arrived at a fair region, in which are seen many islands called the
_Astures_ Acores, so named from the multitude of that species of eagles
or hawks which are called acores or _azores_. These islands are
variously named, as _Pico_, _Martii_, _Corvo_, _Flores_, _St George_,
_Gratiosa_ and _Fyal_. From thence we went to the island of _Tercera_,
where we remained two days. All these are very fertile, and have
abundance of all the necessaries of life.
Departing from thence, we came in seven days sailing to _Luxburne_ or
_Ulisbona_, [_Lisbon_] in Portugal. On my arrival I was carried to the
presence of the king, whose hand I had the honour to kiss, and with most
humble reverence I thanked his majesty for the great favour I had found
with his officers and subjects in India. He entertained me very
graciously at his court, until I had informed him fully of all that I
had observed in my peregrinations in various parts of India. Some days
afterwards, I shewed his majesty the letters-patent by which his viceroy
in India had honoured me with the order of knighthood, and humbly
requested of his majesty to confirm the same under his great seal, which
he was graciously pleased to grant. Then departing from Lisbon, with the
passport and safe conduct of the king, I returned at length, after these
my long and perilous travels, to my long-desired native home, the city
of Rome, by the blessing of God, to whom be all honour and glory.
_End of the Voyages of Verthema._
CHAPTER VI.
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS OF CESAR FREDERICK IN INDIA[120].
INTRODUCTION.
This article has been adopted from the Collection of Hakluyt, and, with
that immediately preceding, may serve as a supplement to the Portuguese
Transactions in India.
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