When We Had Again Passed The Line To The Northward, And Were Come To The
Third Degree Or Somewhat More, We Saw Crabs Swimming That Were As Red As
If They Had Been Boiled; But This Was No Sign Of Land.
About the
eleventh degree, and for many days, more than ten thousand fishes
continually followed, or were round about
Our ship, of which we caught
so many that we eat nothing else for fifteen days, and they served our
turn well; for at this time we had no meat remaining, and hardly any
thing else to eat, our voyage drawing nigh to seven months, which
commonly is performed in five, when they take the inner passage. These
fishes were no sign of land, but rather of deep sea. At length two birds
were caught of the hawk tribe, which gave our people great joy, thinking
they had been birds of India, but we found afterwards that they were
from Arabia; and when we thought we had been near India, we were in the
latitude of Socotoro, an island near the mouth of the Red Sea. Here God
sent us a strong wind from the N.E. or N.N.E. on which they bore away
unwillingly toward the east, and we ran thus for ten days without any
sign of land, by which they perceived their error. Hitherto they had
directed their course always N.E. desiring to increase their latitude;
but partly from the difference of the needle, and most of all because
the currents at that time carried us N.W. we had been drawn into this
other danger, had not God sent us this wind, which at length became more
favourable and restored us to our right course.
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