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Updated: May 26, 2025
The captain-major made a hole with pickaxes in a stone slab at the entrance of this river, and set up a marble pillar, of which he had brought many for that purpose, which had two escutcheons, one of the arms of Portugal, and another, on the other side, of the sphere, and letters engraved in the stone which said, "Of the Lordship of Portugal, Kingdom of Christians."
When it was placed the crews of the ships landed and offered up prayers, when the trumpets sounded and a salute was fired from the ships. The Captain-Major now presented the King with a convict ship-boy, saying he was left in order, should any Portuguese ships come to the country, that he might be able to describe the benefits and gifts the King had bestowed on his countrymen.
With this they remained satisfied. Some days having passed thus with heavy storms, the Lord was pleased to assuage the tempest a little and the sea grew calm, so that the ships could speak one another; and Nicolas Coelho, coming up to speak, shouted to the captain-major that "it would be well to put about, since every moment they had death before their eyes, and so many men who went in their company were so piteously begging with tears and cries to put back the ships.
The Captain-Major replied that he should not return to the port, and that he would take upon himself at a future time the punishment of the Moors who had behaved ill to him and his followers. As there was a fair wind the ships set sail and ran down the coast until they came off Cananor.
He now requested the Zamorin to conclude one of the same character between their two nations; and, this being done, he would ask permission to land and carry on a trade with his people. They were accepted out of courtesy, but the Captain-Major sent word that he could neither buy nor sell anything until the treaty was concluded.
The Captain-Major gave the blacks biscuit, salt fish, and wine, which they ate and drank with evident satisfaction, not refusing the wine as the Moor had done. The vessel called a zambuk was probably the style of craft similar to the dhow of the present day, with a high stern, the bow sharp and low, and either perfectly open or partially decked over with light planking.
The captain-major saw this and that the ships had an absolute need of repairs; and also because they had no more water to drink, because, with the tossing about in the storm, many barrels had broken and given way; under such great pressure, he stood in to land under sail, for the weather was moderate and was beginning to be favorable; all were praying to God for mercy, and that he would grant them a haven of safety.
Nicolas Coelho felt great joy in his heart on hearing from the captain-major that he had got his pilot and master thus secured from rising against him, since he had put them in irons; and without much dissimulation he spoke to master and pilot and seamen, saying that he was much grieved at the captain-major's way of treating his ship's officers, whom he stood so much in need of in the labors they were undergoing, but what he had done was because of his being of so strong and thorough a temperament, as they all knew, and he had not chosen to wait for them to make entreaty for the liberty of the prisoners, but that whenever the ships again spoke one another he would do this.
This he said with a treacherous design, intending, in revenge for having been put in irons, to deliver them into the hands of the people, hoping that they would all be killed. Again Davane, who by this time could express himself very clearly in Portuguese, warned the Captain-Major of the pilot's treacherous plan.
The captain-major provided a remedy for this, for he ordered that each one should wash his mouth with his own water each time he passed it, by doing which in a few days they obtained health.
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