THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
(*?(/>'
RECORDS OF SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA.
EECOEDS
OF
SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA
COLLECTED IN VARIOUS LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVE
DEPARTMENTS IN EUROPE
BY
GEORGE McCALL THEAL, LL.D.,
HISTORIOGRAPHER TO THE CAPE GOVERNMENT.
VOL. II.
PRINTED FOR
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CAPE COLONY.
1898.
LONDON :
BY WILLIAM CLOWKS AXD SONS, LIMITED,
STAMFORD STKBBT AND ClIAKING CUOSS.
Annex
PT
1312
v. 2.
CONTENTS.
12 Feb. 1560.
24 June 1560.
25 June 1560.
26 June 1560.
9 Aug. 1560.
3 June 1561.
3 June 1561.
15 Dec. 1561.
15 Sep. 1562.
5 Dec. 1562.
1589.
1593.
PAGE
Digest. Shipwrecks . ' . . . . vii
IN PORTUGUESE WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS :
Extracts from the Bouk called Lendas da India . 1
Letter from Father Dom Gor^alo da Silveira to the
Father Provincial . .... 54
Letter from Father Andre Fernandes to the Father
Provincial 55
Letter from Father Andre Feruandes to the Brother
Luiz Froes 68
Letter from Father Audre' Fernandes to the Fathers
and Brothers of the College of Goa ... 77
Letter from Father Dom Goncalo da Silveira to the
Fathers and Brothers of the College at Goa . 88
Letter from Father Andre Fernandes to the Brother
Mario 97
Letter from Father Andre* Fernandes to the Brother
Gasparltalo 98
Letter from Antonio Caiado ..... 99
Account of the voyage of Father Dom Gon9alo da
Silveira and of liis death ..... 104
Letter from the Brother Antonio Fernandes to the
Fathers and Brothers of the Company of Jesus
at Coimbra 128
Letter Irom Father Andre Fernaudes to the Brothers
and Fathers of the Society of Jesus ... . 129
Account of the wreck of the ship S. Thome . . 153
Account of the wreck of the ship Santo Alberto . 225
IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Extracts from the Book called Empresas Militares de
Lusitanos . 347
Ib34.
IN PORTUGUESE WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Extracts from a Manuscript Volume called Do Estado
da India 378
VI
Contents.
DATE
3 Feb. 1630.
20 Feb. 1630.
1630.
2 Feb. 1631.
1631.
1 Nov. 1631.
1 May 1632.
14 Aug. 1652.
1733.
IN ENGLISH:
Letter from Friar Louis to his Provincial .
Letter from Friar Geronimo to the Provincial
Advices from Goa ....
427
428
429
IN LATIN :
Encyclical letter of the General of the Dominicans . 429
IN PORTUGUESE WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Letter from Father Jorge de Govea ...
431
IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Ethiopia Oriental ...... * 432
IN ENGLISH :
Letter from the Bishop of Gerace to the Propaganda . 440
Letter from the Bishop of Gerace .... 441
IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION-:
Account of the baptism of the Monomotapa . . 441
IN LATIN:
Document from the Dominican archives . . . 448
IN PORTUGUESE WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION :
Weights, Measures, and Money used at Sofala and
Mozambique ...... 449
IN ENGLISH:
Account of Delagoa Bay by Mr. Penwell . . . 455
Account of Delagoa Bay by Captain Owen . . 465
Account of Delagoa Bay by Mr. Fynn . . . 479
Photograph of Pedro Barreto de Rezende'e plan of Sofala
405
DIGEST. SHIPWRECKS.
KNOWLEDGE OF THE SOUTH AFEICAN COAST AND OF THE
NATIVE TRIBES ALONG IT ACQUIRED BY THE PORTUGUESE
DURING THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
OF the Bantu tribes along the seaboard north of the Bashee
a good deal of knowledge was obtained during the sixteenth
century by the crews of wrecked ships, some of whom under-
went almost incredible suffering before their restoration to the
society of civilised men. By order of the king a flying survey
of the coast between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Cor-
rentes was also made towards the close of this period, by
which much information was supposed to have been gained.
Occasionally vessels disappeared after leaving Portugal or
India, and were never heard of again. Some of these were
probably lost on the African shore, though of this there is no
certainty except in one instance, when part of a stranded ship
was found at the mouth of the river now known as the Saint
Lucia, but without a trace of any one that had sailed in her.
Particulars, however, have been preserved of the loss succes-
sively of the 8. Joao, the S. Bento, the Santiago, the S. Thome,
and the S. Alberto, from each of which some of the crew
escaped, and after much intercourse with the natives succeeded
in reaching Mozambique.
The 8. Joao was a great galleon laden with a very valuable
cargo, which left Cochin on the 3rd of February 1552 to
return to Portugal. She had about two hundred and twenty
Portuguese and nearly four hundred slaves on board, and, as
was usual at that time, an officer of high rank who was
going home was captain in command. The master of the
ship directed the working, and the pilot pointed out the
viii Records of South-Eastern Africa.
course, but the captain gave instructions in such matters as
what ports they were to put into and when they were to sail ;
he also preserved discipline and exercised general control.
The captain of the 8. Joao Manuel de Sousa Sepulveda by
name was accompanied by his wife, Dona Leonor, a young
and amiable lady of noble blood, his two little sons, and a
large train of attendants and slaves, male and female.
On the 12th of May, when only seventy -five miles from
the Cape of Good Hope, the galleon encountered a violent
gale from the west-north-west, and soon a very heavy sea was
running, as is usually the case when the wind and the Agulhas
current oppose each other. Some sails had been lost in a
storm on the equator, and there were no others on board than
those in use, which were old and worn. On this account it
was not considered prudent to attempt to lie to, and so the
ship was put before the wind under her fore and main courses.
After some days the gale veered to another quarter, shifting
at last to the west-south-west, when the tremendous seas
caused the ship to labour so heavily that she lost her masts
and rudder. Those on board feared every moment that she
would go down. An attempt was made, however, to set up
jury masts, to fix a new rudder, and with some cloth that was
on board converted into a substitute for sails to endeavour to
reach Mozambique. But the new rudder, being too small,
proved useless, and the galleon like a helpless log was driven
towards the coast, from which there were no means of keeping
her. On the 8th of June she was close to the land a little
to the eastward of the mouth of the Umzimvubu, very near if
not exactly off the spot where the English ship Grosvenor
was lost two hundred and thirty years later. There, as the
weather had moderated, the bower anchors were dropped,
between which the galleon lay at a distance of two crossbow
shots from the shore, almost waterlogged.
The captain now resolved to land the people and as much
provisions and other necessaries as possible, to construct a
temporary fort, and with materials taken from the ship to
build a small caravel that could be sent to Sofala for aid.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. ix
There was no hope of saving the cargo, but he thought of
getting out some calico with which to obtain food in barter
from the natives of the country, if that should be needed.
Only two boats were left, of which one was little larger than
a skiff. In these the captain, his family, and about seventy
others were conveyed to the shore. But on the third day the
wind freshened and caused a heavy swell, both the boats were
dashed to pieces on the rocks, and the seaward cable of the
galleon parting, she was driven on shore and within a few
hours broke into fragments. Over a hundred men and women
were lost in the surf, and many of those who reached the land
alive were badly bruised.
All hope of getting timber to build a caravel was now lost,
and only a small quantity of food was secured. As soon there-
fore as the bruised people were sufficiently recovered to travel,
the whole party set out to try to walk along the shore to the
river of Louren^o Marques. To that place a small vessel was
sent nearly every year from Mozambique to barter ivory, and
the only faint chance of preserving their lives that remained
to the shipwrecked people was to reach the river and find the
trading party. They had seen some Kaffirs on the hills close
by, and had heard those barbarians shouting to each other, but
had not been able to obtain any information or provisions from
them.
On the 7th of July they left the scene of the wreck. At the
end of a mouth they were only ninety miles from it, for they
had been obliged to make many detours in order to cross the
rivers. Their sufferings from thirst were at times greater than
from cold, hunger, and weariness combined. Of all the party
Dona Leonor was the most cheerful, bidding the others take
heart, and talking of the better days that were to come. They
eked out their little supply of food with wild plants, oysters,
and mussels, and sometimes they found quite an abundance of
fish in pools among the rocks at low tide.
And now every day two or three fell behind exhausted, and
perished. To add to their troubles, bands of Kaffirs hovered
about them, and on several occasions they were attacked, though
x Records of South-Eastern Africa.
as they had a few firelocks and some ammunition, they were
easily able to drive their assailants back. At the end of three
months those who were in advance reached the territory of the
old Inyaka, whom Lourenpo Marques and Antonio Caldeira had
named Garcia de Sa, and whose principal kraal was on the
right bank of the Umfusi river, which flows into Delagoa Bay.
This chief received them in a friendly manner, supplied them
with food and lodging, and sent his men to search for those
who were straggling on behind. In return, he asked for assist-
ance against a chief living about twenty miles to the southward,
with whom he was at war. De Sousa sent an officer and twenty
men to help him, with whose aid he won a victory and got
possession of all his opponent's cattle.
Garcia de Sa wished the white people to remain with him,
and he warned them against a tribe that lived in front, but as
soon as they were well rested and had recovered their strength,
they resolved to push on. , They crossed the Maputa in canoes
furnished by the friendly chief, and five days later reached the
Espirito Santo, where they learned from some natives, through
the interpretation of a female slave from Sofala who had picked
up a little of the dialect, that a vessel from Mozambique,
having men like themselves on board, had been there, but
was then a long time gone. Manuel de Sousa now became
partly demented, and his brave wife, Dona Leonor, who had
borne all the hardships of the journey so cheerfully, was
plunged by this new misfortune into the greatest distress.
With what object is not stated, but for some reason they
still pressed on northward. They were reduced to one hundred
and twenty souls, all told, when they crossed the Espirito Santo
or river of Lourenpo Marques in canoes supplied by the natives
at the price of a few nails, and entered the territory of the
chief of whom Garcia de Sa had warned them. His kraal was
about three miles farther on. He professed to receive them
with favour, and for a few days supplied them with provisions,
but at length informed them that they must entrust him with
the care of their arms while they were in his country, as that
was one of his laws. Dona Leonor objected to this, but the
Records of South-Eastern Africa. xi
males of the party complied with the chiefs demand, in the
belief that by doing so they would secure his friendship. As
soon as they were in a defenceless condition he caused them
to be separated, under pretence of distributing them among
different kraals where they would be provided with food, but
kept the captain with his family and about twenty others at
his own residence.
Those who dispersed were immediately stripped of their cloth-
ing and driven away to perish. Then the captain was robbed
of a quantity of precious stones worth several thousand pounds
as well as some gold that he had with him, and he and his
family and attendants were ordered to leave the kraal. They
wandered about for two days, without meeting any of their
late associates in misery, when some natives fell upon them
and stripped them naked. Dona Leonor, who fought like a
tigress while the savages were tearing her garments from her,
sat down on the ground with her two little boys, her half
demented husband, and a few faithful female slaves beside her.
The white men of the party, who could do nothing to relieve
such anguish as hers, went on in search of wild plants with
which to prolong their lives. Shortly afterwards one of the
boys died of hunger, when the father scraped a hole in the
sand and buried the body. The next day he went to seek
some roots or berries for his starving wife, and on his return
found her and the other child dead and the slave women wail-
ing loudly. They buried the mother and child in the sand,
after which the sorely afflicted nobleman disappeared in a
thicket, and was never seen again.
Eight Portuguese, fourteen male slaves, and three of the
female slaves who were with Dona Leonor when she died,
managed to preserve their lives. Some of them wandered to a
distance of fifty miles from the scene of the last disaster. At
length a trading vessel put into the bay in search of ivory,
and her captain, hearing of the unfortunate people, rescued
them by offering for each one a trifling reward in beads.
They reached Mozambique on the 25th of May 1553. Diogo
de Mesquita, who was then captain of that island and* the
xii Records of South-Eastern Africa.
stations south of the Zambesi, sent a little vessel to search
along the coast, but no trace of any of the lost people could
be found.
The 8. Bento was one of a fleet of five ships sent by King
John the third to India in March 1553. Among those who
sailed in her on her outward passage was Luis de Camoes,
whose name still lives as that of the prince of Portuguese
poets. She was one of the largest vessels of her time, and
was commanded by Fernao d'Alvares Cabral, who was commo-
dore of the squadron. Having reached her destination in
safety, she took in a return cargo, and sailed from Cochin on
the 1st of February 1554. On the passage stormy weather
with a very heavy sea was encountered, in which the ship
sustained great damage, and when she reached the African
coast it was feared every moment that she would go to the
bottom. On the 21st of April she struck upon a rocky ledge
on the western side of the, mouth of the Unitata,* and in a
few minutes broke into fragments.
Forty-four Portuguese and over a hundred slaves lost their
lives in trying to reach the shore, and two hundred and twenty-
four slaves and ninety-nine Portuguese, many of them severely
bruised, managed to get to land. Among the latter was Manuel
de Castro, one of the few survivors of the crew of the S. Joao,
who died, however, a few hours later from injuries received
during the breaking up of the ship. A small quantity of
provisions was washed ashore with the debris of the cargo, but
it was so much damaged with salt water that it could not long
remain fit for use.
* Termed the Infante in the account of the wreck given by one of the
officers who was saved, but there is ample evidence in this document and in
another by the same officer that the Umtata was the scene of the disaster.
On that wild and little frequented coast the mouth of any considerable stream
south of the Umzirnvubu would be set down as the Infante by a Portuguese
who saw it. He would know there was a large river of that name somewhere
between the Umzimvubu, and the islet of the Cross, and he would not know
there were many others. The crew of the S. Bento passed over no stream
of any importance before they reached the Umzimvubu, the S. C'hristovao
as they termed it.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. xiii
After this was collected and a temporary shelter was made of
carpets and silks, a general consultation took place as to what
was best to be done. Some thought it advisable to try to
march overland to the Watering Place of Saldanha, but this
was overruled by the majority, because of the fierceness of the
natives in that direction, as had been proved by the slaughter
of the viceroy D' Almeida and so many of his companions, and
further because vessels very seldom called there and conse-
quently, even if they should arrive with life, most probably
all would perish before relief appeared. Others were of opinion
that they should remain where they were and endeavour to
construct some kind of craft that could be sent to Sofala for
aid, but this too was overruled, as the supply of food would
soon be exhausted and they had no proper materials for build-
ing a boat. There was then but one other plan. Before they
left India Lourenpo Marques was preparing for a voyage to
the river which bore his name, in order to trade for ivory, and
their only hope of life was to make their way northward and
reach him before his departure, which would be some time in
June, or, if that should fail, to push on to Sofala.
Accordingly, on the 27th of April they set out, each one
heavily laden with food, pieces of calico, and nails or other
iron for barter. A ship's boy and a female slave, who were too
severely hurt to live long, were of necessity left behind. They
had seen a few naked natives at the place of the wreck, but
there were no huts or any indications of kraals in the neigh-
bourhood, so after crossing the river they directed their course
inland, towards the north-east, in hope of finding people from
whom they could obtain guides and provisions in exchange for
iron. But for four days they were disappointed, and when on
the fifth day of their march they came to a kraal of about
twenty huts, its inhabitants were found to be living on wild
roots and plants, so that no food was to be had from them.
Finding the country almost uninhabited, a little later they
resolved to turn towards the shore, where they could at least
obtain shellfish, and where they believed the rivers could be
more easily crossed than inland, as all had bars of sand at
xiv Records of South-Eastern Africa.
their mouths. Before they reached the Umziinvubu several
of the weakest of the party became utterly exhausted, and were
abandoned on the way. The passage of this river was accom-
plished with the greatest difficulty, and on the following day,
the thirteenth of the journey, the sea was reached at the place
where the 8. Joao was lost. Some of her timbers were still to
be seen, and in a deserted kraal in the neighbourhood pieces
of chinaware and other articles used by Europeans were
found.
After this, keeping along the shore, they found a good
supply of mussels and oysters, and considered the beach much
better for travelling over than the rough mountains and
valleys inland. The country was inhabited, but the natives
were hostile, bands of them constantly hovering about, ready
to attack loiterers. Five days after leaving the Umzimvubu
they reached the Umtamvuna, which they crossed on rafts,
after a skirmish with the natives. Four days later they were
6n the right bank of the Umzimkulu. Here the people were
very friendly, singing and clapping their hands as they came
forward to see the strangers, and bringing food to sell for
little pieces of iron. It was the first they had been able to
purchase since they set out on their journey twenty-two days
before. Here was found a' young man from Bengal who had
been left behind by Manuel de Sousa's party, but as he could
not speak Portuguese he was of little or no service. He
declined to leave the connections he had formed, and when
Cabral went on two Portuguese and about thirty slaves
remained with him and the friendly natives.
Three days march farther brought them to the Umkomanzi,
which they crossed at a ford pointed out by some Kaffirs,
whose friendship they requited by endeavouring to make prize
of a large basket of millet. This brought on a skirmish,
which ended, however, in their opponents being compelled to
retire. At the Umkomanzi they were joined by a young man
named Gaspar, a Moor by birth, who was left behind by
Manuel de Sousa. He had acquired the native language, but
was glad of an opportunity to get away from the country,
Records of South-Eastern Africa. xv
and so went on with them and made himself useful as an
interpreter.
At the end of another three days they were at a place
which they called the mouth of the Pescaria, and which, from
the description given, was in all probability the inlet on
which the present city of Durban is situated. They were not
the first white men, however, that saw it, for Manuel de Sousa
had passed round its shores, and of his party a Portuguese
named Kodrigo Tristao, a young man from Malabar, and two
slaves were then living there. The natives were very friendly,
and brought such a quantity of provisions, including goats,
to sell for iron, that they easily supplied themselves with as
much as they could consume and carry away. Rodrigo Tristao
went on with them, but the Indian and the slaves preferred
to remain where they were.
They were six days marching to the Tugela, which they
termed the Saint Lucia, stopping on the journey only to
purchase a cow and to take the needful rest, though they
suffered greatly from thirst. The river was crossed on rafts,
but the captain Fernao d'Alvares Cabral and another white
man were overturned in the current and lost their lives.
Francisco Pires, the boatswain, was then chosen to lead the
party, and after resting a day they moved on.
South of the Tugela they had suffered much from hunger,
thirst, and fatigue, but they had managed to move forward
about eight miles a dHy in a direct line, perhaps actually
walking thirteen or fourteen. They were now entering a
district much more difficult to travel in, owing to the swamps
and sheets of shallow water that abounded in it, the want of
shellfish on the sandy coast, and the poverty of the natives,
most of whom were hostile. Their iron for barter was nearly
exhausted, and only on a very few occasions were they able to
purchase a little food. One day's hardships resembled those
of the next : struggling through marshes, fainting with hunger,
skirmishing with natives, their number decreased rapidly. To
such a condition were they reduced that some of them cooked
and ate human flesh. At length, on the 7th of July fifty-six
xvi Eecords of South-Eastern Africa.
Portuguese and six slaves, reduced almost to skeletons and
covered with rags, reached the kraal of the Inyaka, Garcia de
Sa, on the south-eastern shore of Delagoa Bay.
Here they were at first well received, but from the avidity
with which the Portuguese ivory traders the year before had
purchased the gold and jewels taken from Manuel de Sousa
the chief had learned how valuable these things were, and
presently he required the unfortunate men to give him every-
thing they had in exchange for food. When they had done
this they found that there was at the time such a scanty
supply of provisions in the country that the chief, with the
best intentions, could not furnish sufficient to keep them
alive, and thus they were little better off than before. From
their faulty chart they believed the river of Lourenpo Marques
to be still eighteen leagues distant, but they were so destitute
and exhausted that they could go no farther. Hunger, sickness,
ravenous animals, and vermin had to be contended with, and
to add to their distress the interpreter Gaspar, who had
ingratiated himself with the chief, treated them with the
utmost cruelty and scorn.
Then they scattered about in different kraals, and were
everywhere treated with such indignity and suffered such
misery that the living envied those who died. At last, on
the 3rd of November a sail appeared in the bay, to the
inexpressible joy of the few who still survived. It was the
trading vessel from Mozambique, commanded by Bastiao de
Lemos, who received his almost expiring countrymen with
every mark of kindness, and did what he could to restore them
to health and vigour. From him they learned that the cause
of Lourenpo Marques not having visited that part of the coast
during the preceding season was his having suffered shipwreck
on the passage.
Four months and a half the little vessel remained in the
bay, her crew trading for ivory with the different chiefs in
reach of their boats. On the 20th of March 1555 with the
first westerly wind of the season she sailed for Mozambique,
taking with her Rodrigo Tristao, of the S. Joao, and twenty
Records of South-Eastern Africa. xvii
Portuguese and four slaves, of the S. Bento. Of the three
hundred and twenty individuals who set out from the mouth
of the Umtata, all the others had either perished or were left
behind at native kraals on the line of march.
A few years later Francisco Barreto, shortly after being
governor-general of India, narrowly escaped shipwreck on the
African coast. Upon the arrival of his successor, the viceroy
Dom Constantino de Braganpa, on the 20th of January 1559
he left Goa in the ship Aguia to return to Portugal. Very
heavy weather was encountered off the southern shore, and the
ship was so disabled that it was with difficulty she could be
kept afloat. Barreto then resolved to get as far back towards
Mozambique as possible, to keep close to the land on the
way, and to run the hulk aground in the last extremity.
Fortunately, however, he was not obliged to resort to this
extreme measure, for the wind was favourable and the island
was reached without further disaster.
The Aguia was unladen and repaired at Mozambique, and
on the 17th of November she set sail once more. She had
not proceeded far when she again sprang a leak, and soon
afterwards a westerly gale was encountered which lasted three
days. The pilot, who was a veteran in the service, declared
that such an occurrence at that time of the year had never
been known before, and as all on board looked upon it as a
warning from God not to persevere in the voyage, the ship's
head was again turned towards Mozambique.
.Barreto now abandoned the Aguia and proceeded to India
in a little vessel, in which he nearly perished of thirst on the
passage. After some delay at Goa he embarked in the home-
ward bound ship 8. Gido, and without further mishap reached
Lisbon in June 1561, twenty-nine months after he first set
out to return to that city.
Owing to this occurrence and others of a similar nature,
King Sebastiao issued instructions to Manuel de Mesquita
Perestrello, one of the surviving officers of the S. Bento, to
survey the African coast from Cape Correntes to the Cape of
Good Hope, and ascertain if there were any harbours in which
ii. I
xviii Records of South-Eastern Africa.
ships could winter if necessary and at all times find shelter
during those gales from the westward that caused the heavy
sea. For this purpose the experienced seaman left Mozambique
in a small vessel on the 22nd of November 1575. No method
of determining longitudes was then known, and the instrument
used for ascertaining the sun's altitude at noon was so clumsy
that observations made with it on shipboard were almost always
incorrect. Some of the latitudes of points on the coast given
by Manuel de Mesquita are more than fifty miles from their
true position, and in his report, which was intended to be a
guide for navigators, he lays down as a rule that the
topography of the different places visited must alone be
depended upon.
His survey therefore was nothing more than an inspection
from the deck of his vessel of the shore from about the Kowie
river westward, but soundings were taken, the compass bear-
ings of the points of the 'bays from the anchorages within them
were ascertained, and sketches some of them almost grotesque
of the scenery at each one were made. Distances were laid
down merely by guess. As far as the coast between the Bird
islands and Delagoa Bay was concerned he depended upon his
overland journey twenty-one years before, and as he mistook
the Umtata for the river now known as the Fish, his observa-
tions upon that part of the seaboard were most inaccurate. Thus
he estimated the mouth of the Umzimvubu by him called
the S. Christovao as only about twenty-eight English miles
from that of the Fish, and in his chart also he lays it down
in that position. Here he actually made an error of fully one
hundred and sixty English miles.
The best shelter along the whole coast, according to him, was
to be found within the curve of the land at the mouth of the
Breede river, to which as a compliment to the king he gave
the name Saint Sebastian's Bay. There, he reported, a vessel
would be protected from all winds except those from east-
north-east to south-east. An east wind was blowing when he
was there, to which he attributed the heavy surf on the bar
at the mouth of the Breede river, but he thought that during
Eecords of South-Eastern Africa. xix
the westerly monsoon the passage would be smooth, and then
a whole fleet might enter the inner harbour and be perfectly
landlocked. The place abounded with fish, and plenty of fresh
water was to be had.
Next in importance he regarded the Watering Place of Saint
Bras, now called Mossel Bay. He described it as sheltered
from all winds except those from north-east to south-east by
east, and as having good holding ground for anchors. The
islet in it he found covered with seals and penguins. Of the
hermitage built there more than half a century earlier, and
dedicated to Saint Bras, nothing now remained but portions of
the walls three or four feet in height. On the highest point
of the western cape on the 7th of January 1576 he set up
a wooden cross, and attached to it a sealed tube containing a
record of the event.
Fermosa Bay now Plettenberg's Bay and the bay which
he named Saint Francis he also regarded as good ports for the
purpose needed, both being sheltered from all winds excepting
those from the north-east to the south, having good ground for
anchoring, and plenty of fresh water within reach. Of the
bay Da Lagoa now Algoa he thought less highly, though
he was of opinion that shelter could be found near the islet
of the Cross.
His latitudes and distances are so incorrect that it is impos-
sible to state with precision the limits of his land of Natal,
but he seems to have regarded the coast from about the Kei
to 'the Umkomanzi as coming under that designation. He de-
scribed it as being without ports or rivers into which large
ships could enter. Of the inlet termed in modern times the
bay of Natal he makes no mention whatever, though his Point
Pescaria is most probably the present Bluff.
The bay into which the rivers Maputa, Santo Espirito, and
Manisa flow he was able to describe more accurately than any
other on the south-eastern coast, owing to his residence on its
shores in former years. The old Tnyaka Garcia de Sa. who
had assisted the wrecked people of the S. Jodo and the
8. Bento, was still alive in 1576.
b 2
xx Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Of the remaining part of the survey it is needless to state
anything more than that it was in all respects so defective
that it could not have been of use to vessels frequenting the
coast, if there had been any such. Manuel de Mesquita's
report marks the highest point of knowledge of the African
shore south of Delagoa Bay acquired by the Portuguese before
they were superseded in the eastern traffic by the Dutch, but
for any other purpose it is valueless. Saint Sebastian's Bay,
Saint Francis Bay, and Point Delgada still retain the names
which he gave to them, and it is interesting to remember that
the first of these serves to connect South Africa with the young
and gallant king who disappeared in battle with the Moors at
El-Kasr el-Kebir, but who, in the belief of the lower classes of
the Portuguese for generations, was one day to reappear and
restore his country to its former glory.*
The narrative of the wreck of the ship Santiago throws hardly
any special light upon the condition of the natives, but from
it some particulars concerning the trade of the Portuguese
along the lower Zambesi are to be obtained. The Santiago
sailed from Lisbon for Goa on the 1st of April 1585, with
more than four hundred and fifty souls on board, and in the
night of the 18th of August struck upon a shoal in the
Mozambique channel, where she went to pieces. Five or six
rafts were made, and on these and in two small boats some of
the people tried to get to the African coast. One raft and the
two boats succeeded in reaching the shore between the Luabo
and the Quilimane mouths, the people on the other rafts were
either drowned or perished from starvation.
The commerce of the delta of the Zambesi and of the terri-
* The names on Percstrello's chart are the following : Cabo de Boa Esperanfa,
Cabo Falso, Cabo das Agulhas, Cabo do Infante, Bahia de S. Sebastiao, Cabo das
Vacas, Cabo de S. Bras, Agoada de S. Bras, Cabo Talhado, Bahia de S. Caterina,
Cabo das Baxas, Ponta Delgada, Bahia Fermosa, Cabo das Serras, Bahia de
S. Francisco, Cabo do Arrecife, Ilba da Cruz, Bahia da Lagoa, Ilheos Chaos,
Ponta do Padrao, Rio do Infante, Rio de S. ChristovSo, Primeira Ponta do Natal,
Ponta do Meio, Ponta Derradeira, Ponta de Pescavia, Ponta de S. Lucia, JUo de
S. Lucia, Rio dos Medaos do Ouro, Ponta dos Fumos, Terra dos Fumos, Baliia
de Lourenfo Marques, Rio do Santo Espirito, Rio do Mank-a, and Rio do Ouro.
Records of South -Eastern Africa. xxi
tory bordering upon it to the south was at this time to a
small extent in the hands of Arab mixed breeds, who professed
to be vassals of the Portuguese. The principal man among
them was one Muinha Sedaca, who was wealthy and had a
large establishment. He showed much kindness to those of the
wrecked people who landed near his residence, and assisted
them to reach a place of safety.
The chief commerce, however, was in the hands of a Portu-
guese named Francisco Brochado, who had acquired great
influence and power in the country. He was a man of good
family, and had settled on the Zambesi thirty years before. He
had two great establishments, consisting entirely of slaves, one
at Quilimane, the other on the Luabo, and at each he resided
during a portion of the year. His generosity to his wrecked
countrymen was unbounded, and by him they were clothed and
otherwise cared for until they could embark at Quilimane for
Mozambique.
Francisco Brochado held the title of an office from the Portu-
guese government, but his power was not due to that : it was
owing solely to the influence which a resolute, active, and able
man had acquired over a community of barbarians. It was
entirely personal. Portuguese rule existed at Quilimane, and,
above the delta, at Sena, but except at those stations native
chiefs governed their followers, and knew nothing of foreign
supremacy beyond the influence which Brochado had gained
among them. He had leased from the captain of Sofala and
Mozambique a monopoly of the commerce of the delta, and all
the boats on the rivers excepting a few small ones owned by
the Arab mixed breeds were in his service. The profits were
commonly enormous, but the trade was fluctuating and subject
to many reverses.
In January 1589 the ship 8. Thome sailed from Cochin for
Portugal. No vessel so richly laden had left the Indian seas
for many years, but so widespread was corruption among the
officials of all classes that she was very insufficiently furnished
for the passage. Her captain was a man of little ability, named
Estevao da Veiga. There were many passengers on board,
xxii Records of South-Eastern Africa.
among whom were Dom Paul de Lima and his lady Dona
Beatrice, Bernardim de Carvalho, Gregorio Botelho and his
daughter Dona Mariana, who was proceeding to Portugal to
rejoin her husband Guterre de Monroy, Dona Joanna de
Mendoca, widow of Gonjalo Gomes de Azevedo, who had her
only child, a little girl not two years of age, with her,
and Diogo de Couto, who had been wrecked before in the
Santiago.
The officers were desirous of reaching the island of St.
Helena before any of the other vessels which left Cochin at
the same time, so they crowded on sail until the ship sprang
a leak off the southern point of Madagascar. The leak was
partly stopped, and the ship continued on her course until the
12th of March, when a south-westerly wind was encountered,
and the water began anew to gain rapidly on the pumps. An
effort was then made to reach Mozambique, pumping and
baling were carried on incessantly, and the ship was lightened
as much as possible, but a few days later it was seen that she
could not float many hours longer.
There was a very large boat on the deck, which was now got
into the water. A scramble took place, each man striving to
fight his way into it, so that by the time it got clear of the
ship it contained no fewer than one hundred and nine indi-
viduals. The three ladies were among the number, but the
agony of the widow De Mendofa was intense, for her child
was in the sinking ship, and its nurse would not give it up
unless she too were rescued. This was not possible, for already
the boat was so overcrowded that to lighten her twelve men
were thrown out and drowned.
There was a Dominican friar, Nicolas of the Kosary by
name, on board the S. Thome, and those in the boat shouted
to him to jump overboard and swim to them, when they would
pick him up, but he would not leave the ship until he had
attended to the spiritual needs of those who were about to die.
When that was done, he sprang into the sea, swam to the
boat, and was taken in.
At ten in the morning the ship was scon to go down. Early
Records of South-Eastern Africa. xxiii
next day, the 22nd of March, the boat reached the coast of
the territory now called Tongaland, which was then occupied
by the Makomata tribe. Some sailors landed, and found a
kraal not far off, where they were treated in a friendly
manner. The officers now resolved to proceed along the coast
to the river of Lourenpo Marques, but as the wind freshened
they were unable to carry out that design in the boat, which
would certainly have foundered. They therefore ran her
ashore, and burned her to get nails to trade with, after which
they set out to march overland. They were in all ninety-
eight souls, and they had five guns with ammunition, as many
swords, and a little food.
On their journey they encountered many natives, a few
hostile, but the greater number friendly, and they were able
to exchange their nails for hens, goats, fish, and bruised
millet, so that they did not suffer much from hunger before
their arrival at the kraal of the Inyaka chief, who was son
and successor of Garcia de Sa. This chief treated them as
well as he could, but his resources were insufficient for the
maintenance of so many persons thrown thus suddenly upon
him. He therefore proposed that they should take up their
abode on Elephant Island, then called Setimuro, where he
would send them as much food as he could collect until the
arrival of the trading vessel from Mozambique in the follow-
ing year. The one of this season had sailed only a few days
before.
The wrecked people fell in with this proposal, and were
conducted to Elephant Island, which was uninhabited. It was
on that account used as their principal station by the Portu-
guese ivory traders when they visited the bay. The huts
which they had put up provided accommodation for the cast-
aways, and they had left there two native boats that could
be turned to account. The want of food, which the Inyaka
could not supply in sufficient quantity, here after a short time
became so pressing that the party resolved to attempt to push
on to Sofala as their only hope of life.
On the 18th of April sixty of them set out in the two
xxiv Records of South-Eastern Africa.
boats for the northern shore of the bay, after arranging that
a few sailors should return for the others, thirty-six in number,
who were left behind. One of the boats safely reached the
mouth of the Manisa, where its crew were informed that at
the kraal of the chief, twelve leagues up the stream, there
were some Portuguese. They therefore went up the river, and
found Jeronymo Leitao, the master of the trading vessel that
had left Elephant Island about a month before, with his com-
panions. He informed them that he had put into the Limpopo,
where he had been robbed of his vessel and cargo, and had
then travelled overland to the kraal of Manisa, who had
treated him kindly. The chief received the people of the
boat in a friendly manner, and provided for their wants.
The other boat got into the surf, and was run ashore near
the mouth of the Limpopo, where she was of necessity aban-
doned. Her crew then set out to march northward. Most of
the natives on the way gave them assistance, but their suffer-
ings were so great from hunger, thirst, fatigue, and fever, that
nearly half of them perished. The survivors passed through
G'amba's country and Inhambane, and a little farther on found
a Portuguese trader with a boat. He took them across to the
island of Bazaruta, which was then occupied by Arabs of
mixed blood, who treated them very well. There was also a
native of Sofala living on the island, and this man procured
a small vessel, in which they completed their journey to the
Portuguese station, where their troubles ended.
Meantime fever attacked the Europeans at Manisa's kraal
and those left on Elephant Island, so that it was some time
before the latter could be taken across to their friends. Manisa
was able to provide them all with food, so they did not
attempt to go farther. Jeronymo Leitao, who was accustomed
to deal with natives, had sent messengers overland to Sofala,
to inform the captain there of what had occurred. That
officer, on receiving the intelligence, at once sent a small
pangayo with necessary articles, and as at that season of the
year she could not sail to the river Manisa, her cargo was
landed at Inhambane and then forwarded overland by native
Records of South-Eastern Africa. xxv
curriers. Before this assistance arrived, Dom Paul de Lima,
Bernardim de Carvalho, and many other males of the party
had died, but the three ladies were still living. They re-
mained at Manisa's kraal until the change of the monsoon
permitted a pangayo to be sent for them, in which they
went to Mozambique, and there embarked in a ship bound
to Goa.
On the 21st of January 1593 the ship Santo Alberto sailed
from Cochin for Lisbon. She was commanded by the captain
Juliao de Faria Cerveira, and had as pilot a man of experience
named Bodrigo Migueis. Among those on board were Dona
Isabella Pereira, daughter of Francisco Pereira, an officer at
Goa, and widow of Diogo de Mello Coutinho, who had been
captain of Ceylon, Dona Luiza, daughter of that lady, a girl
sixteen years of age, Nuno Velho Pereira, recently captain of
Sofala, and two friars. There were many other passengers,
some of them gentlemen of position.
In latitude 10 S. the ship sprang a leak, and could not
afterwards be freed of water. On the 21st of March the African
coast was in sight, in latitude 31^ according to observations
with the astrolabe, and here the leak increased greatly. The
ship was lightened as much as possible, the pumps were kept
constantly at work, and baling was resorted to, but the water
in the hold continued to rise. In order therefore to save the
lives of those on board, as there was no hope of being able to
keep afloat much longer, the Santo Alberto was run ashore.
Between nine and ten o'clock in the morning of the 24th of
March she struck about three or four hundred yards from the
beach. One hundred and twenty-five Portuguese, including
the two ladies, and one hundred and sixty slaves got safely
to land, and twenty-eight Portuguese and thirty-four slaves
were drowned.
Fortunately a quantity of stores of different kinds, arms,
ammunition, bales of calico, pieces of metal, beads, an astrolabe,
some writing paper, and other articles were saved from the
wreck. The pilot believed the latitude of the place to be 32
S., but that was certainly an error, because there was only one
xxvi Records of South-Eastern Africa.
large river between it and the Umzimvubu, and if it had
been correct the Bashee and the Umtata must have been
crossed. The Portuguese maps were still so defective that the
position of all but very prominent places upon them was
uncertain. The wrecked crew of the Santo Alberto believed
the remarkable rock now known as the Hole in the Wall,
close to which they were, to be the Penedo das Fontes of
Dias, and the first river beyond, which was the Umtata of our
day, to be the Rio do Infante of that explorer. From this
time onward until their arrival at Delagoa Bay, to which place
they resolved to proceed, the pilot kept a journal, in which
he noted the distances travelled, the direction, occasionally the
latitude, particulars concerning barter, observations upon the
natives, and other matters of interest. Many Bantu words
given in this journal are easily made out, and from the obser-
vations recorded the route of the party can be laid down
nearly if not quite accurately on a modern map.*
The wrecked people commenced their journey from the
streamlet Mpako, about ten miles west of the mouth of the
Umtata. The great rock, which then, according to the journal,
bore the name Tizombe, is now called Zikali. Nuno Velho
Pereira, being a man of rank and experience, was elected
leader, and Antonio Godinho, who had for a long time traded
at stations in the Zambesi valley, took charge of the barter,
on which the very lives of the travellers depended. Arrange-
ments were made for the journey similar to those of a trading
caravan. Calico, beads, and pieces of metal were done up in
packs to be carried by the slaves, and the arms and provisions
were borne by the Portuguese.
While these preparations were in progress, on the 27th of
March a native chief with sixty followers made his appear-
ance. His name, as recorded, was Luspance. Calling out
Nanhata! Nanhata! in a friendly tone, the band came for-
* I am indebted for assistance in tracing this route to Walter Stanford,
Esquire, C.M.Gr., recently chief magistrate of Griqualand East. This gentleman
is thoroughly acquainted with the territory, which I have not had an opportunity
of examining.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. xxvii
ward, when the chief presented two large sheep with heavy
tails like those of Ormus. Among the slaves was one who
could make himself understood by Luspance, and who spoke
also the language of the Bantu of Mozambique. Another
slave spoke the last-named language and also Portuguese, so
that through two intermediary interpreters the Europeans
could make their wants known. And throughout one of the
most remarkable journeys ever made in South Africa slaves
of the party could always converse with the natives, a circum-
stance which tended greatly towards the safety of all.
Luspance is described as a man of good stature, light in
colour, of a cheerful countenance, and about forty -five years of
age. He and his people wore karosses of oxhide made soft by
rubbing and greasing, and they had sandals on their feet.
They could run with great speed. In their hands they carried
sticks with jackals' tails attached to them, and the chief had
as an ornament a piece of copper suspended from his left ear.
They were husbandmen and graziers. Their grain was millet
of the size of peppercorns, which was ground between two
stones, and of which they also made beer. Their wealth con-
sisted of cattle, whose milk was one of their ordinary articles
of diet. Their huts were round and low, were covered with
reed mats, and were not proof against rain. They had pots
made of clay, used assagais in war and the chase, and kept
dogs. They were without any form of worship, but were cir-
cumcised, as were nearly all the natives south of the twenty-
ninth parallel of latitude. They were very sensual, each man
having as many wives as he chose. Gold and silver were
esteemed by them as of little value, but for very small pieces
of iron or copper they were willing to sell oxen or sheep.
Their language was a dialect of that in use by all the people
of Kaffraria, and their chief, like the petty rulers in the
country to the north, was termed an Inkosi.
From this description it is evident that Luspance's clan was
of mixed Bantu and Hottentot blood, the former, however,
prevailing, and that in 1593 the condition of things along the
Umtata was similar to that along the Fish river two centuries
xxviii Records of South-Eastern Africa.
later, when the incorporation of the Gonaquas iu the Xosa
tribe had recently taken place.
On the 3rd of April the travellers commenced their march.
Luspance sold them two cows and two sheep, and went with
them himself as a guide as far as the Umtata. A negro boy,
one of whose legs had been broken in getting to land, was
left behind with the friendly natives. On the afternoon of
the next day they crossed the Umtata, which they believed
to be the Infante, and then Luspance bade them farewell,
alter directing a guide whose name is given as Inhancosa
(evidently Nyana wenkosi, i.e. son of the chief) to conduct
them onward.
On the 5th they obtained eight cows in barter, on the 7th
they passed a field of millet, of which they purchased some,
and on the 9th they reached a little kraal that was in posses-
sion of a hundred head of horned cattle and a hundred and
twenty sheep of the large-tailed breed. The chief presented
calabashes of milk, and sold them four cows for pieces of
copper worth as many pence. A little farther on they reached
a kraal under a chief named Ubabu, who was a brother of their
guide. He was a man of middling stature, not very black in
colour, with an open cheerful countenance. He entertained
the strangers with a dance, in which about sixty men took
part, the women clapping their hands and singing in time.
Though Ubabu had about two hundred head of large cattle
and as many sheep, he would not part with any except at
prices which the Portuguese regarded as extortionate, but he
was very pleased to accept of the presents they made him.
Soon after* leaving his kraal some natives were seen with
beads of Indian manufacture hanging from their ears, which
the journalist conjectured must have been brought down from
the trading station at Delagoa Bay, though it is much more
likely that they were obtained from the wreck of the S. Jotio
or the S. Bento. Progress was slow, often little more than a
league in a day being covered, but on the 14th the caravan
reached the Umzimvubu at the ford now known as the Etyeni,
where the passage of the stream was safely made.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. xxix
After crossing this river, the largest in Kaffraria, the tone
of the journal changes. The travellers found themselves now
in a more thickly populated country, and the inhabitants were
blacker in colour. They had not proceeded far when a chief
named Vibo, who was much more powerful than any they had
seen before, and who is described as being very black and
about eighty years of age, came to meet them. After that
chiefs in possession of kraals of considerable size were
found at intervals along their whole line of march, except
when they were on the high plateau from which rises the
Drakensberg. They had no difficulty in purchasing as many
horned cattle, sheep, hens, gourds, and millet cakes, and as
much millet and milk as they needed. For the millet cakes,
probably on account of their being so different from European
bread, they used the native name isinkwa, which the journalist
wrote sincoa. The gleeful exclamation Halala ! Halala ! they
mistook for a form of greeting, but they were correct in believ-
ing that the word manga (properly isimanga) referred to the
sea, though literally it means a wonder.
They passed over the high ground behind the present
mission station Palmerton, along by the Ingele mountain,
which they called Moxangala, and on the 3rd of May saw the
Drakensberg to the northward and north-eastward covered
with snow. This part of the country, being too cold in the
winter season to be pleasant for Bantu, they found uninhabited.
Turning now towards the lowlands, on the 13th of May they
crossed a beautiful river which they called the Mutangalo,
the Umzimkulu of our day.
The present colony of Natal they found thickly peopled.
By this time they were inured to travel, the weather was in
all respects favourable, and they could usually obtain com-
petent guides, so they made much longer stages than at first.
It took them only sixteen days to go over the ground from
the Umzimkulu to the Tugela the Uchugel they termed it,
which stream they crossed on the 29th of May.
Continuing at this rapid rate, they reached Delagoa Bay
on the 30th of June, having marched as they computed three
xxx Records of South-Eastern Africa.
hundred leagues in eighty-eight days. From the Mpako to
the Espirito Santo a straight line measures only one hundred
and fifty leagues, but they thought the various turns in the
footpaths had doubled that distance. They had nineteen head
of cattle when they reached the bay. On the journey they
had been compelled to abandon nine Europeans who were
worn out with sickness and fatigue, and they lost ninety-five
slaves, mostly by desertion. This wonderful success was due
to its being the best time of the year for travelling, to their
being so strong and so well armed that no natives dared to
attack them, to their being provided with means to purchase
food, and to their having slaves who could make themselves
understood by the Bantu along the route.
At Delagoa Bay they found the trading vessel Nossa Senhora
da Salvaqao nearly ready to return to Mozambique. She
was not large enough to contain them all, but her mixed-breed
Moslem sailors, who had their wives with them, consented for
liberal payment to remain behind, and thus she was lightened
of forty-five individuals. It was the custom of these people,
instead of receiving wages, to be allowed, to trade in millet,
honey, and anything else except ivory or ambergris on their
own account, and therefore they would have little difficulty in
providing for themselves on shore. From them the chief
captain purchased an ample supply of millet for food on the
passage. Twenty-eight Portuguese soldiers and sailors resolved
to travel overland to Sofala, but only two of this party reached
their destination ; the others perished on the way in conflicts
brought on by their own misconduct. Eighty-eight Portu-
guese, including the two ladies, and sixty-four slaves embarked
in the trading vessel, which sailed on the 22nd of July, and
reached Mozambique in safety on the 6th of August.
In all the region traversed by the crews of these wrecked
ships not a single tribe is mentioned of the same name as any
now existing. The people were all of the Bantu race as far
south as the Umziinvubu, spoke dialects of the same language,
had the same customs, but were not grouped as at present.
South of the Umzimvubu there was a mixture of Bantu and
Records of South-Eastern Africa. xxxi
Hottentot blood, but how far the former extended in this
diluted form cannot be ascertained. Probably not tar, as the
country was very sparsely populated. It is noticeable also
that the whole of the high plateau from which the Drakens-
berg rises was without inhabitants at least as far north as the
present colony of Natal.
It would serve no useful purpose to give the names of the
tribes about Delagoa Bay and farther northward, as placed on
record by the Portuguese writers, for even if those names were
accurate at the time, the communities that bore them have
long since ceased to exist, and never did anything to merit
a place in history. Along the coast south of Delagoa Bay
only four tribes of importance are mentioned. The first was
that of the Inyaka, occupying the island now known by that
name and the territory between the Maputa river and the
sea. Joining them on the south were the Makomata, under a
chief called Viragune by the Portuguese, whose kraals were
scattered over the country from the coast ninety miles inland.
Then came the Makalapapa, who lived about the St. Lucia
lagoon. South of them was a tribe termed the Vambe by the
Portuguese, which was to a certainty the Abambo of Hlubi,
Zizi, and other traditions, from whom Natal is still called Embo
by the Bantu.
All the paramount chiefs of these tribes were termed kings
by the Portuguese, and the territories in which they lived
were described as kingdoms. In the same way the heads of
kraals were designated nobles. Phraseology of this kind, so
liable to lead readers into error, ended, however, with the so-
called Vambe kingdom, as farther south there were no tribes
of any importance, no chiefs with more than three or four
kraals under their control, and to these a high-sounding title
could not be given. The Pondo, Pondornisi, Teinbu, and Xosa
tribes of our day were either not yet in existence as separate
communities, or were little insignificant clans too feeble to
attract notice.
RECORDS OF SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA.
EXTRACTOS
DO
LIVED CHAMADO LENDAS DA INDIA,
FOR GASPAR CORREA.
[Of Gaspar Correa, the author of this work, very little is known with certainty
except that he went to India in 1512, when he was a boy, that he was in Portugal
in 1529, and that soon after this date he returned to India, where he was still
living in 1561. It is supposed that he died at Goa about the year 1562. That
he bestowed an enormous amount of time and labour upon the preparation of
his volumes is unquestionable, though it is equally beyond doubt that he had
not access to official documents of the highest importance. His information was
derived from what he saw and what he heard from the actors in the events that
he narrates. He left four large manuscript volumes, which were carefully
preserved, though none were published before 1858. They cover a period of
fifty-three years, beginning with the discovery of the ocean route to India by
Vasco da Gama. In 1858 the first volume was published in quarto by the Eoyal
Academy of Sciences at Lisbon, aided by a grant from the government, and
before the close of 1864 the three others appeared, all under the supervision of
Senhor Rodrigo Jose de Lima Felner. The work is one of high value, though
it is necessary to compare it carefully with the official documents of the time.
A small portion of it, translated into English by the Hon. Henry E. J. Stanley,
was published in London by the Hakluyt Society in 1869, under the title
Tlie three Voyages of Vasco da Gama and his Viceroyalty. G. M. T.]
Pedraliiares Cdbral, Anno de 1501.
E porque o Capitao mor tinha tornado muyta informafao do
Qofalla, que era de grande riqueza, de grande resgate d'ouro, do
que may to Ibe contarao os pilotos de Melinde, que deixou aqui
<-m Mozambique que se quiserao tornar pera Melinde, e assy
II. B
2 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
muyta informapao que Ihe deo o Xeque, houve conselho com os
Capitaes, em que assentou mandar descobrir Qofalla, e ordenou
que fosse la Sancho de Toar na nao de Luis Pires, que era naueta
mais pequena e muyto veleira ; e o Luis Pires vinhamuyto doente
pera morrer, o qual o Capitao mor recolheo a sua nao. E mandou
com Sancho de Toar Gaspar o lingoa, e hum dos pilotos de
Melinde que sabia bem o caminho, e na naueta forao mercadores
honrados de Mozambique que leuarao roupas de Cambaya, e
humas contas ruiuas, que era a principal mercadoria do trato ; e
Sancho de Toar leuou presente pera o Rey de pecas de seda
vermelha, e espelhos, barretes, cascaueis, campainhas de Frandes,
e continhas de vidro cristalinas, e outras cousas que hauia na
terra, com que em Qofalla folgauao ; com que partio a naueta, e
foi ter no rio de Qofalla que era grande em que entrou e sorgio ;
entao forao a terra os mercadores visitar EIRey, e cada hum leuar
seo presente como he seo costume, que nenhuma pessoa vem de
fora parte, que hindo aparecer ante EIRey, ha Ihe de leuar
qualquer cousa que Ihe de inda que seja hum so limao ; e os
mercadores fallarao a EIRey, que aquella nao era de Portugueses,
e que o Capitao vinha pera Ihe fallar, e pera isso Ihe pedia
licenca pera sahir em terra. Do que EIRey houve muyto prazer
porque ja Ihe tinhao dito e contado as muytas grandezas que os
nossos fizerao em Mozambique as naos primeiras, e as que fizera
Pedraluares Cabral, e Ihe leuarao vinho e cousas de Portugal ; e
logo EIRey deo a licenca e seguro com hum anel do seo dedo, e
mandou que Ihe; fossem fallar, o que logo forao o Capitao Sancho
de Toar com dez homens muyto bem concertados, e foi ante
EIRey com muytas cortesias, e Ihe apresentou o presente com que
EIRey houve muyto prazer, e Ihe derao o recado da parte do
Capitao mor que ficaua em Mozambique, dizendo que sabendo
elle que era tamanho Rey, e que fazia muyto bem aos mercadores
que hiao a sua terra, desejando ter sua amizade e tratar em sua
terra mandaua la a saber delle se seria contente pera sempre la
mandar muytas naos carregadas de fazendas a tratar, assi como
faziao os outros mercadores : do que EIRey disse que era muyto
contente, e haueria muyto prazer, dizendo que sempre seria grande
amigo com os nossos em quanto Ihe fizessem boa verdade ; e que
logo leuassem as mercadorias que traziao ante elle : o que assi se
fez, e EIRey mandou chamar os mercadores, que logo tudo Ihe
comprarao a sua usanpa, e Ihe derao por ella ouro enfiado em
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 3
contasinhas, com que o emprego se dobraua de hum doze e quinze ;
e deste modo do resgatar na renda e compra ao diante em seo
logar falarei mais largamente ; e com muytas amizades se despedio
Sancho de Toar. E o Rey inandou de presente ao Capitao mor hum
marco destas continhas d'ouro assi enfiadas que tinha mil crusados,
e a Sancho de Toar deo outra de trezentos crusados, e Ihe deo
muytas cousas de mantimento, e muyto rogando ao Capitao mor
que mandasse la suas mercadorias, que primeiro seriao vendidas,
que de nenhuns outros mercadores. E tomando o que hauia
mister d'agoa e lenha, se partio pera o Reyno, e pagou muyto
bem ao piloto de Melinde, que quis ficar aqui em Qofalla, e se foi
d'aqui a Mozambique onde achou o zambuco de Melinde em que
se foy.
Dom Vasco da Gama, Anno de 1502.
Tanto que o Capitao mor chegou a Mozambique, o Xeque logo
foy a nao com presente de vaccas e carneiros, e cabras e galinhas,
que tinha prestes pera elle que ja tinha sabido que elle era o
primeiro com que tiuera a guerra. qual entrando se quisera
deitar a seus pes pedindo perdao. Capitao mor com prazer o
recebeo, e fez honra, e mandou pagar muyto bem o que Ihe
trouxera, e Ihe mandou dar hum peda?o de pano de gra, com que
se foy muyto contente, e elle e todos os da terra seruiao ao
Capitao mor, como se fora senhor da terra, porque todos faziao
muyto sen proueito com os nossos, que andauao na terra sem fazer
escandalo, nem mal nenhum, o que Ihe era muy defeso polo
Capitao mor. qual o dia que chegou logo mandou desembarcar
em terra madeira, que trazia laurada e acertada, pera huma
carauela, que nao houve mais que assentar e pregar, e calafetar,
com tanto auiamento que em doze dias foy posta no mar, onde Ihe
fizerao as obras de cima, a que poz nome a Pomposa, de que fez
capitao Joao Serrao, caualleiro honrado. E tambem como assi
chegou a Mozambique, pola informa?ao que deu Sancho de Toar
a EIRey das cousas de (yofalla, como ja se contou na armada de
Pedraluarez Cabral, EIRey Ihe encarregou que mandasse descobrir
tudo, e assentasse trato e resgate, polo que logo mandou la Pero
Affonso d'Aguiar em duas carauellas, que leuou muytas sortes de
roupa de Cambaya, e contas, e outras cousas que erao do trato,
que houve alguma que o Xeque tinha, em que todo se fazia muyto
proueito, porque hum pano, que valia cento e cincoenta reis,
B 2
4 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
dauao por elle hum peso d'ouro, que valia setecentos e cinquoenta
reis. E Pedro Affonso tomou muyta informa^ao do Xeque do
modo de resgatar, e o que se daua por cada sorte dos panos que
leuaua e das outras cousas. E o Xeque deu bom piloto que sabia
o caminho. E o Capitao mor mandou grande presente ao Rey,
que era cafre gentio, que ja em Qofala tinhao bem sabido nossas
cousas e ficarao muyto contentes de quando la fora Sancho de
Toar.
Partio Pero Afonso, e em poucos dias foy a Qofala, e chegando
dentro no rio, mandou em terra hum homem de Mozambique que
ja sabia nossa fala, e mandou pedir licenca ao Eey pera Ihe ir
falar, e dar recado que Ihe leuaua do Capitao mor d'ElEey de
Portugal, que estaua em Mozambique. O Eey houve prazer, e
Ihe mandou dizer que fosse muyto embora, e Ihe mandou seu
anel, que daua por seguro, com que logo foy Pero Afonso muyto
bem vestido, com vinte homens assi bem vestidos, que o Eey
recebeo com muytas honras, e o fez assentar nas esteiras, em que
elle estaua assentado com os seus mais honrados da terra ; e Ihe
apresentou huma pepa de gra muyto fina, e outros pedacos de
panos finos de cores, e hum espelho de Frandes, inuyto grande, e
"facas, e barretes vermelhos, e huma soma de continhas enfiadas
cristalinas de feifoes, com que muyto folgou ElEey, e logo as
tomou na mao, e esteue olhando, e muyto gabando aos seus.
Entao Ihe disse Pero Afonso que o Capitao mor o mandaua aly
pera saber delle se folgaria de ser muyto amigo d'ElEey seu Senhor,
que tinha muyta vontade de assentar com elle paz e amizade
pera sempre. A qual paz e amizade hauia de ser pera niandar a
sua terra os seus Portuguezes com mercadorias a tratar, assi como
faziao os outros mercadores, que vinhao a sua terra, dandolhe as
mercadorias assi polos pre^os que lhas dauao os outros mercadores.
O que todo d'ElEey ouvido, e falado com os seus, respondeo, que
elle estaua em sua terra sem fazer mal a ninguem, e fazia muyto
bem a quantos a ella vinhao, e mormente aos mercadores, porque
disso Ihe vinha muyto proueito ; o que assi faria aos Portuguezes
que a sua terra viessem tratar, assi como os outros mercadores
faziao. E porque elle ja isto assi tinha dito aos outros Portu-
guezes, que aly tinhao vindo, assi agora o tornaua a dizer, e
folgaria de fazer bem, de que Ihe noin viesse depois mal. Ao que
Ihe Pero Afonso respondeo que till nunqua seria, mas que sendo
elle bom amigo com ElEey de Portugal, esta paz pera
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 5
seria firme, em quanto elle flzesse verdade, e com EIRey de
Portugal seria conio irmao. Do que o Bey se mostrou muyto
contente, affirmando tudo o que dizia, jurando polo sol e polo ceo,
e sua cabe^a e barriga, que tudo compriria em quanto viuesse, e
que compraria quantas mercadorias Ihe trouxessem, e daria por
cllas assi como daua aos outros mercadores, que era pre9o assen-
tado de muyto tempo ; e em sinal desta verdade tirou do dedo
polegar hum anel d'ouro, que deu a Pero Afonso, e deu logo
presente pera o Capitao mor hum ma9o de ramaes de continhas
d'ouro enfiadas, a que elles chamao pingo, que pesaua mil
maticaes, que cada matical val quinhentos reis ; e deu pera
EIRey outro que tinha peso de tres mil maticaes ; e deu a Pero
Afonso outro de quinhentos maticaes, dizendo que a EIRey daua
aquillo por sinal pera sempre como irmao, com tanto que tambem
Ihe comprissem com elle, que nunqua em seus tratos e merca-
dores Ihe fizessem mal, nem em suas terras ; e em firmesa de
verdade de todo o que dizia, EIRey tocou sua mao direita com
todos os seus, que hi estauao, e esta era toda firmesa de sua
verdade, porque outro nenhum costume tinhao de escreuer. O
que todo Pero Afonso deu per escrito, por elle assinado com seis
homens, assi corno tinha dito. que acabado, o papel foy lido,
que o lingoa todo declarou, do que o Rey ficou muy espantado
com os seus, porque nunqua tinhao visto escreuer, e diziao que o
papel aquilo falaua por arte do diabo, e o recolheo em sua mao.
Com que este dia se tornou Pero Afonso as carauelas, onde o Rey
Ihe inandou galinhas e ouos, inhames, e outras cousas que hauia
na terra.
Ao outro dia Pero Afonso tornou a EIRey, dizendo que man-
dasse trazer o que tiuesse, que logo seria vendido. Entao Ihe
leuarao todo ante EIRey, o qual mandou vir ali os mercadores da
terra que apartarao toda a roupa, cada sorte sobre si, e contada
toda, pesarao ouro em balancinhas, e sobre cada sorte de pano Ihe
poserao seu pre9o com o ouro que cada hum valia. Entao disse
EIRey, que aquella roupa valia o ouro que estaua em cima della,
que o tomassem, dizendo que os seus direitos ja no peso Ihe
iicauao, que os mercadores Ibos pagauao. O ouro mandou recolher
Pero Affonso, e esteue falaudo com EIRey, e Ihe parecia muyto
bern o modo de comprar e vender, porque nom hauia prefias, que
sempre tinhao os mercadores ; e disse que tudo contaria ao
Capitao mor, pedindo Iicen9a que se queria partir. EIRey disse
6 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
que com elle hauia de mandar hum seu homem que falasse com
o Capitao mor, e Ihe apresentasse o que Ihe mandaue, e trouxesse
outro papel da sua mao, o que Pero Affonso Ihe disse que folgaua
muyto. qual homem EIRei Ihe entregou com sua mao, com
que se despedio, e se foy embarcar, e ElBey Ihe mandou cabras e
cousas de comer, com que se tornou a Mozambique onde nom
achou ja o Capitao mor que ja era partido. Entao entregou o
messageiro ao Xeque, e Ihe disse que ali aguardasse, que quando
o Capitao mor tornasse, entao Ihe daria a reposta. Entao Pero
Affonso tomou o que hauia mister, e se partio caminho de Melinde
pera onde o Capitao mor era partido, e Ihe deixou disso recado
per sua carta em mao do feitor Gon^allo Baixo que ficara pera o
trato de Cofalla.
Antonio de Saldanha, Anno de 1503.
Capitao mor Antonio de Saldanha nauegando se fez dobrado
o Cabo, e foy demandar a terra, e achou se aqui, e tomou terra
doze legoas a re do Cabo, e vendo huma angra d'area branca com
huma Ilha, sendo o tempo bonanca, deitou o batel fora e foy
sondando diante, e entrou na bahia onde sorgio, e buscando agoa
achou hum ribeiro secco, e correo por elle, e dahi a um terco de
mea legoa achou hum charco de muyto boa agoa nadiual, que
vinha per antre humas pedras, a que nom acharao o nascimento ;
e tomarao aguada, e na Ilha fizerao carnagem de muytos passaros,
que chamauao sutilicarios, e lobos marinhos, e tartarugas, que
hauia muyto em estima. Na terra houverao fala de huns cafres
mis, que Ihe resgatarao cabras e vaccas por cascaueis, e espelhinhos,
e continhas de vidro. E hauenclo seu conselho tornarao a sair ao
mar, pera andarem as voltas, e dobrar o Cabo, o que nao poderao
fazer, nem poderao tornar onde tomarao agoa, a que poserao a
Agoada de Saldanha, e assi se chama oje em dia, a chamara
quanto Nosso Senhor quiser.
Dom Francisco d' Almeida, Visorey, Anno de 1505.
Tambem era prestes pera partir com o Visorey outra armada de
cinco nauios, de que era Capitao Pero da Nhaya, pera hir a Qofala
fazer fortaleza, e assentar feitoria e trato ; e estando de todo
prestes, a nao Capitania fez huma agoa por popa, que noin
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 7
sentirao porque entrou no payol do biscouto, que foy embrandido,
e carregou tanto que de noute entrou agoa pola almeida do leme,
e a nao se foy ao f'undo, que posto que o fundo era pouco nom se
pode tirar, com grandes trabalhos que nisso se poserao, porque a
nao estaua carregada de cantaria laurada pera janellas e portas ;
mas partido o Visorey, EIRey tornou a reformar 'armada de seis
nauios, que depois partio em Mayo, como adiante direy em seu
logar.
Lopo Sanches no pairo abrio tamanha agoa, que a nom podia
veneer com as bombas, polo que o Visorey Ihe mandou que so
fosse e desse todalas velas, e se fosse a Mozambique, e se nom
dobrasse o Cabo se tornasse a Ilha de sam Thome ; porque o
Visorey se foy muyto mettendo no mar por resguardo do Cabo,
com que achou os frios e neues r grandes, como ja disse. Lopo
Sanches passou o Cabo, e tanto Ihe creceo 'agoa que foy buscar a
terra, e varou nella alem do Cabo de sam Sebastiao pera ^ofala,
e porque o mar era grande cortarao o masto, que ao cayr matou o
Capitao e muytos homens, porque cayo em reues do que elles
cuidauao, e outros sayrao a nado, tirando hum barril de biscouto
que atarao em fardes as costas, de que comeriao ; e se forao ao
longo da praya, e toparao com huns Cafres, que sem Ihe fazer mal
os levarao a Qofala, que EIRey os agasalhou, e deu panos, e os
mandou a Mopambique. Os quaes dahy se forao a Quiloa onde
estaua o Visorey, poucos delles, porque polo caminho morrerao
muytos.
Estandose o Visorey fazeiido prestes pera partir, chegou Lopo
de Goes, que fora de Quiloa carregado de roupas de Qofala, de
que em Mozambique achou tamanha falta quasi como em Qofala,
e as vendeo a troco d'ouro e prata e marfim, em que fez muyto
dinheiro, com que se tornou, e seguio o caminho pera a India,
onde no golfam se encontrou com tres nauios que vinhao do
Reyno, que vierao em companhia de Pero da Nhaya ate Qofala,
os quaes erao Pero Barreto de Magalhaes, Joao Vaz d'Almada,
Jorge Mendez, e todos juntos fizerao conserua, e chegarao a
Angediua, com que ouve muyto prazer, e contarao ao Visorey
tudo o que era passado em Qofala per esta maneira.
Partido Dom Francisco pera a India, EIRey mandou muyto
trabalhar por se tirar do fundo a nao de Pero da Nhaya, o qual
8 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
trabalho e despeza foy em vao. Entao se ordenou outra nao, que
logo em todo foy prouida com as outras da companhia, que erao
per todas seis, de que fez Capitaes Pero da Nhaya Capitao mor, e
seu filho Francisco da Nhaya pera com dois nauios andar de
Qofala pera a costa de Melinde no trato das roupas pera Qofala, e
os outros quatro nauios mandar pera a India acabada a fortaleza ;
de que erao Capitaes Pero Barreto de Magalhaes, Pero Cao pera
feitor, Joao Leite, Joao de Queiroz, que todos juntos nauegarao, e
sem contraste passarao o Cabo ; e depois dahy a hum mez partirao
Pero Quaresma, Cide Barbudo, e nom passarao, e enuernarao em
Quiloa. Pero da Nhaya, seguindo sua viagem pera Qofala, faleceo
de sua doenga Pero Cao feitor, e foy logo feito capitao do seu
nauio e pera feitor Manuel Fernandez de Meireles bom caualleiro,
e ficando em Qofala com seu cargo, foy pera a India no seu nauio
Jorge Mendez Qacoto. Joao Leite, fisgando hum pexe, da proa
cayo ao mar e morreo, e foy feito Capitao de seu nauio Joao Vaz
d'Almada, e vendose ja perto de Qofala, ficando atras Joao de
Queiroz, sayo em huma liha a matar vaccas, e o matarao com doze
ou desaseis homens, e o mestre, e piloto ; e chegou a Qofala e
foy feito Capitao de seu nauio Gonpalo Aluarez, que depois foy
piloto mor da India ; e no nauio de Pero da Nhaya, que auia de
andar no trato era Capitao Joao da Nhaya seu parente ; e correndo
seu caminho Jorge Mendez, topou com o batel da nao de Lopo
Sanchez, que se perdeo, com doze Portuguezes ja quasi pera
morrer, porque nom comiao senao caranguejos cms. Chegarao
todos a Qofala, e entrarao os nauios dentro e a nao de Pero
Barreto e de Joao Vaz d'Almada ficarao fora porque erao grandes.
Onde assy entrados, o Capitao inor mandou recado a EIRey, que
estaua hy perto, pedindolhe Iiceu9a pera Ihe hir falar, a qual
licen^a Ihe EIRey deu com boa vontade, e eritao elle vestido de
festa com os Capitaes, somente Pero Barreto que ficou nos nauios,
e com cincoenta hornens armados, e com suas trombetas diante,
foy onde estaua o Rey, ao que se ajuntou muyta gente. As casas
tinham grand e cerqua de sebe de espinhos muy fortes, com porta
fechada. Entrarao em huma casa grande de terra, e todas as
casas de palha, e nesta casa grande estauao niuytos Mouros
mercadores bem vestidos, e o Rey estaua em huma casinha
pequeiia alem desta, armada de panos de Cambaya pintados de
seda, e elle jazia deitado em hum esquife ; -muy to velho e <-r<ni,
que mostrou muyto prazer com a diciradas dos nossos, e mandnii
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 9
assentar o Capitao mor junto do esquife, em esteiras que erao muy
fermosas, e a outra gente ficou em pe na casa dianteira. Entao
Ihe disse o Capitao mor que EIRey de Portugal, pola amizade
que ja com elle tinha assentada com os seus Capitaes que ahy
vierao, por tanto, que por assy desejar de pera sempre com elle e
com seus filhos e naturaes ter boa paz e amizade, e aly em sua
terra ter feitoria com grande trato ambos muyto proueito sem Ihe
fazer ninguem mal nem escandalo a seus mercadores e naturaes,
assy em Mozambique corno por toda a India : e pera esta verdade
e assento de boa paz se Ihe a elle prouesse dar Ihe licenpa pera
fazer casa de feitoria e casas em que elle morasse com sua gente,
de que elle auia de ser Capitao, pera que tudo estiuesse bem
guardado, porque em tudo nom faria senao o que elle mandasse.
O que ouvido polo Key disse que muyto folgaua com sua vinda e
que estiuesse em sua terra, e nella fizesse quanto quisesse, porque
nom seria menos do que faziao nas outras, que Ihe contauao e
tinha sabido que faziamos mal aos Keys maos ; e bem aos bons ;
e porque em sua terra ninguem Ihe auia de fazer mal nem nojo,
com que estaria em paz sua terra e gente, elle tomasse lugar onde
Ihe bem parecesse, e fizesse feitoria e casas muyto a sua vontade ;
com que o despedio, e com elle mandou hum seu Regedor que Ihe
fosse dar tudo quanto Ihe pedisse, com que assy sayndo das casas
acompanhado com o Regedor, que Ihe fez grandes honras, se
tornou aos nauios, donde logo mandou a EIRey grande presente,
que Ihe trazia, de pepas de seda de cores, espelhos, continhas,
coraes, facas, barretes vermelhos, e outro presente ao Regedor. O
que leuou Francisco da Nhaya com suas trombetas diante, e tudo
descoberto que o visse a gente. O que o Rey recebeo com grandes
contentamentos, e assy o Regedor, offerecendose a Ihe fazer muytos
seruifos ; corn que se tornarao aos nauios, onde logo Ihe o Rey
mandou galinhas, e inhames, e cabras, e cousas de comer que auia
na terra, e Ihe mandou vinte Portuguezes que estavao em outra
pouoapao muyto bem tratados e curados, que hy chegarao por
terra da nao de Diogo Sanches, que se perdera dahy a dozentas
legoas ; com que o Capitao inor e todos ouverao muyto prazer, e
Ihe contarao que todo o bem que tinhao o Regedor Iho fazia.
O Capitao mor, olhando a desposizao da terra, com o conselho
de todos tomou o lugar pera fazer a fortaleza perto do rio, junto
de hum palmar, em que estauao humas casinhas de palha, que
bem pagou a seus donos, e logo fez casa grande pera a feitoria o
10 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
outras casas pera a gente, ao que se fez grande cerqua, em que
logo se puserao no trabalho de abrir grande caua ; e repartio a
gente com os Capitaes ao trabalho com cauouqueiros, e pedreiros,
e mestres, que trazia com nmytas monicoes pera a obra ; pera o
que ja trazia pedras lauradas e portas feitas pera porta grande,
e janellas e portas ; ao que o Kegedor sempre era presente,
dandolhe gente de trabalho e quanto podia, que tudo era bern
pago. E muytas vezes hia estar com ElBey, e muyto folgaua de
falar com os nossos, que Ihe contauao as cousas da India que
os nossos passauao. Sendo a caua aberta, e querendo abrir os
aliceces pera a fortaleza, em que auia mester muyto tempo pera a
obra, ouverao por melhor conselho nom come9ar a fortaleza,
porque nom seria feita, nem estauao fortes, e que os nauios auiao
de hir pera a India, e mormente as duas naos que estauao na
barra, que corriao muyto risco dos grandes temporaes que sempre
aly auia; e porque pareceo bem a todos fazer a obra que se
pudesse acabar, com que a gente estiuesse segura d'algum mal
que succedesse, fizerao de dentro da caua huma forte tranqueira
de grosses paos mettidos na terra, e por dentro outra, e contra
ambas muy forte antulho, mais que hum muro, em que assentarao
artelharia, e fizerao muytas casas, em que recolherao as monipoes,
fazendas e mantimentos. Do qual trabalho, por a terra ser
doentia, congou a gente adoecer e morrer ; pelo que ouverao
por bem acertado conselho no que tinhao feito em nom ter come-
pado fortaleza ; e a tranqueira e toda a mais obra foy acabada em
fim d'Outubro, sendo muyta gente doente de grandes febres dos
maos ares da terra. Entao o Capitao mor despedio Pero Barreto
por Capitao mor das outras tres naos, que se fossem a India,
escreuendo ao Visorey que o escreuesse a ElKey, que parecia
escusado aly fortaleza e gasto de gente, que nom senhoreaua
nada, porque se com paz e amizade se nom fizesse o resgate,
ninguem Iho podia fazer por forpa, por a terra ser ma de doenpa.
Abastaua vir aly resgatar e tornar pera Mopambique, onde estaria
melhor a fortaleza e feitoria do trato de Qofala, que dahy hiria
e viria sem nenhum impedimento. Com que partidos os nauios,
os nossos ficarao assy trabalhados com as doenpas, mas passando
alguns mezes que iiom morriao, tornauao a conualecer ficando em
boa saude, sendo senhores da terra com muyto fauor que tinhao
do Rey, e do Regedor que mandaua como Key ; mas como os
Portuguezes de sua propria constellapao sao soberbos e altiuos onde
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 11
nom tern sogei?ao, com o muyto fauor do Rey que era muyto
nosso amigo, que se chamava Mana Matapa, que era filho do outro
Rey chamado Vnhamuda, tanto os nossos se soberbearao em males,
que tratauao a gente da terra pior que catiuos, de que se muyto
queixauao ao Regedor e a EIRey, que sobre isso mandou recado
ao Capitao mor, que posto que por isso os castigasse como parece
razao, os males nom cessarao, e forao em tanto crecimento com
todos, os da terra se muyto queixando com EIRey por assy dar
tanta possanya aos nossos, brandandolhe que os deitasse fora da
terra primeyro que o matassem, e toda sua gente, segundo leuauao
caminho em tantos males que faziao, que entao o Rey mandou
polo Regedor dizer ao Capitao mor que tinha grande paixao dos
males que faziao a sua gente, o que elle nom queria castigar, nem
emmendar, senao cada vez pior ; que por tanto nom queria que
estiuessem em sua terra, e logo se fossem, e embarcassem em seus
nauios. Deste recado mandou o Capitao mor muytas desculpas
a EIRey, dizendo que sua doenca era a causa da sua gente andar
desmandada, mas que elle tudo castigaria como ee emmendasse ;
a qual reposta o Rey nom aceytoti por estar ja muy danado com
os conselhos dos Mouros, que erao os principaes senhores da terra,
que erao Cafres naturaes que se tornarao Mouros, per conuersapao
e amizade que tomarao com os Mouros tratantes estrangeiros, que
vinhao tratar a Qofala, que Ihe faziao grandes amizades ; e tornou
a mandar dizer ao Capitao que nom queria que estiuesse em sua
terra, que se fosse a Mopambique, ou onde quisesse, e de la
mandasse as mercadorias, e Ihe faria dellas resgate, como se fazia
aos outros mercadores; e que se isto nom fizesse, e per forca,
contra sua vontade, quisesse estar em sua terra, entao entenderia
que nom viera a sua terra pera Ihe fazer bem, senom mal ; e por
tanto cresse que em sua terra nom auia de estar contra sua
vontade. Do que o Capitao nom fez a estima que deuera, e
respondeo ao Rey, que os Portuguezes nom erao homens que
ninguem os deitasse fora da terra onde estauao assentados, e que
elle viera aly por mandado d'ElRey seu senhor, e que por tanto
daly se nom auia de hir, senao quando Iho mandasse EIRey seu
senhor, porque nom auia de fazer o mandado d'outrem, e sobre
isto aly donde estaua auia de morrer com quantos com elle
estauao. que ouvido polo Rey e os seus, fizerao grandes
aluoro9os, dizendo que assy era nosso costume, entrar na terra
com boas palauras e mansidao e despois as tomar por forfa com
12 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
males e roubos ; que tal nom consentisse, pois tinha tauta gente
em sua terra pera ninguein Ihe fazer forga, que era cousa que
tanto compria a sua honra nom consentir. Ao que logo mandou
ajuntar inuyta gente, que erao Cafres mis, com fundas, e paos
tostados como meas lanpas, assy agudos e fortes, com que tirauao
d'arremesso, que nom auia cousa que nom passassem, mas com
fundas era a mor sua guerra, porque sao hornens de muyta forga
e muy certeiros. Vendo os nossos taiita multidao de Cafres
ouverao muyto medo, que como gente bestial, viessem abairoai
a tranqueira por todas as partes, onde por muytos que elles
matassem, os entrariao e matariao a todos, que erao ate cento e
trinta homens que podiao pelejar. Diante da tranqueira bauia
bum grande recio, que era mato, que os nossos cortarao e aliui-
parao, que ficou campo raso, mas derredor do campo do recio auia
grandes matos de grandes aruoredos, onde a multidao dos Cafres
estauao, donde sayao ao campo com muytos atabaques, e bozinas,
com grandes gritas e sonios, esgremindo com seus pabs e arquos
com frecbas grandes, mas arquos erao poucos ; e vinbao de corrida
como que queriao abalroar a tranqueira, e sem fazer obra se
tornauao a recolber ao mato. Os nossos estavao prestes com suas
armas, postos em ordem pola tranqueira com toda a artelbaria
prestes, e nunqua tirarao nem sayrao fora as arremetidas dos
Cafres ; e de dia, e de noite tinbao grande vigia de fogo, de que
era o principal medo que tinhao, e nom ousauao de bolir comsiguo,
somente se defenderem, se os Cafres os cometessem, de muytas
arremetidas que cada dia faziao, sem nunqua cometer abalroar, no
que assy estiuerao passante de bum mes, esperando que tornassem
assentar paz, pois os Cafres nom rompi&o com elles com os come-
timentos que faziao, sem nunqua neste tempo poderern auer
nenbunia falla com elles.
Entao o Capitao, auendo seu conselho que estando assy encar-
rados tinbao gastado muyto mantimento, e que podiao acabar de
o gastar antes que assentassem paz, e que postoque os mantimentos
Ibe nom faltasseni nom convinba estarem assy aleuantados, com
que o resgate era perdido se nom assentassem paz, a qual os
Cafres nom queriao ouvir, e inda que o rio tinba tornado Ibe nom
tiraua seu trato, que Ibe vinbao muytas roupas por terra d'outros
rios onde se desembarcauao ; por conselbo assentou de romper a
guerra, e sempre assentaria a paz cada vez que elles quisessem, e
se a uom quisesseni assentar, entao se recolberiao aos nauios, e se
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 13
hiriao a Mozambique, onde estariao ate o Visorey mandar o que
Ihe aprouvesse. E com este acordo auido ordenarao sua artel haria,
e sayndo os Cafres ao campo fazer suas corridas, como so sayao
muy seguros porque os nossos nunqua Ihe faziao mal, o Capitao
mandou dar fogo em outo pepas grossas que tinha pera o campo,
carregadas com pelouros, e rocas de pedra, que os Cafres inda nom
tinhao visto tirar artelharia, com que o campo ficou coberto delles
mortos e feridos, caydos no chao das pedras. Os pelouros fazendo
pulos, dando polas aruores, que quebrauao e espeda^avao com
grande terramoto, e passando alem do mato, forao dar em hum
campo em que andauao alifantes brauos, que com os Cafres sao
misticos, como a nossa ca$a, que anda a nossa vista, e nom Ihe
fazem mal senao quando os assanhao. Dando os pelouros antre
elles, e os alifantes ouvindo o zonido dos pelouros, e tremor do
chao, e o estourar d'artelharia, com grande medo forao fogindo
com seus grandes urros e bramidos, matando os Cafres que
alcanfauao.
Yen do os Cafres o grande mal que Ihe fizerao a altelharia assy
de supito com tamanho terramoto, assentarao que os nossos o
fizerao por arte do diabo, e vendo o medo tamanho dos alifautes,
que elles tinhao que nom auia cousa no mundo de que fogissem,
mais espantados os Cafres de tanto fogo e fumo logo morto, e os
pelouros que com tanta forpa corriao tao longe, com que nelles
entrou muy grande medo, os que erao vindos a chamado d'ElBey
se queixarao muyto contra elle, dizendo que os mandaua chamar
pera pelejarem com diabos, e se forao pera suas terras os Cafres,
ficando com muyto medo e espanto de tao supito e tamanho mal,
que os nossos Ihe fizerao assy supito, e logo se calarao. Porque
os nossos nom tirarao mais que esta ?urriada, crerao verdadeira-
mente que os nossos por arte dos diabos Ihe fizerao tamanho mal,
com que o Rey com toda a gente fogiao, e se meteo pera dentro
pola terra. O Regedor Ihe foy a mao, dizendo que os nossos, de
se verem affrontados dos Cafres, que Ihe queriao entrar a tran-
queira, Ihe fizerao a elles o mal, e nom deitarao nenhum tiro pera
suas casas ; que por tanto tornasse a assentar com os nossos paz
como estaua de primeyro, e se tornassem a fazer mal o mandaria
dizer ao Capitao de Quiloa, que mandaria outro Capitao, ou quando
as naos chegassem a Mozambique. Este conselho do Regedor
aceitou EIRey, e os seus disserao que era bom e estiuerao assy
alguns (lias, quo os nossos nom ousauao sayr fora. Mas vendo o
14 Records of South- Eastern Africa.
Capitao que ja tudo estaua calado, e nom pareciao Cafres de dia
nem de noite, mandou tirar hum tiro sem pelouro. Os Cafres
estiuerao esperando quando o pelouro daria, e nom o vendo, nem
Ihe fazendo mal, entao o Regedor mandou recado ao Capitao
porque assy matara tanta gente sem Ihe fazerem mal a elle. Elle
mandou dizer que elle nom viera aly pera fazer mal, e por isso,
vendo que os Cafres Iho queriao fazer, se recolhera com a sua
gente pera dentro da tranqueira, e muytas vezes Ihe mandara
recado pera nom auer mal, e que Iho nom quiserao ouvir, e
aguardara hum mes pera tornarem a ser amigos, o que elles nom
quiserao, e entao mandauao os Cafres, que os hiao ameagar e
affrontar com gritas e souios, do que a gente se auendo por
injuriada fizerao o que era feito, de que Ihe muyto pesaua ; e que
tornassem a ser amigos e nom se faria mais mal. Do que o
Kegedor, e o Bey, e todos forao contentes, e foy assentada a paz,
e entao o Capitao, com conselho de todos, que ja nom auia homens
doentes, abrirao logo os aliceces, o comefarao a fazer a fortaleza
que Ihe era mandado que fizesse, de que ElEey Ihe dera a tra?a
do tamanho que auia de ser ; ao que o Rey, nem os seus nom Ihe
ousarao hir a mao, antes Ihe mandou dar trabalhadores que Ihe
mandara pedir, porque a gente nom bastaua, que era muyta
morta de doenpa.
Comepada assy a fortaleza foy acabada no anno de 1506, assy
da feicao que na pintura parece. Mas despois, em tempo de
Antonio de Saldanha, que foy Capitao, elle fez derredor da forta-
leza huma barbacan, e antre ella e a fortaleza se fizerao as casas
pera a gente, e se tirarao de dentro da fortaleza, porque dentro se
fez huma cisterna, cortada em huma pedra que se achou, em que
se recolhiao mil pipas d'agoa da chuiua, que parece por que na
pedra se concertaua, e clarificaua, era fria e tao excellente, que era
a propria saude da gente, e ainda oje ein dia he.
Pero Barreto, partido de Qofala, correo a costa com seus quatro
nauios, e foy a Quiloa, onde deixou degradados que trazia pera
ahy deixar, e apontamentos e cartas d'ElEey. Pero Ferreira Ihe
deu o que ouve mester, e se partio, e sayndo pola barra a seu nao
tocou, e se perdeo, de que tudo se saluou, somente e casco se
perdeo, e Pero Barreto se metteo na nao de Gonpalo Aluares, e
com Jorge Mendes Qacoto, e Joao Vaz d'Almada seguio caniinho
pera a India, onde sendo na linha acharao tanta calrnaria, que
forao em ponto de se perderem a sede. Acocliolhe o vento, com
Becords of South-Eastern Africa. 15
que assy chegarao a Angediua, como ja disse, e Pero Barreto deu
ao Visorey muytas cartas que trasia, e Ihe deu conta de como assy
ficaua Pero da Nhaya em Qofala mettido na tranqueira, com tanto
mando e poder na terra, que ficaua em proposito de nom fazer
fortaleza de pedra, por ser escusada, pois o trato se nom faria por
forca, senom com boa paz, polas razoes, que ja dixe, de Ihe nom
poder tolher as roupas que Ihe vinhao pola terra, e a terra assy
ser doentia, e mataria muyta gente, o que todo se escusaria, pois
bastaua vir aly hum nauio com a roupa quanta quisesse, e a
resgatar, e se tornar sem nenhum inconueniente mais que o do
mar ; o que todo assy pareceo bem ao Visorey com ten^ao de assy
o escreuer a EIRey, que escusasse o gasto de ter fortaleza em
Qofala por ser tao desnecessario.
Anno de 1506. Entao se partio (Rodrigo Rabello) pera Ange-
diua, e deu carta ao Capitao, que Ihe o Visorey escreuia o que
tinha feito, e que mandasse laurar as portas e janellas ; e d'ahy se
tornou a armada a Baticala, e arrecadou o arros das pareas, e tornou
pera Cananor, e vindo aos Ilheos de Sancta Maria ouverao vista
de duas velas grandes, a que logo arribarao, e souberao que erao
Pedro Coresma, e Cide Barbudo, que inuernarao em Mozambique,
onde Ihe morrera muyta gente, e que atras vinha hum nauio de
Qofala, e daua noua que Pero da Nhaya era falecido de doenca
com mais de metade da gente, por a terra ser muyto doentia, e
que Francisco da Nhaya seruia de Capitao, e que Joao da Noua
no Cabo abrira muyta agoa, e tornara a Mozambique, onde estaua,
e inuernara nos Ilheos d'Angoja. Com as quaes nouas ao Visorey,
e nom Ihe derao nouas de naos do Reyno, porque partirao de
Mocambique a dez de Julho.
O Visorey mandou logo concertar estas naos, e dar pendores,
porque erao grandes e ja do anno passado, e se ficassem na India
de todo se perderiao ; e assy mandou concertar a nao Judia, e a
Condona, em que ouverao de hir Leonel de Castro, e Dom
Francisco da Cunha, como atras disse, que ficarao d'armada do
Visorey. E entrou por feitor de Cochym Lourenpo Moreno,
escriuao, que n'estas naos Ihe viera prouisao d'ElRey. Deu o
Visorey apressado auiamento a estas coatro naos coin fundamento
que estas carregassem primeyro, e que se nom ouvesse carga pera
todas, que entao ficariao as que viessem este ano, que nom
podessem carregar ; e deu a capitania destes duas naos, huina a
\'useo Gomes d'Abreu, que se quis tornar ao Reyno por andar
10 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
iora da gra?a do Visorey, e a outra deu a Francisco da Silua ; e
despedio logo Duarte de Mello em hum nauio que fosse leuar a
Qofala a Nuno Vaz Pereira pera ( \ipitao, e que fosse a Quiloa
toniar roupas que leuasse o uauio carregado; e mandou trinta
homens pera ficar em Qofala, e como os la posesse se tornasse a
India, como fez ; e mandou que Francisco da Nhaya ficasse nos
seus nauios do trato, que trouxera, e que se por ventura finesse
prouisao d'ElRey pera ficar capitao na socessao de seu pay, que
entao ficasse Nuno Vaz uos nauios do trato, se quizesse, e se nao
que se tornasse pera a India ; e tudo assy auiando o Visorey, e
trabalhando na carga das naos, se foy passando o tempo, e Rodrigo
Rabello andando guerreando a costa.
Anno de 1507. Trouxe Vasco Gomes d'Abreu em sua eom-
panhia Ruy de Brito Patalim pera feitor, e alcaide mor, e com regi-
mento que ficasse por Capitao em Qofala era quanta Vasco Gomes
fosse visitar Mozambique; trouxe mais em outro nauio liny de
valadares, e Lopo Cabreira, e Martini Coelho, e Diogo de Mello, e
trouxe moradores que auiao de Viuer em Qofala, e os nauios
ordenados que auia de trazer na costa ao trato da ronpa, o que se
depois soube, que partido de Lisboa Vasco Gomes d'Abreu com
sua armada, despedio a Joao Chanoca na carauella, que fosse
costeando a costa de Jalofo, a qual assy hindo se perdeo de noyte
por ma vigia, que depois forao a Bizeguiche ter homeus d'ella,
que contarao como se perdera. qual Vasco Gomes correo seu
caminho com muyto bons tempos que ackou, com que chegou a
Qofala a saluamento, e achou a terra muyto assentada, e com
muyto trato que fazia Nuno Vas Pereira, que o Visorey la
mandara por Capitao quando falecera Pero da Nhaya, como atras
contey ; e chegando Vasco Gomes deu a Nuno Vaz Pereira hum
dos nauios em que se fosse a Mozambique, e sabendo que tinha
Nuno Vaz muyto ouro, que resgatara, Iho pedio que Iho entre-
gasse. Nuno Vaz Ihe disse que o ouro que se resgataua em
Qofala era pera EIRey, e nom pera os Capitaes, "e porque o
Visorey me deu este regimento Ihe leuo o ouro que resgatey."
E se partio de Qofala, e chegou a Mozambique, e hy enuernou
com as naos que nom passarao, e como o tempo Ihe di-u logar logo
se partio pera a India, seni aguardar polas naos, porque o seu
nauio era muyto bom de vela.
Vasco Gomes, achando a terra assy pacifica, logo se metteo a
la /.<T a t'lTtalf/a, |U> L'p parrou no andar das amea-;. ]>on|ue
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 17
tinha grande ajuda da gente da terra, onde soube que as naos
enuernarao. Deixando em Qofala prouido todo o que compria, e
deixando por Capitao o alcaide mor Buy de Brito Patalim, se
partio pera Mocambique com os quatro nauios, pera onde trazia
apontamentos do que auia de fazer, e d'ahy mandar nauios ao
trato da roupa, e elle passar a Ilha de sam Lourenfo a buscar
as drogas que la achara Job Queimado, segundo as cartas que
Tristao da Cunha escreuera a ElBey per Antonio de Saldanha,
que leuara a pimenta da nao de Joao da Noua, que atras contey.
O qual Vasco Gomes, assy hindo de ofala, desapareceo que
nunqua mais foy visto, e se creo que o comeo o mar, com hum
grande temporal que logo sobreueo, de grande vento da terra,
que trouxe as aruores ao mar, e derribou parte da fortaleza em
ofala, de que outros nauios escaparao, que tiuerao melhor vigia,
e erao mais perto da terra.
Vasco Gomes trazia em regimento que em Mozambique fizesse
huma torre de dous sobrados, em que se aposentasse, e fizesse
grandes casas pera recolhimento das fazendas que se descarregassem,
e sobre tudo fizesse hum esprital pera os doentes que hy ehegauao
do Beyno, e que pera estes trabalhos Ihe fizessem ajuda quaesquer
Capitaes que enuernassem. Quando de ofala partio Nuno Vaz,
Vasco Gomes escreueo aos Capitaes a Mozambique, e Ihes mandou
o trelado dos apontamentos d'ElBey, e Ihe escreueo pedindo por
merce, que por seruifo de Deos e d'ElBey, quigessem mandar
fazer algum ajuntamento de pedra e cal pera se fazerem estas
cousas, que elle logo hiria a fazer o que ElBey mandaua, e que
se elle tardesse, e elles quigessem, com seus bons pareceres
mandassem fazer a obra, mandandolhe a vitola, que ElBey dera,
de como as casas se auiao de fazer.
Chegando Nuno Vaz a Mocambique, que falou ysto com os
Capitaes, todos muyto folgarao, porque aviao grande piedade dos
muytos doentes que morriao, e todos com niuyta vontade, com a
gente que era sa se poserao no trabalho de fazer o esprital, pera
que fizerao huma casa grande com grande varanda detras, e casa
apartada pera o enfermeiro, e outra pera botica, e aposento do
mestre, em que derao tanto auiamento que em pouco tempo foy
feita, em que metterao os doentes em cateres que se fizerao, e
escrauos catiuos do esprital pera seruipo dos doentes, porque os
que morriao tudo deixauao pera o esprital, oiide os Capitaes por
suas donafoes tomarao cuidado do esprital, e seruiao d'enfermeiros
II. C
18 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
cada hum mes, em que se muyto acupauao no bom serui^o e
repairo dos doentes, a que dauao muytas marmeladas, e conseruas,
e do comer erao muyto repairados.
Acabando assy o esprital se metterao n'acupacao de fazer Sam
Gabriel, que ja estaua feita huma casinha, como atras fica, e
fizerao a Igreja grande, muyto bem concertada, com ornamentos,
e capellao pera dizer missa, com seu mantimento ordenado, e Ihe
fizerao grande circuito de sebe d'espinhos pera dentro ser adro,
em que ja auia muytas couas de defuntos dos tempos passados.
E os Capitaes antre sy ouverao conselho, e do dinheiro dos cofres
pagarao a gente hum cruzado de mantimento per mes, com que
se os homens muyto repairarao, e fizerao Joao de Brionis feitor
destes pagamentos ; onde tambem os Capitaes contenderao com
Nuno Vaz Pereira, que o ouro de Qofala, que tinha, o mettesse
nos cofres, mas elle nom quis, dizendo que 'o Visorey o auia
d'apresentar, e elle fizesse delle o que quigesse. E porque tudo
assy estaua bem encaminhado, e a gente ja bem disposta, que
todos trabalhauao, os Capitaes, por nom estarem ociosos e gastarem
o tempo embalde, vendo a trapa que EIRey mandara, e tanto
emcomendaua que se fizesse aly castello, se metterao no castello,
e fizerao huma torre quadrada de dous sobrados, e em quadra
della fizerao grande cerqua de pedra, com ameas e bombardeiras, e
nas quadras outras torres no andar das ameas, e dentro fizerao
grandes casas pera recolhimento das fazendas, e casas pera
almazem, e nos cubellos o feitor e officiaes aposentados, e tudo
bem concertado.
Em quanto estas cousas se faziao, mandarao Martini Coelho, e
Diogo de Mello com seus nauios a Quiloa com fazenda, e trouxerao
os nauios carregados de roupas, que foy grande repairo a gente,
porque della se vestiao, e comprauao o que auiao mester; e
mandarao a ofala hum nauio carregado de roupa, e corriao estes
nauios a costa de Melinde, trazendo muytos mantimentos.
Ouve EIRey muyto prazer quando sou be estas obras que erao
feitas, e depois mandou que sempre em Mozambique ouvesse feitor,
e alcaide mor, sob a jurdifao do Capitao de Qofala, que auia de
vir a Mozambique ao tempo que chegao as naos do Reyno, pera
nellas mandarem o ouro que tiuessem resgatado pera carga da
pimenta. Quando se estes Capitaes partirao deixarao com o feitor
dezaseis homens, e alguns degredados, e com muytas roupas e
tudo bem repairado.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 19
Anno de 1509. O que assy fez o Visorey, que andou polas
naos, e as fez por sobre huma amarra, e ao outro dia de noite com
o terrenho se partio, que forao onze d'Outubro d'este ano, com as
duas naos de sua companhia, com bom tempo ; e passarao sem
tomar Mozambique, por d'isso nom terem necessidade, e forao sen
caminho auante, em que nom acharao contraste de tempo, com
que forao todos tres entrar n'agoada de Saldanha, onde o Visorey
deu pressa a tomar agoa e lenha, e por fazer mais apressar a gente
elle foy a terra, e la jantaua, e se recolhia a dormir as naos. No
que se nom escusou detenpa de dez dias, porque 'agoa era longe,
e os marinheiros a traziao em barris, e enchiao as pipas nos bates.
O caminho porque hiao tomar agoa era per antre huns matos,
dentro do qual auia pouoacoes de Cafres, que tern criacoes de
cabras e vaccas, pera sua mantenca de seu leite e manteiga ; gente
enxouvia, sem senhor. E tern muytas pouoapoes aquy junto
d'esta agoada, por caso d'esta agoa pera seus gados; e a agoa
nasce em huns pedregaes de huma ribeira secca, que deue correr
em tempo d'inuerno. Aquy ouverao estes Cafres fala com os
nossos d'outras naos que por aquy ja passarao, e com elles fizerao
resgate, dandolhe cabras e vaccas, de que se ja nom aproueitauao,
a troco de cousas de pouca valia, de cascaueis, continhas, espel-
hinhos, e cousas de ferro, polo que elles ja tinhao sentido que ao
tempo que aly hiao ter nossas naos acodiao aquy a esta agoada
pera fazerem seus resgates ; e porque d'esta vez virao tres naos e
tanta gente, e sabendo polas gentes da terra que os nossos em
(jJofala tinhao fortaleza, cuidarao elles, vendo tanta gente, que
tambem os nossos aly queriao fazer fortaleza, e tomar aquella
agoada, o que assy sendo perderiao seus gados se nom tiuessem
agoa. Fizerao grandes ajuntamentos antre sy, armados de huns
paos como meas lancas, agudos, e tostados, tao fortes como ferro,
e muytas fundas, de que elles sao muyto certeiros, e homens muy
forposos, e andauao polos matos escondidos, junto do caminho
porque os nossos acarretauao agoa, que era longe quasy dous tiros
de berpo, e tomauao agoa em humas alagoas debaixo de humas
grandes aruores, onde as vezes o Visorey comia e passaua a
calma.
Os Cafres, vendo que os nossos se nom occupauao senao em
tomar agoa, cesarao de seu mao proposito, e vierao a falar com os
nossos, a trazer cousas pera resgatar, vaccas e cabras; e por a
condi^ao dos Portuguezes ser assy, que sempre querem tomar o
c 2
20 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
alheo as pobres gentes da terra, ouve aquy huns marinheiros que
quiserao tomar huma vacca, nom dando por ella o que Ihe os
negros pediao ; sobre o que vierao a briga, e acodirao outros
Portuguezes, e acodirao negros, que com assouios chamauao huns
a outros, que acodirao muytos, que brigauao com os paos tostados
e pedras das fundas, ao que acodirao dos bates homens com lancas,
que ferirao alguns Cafres, e tomarao as vaccas. Os Cafres por
seus assouios falauao as vaccas, com que se ajuntauao antre os
nossos e os Cafres, que por cyma dellas com seus paos e pedras
faziao muyto mal aos nossos, que com hum d'aquelles paos
tostados passauao hum homem melhor que se fora lanpa com
ferro ; com que os nossos forao fogindo pera os bates. Do que
foy dado rebate ao Visorey, que estaua mais acyma, e veo com
alguns homens, que com elle estauao, recolhendose pera os bates,
e chegando ao lugar da peleja se veo recolhendo com os que
tinha, defendendose das vaccas, que faziao toda' guerra ouvindo
os assouios dos negros, que vinhao seguindo apos o Yisorey,
cobiposos de o derrubarem, por Ihe tomarem hum sayo de pano
vermelho que trazia. E quis a desventura de pecado que Ihe
derao com huma pedra em hum joelho, de que logo cayo, e ficou
atras, porque todos hiao em fogida. que vendo Jorge de Mello,
que acodia dos bates, bradou a gente que acodissem ao Visorey, e
foy ao Visorey, e o tomou as costas, que era homem forcoso, e o
leuou caminho dos bates, dizendo, " Senhor, pera os taes tempos
bom he ter amigos." E vindo assy as costas de Jorge de Mello,
derao ao Visorey com hum pao tostado, com que Ihe atravessarao
o pescopo, e garganta, e cayo morto, e Jorge de Mello o nom pode
leuar, e o deixou, e se acolheo. Os Cafres acodirao todos sobre o
Visorey a Ihe despirem o sayo, e espedaparem, huns com outros
pelejando em tal maneira, que a gente teue tempo de se saluar
nos bates, onde chegando Jorge de Mello, e Pero Barreto com
toda gente, tornarao aos Cafres pera cobrar o corpo do Visorey ;
em que a peleja foy tal que dos Portuguezes forao mortos mais de
vinte, e muytos feridos, e os mais delles criados do Visorey, e
Jorge de Mello ferido de huma lanpa per hum brapo. Assy que
todos a pressa se colherao aos bates, e com muyta pressa se
afastarao da praya, porque as pedras os muyto alcanpauao, e
ficarao na terra mortos mais de trinta, e quasy todos feridos.
Chegados os bates as naos, onde estaua Lourenco de Brito, que
por mal desposto nom sayra a terra, a que sendo dito que o
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 21
Visorey ficaua morto, com grande dor, por ser seu grande amigo,
mandou armar toda' gente que auia, e nos bates foy a terra com
berfos postos, por cobrar o corpo do Visorey ; e chegando a terra,
que os berpos tirarao, fogirao todos os Cafres polo mato dentro,
donde ferirao os nossos com fundas, sem os nossos Ihe poderem
empecer. Lourenfo de Brito vendo o tao manifesto perigo, e
duvidosa vinganpa, e que era longe onde ficara o Visorey, que era
cousa sem remedio, se tornou pera as naos, e se foy a nao do
Visorey, e mandou escreuer todo o fato do Visorey, e metter em
areas pregadas, e asseladas as fechaduras, e mettidas em camaras
pregadas, e tudo assy posto a bom recado, deu de tudo cargo a
hum camareiro do Visorey chamado Jorge de Figueiredo, a que
mandou que da despensa do Visorey gastasse com seus criados e
seus escrauos ; e mandou ao mestre, e piloto que seguissem seu
forol, que Ihe sempre faria, e se concertarao que todos assy fosseni
juntos, que nun qua se apartassem da nao. E se partirao pera
Portugal todos com muyta tristeza.
Anno de 1512. Jorge de Meilo mandou pera Qofala Simao de
Miranda, que vinha prouido de capitao, que acabaua Antonio de
Saldanha que la estaua ; o qual Simao de Miranda sendo capitao
falleceo, e fiqou por capitao Francisco Marecos, que seruia
d'alcaide mor; e a nao de Simao de Miranda deu 'Antonio de
Saldanha, e mandou que fosse desfazer a fortaleza de Quiloa, que
o mandaua ElKey, e recolhesse Francisco Ferreira Pestana que
estaua por capitao.
Anno de 1515. Com toda esta armada Lopo Soares chegou a
Mozambique, onde logo fiqou Christouao de Tauora pera se hir a
ofala, e se vir Francisco Marecos, que la estaua por capitao.
Anno de 1518. Diogo Lopes de Sequeira veo com grossa
armada e honrados fidalgos, a saber : * * * * Sancho de Toar,
fidalgo castelhano, pera capitao de ofala, pera o que logo foy
despachado em Mozambique, e na sua nao veo pera' India
Christovao de Tauora.
Anno de 1521. * * Diogo de Sepulueda pera capitao de
ofala, pera o que logo fiqou em Mozambique, e na sua nao veo
pera a India Pero de Mello.
No anno atras de 527 partirao de Franca tres nauios armados
cossairos, e caminharao pera' India, e no mar se apartarao e hunia
d'ellas, de que era capitao hum Esteuao Dias Brigas, piloto,
homcm portugues, foy portar na barra de Dio, com quarenta e
22 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
oito homens, e o nauio com muyta artelharia, que mais de sessenta
Ihe erao mortos. E chegando assy ao porto, o capitao Brigas foy
a terra, fingindo que era messigeiro mandado per outrem, e dixe
aos do batel que se Ihe perguntassem que dixessem que o capitao
ficaua na nao, e que elle era seu criado. O qual foy falar ao
capitao de Dio, que entao era chaniado Camalmaluqo, e Ihe dixe
que o capitao d'aquella nao Ihe mandaua pedir seguro pera ally
tratar vendendo mercadarias que trazia, e comprar as que ouvesse
na terra, de que pagaria seus direitos como mercador que era
estrangeiro, que nunqua passara a estas partes ; que era vassallo
de hum grande Eey com que elle folgaria de ter amizade. O
capitao de Dio Ihe perguntou se tinha amizade com os Portugueses.
Elle respondeo que se conheciao, mas que inda se nom topara
com os nossos. O mouro Ihe dixe que folgaua com sua vinda ;
que seguramente podiao estar na cidade como mercadores ; e por
seguro Ihe deu hurna frecha do seu arquo ; o que assy costumaua
dar por seguro real. Com que o Brigas se tornou a nao, e deu
licenpa a gente que fosse .a terra vender e comprar. Com o
capitao mouro andauao huns Portugueses arrenegados, a que
perguntou que gente era a da nao, e elles Ihe disserao que erao
ijancezas, de huma terra que se chamaua Fran pa, que andauao
estes, sem licenpa de seu Bey, a roubar polo mar quanto achauao ;
que erao ladroes, e que se os nossos os topassem que todos auiao
de matar como a rumes. Ao que se o mouro calou, e vendo os
francezes rotos e sujos, bargantes que andauao arruando as ruas e
se metiao nas tauernas a beber o vinho da terra, e que norn traziao
mercadarias, somente vendiao machadinhas e machados, e fouces,
e espadas, e espingardas, tudo cousas de ferro, e nenhumas
mercadarias, e comprauao pannos pintados de que se vestiao, e
todo seu negocio era comer e beber, tudo o capitao de Dio
escreueo a ElKey de Cambaya seu senhor dandolhe toda'
' enformapao do que passaua, e a gente que era, e o que faziao, e
o que Ihe tinhao dito os arrenegados. O que ouvido por ElEey
se veo a Dio, e mandou fustas a nao, e Ihe trouxerao o Brigas e
toda a gente, que fiqou a nao so ; os quaes todos forao metidos em
huma casa bem guardados. E logo forao tirar da nao quanto
tinha, que foy muyto boa artelharia grossa e miuda, e armas
branqas, e a nao foy metida no rio e varada, que seria de duzentos
e cincoenta tones, muyto podre. Quando este nauio viuha
atrauessando o goll'am pera Dio o topou hum nauio nosso que
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 23
Tinha de Melinde, e arribou a elle, que Ihe fogio porque corria
niuyto a vela, e o frances nom entendeo com o nosso, parece que
seria por o Brigas nom querer contender com os nossos, e quereria
andar a roubar os mouros.
EIRey mandou leuar ante sy o Brigas com os francezes, e Ihe
dixe que se tornassem mouros e o seruissem, que Ihe daria soldo
e Ihe faria as merces que merecessem, porque d'outra maneyra os
nom auia mester em sua terra se nom fossem mouros, e os que o
nom quigessem ser os auia de mandar matar. Ao que Ihe
respondeo o capitao Brigas : " Senhor, em teu poder estamos
debaixo de teus pes ; mas tal nos nom podes fazer com rezao, pois
temos teu seguro real. De mini podes fazer tua vontade, porque
eu nom hey de ser mouro. Ess'outros farao suas vontades." Os
outros, ouvindo a tencao d'ElRey, ouverao muyto medo que os
mandasse matar, e disserao ao Brigas que fizesse a vontade
d'ElRey, e que depois Deos daria remedio ; que pois ally os
trouxera nom fosse caso de suas mortes. Polo que todos se
conformarao antes saluar as vidas, e se tornarao mouros. E pois
que entao se fizerao com esta tenpao depois folgarao e forao feitos
mouros de vontade, e todos morrerao mouros. EIRey deu cabaya
ao Brigas, e Ihe deu soldo e o trouxe sempre comsigo. Os outros
como era gente ciuel, faziao bargantarias, com que EIRey os
mandou leuar a serra de Champanel, que la trabalhassem nas
obras, pois nom erao homens pera andarem na terra. E o Brigas
se fez bom seruidor, sempre diante d'ElRey, que Ihe fazia merce ;
e depois EIRey o mandou casar com huma mulher castelhana
chamada a Marqueza, que foy catiua em huma gale nossa, que foy
tomada por huma nao de Meca que hia pera Dio em tempo do
Gouernador dom Duarte, como ja atras contey em seu lugar ; e
estiuerao muyto tempo casados, e faleceo o Brigas bom christao,
e esta molher depois foy liure do catiueiro quando Nuno da Cunha
ouve a fortaleza em Dio, como adiante direy em seu tempo.
A outra nao da companhia esgarrou polo mar do cabo da Boa
Esperanpa pera a banda do sul, nom sabendo por onde hia, e foy
tomar nas costas da ilha de Qamatra, onde foy ter na ilha do
ouro, que 'area da praya, grossa e iniuda, era tudo ouro ; a terra
inuy vifosa, e grandes aruoredos e ribeiras de boas agoas, e muytas
fruytas das aruores, niuy gostosas ; a gente nua e bestial, que se
cobriao com pannos feitos das folhas d'heruas, e nom tolhiao
nada do que Ihe tomauao. Carregarao mais seruiria o vento,
24 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
com que forao ter na costa de Qamatra ja muy desbaratados, com
a mais da gente morta e doente, e fazendo tanta agoa que se hia
ao fundo ; e correrao pera terra pera varar, e antes de chegar a
ella derao em huma restinga em que se perdeo a nao ; e os que
puderao trabalhar concertarao o batel, em que se forao a terra
com niuyto ouro que cada hum meteo, e na terra forao niortos per
barqos de pescadores, que os toparao e leuarao o ouro. Ysto se
soube em Malaca por mercadores de Qamatra que la hiao tratar,
que por toda a terra se falaua d'este batel que acharao pescadores
carregado d'ouro, e que os homens que falauao como bornbardeiros,
de que trouxerao hum a EIRey de huma terra, que o mandou
espetar em hum pao porque Ihe dixe que nom sabia tornar a ilka
onde assy acharao aquella ilha do ouro, pola qual enformafao se
soube que esta nao fora da companhia de Brigas.
A outra nao foy ter a ilha de Sao Louren?o e correndo com
tromenta, que ouve vista da ilha e foy pera varar, per acerto
entrou em huma baya que era abrigada da tromenta, em que
esteue a sua vontade, e achou boa gente na terra, que Ihe fizerao
bom trato ; onde se concertarao de tudo o que ouverao mester a
troquo de machados e cousas de ferro, e ouverao pannos, e pimenta
va e fraqa que parece que he pimenta braua, e paos cheirosos que
hao que he sandolo roym, e canella braua, tudo cousa de pouqna
valia, e outras cousas que ouverao, com que cuidarao que tinhao
achada a India; e se partirao, e se tornarao nauegando pola
derrota que vierao, e passarao o cabo e forao tomar na ilha de
Santa Elena, e tomarao agoa, e n'ella se embarcarao tres homens
nossos que ficarao 'hy fogidos das naos da carga, em que hiao
presos pera Portugal degredados pera o Brasil, e se partirao e
forao a Franpa ao porto de Neypa donde partirao ; onde vendo
que as mercadarias que erao falsas e roys nom se acuparao outros
n'este trabalho, por que estes, que erao cossairos, nom hiao senao
buscar que roubar ; e os Portugueses que com elles forao ouverao
d'ElRey perdoes de seus degredos em que hiao condenados pera
o Brasil pera sempre, que Lopo Vaz os condenara por andarem
em companhia d'aleuantados na India ; os quaes contarao a
EIRey todo o feito d'esta nao.
Anno de 1530. Partidos de Lisboa estes irmaos, logo em mayo
d'este anno partio de Lisboa Vicente Pegado, mopo da camara
d'ElRey, em hum nauio, pera capitao de ofala e Mozambique, e
em sua companhia, em huma carauella latina, Baltezar Goncalues,
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 25
caualleiro honrado, pera n'estes dous nauios andar no trato das
roupas de Melinde pera Qofala ; e por a carauella mal gouernar
se tornou a Lisboa, e Vicente Pegado seguio seu caminho e foy
tomar em ofala, que trazia piloto pera ysso. Onde em ofala
estaua Joao da Costa por capitao e feitor, que s'embarqou no
nauio de Vicente Pegado e fez seu caminho pera' India sem tomar
Mozambique, e chegou a Goa.
Anno de 1535. E por este frade (dominico pregador) algumas
vezes em pratica dizer que Maluco era do Emperador, Lopo Vaz
o mandou que se fosse pera o Keyno pera seu mosteiro ; nom que
Ihe dixesse causa neiihuma porque o mandaua. Do que nom
faltou quern o dixesse a EIRey, o qual por isso o mandou a
Qofala, e ahi acabou a vida.
Anno de 1538. Neste anno presente veo por Gouernador e
Visorey da India dom Gracia de Noronha. Trouxe onze naos
grossas pera carregar, a saber * * * e Joao de Sepulueda na nao
Junqo, pera capitao de Qofala, acabando Aleyxos de Sousa ; e
Aleyxos de Sousa na nao Cy$a, pera capitao de ofala, onde logo
fiqou em Mozambique, e na nao veo pera' India Vicente Pegado,
que la seruia.
Anno de 1539. Veo do Keyno n'armada do Visorey o bispo
dom Joao d'Alboquerque, com titulo de bispo da India, perpetu
de toda a India, do cabo da Boa Esperan?a pera dentro, com
prouisao d'ElRei que a igreija de Santa Caterina de Goa fosse
feita se catedral; e porque quando assy chegou a Goa auia a
grande pressa do apercebimento pera os rumes, nom quis o bispo
entao fallar no caso, e sendo ora assy o Visorey tornado a Goa, em
dia de Nossa Senhora de mar?o d'este presente anno de 539, o
bispo pregou, e disse missa em pontifical, a qual acabada, o
bispo com grandes cerimonias apresentou ao Visorey huma
patente d'ElKey nosso senhor, em que Ihe dava o bispado de Goa,
com todolos poderes do cabo da Boa Esperanca pera dentro, em
todolas cidades, villas, fortelezas, e terras de seu mando e
senhorios, que ao presente tern, e ao diante tiuer, em todo o
estado ecclesiastico ; e em cabepa de seu bispado a cidade de Goa
Anno de 1549. Onde sendo (o gouernador Gracia de Sa)
enterrado na capella mor, logo Cosme Anes, que entao ja era
veador da fazenda, apresentou as socessoes, a que se fizerao os
izames acostumados : de que ja erao abertas na morte de dom
Jouo de Crasto duas, a saber, a primeira de doni Joao Mascarenhas,
26 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
e a segunda em que se achou Gracia de Sa, ora fallecido, e se
abrio agora a terceira, e n'ella se achou nomeado por Gouernador
dom Jorge Tello, que fora capitao em Qofalla, e era hido pera o
Keyno. Polo que entao se abrio a quarta socessao, em que se
achou nomeado por Gouernador Jorge Cabral, que estaua por
[English translation of the foregoing.]
EXTEACTS
FROM THE
BOOK CALLED LENDAS DA INDIA,
By GASPAE CORREA.
Pedro Alvares Cabral. 1501.
And because the chief captain had acquired much information
concerning Sofala, that it was very rich and had an extensive
gold trade, of which he heard much from the pilots of Melinde
whom he left in Mozambique, as they wished to return to their
homes, and also from the sheik, he called a council of his
captains, in which it was decided to proceed to the exploration of
Sofala. Sancho de Toar was therefore instructed to go thither
in the ship of Luis Pires, which was a small vessel and a very
fast sailer ; and as Luis Pires ^was very ill and at the point of
death, the chief captain took him into his own ship. He sent
with Sancho de Toar the interpreter and one of the pilots of
Melinde, who was well acquainted with the course, and there
went also in the little ship some honourable merchants of
Mozambique, who carried with them cloth of Cambaya and red
beads, these being. the principal articles used in that trade.
Sancho de Toar took also for the king a present of pieces of
crimson silk, mirrors, caps, trappings for hawks, little bells from
Flanders, small transparent glass beads, and other things to be
had in that country, and which delight the people of Sofala.
The little ship set out and reached the river of Sofala, which
was large, and which they entered and cast anchor. Then the
merchants landed, and went to visit the king, each one taking a
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 27
present with him in accordance with a custom that no stranger
should appear before the ruler without bringing him something,
although it might be but a single lemon. The merchants told
the king that this was a Portuguese ship, and that the captain
had come to see him and therefore asked his permission to land.
The king was much pleased, for he had already heard of the
great things done by our people who went to Mozambique in the
first ships and by Pedro Alvares Cabral. They presented him
wine and other things from Portugal, and he immediately gave
them the leave applied for and a ring from his finger as a
safe-conduct, ordering that the captain should come and speak
to him.
Sancho de Toar immediately did so, accompanied by ten men
very well equipped. He appeared before the king with many
courtesies, and presented his gifts, which were received with
great pleasure. And he delivered him the message from the
chief captain, who had remained at Mozambique, which was that
knowing him to be so great a king, who acted well towards
merchants who went to his country desiring his friendship and to
carry on commerce in his kingdom, he sent to know if he were
willing that ships should always be sent thither laden with goods
to trade with him, as was done by other merchants.
The king replied that he was well content and it would give
him great pleasure, saying that he would always be very friendly
with our people as long as they kept good faith with him, and
desiring that the merchandise should be brought before him.
This was immediately done, the merchants producing everything
according to custom, and he gave them * for it gold beads strung
on threads to twelve or fifteen times the value. Of this mode of
trading and the profit of it I shall speak more fully in its place.
Then with many tokens of friendship he dismissed Sancho
de Toar.
The king sent the chief captain a present of a quantity of gold
beads threaded together, worth a thousand cruzados, and one to
Hancho de Toar worth three hundred, giving him also an abun-
dance of provisions, and requesting that the chief captain would
send his goods thither, which should be sold before that of any
other merchants.
* The text reads as if they gave him the gold beads, but from the context it
is evident that this is incorrect.
28 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Taking in what wood and water he required, Sancho de Toar
set out for Portugal, having liberally paid the pilot of Melinde,
who chose to remain behind at Sofala, and he went thence to
Mozambique, where he found the vessel of Melinde, in which he
returned.
Dom Vasco da Gama. 1502.
As soon as the chief captain reached Mozambique, the sheik
went to the ship with a present of cows, sheep, goats, and hens,
which he had prepared lor him, knowing that he was the first
with whom there had been war, and wishing to fall at his feet
and entreat pardon. The chief captain received him with
pleasure, and did him honour, commanding what he had brought
to be well paid for, and ordering a piece of scarlet cloth to be given
to him, with which he departed well satisfied. He and all those
in the island served the chief captain as if he had been the lord
of the land, for all derived much profit from our people, who
traversed the country without causing scandal or giving offence
to any one, as this was strictly forbidden by the chief captain.
The latter on the day of his arrival ordered some timber to be
put on shore, that he had brought with him ready fashioned and
planned to construct a caravel, which only required to be put
together, nailed, and caulked. This was done so speedily that in
twelve days the caravel was ready for the water, where the upper
parts were completed. She was named the Pomposa, and Joao
Serrao, an honourable gentleman, was appointed captain.
When the chief captain thus reached Mozambique, as owing to
the information given by Sancho de Toar to the king concern-
ing Sofala, as already related in connection with the fleet of
Pedro Alvares Cabral, the king had charged him to complete the
exploration and establish a trade there, he sent for this purpose
Pedro Affonso d'Aguiar with two caravels, which carried many
kinds of cloth of Cambaya, beads, and other things suitable for
that commerce, which was already carried on by the sheik to a
certain extent, all of which brought large profit, as for a piece of
cloth worth a hundred and fifty reis was paid gold worth seven
hundred and fifty. Pedro Affonso obtained much information
from the sheik concerning the method of trading and what was
paid for the different kinds of cloth which he took with him, MS
well as for other things, and the sheik gave him a good pilot who
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 29
knew the course. The chief captain sent a large present to the
king, who was a heathen Kaffir that in Sofala already had know-
ledge of our affairs, and was very pleased when Sancho de Toar
went there.
Pedro Affonso set out, and in a few days reached Sofala.
Having entered the river, he sent ashore a man from Mozambique
who knew our language, to ask the king's permission to go and
speak to him and to deliver the message which he brought from
the chief captain of the king of Portugal, who was in Mozambique.
The king was pleased, and said that it should be as he wished,
sending him his ring as a safe conduct. Upon this Pedro
Affonso immediately went with twenty men, all of them very
well dressed, whom the king received with great honour, and he
made them sit down on the mats upon which he was seated with
the greatest of the land.
They presented to him a very fine piece of scarlet cloth, other
pieces of fine coloured cloth, a mirror of Flanders, very large,
knives, red caps, and a quantity of threaded transparent beads,
with which the king was much delighted. He took them in his
hands, and examined them, boasting greatly to his people.
Then Pedro Affonso told him that the chief captain sent to
ascertain if he would be pleased to be on terms of friendship with
the king his master, who was very willing to establish perpetual
peace and friendship with him, the purpose of which peace and
friendship was to be that Portuguese might be sent to his
country with goods to trade, as was done by other merchants who
came to his kingdom, they giving their wares at the same price.
The king having heard this and consulted with his people,
replied that he was in his kingdom where he harmed no one, but
treated well all who came there, especially the merchants, because
he derived great advantage from them, and he would do to the
Portuguese who should come there to trade as he did to other
merchants. And as he had already said as much to the other
Portuguese who had visited him before, and now repeated it, he
would rejoice to do any good from which no evil would afterwards
result to himself. To which Pedro Affonso replied that this
would never be, but he being a good friend of the king of
Portugal, the peace would be firm as long as he kept faith, and
the king of Portugal would be as his brother.
Upon this the king showed great satisfaction, affirming what
30 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
he had said before, and swearing by the sun, the sky, his head,
and his belly that he would fulfil his part as long as he lived, and
would buy all the merchandise brought to him, and would pay
for it, as he paid to the other merchants, what had long been the
settled price. In pledge of his faith he took a gold ring from
his thumb, which he gave to Pedro Affonso.
Then he gave as a present for the chief captain a packet of
strings of threaded gold beads, which they call pingo, which
weighed a thousand miticals, each mitical being worth five
hundred reis, and he gave another for the king which weighed
three thousand miticals. To Pedro Affonso he gave also another
of five hundred miticals, saying that he presented this to the
king as a token that he would be as his brother so long as he
kept faith with him and did him no harm in dealings or mer-
chandise, or in his lands ; and in confirmation of the truth of
what he said he touched right hands with all his people who
were present, for this is their only confirmation of faith, as they
have no knowledge of writing.
All this which has been related Pedro Affonso drew up in
writing, and the document was signed by him and six others.
Which being done, the paper was read aloud and explained by
the interpreter, at which the king and his people were lost in
amazement, for they had never before seen any writing, and said
that the paper spoke by art of the devil ; and the king took it
in his hand. Upon which that same day Pedro Affonso returned
to the caravels, where the king sent him hens, eggs, yams, and
other produce of the country.
The next day Pedro Affonso returned to the king, who bade
him bring all the merchandise he had, and it should be sold.
Then everything was brought before the king, and he sent for
the merchants of the country, who sorted all the goods, placing
each kind apart from the rest ; and having estimated all, they
weighed gold in small scales and on every heap of goods they
laid the price which it was worth in gold. Then the king said
that those goods were worth the gold which was laid upon them,
and they might take it, for his dues were counted in the weight
and were paid by the merchants. Pedro Affonso, who was talking
to the king, ordered the gold to be gathered, and this way of
buying and selling seemed very good to him, because there was
no bargaining to which merchants are always accustomed.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 31
Then he said he would relate everything to the chief captain,
and asked leave to depart. The king replied that he must send
one of his people with him to speak to the chief captain and
present what he had sent him, as also to bring another paper
from his hand, with which Pedro Affonso declared himself well
pleased. This man the king delivered to him with his own
hand, upon which he took leave, and embarked ; and the king
sent him goats and provisions, with which he returned to Mozam-
bique, where he did not find the chief captain, who had already
left. Therefore he entrusted the messenger to the sheik, and
bade him await the return of the chief captain, who would give
his answer. Then Pedro Affonso took in that of which he had
need, and sailed for Melinde, whither the chief captain had gone,
having left word to that effect in a letter in the hands of the
factor Gon9alo Baixo, who remained to conduct the trade with
Sofala.
Antonio de Saldanlia. 1503.
The chief captain Antonio de Saldanha in the course of his
voyage was doubling the Cape, and looked for the land, which
he found here. He stood in twelve leagues above the Cape, and
seeing a recess in the coast bordered with white sand, and an
island, the weather being fine, he got out a boat and went
forward taking soundings, and entered the bay, where he anchored.
And seeking water he found the bed of a dried up river and
travelled along it, and at about the sixth of a league found a
pool of very good water, fit for swimming in, which came from
between some rocks, and of which they could not discover the
source. They took in water, and on the island they killed
many birds which they called penguins, and seals, and tortoises
of which there was great abundance. On the main land they
spoke to some naked Kaffirs, who bartered with them cows and
goats in exchange for rattles, small mirrors, and glass beads.
Following their advice, they put to sea again, in order to double
the Cape by tacking, which they were not able to accomplish,
nor could they return to the watering-place, which they named
Agoada de Saldanha, and so it is called to this day, and shall be
as long as our Lord pleases.
32 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Dom Francisco d' Almeida, Viceroy. 1505.
Another fleet of five ships was also ready to leave with the
viceroy, of which Pedro da Nhaya was captain, to proceed to
Sofala to build a fortress and establish a factory for commerce.
All being ready, the captain's ship sprang a leak in the stern,
which was not noticed, because it was in the biscuit-room, which
was soaked and weighed so heavy that in the night the water
came in at the opening for the helm, and the ship foundered.
Though the depth of water was not great the ship could not be
raised, in spite of the great efforts made for the purpose, because
she was laden with worked masonry for windows and doors. But
after the viceroy set out another fleet of six ships was prepared,
which sailed in May, as will be related in its place.
Lopo Sanches when tacking also sprang a leak, which could
not be overcome by the pumps, and therefore the viceroy ordered
him to press on under full sail to Mozambique, and if he could
not double the Cape to return to the island of St. Thomas, for
the viceroy put far out to sea to avoid the Cape, and met with
cold and heavy snowstorms as aforesaid. Lopo Sanches passed
the Cape, and the leak increasing so much he made for land, and
ran ashore beyond Cape St. Sebastian on the side of Sofala. The
sea being heavy, they cut away the mast, which in falling killed
the captain and many men, because it fell on the opposite side
to what they expected. Others jumped overboard and swam
ashore, and taking with them a barrel of biscuit, which they
carried in packages upon their shoulders, and upon which they
subsisted, they travelled along the coast and met some Kaffirs,
who did them no harm, but took them to Sofala, where the king
entertained them and gave them clothes, and sent them to Mozam-
bique. Thence they went to join the viceroy at Kilwa, that is a
few of them, for many died on the way.
When the viceroy was making ready to depart there arrived
Lopo de Goes who had gone from Kilwa with goods to Sofala, of
which he found almost as great a want in Mozambique as in
Sofala, and bartered them for gold, silver, and ivory, making a
large sum of money with which he returned, following the course
for India. In the gulf he fell in with three ships from Portugal,
which came in company with Pedro da Nhaya as far as Sofala,
which were those of Pedro Barreto de Magalhaes, Joao Vaz
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 33
d'Almada, and Jorge Mendez, and all proceeded in company and
reached Angediva, where they caused great rejoicing. By this
means the viceroy was made acquainted with all that had passed
at Sofala.
Dom Francisco having left for India, the king commanded
great efforts to be made to recover the sunken ship of Pedro da
Nhaya, but the labour and expense were all in vain. Another
ship was then prepared, which was fully equipped with the rest
of the fleet, six in all, of which were appointed captains Pedro da
Nhaya as chief captain, and his son Francisco da Nhaya, who
was to cruise with two ships along the coast from Sofala to
Melinde and procure goods for the Sofala trade, and the other
four ships were to go to India when the fortress was completed,
of which the captains were Pedro Barreto de Magalhaes, Pedro
Cao as factor, Joao Leite, and Joao de Queiroz. They kept in
company, and passed the Cape without misadventure. A month
afterwards Pedro Quaresma and Cide Barbudo left, and went no
farther than Kilwa, where they wintered.
While Pedro da Nhaya was pursuing his voyage to Sofala,
Pedro Cao died of illness, and Manuel Fernandes de Meireles, a
gallant gentleman, was appointed factor and captain of his ship,
but as he remained at Sofala in the capacity of factor, Jorge
Mendes ^Jacoto went to India in his ship. Joao Leite, while
spearing a fish from the prow, fell overboard and was lost, and
Joao Vaz d'Almada was made captain of his ship. When near
Sofala Joao de: Queiroz remained behind, and landing on an island
to kill cows, was killed with twelve or sixteen men, the master,
,and the pilot ; and on the ship reaching Sofala Gonpalo Alvares,
who was afterwards chief pilot of India, was made captain
of her.
In the ship of Pedro da Nhaya which was to be employed in
the trade was his relative, Captain Joao da Nhaya. Going upon
his course Jorge Mendes came upon the boat from the ship of
Lopo Sanches which was lost, with twelve Portuguese who were
already at the point of death, having had nothing to eat but
raw crabs.
On reaching Sofala all the ships entered the river except those
of Pedro Barreto and Joao Vaz d'Almada, which being large
remained outside. When all had thus put in, the chief captain
sent a message to the king that he was close by, and asked leave
II. D
34 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
to go and speak to him, which the king granted with great good
will. Then he, with all the captains dressed in their best, (except
Pedro Barreto who remained with the ships) went with fifty
armed men and trumpets before him to the place where the king
was, followed by a multitude of people. The houses were sur-
rounded with very strong hedges of thorns, with closed doors.
They entered a large house built of earth, all the rest being of
straw, and in this large house were many Moorish merchants well
dressed. The king was in a small house apart from this, which
was ornamented with coloured silk hangings of Cambaya. He
was lying upon a couch, as he was very old and blind, and he
showed great pleasure at the arrival of our people. He ordered
the chief captain to sit down on some very handsome mats near
his couch, and the rest of the people remained standing before
the house.
Then the chief captain told him that the king of Portugal,
owing to the friendship he had already established with him
through the captains who had previously visited him, now wished,
as he ever desired to keep good peace and friendship with him,
his sons, and his subjects, to have a factory in his country and a
large commerce, which would be very profitable to both, without
causing any harm or scandal to his merchants and subjects, as in
Mozambique and the whole of India. In proof and establishment
of this good peace he asked the king to give him leave to build
the said factory and houses in which he might live with his
people, of whom he was to be the captain, that everything
might be well ordered, for nothing would be done except by his
command.
The king, on hearing this, said that he rejoiced much at his
coming, and that he should remain in his kingdom, and might
do as he pleased therein, which would be the same as in other
places, where he knew and had heard that we did ill to bad kings
and good to good ones, and no one in his kingdom should do him
hurt or injury, so that as the land and people were at peace he
might choose what place he liked and build a factory and houses
at his pleasure. Upon which he dismissed him, and sent his
lieutenant with him to give him all he asked for. Leaving the
houses, accompanied by the lieutenant who showed him great
honour, he returned to the ships, whence he immediately sent to
the king a large present he had brought for him of pieces of
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 35
coloured silk, mirrors, beads, corals, knives, and red caps ; and he
made another present to the lieutenant. The presents were taken
to the king by Francisco da Nhaya with his trumpets going
before, and all uncovered to the view of the people.
The king received him with great pleasure, as did also the
lieutenant, offering to do him many services, upon which he
returned to the ships, where the king immediately sent hens,
yams, goats, and other provisions of the country. He also sent
twenty Portuguese who were in another town, well treated and
cared for, who came there by land from the ship of Diogo (sic)
Sanches which was lost at a distance of about two hundred
leagues ; at whose appearance the chief captain and all the
others were greatly rejoiced, and they told him that all the good
which had been done to them was due to the lieutenant (or
regent).
The chief captain, on examining the situation of the land, by
the advice of all chose a site for the fortress near the river and
close to a palm grove in which there were some straw huts, for
which he paid the owners well. And then he built a large house
for the factory and other houses for the people, round which they
immediately commenced the work of opening a deep trench.
The people were divided among the captains, with diggers, stone-
masons, and master-builders whom they had brought with them
with many materials for the work, for which they had brought
stone ready cut and a door for the great entrance, besides windows
and doors. The lieutenant was always present, and provided
labourers and whatever he could, all of which was well paid for.
He often went to see the king, and he was very glad to talk to
our people, who told him of their experiences in India.
The trench being finished, and wishing to dig the foundations
of the fortress, which would require a long time, it was thought
a better plan not to commence the fortress then, which could not
be finished as the ships were obliged to leave for India, especially
the two outside the bar, which ran great risks from the violent
storms always prevalent there. And because it seemed proper to
all to do work which could be finished, that the people might be
secure from any ill chance, inside the trench they made a strong
palisade of large stakes driven into the ground, and another
within that, the space between being filled with earth thicker
than a wall, upon which they mounted artillery, and they built
D 2
36 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
many houses in which they placed the military stores, merchan-
dise, and provisions.
From this labour and the unhealthiness of the country the
people began to fall sick and die, by which it appeared that they
had acted prudently in not commencing the fortress. The
palisade and all the rest of the work was finished by the end of
October, many of the people being then ill with severe fevers
from the bad air of that country. Then the chief captain
despatched Pedro Barreto as commodore of the three ships that
were to go to India, and wrote to the viceroy to inform the king
that it seemed useless to build a fortress and waste people there
to have dominion over nothing, for if the commerce was not
carried on in peace and friendship, it could not be done by force,
the country being so unhealthy ; but it would be sufficient to go
and trade there and return to Mozambique, where the fortress
and factory would be better situated for the trade with Sofala,
whence they could come and go without obstacle.
The ships being gone, our people remained, suffering from
sickness, but some months passed without any dying, and they
became convalescent, and were afterwards in good health, being
lords of the country, and receiving great favour from the king
and the lieutenant who commanded like a king. But as the
Portuguese are by their nature proud and haughty when they are
not under authority, through the great favour of the king who
was very friendly to us and was called Monomotapa, son of the
other king called Unhamuda, our people grew so overbearing in
evil-doing that they treated the natives of the country worse
than slaves, of which they complained bitterly to the lieutenant
and the king. These sent a message to the chief captain con-
cerning it, and though he punished the culprits for it as seemed
just, the evils did not cease, but increased so much that the
people of the country complained to the king that he had given
our people so much power, calling upon him to drive them out of
the country before they killed him and all his subjects, as they
were in a fair way of doing by the injuries they inflicted.
Then the king sent a message by the lieutenant to tell the
chief captain that he was much incensed at the harm done to his
people, which he did not punish or amend, but allowed it to get
worse each time, and therefore he would not have the Portuguese
remain in his country, but they must depart at once, and cniliark
Kecords of South-Eastern Africa. 37
in their ships. To this message the captain replied with many
excuses, saying that his illness was the cause of his people's
disorderly behaviour, but he would punish them and amend all.
The king would not accept this answer, because he was already
very prejudiced by the counsel of the Moors who are the principal
lords of that country, and were native Kaffirs who turned Moors
owing to their dealings and friendship with foreign Moorish
merchants who come to Sofala to trade, and show them great
friendship.
He therefore again sent word to the captain that he would not
have him remain in his country, that he must go to Mozambique
or wherever he pleased, and send his merchandise, and he would
buy it as he did that of the other traders, but if he did not do
this, and insisted on remaining in his country against his will,
then the king would know that he had come into his country to
do him harm and not good, and the captain must know that he
could not remain in his kingdom against his will.
The captain did not attach the importance to this message
which it deserved, and answered the king that the Portuguese
were not the men to suffer anyone to drive them out of a land
where they had established themselves, that he came there at the
command of the king his master, and could not withdraw except
at the command of the said king his master, for he could obey no
other, and therefore must die where he was with all his people.
On hearing this the king and his people made a loud outcry,
saying that such was our custom to enter a country with fair
words and gentleness, and then to take it by force with evil-doing
and theft, which he would not permit, for he had so many people
in his kingdom that no one should move him by force, a thing
which it touched his honour not to allow. Then he assembled a
multitude of his people, naked Kaffirs, armed with stakes for
throwing, hardened in the fire, like small lances, so strong and
sharp that they can pierce anything ; but hurling them is their
principal mode of warfare, for they are very strong men and of
certain aim.
Our people, seeing this multitude of Kaffirs, greatly feared
that like savages they would storm the palisaded enclosure on
every side, and however many might be killed, that they would
enter and slay all within, who were a hundred and thirty fighting
men. Before the enclosure there was a large open space, which
38 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
had been a thicket, but our people had cleared it, and it was now
a level field. Behind it, however, there were extensive forests of
great trees, where the Kaffirs were, and whence they came out
into the field with kettle-drums and trumpets and loud cries and
shouts, flourishing their darts and bows with large arrows
though the bows were few and making as if they would storm
the enclosure ; but without doing anything more they would
retire again to the wood.
Our people were ready with their arms, arranged in order
along the bank, with their artillery prepared, though they never
fired or sallied out to attack the Kaffirs, but day and night kept
a vigilant watch against fire, which was their chief fear. They
did not dare to act on the offensive, but thought only of defend-
ing themselves if the Kaffirs should attack them in the many
appearances they made each day without ever attempting to
storm the wall. They remained thus more than a month, waiting
till peace should be re-established, since the Kaffirs did not come
to a close engagement with, them, and in all that time they could
never get speech with them.
Then the captain, seeing that while they were thus defied
they were consuming their provisions which might come to an
end before peace was established, and being of opinion that even
if food was plentiful it was not fitting to allow this rising by
which the commerce would be ruined, unless peace was established,
to which the Kaffirs would not listen, and that even though the
river were seized that would not destroy the trade, for many
goods came into the country from other rivers where they were
landed, taking counsel resolved to make active war, being ready
to establish peace whenever they liked, and if they should refuse
it, to retire to the ships and go to Mozambique, there to remain
until orders could be received from the viceroy.
Having come to this decision, the artillery was prepared, and
when the Kaffirs sallied out, as they did with great security
owing to our people never harming them, the captain ordered
eight large cannon which were turned upon the open space,
loaded with ball and stones, to be discharged, so that the Kaffirs,
who had never seen artillery before, found the field strewn with
their dead and wounded from the volley of stones. The balls
passed through the trees, which they split and shattered like a
great earthquake, and fell in a place where there were some wild
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 39
elephants, which live among the Kaffirs like our game that goes
about under our eyes, and never harm them unless provoked.
The balls falling among them, and the elephants hearing their
noise with the trembling of the ground and the roar of the
artillery, fled in great terror with loud trumpetings and screams,
killing all the Kaffirs they came across.
The Kaffirs, perceiving the harm done them by the artillery,
accompanied by the shaking of the earth, imagined it was caused
by the art of the devil. Seeing also the terror of the elephants,
that they thought would not flee from anything on earth, and
being still more astonished by their companions being killed at
once with fire and smoke and the balls which reached so far, they
were seized with great fear, and those who had assembled at the
command of the king complained bitterly of him, saying that
he had summoned them to fight with devils. They therefore
returned to their own lands in fear and wonder at the great and
sudden damage done to them by our people, and concealed
themselves.
As our people fired only the one volley, the Kaffirs were really
persuaded that they had been injured by the art of devils, so
that the king and all his people fled into the interior. The
lieutenant opposed him in this, saying that our people had done
them so much damage because they were offended by the Kaffirs
wishing to storm their camps, but had not fired upon their
houses, and therefore he should re-establish peace with us as at
first, and if ours did them any further injury he should send to
inform the captain of Kilwa, who would appoint another captain
either at once or when the ships arrived at Mozambique.
The king accepted the lieutenant's counsel, to which his people
also agreed, and matters remained thus for some days, during
which our people dared not move out. The captain then, seeing
that no Kaffirs appeared by day or by night, ordered a blank
charge to be fired. The Kaffirs were expecting the ball, and
seeing none and finding no harm done, the lieutenant sent a
message to the captain asking why he had killed so many people
who had done him no injury. The captain replied that he had
not come there to harm them, but seeing that the Kaffirs wished
to injure him, he had retired into his defences with his people,
and had often sent messages in order that no evil might come to
them, to which they had refused to listen. He had waited a
40 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
month that they might be his friends again, and they would not,
but had sent the Kaffirs to threaten him with shouts and noise,
at which his people held themselves injured and had been the
cause of what had happened. He was sorry for it, and if they
wjuld be friends again no further harm should be done to them.
At this the lieutenant and the king with all the others were very
glad, and peace was reestablished.
Then the captain, with the advice of all, there being no further
sickness among them, opened the trenches for the foundations of
the fortress, and began to build it as was commanded by his
Majesty, who had given him the plan and the size it was to be.
To which the king and his people dared offer no opposition, but
on the contrary provided him with the labourers he asked for, his
own people not being sufficient, as so many had died of illness.
The fortress thus commenced was finished in the year 1506,
as is shown in the picture ; but afterwards, when Antonio de
Saldanha was captain, a barbican was built behind it, and houses
for the people were put up. on the ground between. They then
moved out of the fortress, in order that a cistern might be cut
out of the rock which was found within it. In this was preserved
a thousand pipes of rain water, which from being kept in the rock
and clarified became so cold and excellent that it was health to
all the people, as it is to this day.
Pedro Barreto having sailed from Sofala ran along the coast
with his four ships, and reached Kilwa, where he left some con-
victs destined for that place, and orders and letters from the king.
Pedro Ferreira gave him all he stood in need of, and he set out
again, and in crossing the bar his ship struck and was lost, but
everything in it was saved. He then went on board the ship of
Gon9alo Alvares, and with Jorge Mendes Qacoto and Joao Vaz
d'Almada followed the course for India, but upon the equator
they were becalmed and nearly perished of thirst.
The wind springing up again, they reached Angediva as before
stated, and Pedro Barreto gave the viceroy many letters which
he had brought, and informed him how he had left Pedro da
Nhaya in Sofala within the palisade, with so much power and
authority in the land that it was unnecessary to build a stone
fortress, for it was not required, as the commerce could not be
carried on by force, but could be conducted in peace and friend-
ship for the reasons already stated; that they could not prevent
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 41
goods reaching the place by land, and the unhealthiness of the
country would cause the death of many, which might be pre-
vented, as it would answer every purpose for a ship to go there
with the merchandise required, and when the barter was com-
pleted it could return without any other danger than that of
the sea.
All this appeared good to the viceroy, who resolved to inform
the king that the expense of a fortress at Sofala might be spared,
as it was unnecessary.
The Year 1506.
Then Rodrigo Rabello left for Angediva, and gave a letter to
the captain from the viceroy telling him what had been done
and instructing him to order doors and windows to be made
ready. From that place the fleet returned to Baticala, and
collected the rice due as tribute. Sailing then for Cananor, on
approaching the islands of St. Mary they saw two large sails,
which they ran close to, and these proved to be Pedro Quaresma
and Cide Barbudo, who had wintered at Mozambique, where they
lost many of their people, after which came a ship from Sofala
with intelligence that Pedro da Nhaya had died of illness with
more than half his company, the country being so very unhealthy,
and that Francisco da Nhaya filled the post of captain; that
Joao da Nova's ship had sprung a leak off the Cape and returned
to Mozambique, where she still was, having wintered at the
islands of Angoya. This intelligence was sent to the viceroy,
but they brought no word of the ships from Portugal, for they
. left Mozambique on the 10th of July.
The viceroy ordered these ships to be repaired and careened,
for they were large and had been out since the preceding
year, and if they remained in India would be lost. He also
ordered the ships Judia and Condona, which remained from his
own fleet, to be equipped, in which Leonel de Castro and Dom
Francisco da Cunha were to go, as aforesaid. Lou'renco Moreno,
notary, entered upon the office of factor of Cochin, having
received that appointment from the king. The viceroy hastened
the preparation of these ships, intending them to be first loaded,
and if there was not sufficient cargo for all, then such as came
this year and could not be laden were to remain behind. He
gave the command of these two ships, one to Vasco Gomes
42 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
d'Abreu, who wished to return to Portugal, being out of favour
with the viceroy, and the other to Francisco da Silva.
Then he sent Duarte de Mello in a ship which was to convey
Nuno Vaz Pereira to Sofala as captain, and instructed him to go
to Kilwa and take there some goods with which the vessel was
laden. He sent in her thirty men to remain at Sofala, and
having disembarked them there the ship was to return to India,
which was done. He sent orders to Francisco da Nhaya to take
charge of the trading ships which went there with him, and if
by chance he should receive an appointment from the king to
succeed his father as captain, then Nuno Vaz should take over
the trading ships if he chose, and if not he should return to
India. The viceroy thus attending to everything and seeing to
the loading of the ships, time went on, and Rodrigo Rabello was
still making war upon the coast.
The Year 1507.
Vasco Gomes d'Abreu took with him Ruy de Brito Patalim as
factor and chief magistrate, with orders that he was to act at
Sofala as captain while Vasco Gomes went to visit Mozambique.
He also took with him in another ship Ruy de Valadares, Lopo
Cabreira, Martim Coelho, Diogo de Mello, and some settlers
who were to live at Sofala, and the ships which were to be kept
on the coast to trade in goods. It was afterwards ascertained
that Vasco Gomes d'Abreu, having left Lisbon with his fleet,
sent Joao Chanoca in a caravel, which cruised along the coast of
Jalofo, and proceeding thus on its way was lost at night through
want of vigilance by the watch. Some of the crew subsequently
reached Bizeguiche and related the manner of the wreck.
Vasco Gomes pursued his course with favourable weather, and
arrived safely at Sofala, where he found the country in a very
settled state and a large trade being carried on by Nuno Vaz
Pereira, whom the viceroy sent there as captain when Pedro da
Nhaya died, as before related. On his arrival he gave Nuno
Vaz Pereira one of the ships, in which that officer went to
Mozambique, and knowing that Nuno Vaz had much gold from
the commerce, he asked him to r deliver it to him. But Nuno
Vaz replied that the gold from the trade of Sofala was for the
king, and not for the captains, " and as the viceroy gave me
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 43
the order, I shall deliver to him the gold for which I have
traded." And he left Sofala and proceeded to Mozambique,
where he wintered with the ships which went no farther, and
when the season permitted he left for India without waiting for
the ships, as his vessel was a very fast sailer.
Vasco Gomes, finding the country in a peaceful condition,
began to build the fortress, which he then surrounded with
battlements. He received much help from the people of the
country, where it was known that the ships were wintering.
Having provided for everything necessary at Sofala, and leaving
as captain the chief magistrate Euy de Brito Patalim, he sailed
for Mozambique with the four ships, according to the orders he
had received. He intended to send ships from Mozambique to
trade in goods (along the coast) and to proceed himself to the
island of Madagascar to search for the commodities which Job
Queimado had found there, according to the letters that Tristao
da Cunha wrote to the king by Antonio de Saldanha, that he
had taken the pepper from the ship of Joao da Nova, as I related
before.
The said Vasco Gomes, going thus from Sofala, disappeared
and was never seen again. It is supposed that he was swallowed
by the sea in a great storm which came on, with a strong gale
from the land, which blew trees into the sea and ruined part of
the fortress in Sofala, from which disaster other ships escaped
that kept better watch and were nearer the coast.
Vasco Gomes had orders to build at Mozambique a tower of
two stories in which people might lodge, la,rge houses in which
,to store merchandise landed there, and above all a hospital for
those arriving sick from Portugal ; and that any captains
wintering there should assist in this work. When Nuno Vaz
left Sofala, Vasco Gomes wrote to the captains at Mozambique,
sending them a copy of the king's orders, and asking them as a
favour and for the service of God and the king to be pleased to
see that a quantity of stone and lime was got together for this
purpose, while he was carrying out the king's commands ; and if
he should be delayed, they might cause the work to be executed,
forwarding them the orders given by the king concerning the
manner in which the houses were to be built.
Nuno Vaz, on his arrival at Mozambique, communicated this
to the captains, who were all much rejoiced, as they had great
44 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
pity for the many sick who died. All of them very willingly,
with the people who were in good health, began the work of
building the hospital, for which they constructed a large house
with a wide verandah at the back, a separate building for the
infirmary, and another for a dispensary and lodging for the
superintendent ; and they pushed forward the work so speedily
that in a short time it was finished. The sick were then moved
into it and placed on beds which had been prepared, and slaves
were provided as attendants in the hospital for the service of
the sick. Those who died left all they had to the institution,
and the captains, as their donations, took care of it, and served
as superintendents for a month each, occupying themselves
earnestly in serving and curing the sick, giving them many
marmalades and preserves, which contributed greatly to their
recovery.
The hospital being thus completed, they occupied themselves
with building (the church of) Saint Gabriel. There was already
a small structure, as already stated, and they built a large
church, well arranged, with ornaments; and a chaplain was
appointed to say Mass, with a sum allowed for his maintenance.
.They enclosed a large space round it with a thorny hedge for a
churchyard, in which there were already many graves of those
who had died in past times. The captains took counsel among
themselves, and from the money in the coffers allowed the men
a cruzado a month for their maintenance, by which they were
much benefited, and they made Joao de Brionis their agent for
these payments. They also contended with Nuno Vaz Pereira
that he should place the gold he had brought from Sofala in
the coffers, but he refused, saying that he must deliver it to the
viceroy, who could then do what he pleased with it.
As all this was now fairly established and the people well
disposed and all at work, the captains, that they might not be
idle and waste the time in vain, seeing the plan sent by the
king and his earnest recommendation that a fortress should be
erected, undertook this work, and built a square two-storied
tower and enclosed it in a quadrangle of stone walls with battle-
ments and embrasures, with other towers at the corners on the
battlements; and within they built large houses for the mer-
chandise and military stores, and in the towers lodgings for the
factor and officers, all very well arranged.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 45
While these works were in progress they sent Martin Coelho
and Diogo de Mello with their ships to Kilwa with merchandise,
and they came back with the ships laden with cloth, which was
a great relief to the people, who were able to clothe themselves,
and bought what they required. They also sent a ship laden
with cloth to Sofala, and these ships cruised along the coast of
Melinde, bringing back a quantity of provisions.
The king was greatly pleased when he heard that these works
were accomplished, and he afterwards commanded that there
should always be a factor at Mozambique and a chief magistrate,
under the jurisdiction of the captain of Sofala, who was to repair
to Mozambique at the time when the ships came from Portugal
to send with them the gold to be exchanged for cargoes of
pepper. When the captains sailed they left with the factor
sixteen men, a few convicts, and a quantity of goods, with every-
thing in good order.
The Year 1509.
Thus did the viceroy, who went on board the ships and caused
them to be anchored, and the next day with the evening land
breeze he set out, which was the llth of October of this year,
with the other two ships of his squadron, with fair weather.
They passed Mozambique without touching, which was unneces-
sary, and pushed forward on their course, meeting with no bad
weather, so that all three put into the Watering Place of
Saldanha, where the viceroy at once began to take in wood and
water.
To hurry on his people he landed and dined on shore,
returning to the ships to sleep. But a delay of ten days was
unavoidable, for the water was at a distance, and the sailors
carried it in kegs and filled the pipes in the boats. The road
by which they went to get the water was through thickets, in
which there were villages of Kaffirs who have herds of goats and
cows, subsisting on their milk and butter : a savage people with-
out a lord. They have many villages near this water which
they value for their cattle, and the water rises among the stones
of a dry river bed which must be full in winter time.
Here these Kaffirs previously had dealings with our people
who came there in other ships and traded with them, exchanging
goats and cows, of which they had a superfluity, for things of
46 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
little value, rattles, beads, small mirrors, and articles made of
iron. They were thus accustomed whenever our ships were there
to come to this water to trade, and on this occasion, seeing three
ships and so many people and hearing from the natives of the
country that we had a fortress at Sofala, they feared we might
wish to build a fortress there also and take their watering place,
and thus they would lose their cattle, which would have no
water.
They assembled in great numbers, armed with pieces of wood
half as long as lances, sharpened and hardened by fire till they
were as strong as iron, and many slings, with which their aim is
most accurate, and they are very strong men. They lay in
ambush in the thickets near the road by which our people were
carrying water, which was about two cannon shots in length, and
they drew the water from pools under some great trees, where
the viceroy sometimes dined and sat during the heat of the clay.
The Kaffirs, seeing that our people only occupied themselves
with drawing water, desisted from their evil purpose, and came
to speak to them, bidding them bring things to exchange for
cows and goats. As it is always the character of the Portuguese
to endeavour to rob the poor natives of the country of their
property, there were some sailors who tried to take a cow without
giving what the negroes asked for it, upon which they came to
blows. The combatants were joined by other Portuguese, and
the negroes summoned their comrades with cries, so that many
assembled who fought with the hardened sticks and the stones of
their slings, and then men from the ships came with lances and
wounded some Kaffirs and took the cows.
The Kaffirs called to the cows, which rushed in between them
and our people, and over them they inflicted great damage on
our people with their sticks and stones, for with their fire-
hardened sticks they can pierce a man through better than with
an iron-headed lance. Upon this our people fled towards the
boats.
The alarm was given to the viceroy, who was farther up, and
with those who were with him he made towards the boats. On
arriving at the scene of the quarrel he and his attendants had
to retreat, defending themselves from the cows, which had joined
the fray on hearing the cries of the Kaffirs. The negroes pur-
sued the viceroy, being anxious to kill him in order to take the
Beeords of South-Eastern Africa. 47
coat of scarlet cloth which he wore. And by the misfortune
caused by sin, it happened that a stone struck him on the knee
and he fell, and was left behind all the rest, who were in full
flight.
On seeing this, Jorge de Mello came from the boats, calling
upon the people to succour the viceroy, and going to him he
took him on his shoulders for he was a strong man and carried
him towards the boats, saying, " My Lord, at such times it
is well to have friends." While he was thus carried on the
shoulders of Jorge de Mello, he was struck by one of the sticks,
which pierced his neck and throat, and he fell dead. Jorge de
Mello could not carry the body, but left it there, and saved
himself.
The Kaffirs threw themselves upon the viceroy, and stripped
off his coat, which they tore in pieces, quarrelling among them-
selves in such a manner that the people had time to save
themselves in the boats. When Jorge de Mello reached them,
he and Pedro Barreto returned with all the men against the
Kaffirs, to recover the body of the viceroy. The fight was so
severe that more than twenty Portuguese were killed and many
were wounded, most of them servants of the viceroy, and Jorge
de Mello was wounded in the arm by a lance. Whereupon they
hastily retreated to the boats, and quickly got away from the
shore, because many of the stones still reached them. More
than thirty were left dead upon the ground, and almost all the
others were wounded.
When the boats reached the ships, Lourenpo de Brito, who
being unwell had not gone ashore, on hearing of the viceroy's
death was plunged into deep grief, being his great friend. He
commanded all the people to be armed and to go ashore in the
boats with loaded cannons to recover the body of the viceroy.
On getting within range they fired their cannons, but the Kaffirs
fled into the thicket, where with slings they wounded our people,
who could not protect themselves. Lourenfo de Brito, seeing
the manifest danger and that it was doubtful if they could take
vengeance, and that the spot where the viceroy had fallen was
far off, so that there was no remedy, returned to the ships.
Then he went on board the viceroy's ship and had an inventory
made of all his property, which he nailed up in chests and sealed
the fastenings, and placed them in cabins which were nailed up.
48 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Having thus put everything in order, he gave charge of all to a
valet of the viceroy named Jorge de Figuieredo, whom he com-
manded to provide from the viceroy's stores for his servants and
slaves. He bade the master and pilot follow the watchlight
which he would constantly show, and they arranged that all
should proceed in company, and not separate the ships. And
with great sorrow they steered their course for Portugal.
The Year 1512.
Jorge de Mello sent to Sofala Simao de Miranda, who was
appointed captain, to replace Antonio de Saldanha, whose term
of office was expiring. This Simao de Miranda died, and Fran-
cisco Marecos, who served as chief magistrate, filled the post of
captain. The ship of Simao de Miranda was given to Antonio
de Saldanha, and he went to destroy the fortress of Kilwa, for so
the king commanded, and to take away Francisco Ferreira
Pestana, who was captain of it.
The Year 1515.
Lopo Soares reached Mozambique with all this fleet, where
Christovao de Tavora remained in order to proceed to Sofala,
because Francisco Marecos, who was there as captain, was
leaving.
The Year 1518.
Diogo Lopes de Sequeira came with a large fleet, and honour-
able noblemen, namely .... Sancho de Toar, a Castilian
nobleman, as captain of Sofala, in which capacity he was sent on
from Mozambique, and Christovao de Tavora returned in his ship
in order to proceed to India.
The Year 1521.
.... Diogo de Sepulveda as captain of Sofala, for which
purpose he remained at Mozambique, and Pedro de Mello
proceeded in his ship to India.
The Year 1528.
In the preceding year (1527) three armed corsairs sailed from
France, and steered their course for India. At sea they SCJ>M-
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 49
rated, and one of them, whose captain was a certain Estevao Bias
Brigas, a pilot, a Portuguese subject, put into Diu with forty-
eight men, more than sixty having died ; and the ship was well
furnished with artillery. Having arrived thus at the port,
Captain Brigas went ashore, pretending to be a messenger sent
by another, telling those in the boat, if they were asked, to say
that the captain remained in the ship and he was his servant.
He went to speak to the captain of Diu, who was named
Camalmaluko, and told him that the captain of the ship requested
a safe conduct to trade and sell the merchandise he had brought,
buying that of the country, on which he would pay duty as a
foreign merchant, that he had never been in those parts before,
and was the subject of a great king with whom it might please
him to have friendship. The captain of Diu asked him if he
was on good terms with the Portuguese. He replied that he
knew of them, but had not come across them yet. The Moor
said he was rejoiced at his arrival, and he and his people might
safely frequent the city as merchants. As a protection he gave
him an arrow from his bow, which was the usual royal safe conduct.
Upon this Brigas returned to the ship, and gave the people
leave to go ashore to buy and sell. There were some Portuguese
renegades with the Moorish captain, and he enquired of them
about the people in the strange ship. They informed him that
the strangers were French, from a land called France, and went
about without license from their king, robbing on the seas what-
ever they found ; that they were thieves, and if our people met
with them they would kill them all as if they were Eumes.
The Moor kept silence, and seeing the French, ragged and.
dirty vagabonds who wandered about the streets and went into
the taverns to drink the wine of the country, who brought no
other merchandise than axes, hatchets, scythes, swords, guns, and
other iron implements, and bought coloured cloths with which
they clothed themselves, and that their only business was to eat
and drink, he wrote to his lord the king of Cambaya, informing
him of what was going on, who these people were, how they
occupied themselves, and what had been told him by the
renegades.
The king, on hearing this, came to Diu and sent many boats
to the ship, which brought back Brigas and all his people,
leaving the ship without a crew ; and they were all confined in
n. E
50 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
a house well guarded. Then everything was taken out of the
ship, which was found to contain many good cannon, large and
small, and all sorts of steel arms ; and the ship, which was of
about two hundred and fifty tons burden and very rotten, was
sunk in the river. When this vessel was passing through the
gulf bound to Diu, she met with one of our ships coming from
Melinde, which approached her, but she fled as she carried much
sail, and the French had no communication with our people,
seemingly because Brigas did not wish to have any discussion
with them, and wanted to go and rob the Moors.
The king ordered Brigas and the French to be brought before
him, and told them that if they would become Moors and serve
him he would give them pay and show them favour according
to their merits, but otherwise he did not want them in his
country, and would command those who refused to be put to
death. To which their captain Brigas replied : " My Lord, we
are in your power and under your feet ; but you cannot justly do
this, because we have your royal safe conduct ; you may do
what you please to me, for I will never turn Moor, and these
others must answer for themselves." The others, hearing the
king's resolution, were greatly afraid that he would have them
killed, and begged Brigas to obey his will, and God would after-
wards provide a remedy ; that since he had brought them there,
he ought not to be the cause of their death.
All agreed to conform in order to save their lives, and turned
Moors. Though in the first place they did this for the one
object, they were afterwards pleased to remain Moors of their
own free will, and all died Moors. The king gave Brigas a rich
garment and a salary, and always kept him with him. The
others, being unskilful, became wanderers, so that the king
commanded them to be taken to the mountain of Champanel to
be employed in the works there, as they were not fit men to be
roaming about the country.
Brigas was a good servant to the king, who showed him favour,
and after a time ordered him to be married to a Spanish woman
named Marqueza, who was made a captive by one of our galleys
being taken by a ship from Mecca which was going to Diu in
the time of the governor Dom Duarte, as was previously related
in its place. They lived together after marriage a long time,
and Brigas died a good Christian. The woman was afterwards
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 51
freed from captivity, when Nuno da Cunha held the fortress of
Diu, as will be related in its place.
Another ship of this company parted from her consort south of
the Cape of Good Hope, and not knowing where she was going
went round back of the island of Sumatra, where she came to
the island of gold. The sand on the shore, coarse or fine, was all
gold; the land had many shrubs, large trees, rivers of good
water, and many kinds of .very delicious fruit on the trees. The
people were naked and savage, or covered themselves merely
with cloth made from the leaves of plants, and did not hinder
them from taking what they liked. They took in a cargo, and
the wind serving they came to the coast of Sumatra in a wretched
state, with most of the people dead and sick, and the ship so
leaky that it was almost sinking.
They ran towards the land in order to beach her, but before
they reached it they struck upon a reef, and the ship was lost.
Those who were able to work got out a boat, in which they
reached the land with much gold that each one took with him.
After reaching the shore they were killed by the crews of some
fishing vessels, who fell upon them and took away the gold.
This became known in Malacca, through some merchants of
Sumatra who went there to trade, and there was much talk all
over the country of the boat laden with gold found by the fisher-
men, and of the men who talked as if they were gunners. One
of them was taken to the king of a certain country, who ordered
him to be impaled upon a stake, because he said he did not
know how to return to the island where they thus found the
gold. From this information it was known that the ship was of
the company of Brigas.
The other ship steered for the island of Madagascar, and
driven by a storm which arose, she came in sight of the island
and made for the shore ; by good luck she entered a bay which
was sheltered from the storm, where she remained as long as her
people wished to. They found good people on the land, who
treated them well. Here they provided themselves with all they
required, in exchange for hatchets and iron goods, and they
obtained cloth, a kind of weak pepper which appeared to be wild,
scented wood like bad sandal, and wild cinnamon, all things of
little value ; they obtained also other things which made them
imagine they had reached India.
E 2
52 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
They set out again, and following the same course by which
they came they passed the Cape and touched at the island of
St. Helena where they took in water. Three Portuguese joined
them there, who had escaped from a trading vessel in which were
prisoners on the way to Portugal to be sent to Brazil. They
set sail once more, and reached France at the port of Neypa,
from which they had first set out ; and finding their merchandise
was bad and useless, no others occupied themselves in this
business, for these were pirates who only went to seek something
to steal. The Portuguese who were with them received from the
king a remission of their sentence, by which they had been
condemned by Lopo Vaz to banishment to Brazil for life for
having been in company with rebels in India ; and these men
told the king all about this ship.
The Year 1530.
These brothers having left Lisbon, in May of this year there
set out from that city 'Vicente Pegado, a groom of the king's
bedchamber, in a ship, to be captain of Sofala and Mozambique,
and in his company Balthezar Gonfalves, an honourable gentle-
man, in a caravel with lateen sails, to engage with these two
ships in the trade of goods from Melinde to Sofala. But the
caravel, not steering well, returned to Lisbon, and Vicente
Pegado pursued his journey and reached Sofala, having a pilot
with him for the purpose. At Sofala Joao da Costa was then
captain and factor, who embarked in the ship of Vicente Pegado
and steered his course for India, without touching at Mozambique,
and arrived at Goa.
The Year 1535.
And this friar (a Dominican preacher) having said several
times in his sermons that Maluco belonged to the emperor, Lopo
Vaz ordered him to return to his monastery in Portugal, without
giving him any reason for this order. But there was not wanting
some one to tell it to the king, who on that account sent him to
Sofala, and there he ended his life.
The Year 1538.
In this year came Dom Garcia de Noronha as governor and
viceroy of India. He brought eleven great ships to be laden.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 53
namely .... and Joao de Sepulveda in the ship Junco as
captain of Sofala when Aleyxos de Sousa should finish his term
of office, and Aleyxos de Sousa in the ship Cysa as captain of
Sofala, who was left behind at Mozambique, Vicente Pegado,
who was serving there, proceeding in his ship to India.
The Year 1539.
There came from Portugal in the viceroy's fleet the bishop
Dom Joao d'Alboquerque, with the title of bishop of India,
embracing all India from the Cape of Good Hope onward, with
an order from the king that the church of Saint Catherine at
Goa should be made his cathedral. And because on his arrival
there was great urgency in preparing for the Humes, the bishop
would not speak of the matter at that time, but the viceroy being
now returned to Goa, on the day of our Lady in March of this
present year 1539 the bishop preached and said mass in his
pontificals, which being over, the bishop with much ceremony
presented to the viceroy a patent from our lord the king, in
which he conferred upon him the bishopric of Goa with all
ecclesiastical power from the Cape of Good Hope onward in all
the cities, towns, fortresses, and territories of his dominion and
government of which he was then possessed or should possess in
the future, and as the chief seat of his bishopric the city of Goa.
The Year 1549.
When the governor Garcia de Sa had been buried in the
principal chapel, Cosme Anes, who was then overseer of the
revenue, presented the successions, which were examined in
the usual manner, two having been already opened tit the death
of Dom Joao de Castro, namely the first appointing Dom Joao
Mascarenhas and the second Garcia de Sa, now dead ; the third
was now opened, which appointed Dom Jorge Tello, who had
been captain of Sofala and had gone to Portugal. The fourth
succession was therefore opened, which appointed as governor
Jorge Cabral, who was captain of Bacaim.
54 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
LETTEES FKOM THE FIRST MISSIONARIES OF THE
SOCIETY OF JESUS IN THE COUNTRY SOUTH
OF THE ZAMBESI, WITH OTHER DOCUMENTS
REFERRING TO THEIR LABOURS.
[The following documents were copied from previously unpublished papers
formerly in the College at Evora, now in the Library of the Royal Academy of
Sciences at Lisbon, and with some others were published by Senhor Paiva e Pona
in a pamphlet issued at Lisbon in 1892, from which I have taken them.
G. M. T.]
Extracto da Carta que o Padre DOM GCN^ALO DA SILVEIRA
escreveu de Mozambique a Goa ao Padre Provincial.*
Em Sofala e Inhambane procuramos de nos irmos en e os
companheiros n'um pangaio, que para o tempo em que partimos
e para esta navegafao de ca e melhor embarcacao que navio d'alto
bordo e tarn seguro ou mais. Levamos dois portuguezes em
nossa companhia, e outro homem da terra muy de bem, e
intelligente d'esta costa de ca. Um dos homens portuguezes que
e um creado do capitao que sabe d'aquella terra vae para nos
guiar e aposentar. Achamos ca mores esperanpas, do que pre-
tendemos que trouxemos de la, ainda que as trouxemos muito
boas, e de Manamotapa achei muy melhor informafao, e creio que
foi esta missao de tanta edifacajao para ca segundo em todos se
sente.
Mozambique, a 12 de fevereiro de 1560.
DOM
* The Father Goncalo da Silveira with his two associates left Chaul on tlio
2nd of January 1560, and reached Mozambique after a favourable pass^c.
They were ready to embark in a pangaio, or native vessel, for Sofala when this
letter was written.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 55
[English translation of the foregoing.]
Extract from a Letter that the Father DOM GONALO DA SILVEIEA
wrote from Mozambique to Goa, to the Father Provincial.
I and my companions proceed to Sofala and Inhambane in a
pangaio, which for the season in which we leave and for this
navigation is a better conveyance than a large ship, and just as
safe, or even more so. We take in our company two Portuguese
and a very honest native who is acquainted with this coast. One
of the Portuguese, who is a servant of the captain and knows that
country, goes as a guide and to provide us with lodgings. We
found things here more hopeful than we anticipated, although we
brought with us very good expectations. Of Monomotapa I
found much better information, and I think the mission tended
to much edification for this place, according to what is felt by
every one.
Mozambique, 12th of February 1560.
DOM GONgALO.
Carta do Padre ANDRE FERN ANDES para o Padre Provincial da
India.
MUITO KEVERENDO EM CHRISTO PADRE, A gra?a e amor do
Espirito Sancto seja sempre em nossas almas. Amen. Porque
ja comepo a ter occupapoes que importam e o tempo e breve serei
n'esta mais cur to do que quizera. A nossa viagem ate Mozambique
foi muito boa, e chegando nos aviamos logo em muito poucos dias,
e o padre nao quiz que viessemos nas caravelas ate Sofala ; mas
em um zambuco, que me parece nao ha em todo mar mais ruim
genero de embarcapao, por cuja causa passamos alguns perigos e
muitos trabalhos com chuvas e contrastes e muito mal de comer
de quaresma que nos tomou no mar.
Ate Sofala tivemos 27 dias e o capitao dez nao mais. Com
este trabalho o irmao Andre da Costa canpou e disse que nao
podia mais e eu o disse ao padre e mandou-lhe que nao jejuasse
mais e que comesse carne ate que chegamos a Sofala onde foi
muito bem curado os dias que ahi estivemos e achou-se melhor.
D'ahi nos partimos e d'ahi a dois ou tres dias adoeceu o padre.
56 Re^rds of South-Eastern Africa.
Tambem me parece foi do trabalho e mal comer e jejuar e achou-
se tao mal que tive medo, se a viagem nos durasse maia que oito
dias que morresse ; mas quiz N. S. abreviarnol-a.
Na terra se achou ainda alguns dias mal ; quiz N. S. dar-lhe
saude, e como se viu fora de perigo me mandou a este Rey.
Recebeu-me com contentamento dizendo-me que vieramos luscar
nossa terra e que a acharamos, e logo me deu poder para ir buscar
o padre, e foram la tambem filhos e sobrinhos seus os quaes com
outros se me convidaram para ser christaos antes da partida e uin
dizia que o nao queria ser.
Eu adoeci logo de febres que e ordinario a quein anda este
caminho a cavallo, quanto mais eu que o andei a pe:
Aqui esta um Joao Raposo mulato nascido em Sofala, que ja
foi a Portugal que agora aqui fica comigo por lingua, que me
agasalhou e sangrou que o sabe muito bem fazer para as pressas.
Duram quanto podem as febres, forain ;um pouco rijo, mas nao
duraram muito.
Depois de minha chegada aqui a dezesete dias veiu o padre ;
estava fraco e debilitado do caminho, que em chegando ao povo
d'este logar se deixou cahir em uma areia, donde me vieram dizer
que estava e sem poder ale van tar a cabeca me fallou. A hi Ihe
trouxemos que comesse e bebesse e depois o levamos sobrapado
para a borda do rio onde quiz estar a noite, e depois veiu o
irmao Andre da Costa da mesma maneira e assim um rnopo que
traziam.
padre se achou logo alguma cousa melhor ainda que ate
agora dura sua convalescencia ; o irmao se achava cada vez peior
por onde o padre o mandou para a praia a convalescer-se. Assim
manquejando foi o padre a El Rey que o recebeu muito bem e
mostrou muito conteutainento com a carta do Viso-Rey.
Logo nos deu lice^fa para bautisarmos os que se quizessem
fazer xpaos, e a elle^ para o serem, de maneira que em poucos
dias se determinaium todos. Logo se fez EIRey, sua casa e filhos
e todo o mais povo : elles nos vinham buscar que nao nos a elles,
fiiialrnente em sete semanas que aqui esteve o padre se bautisaram
perto de quatrocentas pessoas e segundo tenho por novas que o
padre vae bautisando por esse caminho. Pelos logares d'este
Rey eu tambem tenho ja feito alguns depois que se elle foi.
A terra e toda d'este rei em que dizem haveni dez on doze mil
almas, em que ha senhores dos logares, couio um sen irinfio o
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 57
genro e sobrinho, e outro que e maior de todos, que agora aqui
veiu a tomar posse do senhorio por morte de seu pae esta mnito
disposto, esperando por nos para receberem o baptismo e ainda os
vizinhos Ihes teem inveja de sorte que aqui ha messe para muitos
obreiros. E nao sei em que se fundava o padre D. Gonfalo que
nunca Ihe pude tirar outra cousa senao que abastava para aqui
um irmao e eu, e outro padre e outro irmao na praya e que nos
communicariamos pelas festas, sabendo a gente que ha n'este
reino, que toda esta esperando por nos, e haver tanto que fazer
n'elles a bem do baptismo e saber tao bem que se nao passa este
caminho sem uma grande camada de febres se nao for n'estes tres
mezes S. desde meado mayo ate meado agosto, que se nao pode
mover nenhum de nos sem levar comsigo pelo menos oito a quern
da de comer doze dias que tern no caminho da ida e vinda sem os
que ha de estar e cada um seu panno que vale um cruzado, em
cada logar outro e outras gayas que chegam a muito. E esta
gente serve d'isto S.* seis que nos levam as costas e um a cama e
outro o mantimento. E o terem as febres e tarn certo como o
andar o caminho porque de seis que vieram ca este anno todos as
tiverani muitos dias afora um que veiu a pe e morreo. Tambem
eu vim a pe ; so com febres me visitou N. S. e tambem afora nos
o mofo que o padre trouxe que ainda vae doente ; assim que o
meu parecer, ao qual eu anteponho qualquer outro que melhor
o sentir, nao havendo gente para tudo n'este reino que sam
mof-arangas, nos haviamos de empregar em seu visinho ate se
homem fazer a terra e ares d'ella que sem perigo o pudessemos,
andar e, o que pudessemos, praticar na lingua, e entao, ainda que
fossemos poucos, podiamos estar divididos, e por estarmos ja feitos
a terra visitar-nos mais a meude que agora no principio pelas
causas que digo, e todavia como V a H a ordenar sera melhor
feito.
A qualidade d'esta terra e destemperada, porque e agora muito
secca, e no verao, que e outubro ate todo marpo, que dizem que as
calmas sao grandissimas commumente. Toda esta costa pela terra
dentro e enferma, e assim e aqui, ainda que estas febres nao sam
muito perigosas e se duram, como de feito a todos teem muitos
dias, pode ser que seja a causa a falta das mezinhas e cousas
necessarias, porque a dieta e camisa de niilho com agua e sal,
piirga, nem enxarope, nem assuquere rosado, nein sem rosas, nao
* Scillicet.
58 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
no ha ; porquanto como digo me nao maravilho durarem as
febres.
Este logar esta assentado, sobre um grande rio que do mar aqui
chega ainda que nao ha mare aqui muito perto entra n'elle mn
pequeno. No inverno dizem que bebeni d'elle, agora nao, porque
e algum tanto salobre. Esta toda cercada de monies algum
tanto altos que se nao deixam lavar dos ventos senao quando
sam muito grandes, por onde me parece sera aqui o verao
trabalhoso.
A agua para beber segundo tardam os que vam por ella sera
como a S. Joao e e boa. Na terra ha milho, meijueira, feijoes
bons, mungo e outros graos que nascem debaixo do chao e como o
milho e maior e melhor parte de mantimento, e o que podiam
comer em trinta dias bebem em um empombe, que fazem d'elle.
Muitas vezes dizem que morrem de fome.
Nenhum d'elles poe mao em cousa de semear como se as nao
tivessem, nein buscar lenha nem agua, e as mulheres vain fora
d'aqui buscar alguma cousa ainda que pouca, porque todos sam
pobres para ganharem n'ella, e levam d'aqui a praia o marfim as
costas aos portuguezes e trazem de la a fazenda. E fazem
qualquer cousa que Ihes mandaes com tal que Ih'o pagueis muito
a sua vontade e ainda que seja o maior vosso amigo do mundo e
Ihe tenhaes hoje pela manha dado cousa que vale mais que tudo
o que elle tern, e logo ao meio dia Ihe mandardes uma muito
pequena cousa, se Ihe nao pagardes muito a sua vontade, tudo e
entornado.
E assim sam pacificos, senao quando se einbebedam e depois
que eu aqui estou um bebado matou um mancebo. Por estes
delictos nem por nenhum se faz entre elles nenhuma justica, nem
pae castiga ao filho de nenhuma maneira, e por isto me parece
tornam muito mal reprehenderem-os de seus defeitos.
Entre elles sam fie is uns com os outros, e nao me parece haver
furtos, mas se topam a nossa fazenda a mao, digo contas ou roupa,
perdoae-lhes ; isto commumente, mas nao todos, porque aqui anda
um mancebo a quern muitas vezes entrego assim cousas, e sempre
da boa conta, e assim havera outros.
Muitos gostam muito de ouvir e entender a doutrina christa, e
facilmente deixam seus abusos. Todas as mulheres mostram
muita devopam a imageni de N. S a ; vam muitas a egreja ver a
sua iinagem e isto que vem ao olho faz n'elles muita impressao,
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 59
e quadra-lhes nmito declarar-lhes o que significam as imagens, e
por isso mando la pedir nm retabulo do juizo, porque me parece
o mais proprio para elles, como quern aos principiantes da exercicio
da primeira semana.
Sam domesticos e familiares mais do que vos quereis, se
tivessemos aqui gente e que aporfiasse nao duvido se nao que se
fizesse aqui uma Republica excellente. Desejo grandemente
introduzir-lhe a justipa, e haver-lhes aqui algum tronco e depois
pouco a pouco algumas peninhas com que pudessem, e por isso
desejo ca rnuito o retabulo que digo para por ahi comepar a
cousa.
Em todas estas terras ha muitas gallinhas, e muito gado, em
algumas partes vaccas grandes e muito gordas e baratas. Aqui
nao as ha porque dizem que ha uma herva que as mata mas
trazem las aqui.
De terra menos fertil d'esta provincia me parece ser esta, mas e
povoada da melhor gente porque todos os sujeitos a este Key sam
como digo Mocarangas que entre os Cafres sam tidos por melhor
gente que os Bongoe que d'estas duas gentes e povoada a maior
parte d'esta Cafraria.
Os Bongas sam todos circumcidados estes nao, a causa de todos
estes Mocarangas estarem entre os Botongas, cercados de todas as
partes, foi porque um pae d'este tinha o seu senhorio dentro no
Bocolonga e teve guerra com outro senhor mais potente que elle
e venceu.
Este filho com a gente que ficou do desbarate se veio aqui e
pelejou com o seiihor d'elle e tomou-lhe a terra e assim ficou
entre os Botongas.
Para Cafre e muito bom homem, mas bebe mais do que eu
quizera, mas diz-me este lingua, que dos senhores que elle viu
entre os Cafres, que este bebe pouco em sua comparapao. Tern
quatro filhos homens todos bem acondicionados, e os d'elles de
muito boas presenpas para Cafres ; tern outros muitos machos e
femeas entre os quaes tern dois de edade cada um de doze a treze
annos.
Disse ao padre que Ih'os pedisse para levar para aprenderem
n'esse Collegio, parece nao se atreveu. Se nao ha algum incon-
veniente para o anno Ih'os pedirei.
(X porto onde desembarcamos e um rio largo como o de Lisboa
a Almada e o logar me parece que esta da foz como Lisboa esta a
60 Records of South- Eastern Africa.
do Tejo. Desembarca-se de outra banda, porque d'esta e baixo, e
aquelle logar se chama Inhambane e e muito pequeno, a terra alii
muito pobre. Esta alii um Cafre que se chama Antonio Fernandes
sem ser baptisado, e preza-se de grande amigo dos portuguezes,
mas, como dizem, esfola-os, e o padre me fez queixume d'elle que
Ihe levara muitos pannos.
Aqui parece que nao cumpre assentar pela pobre za da terra,
assim da gente toda cornmarca como da mais, se nao for para
d'alli vir provar est'outra banda na qual onde desembarcaram
para vir para ca esta um Cafre por senhor que sem valer iiein
poder nada faz aos portuguezes forpas e tyranias muitas vezes que
e maravilha, de sorte que esta aquella gente tarn aforada a fazer
mal aos portuguezes que nenhum passa a que nao obriguem ao
que querem, e a mim me tomou o mesmo um panno sem Ihe ser
devido, de sorte que aqui tenho pouca confianpa de fazer fruito
por agora.
Mais abaixo para a foz do rio esta um logar grande onde esta o
xeque de todos aquelles d'ali de redor, que e sogro do que digo e
puzeram no alii para arrecadar aquillo que elles levam aos
portuguezes por fazerem o caminho livre e dar lenha e agua, que
segundo me disserarn,que com as tyranias que alii Ihes fez, e tarn
rico que nao obedece ao sogro.
Este logar esta perto d'um rio d'agua doce onde ha muitas
laranjas e limoes, d'elles pequenos, d'elles parecem cidroes, e a
terra por alii e abastada de carnes e mantimentos, mas ate agora
nao tiveram alii os portuguezes nenhum commercio nem con-
versacao, somente os Cafres que sabem que nos folgamos com esta
fruita nol'a trazem.
Alii a gente sam como digo a V. K. Botongas circumcisos
todos, nao sabemos se teem mais de Mouros, e n'este logar d'este
Xeque se poderia fazer assento quando houvesse esperanp a d'algum
fruito, e entao seria necessaria a carta do Viso Key para o Xeque.
N'este rio morre muito e bom pescado s. pescadas, peixes
serras, lulas, grandissiinas tainhas e, finalmente muitos e graudes
camaroes, e a terra aqui e sadia, digo mais sa se os Cafres situ-
assem seus logares ao longo da praia donde os ventos do mar
refrescassem.
Elles nao buscam senao o mais sombrio e abafado logar que
acham e debaixo das maiores arvores de que peuduram sens
mautimeutos por onde ueuhum logar <le Cafres pode ser silo.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 6 t
Da praia aqui sam trinta leguas pouco mais on menos. Agora
n'este tempo que e frio pode-se muito bem caminhar sem perigo,
acabando-se a nevoa que e quasi todo o anno ; e tamanha a
orvalhada que faz que se nao pode crer e dizem-me que estas
nevoas sao nocivas a saude; mas no verao ha perigo do que
atraz digo.
No inverno por serein estas terras todas chans se chovem
muitas aguas encliem as ribeiras, que em este caminho ha muitas,
de sorte que sahem das madres e cobrem toda a terra que parece
um diluvio.
Este anno tomou assim uma cheia d'esta aos portuguezes, e os
mais d'elles desembarraram o fato, outros ficaram ou a uma arvore
ou ao pe d'ella.
Nao me occorrem outras particularidades que escreva a V. E. ;
o padre Dom Gonpalo o fara abundantemente. irmao Andre
da Costa esta na praia como ja disse a V. E. ; o padre vae deter-
minado se o achar em disposipao de o mandar para ca. Folgaria
eu, ainda que nao fosse mais que para me ajudar a missa e olhar
pela casa ate que vossa E. provesse d'outro em seu logar por sua
indisposicao. Se nao vier ja tenho feito a conta, baptisarei os
que puder aqui n'estes logares de quarto de legua e mais se cum-
prir, eusinarei a doutrina christa aqui e la, e encommendar me-ei
a Deus ate que V. E. provera como Ihe parecer mais fructo de
Deus ; mas ora seja so, ora com um irmao que me ajude, ora com
um padre que me governe estou muito mais consolado e animado
do que se estivera na metade da doce Franca entre meus irmaos
por graja e bondade do senhor. Elle nos de sua graca para que
em tudo nos hajamos conforme a sua vontade.
D'este Otongue aos 24 de junho de 1560 annos.
Servo inutil
ANDRE FERNANDES.
[English translation of the foregoing/.]
Letter from the Father ANDRE FERNANDES to the Father
Provincial in India.
VERY EEVEREND FATHER IN CHRIST, May the grace and love
of the Holy Spirit be always in our souls. Amen. As I begin to
have occupations to attend to, and time is short, I shall in this
62 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
letter be more concise than I could wish. Our passage to
Mozambique was very good, and upon arrival we finished in a
very few days what we had to do. The Father (i.e. Dom Gron?alo
da Silveira, the head of the mission party) would not let us come
in the caravels to Sofala, but in a zambuco, than which I think
there is not on the sea a worse kind of conveyance. Owing to
this we passed through some dangers and many difficulties, with
rains, and unsettled weather, and the scanty food of Lent that
we passed at sea.
We took twenty-seven days to reach Sofala, and the captain
not more than ten. In consequence of this hardship the brother
Andre da Costa broke down, and said he could do no more. I
told this to the Father, who ordered that he should not fast any
longer, but should eat meat until we arrived at Sofala, where he
was well looked after during the days we remained at that place,
and found himself better. Two or three days after leaving Sofala
the Father fell ill. I think also it was through the hardship and
bad diet and fasting, and he was taken so ill that I feared he
would die if the passage lasted more than eight days, but our
Lord shortened it.
. On landing he still found himself ill for some days, but our
Lord was pleased to give him health, and as soon as he found
himself beyond danger he sent me to this king, who received me
with pleasure, saying that we had come to look for our land and
had found it. He at once gave me permission to send for the
Father, and there went also sons and nephews of his own, who
with others offered themselves to me to become Christians before
starting, and one said that he did not want to do so.
I soon fell ill of fever, which usually happens to those who
travel by this road on horseback, and the more so as I had to
walk.
Here is a certain Joao Eaposo, a mulatto born at Sofala, who
has been in Portugal, and is now with me as interpreter. He has
taken care of me and bled me, which he knows very well how to
do in cases of pressure. The fever, as long as it lasted, was a
little severe, but it did not continue long.
Seventeen days after my arrival the Father came here ; he
was weak and enfeebled with the journey, and as soon as he
arrived at this place dropped on the sand, wherefore they came
to tell me he was there, and without being able to raise his head,
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 63
he spoke to me. We brought him something to eat and drink,
and then carried him to the bank of the river, where he wished
to spend the night ; afterwards the brother Andre da Costa came
in the same manner, and also a servant they had with them.
The Father soon found himself a little better, although up to
the present he has not fully regained his health ; the brother got
worse and worse, in consequence of which the Father sent him to
the coast in order to recover. Thus staggering the Father went
to the king, who received him very well, and showed great satis-
faction with the letter of the viceroy.
He immediately gave permission to us to baptize those who
wished to be Christians, and to them to become such, so that in
a few days all resolved upon it. The king soon became a
Christian, with his household, his children, and the whole of the
people : they came to us, and we did not need to go to them. In
short, during the seven weeks that the Father stayed here nearly
four hundred persons were baptized, and, as I am informed, he
continues baptizing as he proceeds on his journey. In the kraals
of this king I have also baptized some since he left.
All the country belongs to this king, where they say there are
ten or twelve thousand souls, in which there are heads of kraals,
as in one his brother, and son-in-law, and nephew, and another
the greatest of all, who came to take possession of his authority
by the death of his father, is very well disposed and awaits our
coming to receive baptism. The inhabitants have the same
desire, so that here is a large harvest for many labourers. And
I cannot understand the motive of Father Dom (ronpalo, for I
can never get anything from him except that a brother and
myself are sufficient here, and another Father and a brother on
the shore, and that we should communicate with each other for
feast-days, knoAving the number of people who are in this kingdom
waiting for us, and the good to be done among them by adminis-
tering baptism ; knowing so well that these roads cannot be
travelled without severe fevers except during three months,
namely from the middle of May to the middle of August ; that
not one of us can move without taking at least eight persons
with us, who must be fed during the twelve days journey there
and back and during the time we remain there, besides a piece
of cloth to each worth a cruzado in each kraal, besides other
gratuities which amount to a good deal. Six of these men are
64 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
required to carry us in litters on their shoulders, one to carry the
bed, and another the provisions. The fever is a certain effect of
the journey, for of six who came here, every one suffered from it
for many days, except one who came on foot and died. I also
came on foot, and our Lord only visited me with fever; and
besides ourselves the servant whom the Father brought with him
is still sick. So that in my opinion, to which I am ready to
prefer a better, not having sufficient men for all in this kingdom
who are Mocarangas, we should be employed in its vicinity until
we are accustomed to the land and climate and can traverse it
without danger, and can become practised in the language, and
then though we may be few, we could separate, and being used to
the country could visit each other more frequently than we can
now do in the beginning, for the reasons I have stated, but
nevertheless whatever your Reverence may order will be for
the best.
The climate of this land is unequal, for at present it is very
dry, and in summer, which is from October to the end of March,
they say the heat is usually excessive. The whole of this coast
towards the interior is full of illness, and it is the same here,
although these fevers are not very dangerous, and last many days,
as they have done with all those who had them, this may be for
want of medicines and other things necessary, for the diet is
husks of millet, with salt and water. Physic, or syrup, or sugar
of roses or without roses, is not to be had, so that as I have said
I do not wonder that the fever lasts.
This kraal is situated on a great river which comes hither from
the sea, and though there is no tide very near, there is a slight
tide in the river. In the winter they say the water can be used
for drinking, but not at present, because it is somewhat brackish.
It is surrounded by rather high mountains, which prevent the
winds sweeping over it unless they are very boisterous, whence I
conclude that the summer will be very trying.
The drinking water according to the delay of those who fetch
it should be as at S. Joao, and is good. The land produces
millet, meijueira, good beans, mungo, and other grains which
grow beneath the ground, and as the millet is the best and chief
part of their provisions and they use what would feed them for
thirty days to make a drink called empombe for one occasion, it
is said that they often die of hunger.
Records of South-Easter n Africa. 65
None of them make more use of their hands in sowing the land
than if they had none, nor in fetching wood and water, and the
women go from here and fetch a few things, but very little,
because they are all too poor to gain by it. They carry ivory
hence to the coast upon their shoulders, and dispose of it to the
Portuguese, and return with other merchandise. They will do
what they are ordered if paid according to their will, and though
they should be your greatest friend in the world, and you had
given them this morning something worth more than all they
possess, and were to command them at midday to do the least
little thing, and did not pay them exactly as they wished, all
would be over between you.
They are peacefully inclined except when they are drunk, and
since I have been here, a drunken man killed another young
man. They execute no justice whatever among themselves for
such crimes, or for any others ; the father does not punish his son
in any way, which I consider is the reason they are so ill-disposed
to receive admonitions for their failings.
They are faithful in their dealings with each other, and I do
not think there are any thefts, but if they can lay hands on any
of our property, be it cloth or beads, you must forgive them ; this
is usually the case, but not with all, for there is a young man here
to whom I have often entrusted such things, and he always gives
a good account of them, and there are probably others like him.
Many of them like very much to hear and understand tho
Christian doctrine, and are easily reclaimed from their errors.
All the women show great devotion to the picture of our Lady,
and many visit the church to see it. These things which appeal
to their eyes make a great impression upon them, and it pleases
them very much to have the meaning of the pictures explained
to them, for which reason I have sent to ask for a picture of the
Judgment, which seems to me most suitable for them, as we give
beginners the exercise of the first week.
They are more domesticated and friendly than you would
think ; if we had sufficient people here and they persevered, there
is no doubt but that an excellent republic could be formed. I
greatly desire to introduce justice among them, and have some
sort of a prison, and afterwards introduce such slight penalties as
we can, and for this reason I greatly long to have the aforesaid
picture of the judgment here, with which to commence the work.
II. F
66 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
In all these lands there are many hens and abundant cattle, in
some places there are large cows very fat and cheap. There are
none here, for they say there is a herb which kills them, but
some are brought here.
This land seems to me the least fertile in the province, but it
is peopled by the best inhabitants, for all the subjects of this
king are Mocarangas, as I have said, and among the Kaffirs they
are considered a better people than the Bongas, the greater part
of Kaffraria being peopled by these two nations.
The Bongas are all circumcised, but not the former. The
reason that these Mocarangas are among the Botongas, and sur-
rounded by them on every side, is that the father of the present
ruler had his dominion in Bocolonga, and was at war with another
more powerful than himself, and was defeated.
His son, finding himself in this place with the men who
remained after the defeat, fought with the ruler, and took pos-
session of the land, and thus they remained among the Botongas.
He is a very good man for a Kaffir, but drinks more than I
could wish ; but the interpreter tells me that he drinks very little
in comparison to other chiefs he has seen among the Kaffirs. He
has four grown up sons, all men of good condition, two of them
are of very goodly presence for Kaffirs ; he has many other
children, male and female, among whom are two of twelve and
thirteen years of age.
I said to the father that he should ask for them to take them
to be educated in the college, but it seems he did not venture.
If there is nothing to prevent it, I will ask for them by next
year.
The port in which we disembarked is a river as wide as that
from Lisbon to Almada, and the kraal seems to me to be as far
from the mouth as Lisbon from that of the Tagus. We dis-
embarked on the other side, because on this side the river is
shallow ; the place is called Inhambane and is very small, the
soil is very poor.
There is a Kaffir here called Antonio Fernandes, though he is
not baptized, and he gives himself out to be a great friend of the
Portuguese, but to strip them, as they say, and the father
complained of him to me that he robbed him of many pieces
of cloth.
It does not seem possible to settle here, because of the poverty
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 07
of the land and of the people of this place and elsewhere, and we
cannot leave and try the other side where we disembarked to
come here, because it is ruled by a Kaffir, who though worthless
and powerless, has treated the Portuguese with violence and
tyranny so often that it is wonderful, so that the people are so
used to ill-treating the Portuguese that not one can pass through
the place whom they do not force to do what they please, and
they took a piece of cloth from me which was not owing to
them ; so that I have little hope of doing any good there for
the present.
Farther down, towards the mouth of the river, is a large kraal,
where lives the chief of all those which surround it, who is the
father-in-law of him I mentioned before, who was placed there to
demand some of the merchandise which they carry to the Portu-
guese, in return for wood and water and free passage. According
to what I hear, he is so rich through the tyranny which he
practises upon them there that he does not obey his father-
in-law.
This kraal is near a river of fresh water where there are many
oranges and lemons, some of them small and resembling citrons.
The land is well provided with provisions and meat, but up to
the present time the Portuguese have no commerce or dealings
with that place, but the Kaffirs who know that we are fond of,
that fruit bring it to us.
The people there are Botongas, all circumcised, as I have told
your Eeverence, we do not know if they have anything else in
common with the Moors. We might settle in the kraal of this
chief when there is reason to hope that it would yield good fruit,
and it would then be necessary to have a letter from the viceroy
for the chief.
The fish in this river are good and numerous, whiting, saw-
fishes, lulas (a species of cuttle-fish), large trench, and lastly
many large prawns. The country here is healthy, and would be
more so if the Kaffirs would place their kraals along the sea-
shore, where they would be refreshed by the sea-breezes. But
they always choose the darkest and most covered places which
they can find, under the largest trees, upon which they hang
their provisions, so that no kraal of the Kaffirs can be healthy.
From the shore to this place the distance is thirty leagues, a
little more or less. At this time, the weather being cold, it may
F 2
68 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
be traversed without danger when the mist has cleared which is
common nearly all the year, the dew is so heavy that it is not
credible, and I am told that these mists are unhealthy, but in
the summer there is the danger I have mentioned before.
In winter, all these lands being very flat and the rain very
heavy, the rivers are swollen, and as they are very numerous in
these parts, they overflow their channels and cover the ground
like a flood.
This year the Portuguese were overtaken by one of these floods,
and most of them lost all their goods, others secured them in the
branches or at the foot of trees.
Nothing further occurs to me to write to your Reverence,
Father Dom Goncalo will do so fully. The brother Andre da
Costa is on the shore, as I informed your Eeverence. The Father
went away determined to send him here if he found him in a fit
state. I should be very glad, if it were only to serve me at
Mass, and attend to the house until your Reverence provides
another in his place, on account of his indisposition. If he does
not come, I have made my plans. I will baptize all those I can
in the kraals within a quarter of a league, and more if possible, I
will teach the Christian doctrine here and there, and recommend
myself to God, until your Reverence provides as you think best
for God's service, but at present I am sometimes alone, sometimes
with a brother to help me, and sometimes with a father to direct
me, and feel more courage and consolation than if I were in the
middle of sweet France among my brethren by the grace and
goodness of God. May He give us grace to be conformable to
His will in all things.
From Otongue the 24th of June 1560.
Unprofitable servant,
ANDKE FERNANDES.
Carta do Padre ANDRE FERNANDES ao Irmao Luiz FROES ao
Collegia de Goa.
Pax Christi.
CHARISSIMO EM CHRISTO IRMAO, Outro fora eu que quizera que
Ihe agradecereis escrever-vos em tal tempo, mas eu me contento
com a consolafSo que n'isso levo pelo amor que eu no Senhor vos
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 69
tenho. Charissimo irmao fazei conta que ja somos em Inhambane
que e o porto onde se desembarca para vir ca.
Como o padre D. Gon?alo esteve fora de perigo de morte por
sua doenpa me mandou deante com um recado a el-rei com quatro
cafres que vos certifico que uma das sortes que fiz n'esta vinda a
pe foi atural-os estas trinta leguas. E o caminho comecei o a pe
que se nao costuma tal entre portuguezes, por ser o primeiro da
(Jompanhia que o passava.
Aturar os cafres foi por minha honra porque de outra maneira
nao me tiveram por patrao.
As orvalhadas d'esta terra sam grandes e molhava-me por ellas
como se me mettera por um rio porque os mattos e as hervas sam
muito compridos, e os caminhos quanto cabe um ante o outro ;
mas ainda que levels deante de vos quatro ou cinco parece que
vam de gume e que nao tocam nas hervas, e eu as desorvalhava
todas pelo que me comepou a doer um giolho de sorte que, como
dizein, level aquella noite as costas.
tempo era quando os feijoes estavam nas bainhas feitas, e
quanto a meu ver, mui bem sabem, de sorte que uos convidavam
com elles. Cada bainha tern dezeseis feijoes pouco mais ou menos,
e eu estava milhando em um espa9O grao e grao e os bons dos
companheiros de cada colmilhada levavam uma bainha, pelo qual
determine! apartar o fato com elles n'esta parte e comia muito
devagar e depois Ihes dava o que ficava.
Toda a terra e cha e tern muito boas ribeiras e varzeas muito
grandes nas quaes vi aves como cegonhas e outras muito brancas
nao adverti se eram cisnes que ja vi em Inglaterra.
Meu proposito e dar-vos aqui conta de toda a cousa como
passou, porque por outras que la vereis do padre o sabereis,
sotaente da qualidade da terra e geute d'ella ja vos digo.
A terra e cha e tern muitas ribeiras e enchem tanto no inverno
algumas vezes que cobrem a terra e a gente desampara os logares
em que moram para outros mais altos ate que se va a cheia, que
nao soe durar muitos dias.
Em toda a terra ha muitas gallinhas grandes, muitas vaccas
gordas, cabras e ovelhas nao muitas.
Deixemos mas pousadas, ruins ceias e peiores jantares e pon-
hamo-nos no Tongue, cujo rei pasmou quando me viu tarn velho
e caminhar a pe, disse-me que estava em minha terra, que
se.
70 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Eu achei-me logo mal de febres e mandou-me el-rei visitar.
Os filhos estavam commigo grande espapo, no tempo que Ihe dei
a entender que tinhamos alma e um Deus que nol-as fizera, e
assim todas as cousas ; gostaram em extreme, e logo se me
convidaram para serem christaos e outros muitos.
Este rei para cafre e muito bom homein, bem inclinado, homem
grande e de discricao e muito conhecido e amado de seus visinhos
e ainda dos de muito longe.
Tern quatro filhos e dois d'elles de muito boas presencas, e todos
muito bem acondicionados e de corpo grandes.
Toda esta gente recebeu o baptismo com muito boa vontade ;
quadram-lhe muito os mandamentos e todas as outras cousas que
Ihes dizem e praticam entre si ; deixam facilmente seus abusos de
sortes e outros agouros.
As mulheres mostram muita devacam a imagem de Nossa
Senhora e a todas, e nada do que Ihes dizeis duvidam ; mas como
se o soubessem, certo assim o creem.
Os homens de nenhuma qualidade poem mao em cousas da
agricultura ; as mulheres sam as lavradoras e provem a casa do
necessario.
N'este passo veiu ter commigo o principe e pediu-me um
barrete que se queria trosquiar ; dei-lhe o que tinha na cabeca,
que por honra de S. Joao hontem puzera, e fiz-lhe a doutrina ou
parte d'ella.
E, torno a escrever, estes fazem tudo que Ihe mandaes, com
tanto que Ih'o pagueis muito bem ; sam pacificos se se nao
embebedarn, muito domesticos e familiares, todavia ha alguns
honrados como os que sam da casa real que nao fazem o que
digo.
Alguns se occupam em matar elephantes e o pae faz logo
signal ao filho para que se conheca ser da casta que os mata ; e a
maneira que teem e esta.
Ajuntam-se cento ou cincoenta cafres, e vam-se ao matto
buscal-os, com cada um sua machadinha, em as maos, e como
dam em o bando, que assim costurnam andar, fazem-os fugir para
o matto que e muito espesso cominumente onde elles andam e
teem suas veredas por onde passam que nao podem por qualquer
parte, e como os teem no matto apertam com elles e como uns
vam deante e outros detraz e nao s<; poih-m dcsviar para nenhuma
parte scnao para suas scndas, chegam os cafres a vontade, *'
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 71
dam-lhes com as machadinkas nas pernas ambas se podem,
quando nao em uma, e por pouco que os firam, com o pezo do
corpo quebram-lhes logo as pernas e caem.
E poucos d'elles comem um inteiro e a tromba que e o melhor
mandarn a el-rei, e depois da tromba dizem que os pes e o melhor.
A came tem um cheiro forte ; mas parece que se pode comer,
e sam tarn amigos d'ella que uma cafra querendo-se baptisar das
priuieiras, porque Ihe disse nao sei quern que nao havia de comer
came de elephante sahiu-se pela porta fora. A carne comem-n'a
nao como homens, mas como lobos esfaimados.
seu trajo falando dos cortezaos (que os outros uma pelle
deante e outra detraz), e um panno dos que elles fazem de algodao
de seis, sete covados em comprido atado pela cinta e uma corda e
obra de meio palmo da corda para cima ou um palmo que depois
cae sobre a corda e o demais que Ihe chega quasi ao chao e umas
espadinhas muito ruins a tiracollo e tarn apertadas que as trazem
debaixo do bra9O ; outros vestem dos nossos parmos que veem da
India ; todos trazem arcos e frechas e zagaias pequenas.
As mulheres vestem um pedapo de panno feito me parece a sua
feicao, nao muito comprido, e sobre estes pannos trazem muitos
ramaes de contas de diversas cores, por deante andam todos
juntos mas por detraz olham de maneira que um anda abaixo
do outro.
Nas cabe?as fazem mil galanterias, rodas, coroas e meias
rapadas; mas as cabepas dos homens nao sam para ver, e por
isso folguei de ver o barrete ao principe, porque uns trazem dez
cornos, outros mais, outros menos, feitos dos cabellos e de pans
, se cumpre.
E os mais galantes trazem dois cornos na cabepa ; os pes d'elles
que sam fundados nos cabellos ametade ajuntam para traz e
ametade para deaute, e entao enxirem-lhes alii dois paus que
quanto se mais vam alevantando se vam desviando as pontas um
do outro, e nas pontas d'elles Ihes poe algum pouco de ouro.
Quizera ao principio que Ih'os tiraramos que me parece fora
cousa facil e o padre D. Goncalo nao quiz porque dizia que Ihe
pareciarn assim muy bem, tendo similhanja de diabos pintados, e
por caridade charissimo que alernbreis que o retabulo do Juizo
que de la pepo, traga diabos com cornos.
Os pannos que vestem jamais os lavam mas untam-se com uin
azeite que cheira muito mal.
72 Becords of South-Eastern Africa.
Os botongas vestem muito peior ; os mais d'elles trazem
commumente meia pelle a banda de traz e no rabo d'ella algumas
gfilanterias, e trazem n'o panno em riba, e uma tira da pelle de
dois dedos em largura que e o lombo que Ihe deixam pendurado
que Ihes chega ao chao e com esta cobrem a parte trazeira
cingindo-se. Com os pes picam-se muito pelo matto. Em outras
partes trazem manilhas de marfim muito grossas ; estas aqui de
cobre, que se estima aqui muito entre elles.
A gente commumente e avilanada ; alguns ha bem as som-
brados, muitos andam encaixados em uma tira de casca de pan
de dois ou tres dedos de largura.
Ja vos disse toda a galauteria d'esta terra ; toda esta disposta
para receber o baptismo. Um portuguez veiu ha quatro dias de
um logar onde diz que disseram estas palavras : velho de Deus
que faz os christaos nao vird cd baptisar-nos ?
Depois que comecei esta carta me vsiu a lingua dizer que
muito de proposito um embaixador de um grande rei que aqni
esta Ihe viera dizer : ora bem, eu hei de dizer a meu senhor esta
cousa, e se pela ventura elle quizer ser christao, e eu aqui tornar
acharei recado para que nos vam 1& baptisar ? Kespondeu-se-lhe
sim, que viesse.
Acabado de se fazer christao um sobrinho d'el-rei assentou-se
com outros christaos e veiu um de sua companhia, que era ainda
gentio querer-se assentar sobre o panno onde elles estavam ;
nunca o consentiu, que o cafre nao se havia de assentar com os
christaos.
Disse-me aqui um dia o padre D. Gonpalo que nenhuma cousa
Ihe aborrecia como um homem devoto e que vos outros estaveis,
n'esse collegio, chiqueiro de figos e rabaos, focando em devocao.
As mais das mulheres, botongas e homens e aqui tambem alguns
vestem a casca de uma arvore de que tambem fazem vasilha para
mantimentos, e tiram-n'a d'esta maneira :
Colhem a arvore e tomam certos paus a feiciio de martellos e
com elles Ihe vam dando e esfolando-e, e com as pancadas so
quebra o rijo e fica a teia de dentro, assim c que tiram para as
vasilhas como nos os cortipos e tecem isto de dentro umas cascas
com outras para se cobrirem de noite.
Esta terra e destemperada ; no verao callidissima ; no inverno
muito fria.
Eu, louvores ao Seuhor, acho-me muito bem e turn consoladn <
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 73
contente que nunca assim o fui. Louvado seja Nosso Senhor !
Os que puder far-lhes-ei a doutrina e encommendar-me-ei muito
em as orapoes de todos.
D'este Otongue a 25 de junho de 1560 annos.
Indigno irmao que em Christo muito vos ama,
ANDRE FERNANDES.
[English translation of the foregoing.]
Letter from the Father ANDRE FERNANDES to the Brother
Luiz FROES at the College of Goa.
Pax Christi.
DEARLY BELOVED BROTHER IN CHRIST, Any other than myself
would expect gratitude for writing to you at such a time, but I
content myself with the consolation I derive from doing so
because of the love I bear you in the Lord. Dear Brother, you
must know that we have already reached Inhambane, which is
the port where we disembark to get here.
When Father Dom Goncalo was out of danger from his illness,
he sent me on before with a message to the king, with four or
five Kaffirs, and I assure you that one of the hardships of my
journey hither on foot was to be obliged to keep up with them for
thirty leagues. I commenced the journey on foot, which is not
usual for the Portuguese, I being the first of the Company to
make this journey.
It was for my own honour to keep up with the Kaffirs, as
otherwise they would not acknowledge my authority.
The dews of this country are very heavy, and drenched me as
if I had been in a river, for the grass is very long and the roads
can only be passed in single file ; but though you have four or
five in front of you, they seem to pass over and not to touch the
grass, and I shook the dew off it, so that my knee began to pain
me and, as they say, it was a burden to me all that night.
It was the time when the beans are ripe in the pod, and as in
my opinion they taste very good we refreshed ourselves with
them. Each pod contains about sixteen beans more or less, and
I was eating them leisurely grain by grain between whiles, but
my good companions swallowed a whole pod full at each mouthful,
74 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
so that I determined to divide with them in that place, and eat
some very slowly, and then gave them what was left.
The country is very flat, and there are many good rivers and
large plains, on which I saw birds resembling storks and others
very white, but I did not observe whether they were swans such
as I have seen in England.
My intention is to give you here an account of everything as
it happened, but as by other letters from the Father you will
have heard the rest I will only tell you the characteristics of the
country and the people.
The country is flat, and there are many rivers which are so
swollen in winter that sometimes they cover the land, and the
people desert the kraals in which they live for others on higher
ground until the flood subsides, which is usually in a few days.
In all the country there are many large hens and fat cows, but
few goats and sheep.
Let us pass over bad lodgings, poor suppers, and worse
dinners, and imagine ourselves at Tongue, the king of which
was overcome with surprise at seeing me so old and journey-
ing on foot. He said 1 was in my own country, and bade me
rest myself.
I was then taken ill with a fever, and the king sent to visit
me. His sons were with me for a long time, during which I
taught them that we all hare a soul, and that Grod created it and
all other things. They were extremely pleased, and invited me
to come and make them Christians together with many others.
This king is a very good man for a Kaffir, well inclined and of
discretion, a great man and very well known and loved by his
neighbours and even by those at a great distance.
He has four sons, two of them of very goodly presence, and all
of good condition and great stature.
All these people received baptism with great good will ; the
Commandments please them very much, and all the other things
which they talk of and discuss among themselves ; they easily
abandon their errors in believing in fates and auguries.
The women show great devotion to the image of our Lady
and all the other images, and they doubt nothing which they
are told, but believe it all as certainly as if they knew it to be
the fact.
No man in whatever station employs himself in agriculture,
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 75
the women are the labourers and provide the house with what is
necessary.
At this moment the prince came to see me, and asked me for
a cap, as he was going to cut his hair. I gave him that which I
had on my head, which he put on yesterday in honour of St. John,
and I taught him the Christian doctrine or part of it.
I return to my letter. These people do whatever they are told
so long as they are well paid ; they are peaceful when they do
not drink, and very domesticated and friendly ; some of those of
higher rank, such as those of the royal house, do not act as I
have said.
Some of them employ themselves in killing elephants, and
fathers immediately set a mark upon their sons to show that they
belong to the race of elephant killers. They hunt the elephant
in the following manner :
A hundred or a hundred and fifty Kaffirs assemble, each with
an axe in his hand, and seek them in the jungle where they are
found herded together according to their habit ; then they drive
them through the jungle, which is usually very thick in the parts
they frequent, and through which they have cleared a passage
and cannot penetrate it in other parts, so that when they are
thus taken in the jungle they can only proceed in single file, and
must follow the path without deviation, so that the Kafirs come
up to each in turn and strike with their axes at both feet if
possible, or if not at one, and at the least wound the weight of
their bodies breaks their feet and they fall.
A few of them suffice to eat a whole elephant. The trunk,
which is the choicest part, is sent to the king, and they say that
after the trunk the feet are the best. The meat has a strong
smell, but seems eatable, and they are so fond of it that a Kaffir
woman who wished to be baptized among the first, being told by
I know not whom that she would not be allowed to eat elephant's
flesh, walked straight out of the house. They do not eat the flesh
like men, but like famished wolves.
Their dress, speaking of the courtiers, (for the rest a skin of an
animal in front and another at the back), is a piece of calico of
that which is made seven ells in length, tied round the waist with
a cord, about half a handsbreadth or a handsbreadth falls over the
cord and the lower end almost touches the ground. They wear
very bad small swords slung crosswise on their shoulders, and tied
76 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
so tightly that they are hidden under their arms. Others dress
in our pieces of cloth which come from India. All carry bows
and arrows and small assagais.
The women wear a piece of cloth which I think suited to them,
it is not very long, and over it they wear many strings of different
coloured beads twisted together in front, and arranged to fall one
below the other at the back. They wear all sorts of finery, such
as crowns and circlets, on their heads, which are half shaved,
but the men's heads are not fit to be seen, which is the reason
that I rejoiced to see the prince wear a cap, for some of them
wear ten horns on their heads, others less, made with their hair
and pieces of stick.
The gallants wear two horns on their heads, of which the
foundation is made by dividing the hair, bringing half to the
front and half at the back, and then they stick in two pieces of
wood, and the higher they are the more the points stand away
from each other ; these points are decorated with a little gold.
The prince wished us to remove his, which seemed to me an
easy matter, but Father Dom Gonjalo would not, saying that
he thought it looked very well so, though resembling painted
devils, and of your charity, beloved brother, let the picture of the
Judgment which I have asked for contain devils with horns.
They never wash the cloths which they wear, and they anoint
themselves with oil which has a very evil smell.
The dress of the Botongas is much worse. Most of them wear
half a skin at the back, the tail of which is ornamented with
finery, and also the piece of cloth they wear about it, and a strip
of the skin about two fingers wide which they leave hanging to
the back, and which reaches to the ground, they tie round them
and cover themselves at the back. Their feet get scratched
among the briars. In some parts they wear heavy iron bracelets,
here they are of copper, and are much esteemed among them.
The people are mostly ill-favoured, but some are handsome.
Many go about only covered with a strip of bark of the width of
two or three fingers.
Now I have told you all about the finery of this land. They
are all disposed to receive baptism. A Portuguese came here four
days ago from a kraal where he heard these words, " Will not the
old man of God who makes Christians come and baptize us ? "
After I had begun this letter the interpreter came to tell me
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 77
"very opportunely that the ambassador of a great king who is here
came and said to him : Now I must tell my master of these
things, and if by chance he should wish to be a Christian, shall
I return and bring a message for you to come and baptize us ? I
answered, yes, that he might come.
A nephew of the king's newly made a Christian was seated with
other Christians, and seeing one of his company, who was still a
heathen, about to seat himself on the piece of cloth on which they
were sitting, he would not allow it, because a Kaffir should not sit
among Christians.
One day Father Dom Gonpalo told me here that he abhorred
nothing so much as an (inactive) devout man, and that all of you
were rooting in devotion in that college, a sty of diseased and
docked.
Most of the Botonga women and men, and some here, wear the
bark of a tree, of which they also make vessels for their provi-
sions, they strip it in the following manner : They choose a tree,
and take wooden cudgels like hammers and with them beat and
strip the tree, and by the blows the hard part is broken and the
inside remains, which is what they use for their vessels as we do
cork, and they weave other pieces of the bark inside this and use
it to cover themselves at night.
This country has an intemperate climate, in summer it is very
hot, in the winter very cold.
I (thanks be to God) find myself very well here, with more
consolation and contentment than I have ever felt before. Praise
be to God ! I will instruct all those I can, and recommend myself
to the prayers of all.
From Otongue, 25th of June 1560.
An unworthy brother who loves you well in Christ,
ANDRE FERNANDES.
Carta do Padre ANDRE FERNANDES para os Padres e Irmaos do
Collegio de Goa.
Jesus.
Charissimos em Christo irmaos. A grapa e amor do Espirito
Santo seja sempre em nossas almas. Amen.
Pelo amor que em Christo vos tenho a todos me fora singular
78 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
consolafao poder-vos escrever a cada um uma carta ; mas pois o
tempo me nao ajuda tome cada um de vos esta por sua.
De Chaul vos escrevi como nossa partida era a 2 de Janeiro e
assim foi que entao nos sahimos e surgimos um pouco ao mar por
esperar por outro navio do capitao que havia de ir comnosco, e
sobreveiu tanto vento que nao poude sahir e nos esperamos por
elles tres dias nos quaes o vento cresceu tanto que os fez cair
sobre uma estacada.
Ainda que estavamos bem arnarrados por menos freio demos
entao a vela, levando as anchoras que pudemos e as que nilo
alargamos por mao ; mas como aquelle vento reinasse mais ao
longo da costa, como fomos no golfao o sentimos menos, e mais
favoravel.
E assim fomos ate Mozambique somente senao ja perto achamos
algumas calmarias, e uma noite de vento rijo contrario, e ao outro
dia entramos em Mozambique, que foram a 4 de fevereiro que foi
uma terca feira e a segunda seguinte estavamos ja la aviados do
todo, porque o padre nao quiz ir d'ali ate Sofala no navio do
capitao, senao em um zambuco, onde nem para assentado, nem em
pe, nem lancado tinha homem logar.
E posto que eu disse ao padre o trabalho e o perigo que era
navegar em tal embarcacao, parece que pelos grandes desejos que
tinha de ver-se n'elles todavia quiz que fossemos n'elle e certifico-
vos charissimos que sempre n'elle estava cancado, e porque alem
da falta do logar para se homem acomodar n'elle, bolia tanto que
acrescentava o trabalho.
Sendo aviados como digo sobreveiu uma tormenta tarn grande
que esteve em risco muitas vezes de se perder como fizeram outros
alii no porto.
Acabada nos partimos ainda com o tempo nao estar assentado e
como era ja fora de monpao sos dois dias tivemos de tempo, d'ahi
por deante muitas chuvas e ventos por devante, e quasi todos
estavamos a elles senao quern se queria metter em parte que eu
tinha por melhor molhar-me.
Entrou a quaresma e nos estavamos mal apercebidos de peixe,
tinhamos porem arroz, mauteiga, mel e feijoes. O padre e o innao
comiam dos feijoes e arroz ; mas desde que vi que me nao bastava
uma escudella pedi duas, porque como digo perdi o apetite ao
arroz.
Assim fomos alguns dias caminhando com algumas bufugrns
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 79
que nos vinham do mar quando eram aguas mortas, todavia o
irmao Andre da Costa porque tinha mais trabalho nao poude com
o jejum comendo tarn mal e disse-m'o, e eu o disse ao padre que
d'alli por deante comesse carne e nao jejuasse nenhum dia.
D'esta maneira chegamos a Sofala onde estivemos cinco dias
nos quaes o irmao foi nmito bem curado e aproveitou-lhe muito.
D'alli nos partimos e logo a poucos dias se achou o padre muito
mal e nao podia menos ser segundo o trabalho e o pouco comer e
parece-me se a viagem durara mais oito dias morrera o padre
segundo cada dia se debilitava mais. Mas quiz Nosso Senhor
abreviar-nos a viagem e chegamos a terra ao logar de Inhambane
onde achamos cinco portuguezes fazendo fazenda d'el-rei e o
capitao d'elles muito doente.
Depois em terra se achou o padre ainda alguns dias muito mal
e o irmao muito bem. Alii me disse o padre o dia que chegamos
que foi uma quintafeira que nao se jejuasse ; mas logo a sexta me
disse que pois Nosso Senhor me dava forcas para isso que o fizesse
ate se acabar a quaresma, de que ja tinhamos pouco.
Eu fui enfermeiro do padre que como se viu fora de perigo me
mandou com recado a este rei em companhia de quatro cafres.
E partimos sabbado a tarde vespera de Ramos ; os quaes cafres
sam incansaveis, e dizem que andam aquelle caminho que sam
trinta leguas em dois dias e uma noite sem parar.
Me puz com estes ao caminho e aos primeiros passos me
comecaram a tomar os sapatos que eram novos, e conveiu-me
aquelle dia caminhar descalco porque os companheiros nao davam
logar a cortar nem bater.
Este caminho nao se acostuma andar-se a pe dos portuguezes ;
mas eu por ser o primeiro da companhia que p passava nao n'o
quiz por em foro de cavallo.
Assim caminhamos aquella tarde um grande pedaco de caminho
no qual eu quizera levar no pensamento o preparamento da sesta
do outro dia, e trabalhei por isso alguma cousa e digo minha culpa
porque em mim nao se compadeceu caminhar rijo e olhar onde
punha os pes e cuidar no que digo.
Assim chegamos a um logar muito pequeno e muito sombrio
antes que fosse de noite e emquanto o xeque com os companheiros
negociavam a pousada me sentei e tirei o breviario da manga e o
puz ahi perto de mim, ao redor do qual se ajuntou muita gente,
que muito embebidos e maravilhados olhavam para elle.
80 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Quando os en assim vi determine! mostrar-lh'o e tomando-o
abri e com o dedo pollegar Ihe corri as folhas muito rijo e
fizeram um espanto, que me deram a entender que o tiveram por
cousa viva.
E depois me fui para uma casa que o xeque me despejou a
sua e me trouxe dos feijoes verdes e uma gamela de massa de
meixoeira devia ser, e os feijoes cosidos; soube-me tarn bem
aquillo de que comi, que me occorreu ser demasiado o trabalho de
temperar e misturar.
Ao domingo que foi ao outro dia madruguei e cortei dos sapatos
o que me fazia nojo. Quizera logo que nos partiramos e elles
disseram que ainda entao andavam os elephantes por onde nos
haviamos de ir. Todavia como foi de dia nos partimos e a orvalhada
era tamanha e tarn fria que era cousa maravilhosa, de sorte que
me orvalhei como se me chovera muita agua e da frialdade do
orvalhado me comefou logo a doer um joelho, que todo o caminho
me deu muito trabalho.
Assim fomos nossas jornadas e em cada logar davamos alguma
cousa do que levavamos e elles a nos tambem do que tinham.
Pelo caminho achavamos muitas ribeiras, que segundo as
horas eram, assim me apraziam ou descontentavam. Sempre
levava um cabaco com agua, e muitas vezes os cafres andavam
tarn rijo e a calma grande e com o meu joelho que o sentia
trabalhadissimo e affligido e chamava por Nossa Senhora que
me ajudasse.
E certo ajudava segundo minha disposifao e pressa dos com-
panheiros. Sem seu favor nao nos aturara; mas guardava-me
muito de sentirem elles em mim alguma i'raqueza porque se a
sentiram fizeram-me o que costumam, S.* em vendo um cancado
ou doente dizem-lhe que Ihe de do que leva, S. contas ou roupas
a sua vontade e senao que o deixarao.
E o padre D. Gonpalo Ihe custou bem sua vinda por nao poder
caminhar a pe, que o punham no chao e pediam-lhe, e dava-lhes
porque nao podia mais.
E por esta rasao me houve sempre com elles e assim os mandava.
Um dia noite se vieram a mim que tinham um negocio coinmigo,
o qual era pedir-me e isto alem de Ihes pagardes e dardes muito
bem de comer.
Eu Ihes disse que nao eram horas de negocio senao de dormir.
* Scillicet.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 81
Ao outro dia pela calma na metade de um bosque onde se
assentaram e me disseram que Ihes desse o que Ihes promettera a
noite. Eu Ihes disse que nao Ihes promettera nada, somente Ihes
respondera que era tempo de dormir e nao de negocio, agora que
vissem o queriam.
Respond eram que contas, que me nao escusasse, e eu Ihes disse
que ja Ihes tinha muito bem pago e Ihes fazia muito boa
companhia pelo caminho, que nenhuma cousa mais Ihes havia
de dar.
Elles que sim ; eu que nao, ate que houveram seu conselho de
caminharem e nao me pedirem mais nada ate que chegamos, que
foi Quarta Feira de Trevas as oito ou nove horas do dia.
Nao pude logo falar a el-rei e agasalhei-me em casa da lingua,
e depois que comemos me veiu frio e febre.
Ao outro dia fui a el-rei que me mostrou folgar ver-me e
maravilhou-se sendo tarn velho andar tanto caminho a pe e em
tarn poucos dias.
Disse-lhe como vinha por mandado de outro padre que ficava
na praia esperando por sua resposta e disse-lhe ao que vinhamos,
S. a ensinar-lhe a conhecer a Deus que nos creou e fez todas as
cousas.
Respondeu-me que vinhamos luscar nossa terra e a achdramos,
e logo mandou gente que fossem buscar ao padre.
Tornei-me este mesmo dia. Depois que de la vim me mandou
dois dentes de marfim que com sua licenca dei ao lingua.
Tornou-me aquelle dia frio e febre e cada vez eram maiores,
mandou-me el-rei visitar e dizer-me que se quizesse ir para a
praia que me mandaria gente que me levasse ; mas eu tinha
mandado do padre que ahi o esperasse. Quando vi todavia que
as febres iam por diante puz-me em dieta, S. canja de milho com
agua e sal que nao havia outra cousa.
Sangrou-me duas vezes o meu hospede que por sua habilidade
aprendeu para similhantes pressas e depois de estar assim alguns
dias comecei a sentir estar no chao. E vendo elle que me tinha
por muito enfermo e arreceava que morresse Ihe disse que sentia
muito estar assim a par do chao que por amor de Deus que me
mandasse cortar umas poucas de junpas para lanpar debaixo da
esteira.
Fel-o logo e tarn seguras que dantes nao Ih'as pedi porque
arreoeei desedifical-o. Assim com dieta estive desde sexta feira
II. U
82 Records of South- Eastern Africa.
ate a seguinte que senti menos as febres e maior a fraqueza, e
pedi-lhe que me mandasse fazer uma franga cosida.
Como comi carne comecei logo a tomar forpas, e certo que este
homem o que poude me fez de muito boa vontade e mostrava
pezar-lhe em extreme de minha enfermidade, e queria-me consolar
e admoestar a paciencia com que Ihe parecia convir para o tal
tempo.
Alguns d'estes dias vinham ver-me alguns filhos d'el-rei e cada
dia um pouco Ihes fiz entender como havia Deus que creara todas
as cousas e tinhamos almas e que haviamos de resuscitar.
Em extreme folgaram sabel-o e convidaram-se-me elles e outros
muitos para serem christaos ; mas eu nao quiz baptisar nenhum
sem o padre, que depois chegou debilitadissimo do cam mho, e
assim mesmo o irmao Andre da Costa e o mofo que trazia
comsigo.
Como se aquietou na terra comecou~se a achar alguma cousa
melhor, ainda que todo o tempo que aqui esteve Ihe durou sua
fraqueza.
N'este passo vieram aqui dois filhos d'el-rei, e porque nao
viessem debalde deixei de escrever e fiz-lhes a doutrina, e agora
aoto a obra.
Como houve tempo foi o padre falar a el-rei, e mostrou muito
contentamento ; deu-nos logo licenca que pudessemos baptisar os
que se quizessem fazer christaos dos seus, e a elles para que o
fossem.
Logo se baptisaram muitos e d'ahi a poucos dias elle e seus
filhos primeiro, e assim de mano en mano a casa toda e povo, e os
mais do reino estam esperando por nos.
Tenho esperanpa em Nosso Senhor segundo estes mostram
aprazer-lhes as cousas nossas, como a doutrina christa, especial-
mente como chega a mandamento.
E apraz-lhes tanto isto que os que o ouvem o vam dizer aos
outros e disputam sobre isso como aconteceu que um fez nao sei
que desaguisado a outro pequeno e elles disputavam entre si, se
aquelle amava ao proximo como a si mesmo, e outras mostras
muitas de serein muito bons christaos.
E nao tarn somente os d'este reino querem ser christaos, mas
ainda os vizinhos d'elle e por isso charissimos aparelhar que
sabeis que ha aqui messe para muitos obreiros.
As nmlhcres tambein sam muito devotas e vam niuitas vezes a
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 83
egreja ver as imagens, do que gostam nmito, especialmente de
Nossa Senhora.
Nosso Senhor nos de a todos a sua grapa. Encommendo-me
nas orapoes de todos.
D'este Otongue a 26 de junho de 1560.
Servo inutil,
ANDRE FERN ANDES.
[English translation of the foregoing.]
Letter from Father ANDRE FERNANDES to the Fathers and Brothers
of the College of Goa.
Jesus.
BELOVED BROTHERS IN CHRIST, The grace and love of the
Holy Ghost be ever in our souls. Amen.
By the love I bear you all in Christ it would be a great con-
solation to me to write to each of you separately, but as time
will not allow me to do so, let each of you count this letter as
his own.
From Chaul I wrote to you that our departure was fixed for
the 2nd of January. We set out on that day, and anchored a
little at sea to wait for another of the captain's ships which was
to go with us, and such a wind arose that they could not set
out, and we waited for them three days, during which the wind
increased so much that they were driven against a palisade.
Though we were well moored, to offer less resistance we set
sail, raising what anchors we could, and the others we left, but
that wind prevailing farther along the coast, when we were in the
gulf we felt it less and it was more favourable.
Thus we reached Mozambique, but before this, being near it,
we experienced several calms, and one night there was a strong
contrary wind. The next day we entered Mozambique, which
was on the fourth of February on a Tuesday, and two days
afterwards we were already provided with everything, for the
Father would not go to Sofala in the captain's ship, but in a
zambuco where there is no room for a man to stand, sit, or lie
down.
And though I represented to the Father the hardship and
danger of travelling in such a craft, it seems that his desire of
G 2
84 Records of South- Eastern Africa.
finding himself in one was such that he still wished we should
go in it, and I assure you, beloved brethren, that while in it I
was always weary, for besides the want of room for any man to be
comfortable, it tossed so that it increased the hardship.
Being ready to start, as I have said, there arose such a tempest
that it was in great danger of being lost, as were other craft in
the port.
The storm being over we set out, though the weather was still
unsettled, and as it was already past the monsoon, we had only
two days fair weather, and after that much rain and wind, and
most of us were exposed to it, except those who chose to shelter
in such a place that I thought it preferable to get wet.
Lent began, and we were ill provided with fish, but we had
rice, butter, honey, and beans. The father and brother ate the
rice and beans, but when I found that one basin of the latter was
not sufficient for me I asked for two, because as I said I lost my
appetite for rice.
Thus we journeyed for some days with light winds which came
from the sea during the neap-tides. Then brother Andre da
Costa, because he had to endure most hardship, could not hold
out any longer, because of the fasting and bad diet, and he told
me so, and I told the Father, who bade him eat meat thence-
forward and not fast any day.
In this way we reached Sofala, where we remained five days,
during which the Brother was well cared for and grew much
better.
We set out again, and in a few days the Father fell very ill,
which could not well be otherwise, considering the hardships and
scanty food. It seems to me that if the voyage had lasted more
than eight days the Father would have died, for he grew weaker
every day. But our Lord was pleased to shorten the voyage,
and we arrived at the place called Inharnbane, where we found
five Portuguese trading for the king, and their captain very ill.
For a few days after landing the Father was still very sick and
the Brother very well. On the day of our arrival, which was a
Thursday, the Father told me not to fast, but on Friday he said
that since our Lord had given me strength to do so I should fast
till the end of Lent, which was very near.
J was the Father's nurse, and when he found himself out of
danger he sent me with a message to this king, in company with
Becords of South-Eastern Africa. 85
four Kaffirs. We set out on Saturday afternoon, the eve of Palm
Sunday. The Kaffirs are indefatigable, and they say that they
make the journey, which is thirty leagues, in two days and a
night, without stopping.
I set out with these companions, and after the first few steps,
my shoes, which were new, began to pinch me, so that 1 was
obliged to walk barefoot that day, because my companions did
not give me time to cut or beat them.
It is not usual for the Portuguese to make this journey on foot,
but being the first of the Company who made it, I did not wish
to set the precedent of going on horseback.
We travelled a good distance that afternoon, and on the road
I endeavoured to bear in mind the preparation for the next day's
feast, but I confess myself in fault therein, for it was not possible
to attend to it properly while travelling hard and taking care
where I put down my foot.
Thus we reached a very small and shaded kraal before nightfall,
and while the chief was arranging with my companions for our
lodging, I sat down and took my breviary out of my sleeve and
laid it down beside me, and a crowd of the people gathered round
it, who were very drunk and eyed it with astonishment. Seeing
them thus, I determined to show it to them, and taking it up I
ran the leaves over quickly with my thumb, and they were so
frightened that I perceived they thought it was alive.
After this I went into a house belonging to the chief which
was given to me, and he brought me some green beans and a
bowl of what must have been a paste of meixoeira, and beans
boiled, and this food seemed to me so good that it occurred to
me that mixing and seasoning was a waste of time.
The next day, which was Sunday, I rose at dawn, and cut the
shoes where they hurt me. I then wished to start, but they said
the elephants were still about in the places through which we
must pass. However, as soon as it was broad daylight we set out,
and the dew was so heavy and so cold that it was marvellous. I
was as drenched with it as if it had rained heavily, and the
coldness of it gave me a pain in my knee, which troubled me
greatly during the whole journey.
Thus we travelled day by day, and at every kraal we gave
them some of what we carried with us, and they gave us of what
they had.
86 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
We found many rivers on the road, which pleased or vexed me
according to the time of day. I always carried a gourd full of
water, and often the Kaffirs walked so fast, and the heat was so
great, and also the pain in my knee, that I found it very hard,
and in my affliction I called upon the Lord to help me. And He
certainly assisted me, for considering my condition and the haste
of my companions, without His help I could not have kept up
with them, but I was careful not to let them see any sign of
weakness in me, for I knew that if they did they would treat me
according to their usual custom when they see anyone ill or
overcome with fatigue, which is to demand whatever he has,
either beads, or cloth, according to their pleasure, or else they
threaten to leave him.
And Father Dom Gon?alo's journey cost him a great deal, for
he could not come on foot, and they placed him on the ground
and made their demands, to which he was forced to accede,
because he could go no farther.
For this reason I always kept up with them, and thus retained
my authority. One night they came and said they had business
with me, which proved to be some further demand besides their
pay and good food which I had given them. I said it was the
time to sleep and not to transact business. The next day during
the heat, being seated in the middle of a wood, they asked me
for what I had promised them in the night. I told them that I
had promised them nothing, but had only answered that it was
time to sleep and not to attend to business, but now what did
they want? They asked for beads, and would take no excuse.
I said that I had paid them well and been a good travelling
companion, and that I would give them nothing else. They
insisted, so did I, until they took counsel together and continued
the journey, and asked me for nothing further till we arrived at
our destination, which was on Wednesday in Holy Week about
eight or nine in the morning.
I could not speak with the king at once, and lodged in the
house of the interpreter, where after dinner I was seized with
chills and fever.
The next day I went to the king, who showed great pleasure
at seeing me, and marvelled that being so old I had come so far
on foot and in so few days.
I told him that I came by the command of another Father,
Eecords of South-Eastern Africa. 87
who had remained on the shore waiting for his reply, and also
the reason of our coming, namely to teach him to know God who
made us and who is the Creator of all things.
He told me that we had come to seek our country and had
found it, and he then sent some of his people to fetch the Father.
I returned the same day, and when I had left him he sent me
two ivory tusks, which with his leave I gave to the interpreter.
The same day the chills and fever attacked me again, and
grew worse each day. The king sent to visit me, and told me
that if I wished to return to the shore he would send some of his
people to carry me thither ; but I had orders from the Father to
await his coming here. When I saw that the fever increased I
placed myself on a diet, namely over boiled millet with salt and
water, for there was nothing else.
My host bled me twice, he having learned how to do so in such
emergencies ; and after a few days I began to feel lying on the
ground very much. Seeing that I was very weak he feared I
would die. I told him that I suffered much from lying on the
ground, and begged him for the love of God to procure some
rushes to spread under my mat. He .did so at once, and be
assured I did not ask for them before for fear of setting a bad
example to him. I remained thus on diet from that Thursday to
the following, when feeling less fever and greater weakness, I
asked him to order me a boiled chicken.
After I had eaten meat I began to regain strength, and
certainly this man showed me great good-will and seemed
extremely grieved at my illness, and tried to console me and
.admonish me to the patience befitting such a time.
During those days some of the king's sons came to see me, and
each day I instructed them a little, that there was a God who
created all things, that we have souls, and shall rise from the
dead.
They rejoiced to hear it, and they and many others invited me
to make them Christians, but I would not baptize any before the
Father's arrival. He afterwards arrived, very weak from the
journey, and Brother Andre da Costa and the young man they
brought with them in the same condition.
When he had rested here he began to feel a little better,
though his weakness lasted during the whole of his stay.
Just now two sons of the king came here, and that their visit
88 Beeords of South-Eastern Africa.
might not be in vain I left off my writing and instructed them,
and now I inform you of the incident.
When the Father had time he went to speak to the king, who
showed great satisfaction ; he gave us permission to baptize all
those of his people who wished to be Christians, and to them
permission to become Christians.
Many of them were then baptized, and a few days afterwards
first the king himself and his sons, and then one by one the
whole of his household and those of the kraal, and most of those
in the kingdom are waiting for us.
I hope in our Lord, from the pleasure they take in our teaching
the Christian doctrine, especially the Commandment. This
pleases them so much that those who hear it repeat it to others,
and they discuss the point, when it happened that one of them
did I know not what wrong to a little one, they disputed among
themselves whether he loved his neighbour as himself; from
this and many other signs I hope they will prove very good
Christians.
And not only those of this kingdom wish to be Christians, but
also those of the neighbouring kingdoms, and therefore beloved
brethren prepare, and know that here is a great harvest for many
labourers.
The women are also very devout and frequently visit the
church to see the pictures, which they are very fond of, especially
that of our Lady.
Our Lord give us all his grace. I commend myself to the
prayers of all.
From Otongue the 26th of June 1560.
The unprofitable Servant,
ANDRE FERNANDES.
Carta do Padre DOM GONALO DA SILVEIRA para os Padres e
Irmaos no Collegio de Goa.
Lembra-me irmaos em Ihuxpo amados que na quo d'aqui
escrevi por Francisco Barreto vos prometti certo brinco que
pratiquei, na caravella vindo de la, de louvores da Madre de
Deus nao poude ser mais brinco e graca que palavras e imagina-
coes do uma alma tao imperfeita acerca da altissima Virgcin.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 89
Melhor vos satisfarei em vos fazer a saber o que Deus quiz
obrar em nos n'aquellas almas para cuja redempcao a sen creador
a obediencia nos envioti, e comeco do derradeiro que folgareis
mais de ouvir. Grapas ao bom Jesu e a sempre virgem sempre
santa Maria sua madre el-rei de Tongue que e o que vinhamos
buscar recebou o sagrado bautismo e a rainna dona Isabel, todos
seus filhos e filhas e as mulheres primeiras que tern apartadas,
todos os grandes de sua corte e parentes que n'ella andam e quasi
todo aquelle logar do Tongue onde el-rei reside e todos de muy
boa vontade sem pedirem nada nem Ih'o darem.
Eu a minha passada pelo caminho de Tongue ate a praia do
porto onde me havia de embarcar para tornar a Mozambique
bautisei xeques que sam como regulos de seus logares ; estes sam
botongas e os do Tongue Mocarangas e assim que sine baculo
transivimus Jordanem et ecee cum duabus turmis regredimur.
O padre Andre Fernandes e o irmao Andre da Costa ficam ja
comepando a egreja e casa da invocapao da Assumppao da Madre
de Deus.
Eu trouxe em minha companhia um filho de outro rei maior
que o convertido para se fazer christao aqui em Mopambique, e
seu pae ja la dizia que o queria ser ; mas cremos esta seguro para
o anno e pareceu ao presente acudir ao que boamente pedimos.
E segundo minha somma bautisaria ate a minha embarcapao
450 xpaos e quasi todos do Tongue ou tarn junto que se poude
facilmente grangear, e fazia ao caso bautisar alguma copia junta
e logo porque este gentio e como creanpas que se querem juntas e
saltarn uns apoz outros, e tambem que parecem creanpas quanto
aos impedimentos do entendimento para receber a fe porque
nenhum tern nenhum genero de idolo nem culto que parepa de
idolatria.
Teem um Deus ao qual chamam Umbe ; teem a alma que vive
depois da morte e a pena, ou recebe premio e segundo a malicia
ou bondade e assim Ihes quadram muito os nossos artigos e
mandamentos. E estes erros alcanpamos os poucos dias que alii
estive : o 1. muitas mulheres, posto que muitos teem uma nao
mais e o que se sente e que os honrados por honra teem muitas
mulheres assim como nos muitos escravos porque assim se servem
d'ellas ; o 2. superstipoes de sortes e feitipos, e acerca dos mortos
ha algumas abusoes, como deixarem a casa do morto e outras
cousas que trazem ao pescopo e fazem que elles chamam mezinha
90 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
que sam superstifoes ; o 3., jurarem assoprando no rostro uns dos
outros, este e seu juramento e nao por Deus ; 4., quando morre
o irmao d'algum sem filho tomar o outro irmao a mulher por sua ;
o 5. e dos botongas proprio que e circumcisao o qual dizem que
Ihes ficou do um mouro honrado que ha tempos foi ter por alii ;
mas elles nao teem lei de mouro nem mais culto divino que os
mocarangas, e falo dos botongas d'aquella terra de Inhambane e
da praia que dizem caminho de Mocaranga.
Assim uns como outros nos mostravam grande facilidade para
receberem a f e e parece que estes abusos e outros como nao sam
fundados em ruim disposipao do entendimento acerca de idolos
nem teem homens que Ihes tratem do culto dos idolos como os
mouros parece que se Ihes tirarao asinha e com pouco trabalho
com ajuda de Dens.
Acerca da extensao d'estas partes porque o anno passado nao
nos informaram distinctamente d'ellas, e por isso tambem nas
cartas de Portugal foi confuso, folgareis de saber a propriedade
d'aquelles limites.
O Inhambane nao e a terra onde nos assentamos mas e o nome
do porto onde desembarcam os portuguezes e estam seus navios
quando vam a fazer seus tratos de marfim, ambar, etc., e chama-
se este porto Inhambane ou dinhambane porque esta logo pela
terra dentro um logar a que chamam Inhambane.
Aqui tambem fiz uns oito christaos quasi todos segundo a
edade e disposigao da alma innocentes, pepo-vos irmaos uma
Ave-Maria o dia que esta lerdes, para elles por um especial
respeito.
Nao vos posso pintar este porto dinhambane como peda?o da
terra, que tern de uma banda onde temos nossa estancia os portu-
guezes, quam ameno, sadio, solitario, edificado de arvores fermo-
sissimas ; o logar mais opportune para devapao que vi ; umas
relvas todo o miradouro do mar.
D'este porto se vae dar navegando d'aqui ao de Sofala, e este
remanso e rio do porto ; d'ahi a duas ou tres leguas ou menos se
acaba e sume de modo que se passa por um ribeiro de agua doce
pequeno e a mao esquerda d'elle indo de ca fica este sitio que digo
tao glorioso.
Da mao direita do rio da outra banda ha logares de muitas
laranjas, liinoes e cidraes e outras frescuras, e esta terra aqui e
muito abastada, sadia, fresca ; da outra banda do rio nao. Do
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 91
Inhambane se segue o caminho de Tongue que sera perto de
30 leguas do porto por terra.
O Tongue e metropole da Gamba que nos viemos a reduzir e
chama-se rei do Tongue o qual Tongue carece de refrescos de
limoes, figos, hortalice, etc., mas tern boas carnes em abastanpa ;
nao e sadia mas pode-se viver bem la, n'ella teem provisao boa de
ca e com ajuda de Deus rios e arvoredos nao Ihe falta. Isto me
parece distinguir porque pode servir para a copia para o reino
d'esta relacao se for, e tambem para os que teem fervor de vir
para estas partes.
*****
A mim me deu tres ou quatro jornadas de Inhambane antes de
chegarmos a Inhambane uns frios e febres que eu me aparelhei
para morrer a segunda ou terceira sasao.
O dia que entramos em Inhambane eu estive so em vida e
quasi morto e por tal me del de um accidente que me afogava ; a
cura que Ihe fiz foi ; tomei um dos portuguezes que la estavam
antes que nos fossemos e fui-me para o matto com elle e Ihe disse
que me relevava correr para mitigar um agastamento de que
morria.
Eu resuei, assentou-se-me o accidente e repousei e ficou-me o
afrontamento com o exercicio e com rasao e d'aqui at6 sabbado
vespera de Eamos tive fortissimas sezoes e tambem ordenei d'alma
para passar d'esta vida. E ate este tempo nao tinhamos nenhuma
entrada nem dado de nos no Tongue que nos affligia muito porque
ia envelhecendo nosso intento que fora grande impedimento para
se fazer depois nada.
Tratamos o padre Andre Fernandes e eu de que elle fosse ao
Tongue a principiar nosso negocio com el-rei e que soubesse que
nao iamos por minha doenca. Todavia entao nao n'o alarguei
porque temia de morrer cada dia quando vi que as sezoes iam por
diante de o enviar diante ficando a merce de Deus e o irmao Andre
da Costa ; quiz Deus que o sabbado a tarde tendo uma febre e frio
arresoado fui-me ao pe de uma arvore, quando tornei vim sem ella
e d'alli comecei a convalescer e nao me vieram sezoes mais e
ainda pude dizer missa dia de Ramos e toda a semana santa fiz os
officios aos portuguezes que ahi cabiam.
O padre Andre Fernandes do caminho que foi a pe" e mui
apressado porque elle quiz, encommendando-lhe que tomasse
cafres que o levassem, e chegando ao Tongue dam-lhe umas
92 Records of South-Eastern Africa. .
febres muito perigosas que ate minha partida o tiveram mui
maltratado.
O irmao Andre da Costa de Mozambique at6 Sofala descobriu
os principios e signaes de asthma e veio mui fraco ; em Inham-
bane quiz Deus que convalescia eu ja, deu-lhe um accidente de
asthma que esteve ido de todo e para o transito se apparelhou,
quiz Deus que se affrouxou : ficaram-lhe sasoes rijas, tambem con-
valesceu a tempo que pude eu e elle juntar-nos com o padre Andre
Fernandes no Tongue mas la achou-se tarn mal que eu o tornei a
enviar a praia por ser mais sadia, aonde chegou quasi morto mas
tornou a guarecer-se de modo que me atrevi a deixal-o para
acompanhar o padre Andre Fernandes ; espero em Deus que Ihe
ha de dar forcas.
* * * * *
padre Andre Fernandes e o irmao Andr6 da Costa ficam com
sua ordem para ministrarem aquella nova egreja e de suaves
esperanjas e ricos fructos porque todas aquellas terras alem do
Tongue ficam abaladas para entrarem no curral divino.
Vos com vossas devocoes assignaes e multiplicaes ; para isso
esforcae-vos e tereis parte na vindima como creio a tendes e muy
grande no prantar da vinha, porque pois nos ontros todos nos
achamos tarn debiles, signal e que nos haviamos de por as vides
e outros as plantavam, e de mini agora em particular vos encar-
regae, pois que so me vou a Menomotapa oude dizem que o diabo
tern grossos gadanhos. Jesus Christo nos faca todos instrumentos
dignos de salvacao de suas almas. Amen.
A 9 de agosto de 1560 de Mozambique.
f [English translation of the foregoing.]
Letter from the Father DOM GON^ALO SILVEIRA to the Fathers
and Brothers of the College at Goa.
1 remember, beloved Brothers in Jesus Christ, that in the letter
which I sent by Francisco Barreto I promised you a certain
discourse which I made in the caravel, during the passage, in
praise of the Mother of God, but it could be no more ornament
and grace to her than the words and imaginations of a soul so
imperfect towards the most high Virgin.
It will be a greater satisfaction to you to learn what God was
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 93
pleased to work by our means in those souls for the redemption
of which to their Creator obedience sent us here, and I begin
with the last occurrence, which will rejoice you most to hear.
Thanks to the good Jesus and the ever-virgin holy Mary, his
mother, the king of Tongue (which was the end we came to seek)
received holy baptism, and the queen Dona Isabel, all his sons
and daughters, the wives he had at first whom he has put aside,
all the nobles of his court, all his relations who are there, and
nearly all in Tongue where the king resides, and all with great
good-will, without asking or receiving anything in return.
On the road from Tongue to the port where I was to embark
to return to Mozambique, I baptized some chiefs who are like
petty kings of their kraals. These are Botongas, and those of
Tongue Mocarangas, so that sine liaculo transivimus Jordanem et
ecce cum duabus turmis regredimur.
The Father Andre Fernandes and the Brother Andre da Costa
are already beginning the church and house under the name of
the Assumption of the Mother of God.
T brought hither in my company the son of another king,
greater than the one who is converted, to be made a Christian in
Mozambique, his father said there that he wished to be a Christian
already. We think we are sure of him this year, and at present
he seemed to accede willingly to whatever we asked of him.
According to my calculation I baptized before my embarkation
450 Christians, nearly all of Tongue or so near that they could
easily be joined to it ; and I made a point of baptizing a large
number together immediately, because these people resemble
children who like to act together and follow each other's lead.
They also resemble children as far as any intellectual impedi-
ment in receiving the faith is concerned, for none of them have
any kind of idol or form of worship resembling idolatry.
They have a God whom they call Umbe ; they recognise a soul
which lives after death and is punished or rewarded according as
it is good or evil, and thus our beliefs and commandments suit
them very well. In the few days which I spent there I found
the following errors. 1st. A multiplicity of wives, though many
have but one, but the pity is that the most considerable think it
an honour to have many wives, as it is held among us to have
many slaves, for they use them as such. 2nd. A superstitious
belief in sorcerv and charms; there are also errors in connec-
94 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
tion with the dead, such as abandoning their houses, and also in
certain things which they wear round their necks, which make
them call that medicine which is but superstition. 3rdly. They
swear by blowing in each other's faces, this is their form of oath,
and not by the name of God. 4thly. When the brother of any
one of them dies without children, his brother takes his wife for
his own. 5thly. An error peculiar to the Botongas is circum-
cision, which they say was taught them by a Moor of rank who
came to these parts, but they do not follow the Moorish law, and
have no other form of divine worship than the Mocarangas. I
speak of the Botongas of this country of Inhambane and of the
shore which they say is the road of Mocaranga.
Thus both nations showed us great facility in receiving the
faith, and it seems that these errors and others, not being
founded in a bad disposition of mind towards idols, and there
being no men among them to teach them the worship of idols,
such as the Moors, should quickly be overcome and without
much trouble by the help of God.
Concerning the limits of these parts, because we were not
clearly informed of them last year, owing to confusion in the
'Portuguese maps, you will be glad to learn the truth of the
matter.
Inhambane is not the country where we have settled, but is
the name of the port where the Portuguese disembark and where
their ships come to trade in ivory, ambergris, &c., and this port
is called Inhambane, or Dinhambane, because close to it inland
is a place named Inhambane.
Here also I made eight Christians, nearly all according to
their age and disposition innocent souls. I beg an Ave Maria
from you Brothers, for them, on the day you read this, for a
particular regard.
I cannot describe to you this port of Inhambane with the
piece of ground which is on one side, where our Portuguese
have their dwelling, how pleasantly situated, healthy, solitary,
adorned with splendid trees; the most fitting place to inspire
devotion that I have ever seen, with lawns all commanding a
view of the sea.
From this port they navigate to that of Sofala, and this quiet
stream is a river from the port, which ends at a distance of two
or three leagues, or less, so that one passes into a small river
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 95
of fresh water, on the left side of which is the glorious site
above mentioned.
On the right side of the river there are places where there are
many oranges, lemons, citrons, and other fruits, and this country
is very well provided, healthy, and cool ; but not on the other
side of the river. From Inhambane they follow the road to
Tongue, which is about thirty leagues from the port, by land.
Tongue is the chief town of Gamba whom we came to convert,
and he is called king of Tongue, in which Tongue they have no
refreshment such as lemons, figs, vegetables, &c., but an abundance
of good meat ; it is not healthy, but one can well live there ;
there is good provision from here, and by the help of God, rivers
and trees are not wanting. I thought it well to point this out,
because it might serve as a copy for a description of the rest of
this kingdom, and for the sake of those who have the fervour to
come to these parts. * * *
Within three or four days journey from Inhambane I was
seized with ague and fever, so that at the second or third seizure
I prepared myself for death.
The day we reached Inhambane I was only just alive, and
nearly dead, and gave myself up for such in a sudden seizure
which nearly suffocated me. I adopted the following cure: I
took with me one of the Portuguese who were there before we
arrived, and went into the thicket with him, where I told him
that I must run to relieve the attack which was killing me. I
perspired and the attack subsided, so that I rested, but the fever
remained after this exercise, and from that time until Saturday,
the eve of Palm Sunday, caused me severe ague-fits, so that I
prepared my soul to quit this life. Till that time we had made
no entry into Tongue, nor had any of us gone there, which was a
source of great affliction to us, for our purpose was growing old,
which might prevent our accomplishing anything later on.
Father Andre Fernandes and myself arranged that he should
go to Tongue and begin our business with the king, and let him
know that my illness was the cause of our delay. Nevertheless
we did not carry out this plan as yet, because I feared every day
that I should die, seeing that the ague-fits increased, and he did
not proceed, leaving me to the mercy of God and Brother Andre
da Costa. It pleased God that on Saturday afternoon, having a
moderate fever and ague, I went to the foot of a tree, and returned
96 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
without fever, and from that time I became convalescent and had
no more seizures, and was even able to say Mass on Palm Sunday
and to conduct the offices of Holy Week for the Portuguese who
were there.
Father Andre Fernandes, through making the journey on foot
and in great haste, by his own will, I having recommended that
he should take Kaffirs to carry him, on arriving at Tongue was
seized with a dangerous fever, from which he suffered greatly
before my arrival.
Brother Andre da Costa from Mozambique to Sofala showed
symptoms of asthma, and arrived in a very weak state. At
Inhambane, when by the will of tJod I was convalescent, he had
an attack of asthma, so that he was given up by all and prepared
himself for death, but God was pleased to lessen it, though he
still had severe attacks. He was also convalescent in time to go
with me to join Father Andre Fernandes at Tongue, but when
there, he was so ill that I sent him back to the shore, because it
is more healthy, where he arrived almost dead, but he again
recovered, so that I ventured to leave him as a companion to
Father Andre Fernandes ; I hope that God will give him
'strength. * * * *
Father Andre Fernandes and Brother Andre da Costa remain
with order to minister to that new church, which gives fair hopes
and rich fruit, for all those lands beyond Tongue are ready to
enter the Divine fold.
You with your many regular devotions be instant for this, and
you will have a large share in the harvest, as I think you will
also have in the planting of the vineyard, for since we are all so
weak it is a sign that we are to set the vine-shoots which others
will cultivate. I commend myself to you especially, as I am
going alone to Monomotapa, where the devil has a great hold.
May Jesus Christ make us all worthy instruments for the salvation
of souls. Amen.
Mozambique, 9th August 1560.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 97
Extracto de liuma Carta do Padre ANDRE FERNANDES ao Ifmdo
MARIO em Portugal.
CHARISSIMO EM CHRISTO IRMAO MARIO, Eu ja creio que
sabereis como estou n'esta Ethiopia doutrinando esta gente
preta a qual ate aqui foi muito trabalhosa e uao e muito sel-o
agora nos principles.
Prazera ao Senhor que pouco e pouco irao cahindo na verdade
de nossa santa fe e darao em logar do trabalho de agora, con-
solapao, ainda que entre elles ha alguns com que me muito em o
senhor console.
Aqui charissimo irmao nao tern homem com quem se consolar
senao com o Senhor, tirando alguns dias do anno que aqui vein
ter urn portuguez ou dois, por onde vos digo que teem necessidade
os irmaos da Companhia serem muito mais virtuosos e ainda
animosos que todos os outros religioaos, quanto mais occasioes
teem de perigos, trabalhos e tentacoes que elles. * * * *
D'este Otongue 3 de junho de 1561.
ANDRE FERNANDES.
[English translation of the foregoing.]
Extract from a Letter from Father ANDRE FERNANDES to the
Brother MARIO in Portugal.
DEAR BROTHER MARIO BELOVED IN CHRIST, I think you know-
already that I am in Ethiopia instructing the blacks, who up to
the present time have proved very troublesome and show but
little result in the principles.
It may please God that little by little they will be drawn to
see the truth of our holy faith, and instead of the present toil
will yield consolation, although there are a few among them who
are a great consolation to me in the Lord.
Beloved Brother, here is no man with whom one can take
comfort unless with the Lord, except a few days in the year
when one or two Portuguese come here, so that I assure you
it is necessary for the Brothers of our Company to be much
more virtuous and courageous than all other religious, as they
II. H
98 Eecords of South-Eastern Africa.
have so many more occasions of peril, hardship, and temptation
than the others. * * * *
From Otongue, 3rd of June 1561.
ANDRE FERNANDES.
Extracto da Carta do Padre ANDRE FERNANDES ao Irmao
GASPAR ITALO em Portugal.
Estou ca n'esta Cafraria s. na Ethiopia nao muito longe do Cabo
da Boa Esperanfa. Tern esta gente infinitas supersticoes que
dizervol-as nao poderia senao em muito tempo e deixam-n'as
muito difficultosamente e muitos abusos pessimos e acabaes agora
de os convencer e confessam ser verdade o que Ihe dizeis e
mentira o que elles fazem e logo a tornam a fazer de sorte que e
gente muito trabalhosa e com que se ha de ter muita paciencia.
E terra muito pobre e apenas se pode homem fartar dos fructos
d'ella, e sam muito ruins e oxala charissimo foram tarn bons como
a chicoria e finocho de Eoma, porque nao tarn somente homem se
.manteria mas engordaria.
Mas assim por bondade do Senhor vivo e trabalho e as vezes
muito e quando estamos em Portugal, parece-nos que sem pao,
vinho e carne se nao pode viver, etc.
De Otongue entre os cafres a 3 de junho de 1561.
[English translation of the foregoing, ,]
Extract from a Letter from the Father ANDRE FERNANDES to the
Brother GASPAR ITALO in Portugal.
I am here in Kaffraria, that is in Ethiopia, not far from the Cape
of Good Hope. These people have endless superstitions, which
it would take very long to describe to you, and from which it is
very difficult to convert them, and many of the worst possible
errors ; and when you have just convinced them and induced them
to confess that your teaching is truth and their practices false,
they immediately go and act precisely as before, so that they are
a very difficult people to deal with and require great patience.
The land is very poor, and a man can hardly subsist upon its
produce. It is very bad, and would to God, beloved Brother, that
Records of South-Eastern Africa. .99
it were as good as the endive and fennel of Home, for then a man
could not only exist but grow fat upon it.
But thus, by the goodness of God, I am able to live and work,
sometimes very hard, and when we are in Portugal it seems to us
that it is impossible to live without bread, wine, and meat.
From Otongue among the Kaffirs, the 3rd of June 1561.
Carta que ANTONIO CAIADO escrevou de Manamotapa a outro seu
amigo que estava em outro logar da mesma terra.
A Virgem Nossa Senhora com seu Bemdito Filho seja sempre
comnosco. Amen.
Por na outra carta ser escripto depressa, o tornarei agora a
fazer n'esta em que Ihe darei conta como Nosso Senhor quiz levar
para si o padre D. Goncalosabbado a meia noite antes da dominga
de Suzana.
A razao por que o mataram foi por induzimento e malicia dos
mouros os quaes disseram tantas cousas a el-rei que logo no
mesmo dia o mandara matar.
A mim tanto que me disseram fiz revogar a senten?a ; mas nao
aproveitou pelas cousas que os mouros ja tinham mettidas na
cabepa ao rei, das quaes aqui direi algumas.
Disseram-lhe os engangas mouros, que sam os mores feiticeiros
da terra, os quatro deitam sortes com quatro paus, que o padre
vinha por mandado do governador da India e do capitao de Sofala
para ver a terra e se havia muita gente, para logo Ihe tornar a
mandar recado e vir grande exercito para matarem el-rei e Ihe
tomarem o reino.
E que o padre vinha por mandado do' chepute para que dissesse
aos morefos como o nao vinham a tomar por senhor e tinham por
rei a quern o nao era por direito.
Que o padre trazia determinado matar a el-rei e a todos os da
terra com dizer que se fizessem christaos, e como Ihes lancasse
agua pela cabeca e Ihes dissesse as palavras dos langarios que logo
ticavam debaixo de sua mao para nao serem contra elle.
E que assim fizeram em Sofala e Ih'a tomaram, que olhasse
Manamotapa o que fazia, porque este era o costume do padre, e
que o botar agua pela cabe9a era o tungo com que tomaram a
H 2
100 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
terra, principalmente as palavras que Ihe dizia quando botava
a agua.
Que o padre vinha de Chepute e que la fora primeiro que ca
viesse e que la deixava sua gente e que vinha so para que cui-
dassem que era homem que se vinha para el-rei, e que entao faria
o que quizesse.
Acrescentaram mais estes engangas que o padre era moroo, que
trazia o sol e a fome em um osso de finado e outras muitas mezinhas
para tomar a terra e matar a el-rei.
Tanto que Ihe disseram isto logo o mandara matar e me mandou
dizer que se eu tinha em casa do padre alguma cousa que arreca-
dasse, porque o queria mandar matar.
Eu sahi por isso com gastar do meu ; sahiu por senten?a que
fossem la os engangas ; foram como digo e de la vieram e
disseram-lhe.
Como veiu este recado logo o escrevi ao padre e fui-me a el-rei
e o que me disse que o mais que podia fazer ao padre era
mandar-lhe que se tornasse.
Isto foi a sexta feira. Ao sabbado mandou chamar sua mae e
'veiu o conselho. Que fizeram elles o sabem. Tornou-se a mae a
sua casa. Eu fui apoz ella. Disse me que o padre se tornaria
para a praia, e que ao domingo ella viria pela manha a casa de
seu filho.
Sem dizer outra cousa, ella deixava ja concertado com o filho
que a noite o matassem, como o mataram.
Disseram tambem a el-rei que vinha outro detraz com uma
mulher e que vinha em busca do padre, que ja tardava, o qual
tambem era feiticeiro.
Que olhasse sua alteza por si e que se o el-rei deixasse sem o
matarem se havia de ir sem o saberem e que a gente d'esta terra
se havia de matar uns aos outros sem saberem donde Ihe vinha.
mesmo dia que o mataram me mandou o padre os ornamentos
da missa, s. vestimenta, calix e outras cousas que eu direi na
lembranpa que fiz por sua morte.
O mesmo dia fez alguns cincoenta christaos e Ihes deu aqui um
panno e aquem a metade e a outros uma motava de contas de que
el-rei houve menencoria, e a todos os que se fizeram christaos
Ihes mandou tirar os pannos, e correram muito risco de os mandar
matar a todos.
Do que passava com el-rei de tudo fazia saber ao padre D.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 101
Gonpalo e Ike escrevia e elle sempre me respondia que Nosso
Senhor tinha cuidado de tudo. E aquelle mesmo dia me confessei
ao padre. Elle me disse como havia de morrer. EU estive
chorando com elle e me disse que Ihe nao pesava de sua morte,
senao que havia medo, que se estendesse a mais o mal, que d'isto
tinha pezar.
Depois se vestiu com seu saio grande e sobrepeliz em cima e
me disse : " Antonio Caiado, certo que melhor aparelhado estou
eu para morrer que os mouros que me ham de matar. Eu perdoo
isso a el-rei que e moco e a sua mae, que os mouros os enganaram."
Isto com a boca cheia de riso.
D'esta maneira o acharam com um crucifixo a cabeceira, o qual
eu houve com um bra9o quebrado e os cravos e a cabeca cada um
para sua banda e assim o levam Balthazar Gramaxo e Jeronymo
Martins.
Disseram a el-rei que tanto que o mandasse matar, que nao
estivesse ao sol pelos nao empe?onhentar, que o botasse no rio.
E tanto que o mataram levaram'o logo e o botaram no rio
Monsengense de noite e levaram o as costas e a rasto.
Depois da sua morte alevantaram que alguns dias andava
despido da cinta para cima e se vinha a estacada d'el-rei e tomava
das cascas dos paus e as atava na camisa.
E que viera um infise a chorar a estacada com gente e que
mandou el-rei apoz elle. Emfim que foram os engangas e
tomaram ao padre. Que veiu um corisco e quebrou da porta d'el-
rei um pau. Ate Ihe disseram que a chave da caixa estava cheia
de muitas mezinhas e que tinha outras muitas cousas que Ihe
dizem agora que e ja morto. Alevantaram-lhe emfim outros
muitos aleives como la dira Jeronymo Martins que todas estaa
cousas ouviu.
[English translation of the foregoing.]
Letter written ty ANTONIO CAIADO from Monomotapa to one of his
friends in another part of the same country.
May our Lady the Virgin and her Blessed Son be ever with us.
Amen.
My former letter being written in a hurry, I write again to
give you an account of how our Lord was pleased to take to him-
102 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
self Father Dom G-oncalo at midnight on the Saturday before the
Sunday of St. Susanna.
The cause of his death was the malicious persuasion of the
Moors, who said so many different things to the king that he
commanded him to be put to death that day.
I was told that the sentence was revoked, but it was not so,
because of the things the Moors had put into the king's head, of
which I will relate a few.
The Moorish engangas, who are the principal wizards of the
country, four of whom draw lots with four sticks, told him that
the Father came by command of the governor of India and the
captain of Sofala to inspect the country and see if there were
many people in it, in order to send them information, that they
might send an army to kill the king and take his kingdom.
And that the Father also came by command of Chepute, to
ask the morefos why they would not acknowledge him as their
lord, and took one for their king who had no right to the title.
That the Father was determined to kill the king and all his
people, by making them Christians, and by pouring water on
their heads ; and by saying the words of the langarios they would
be in his power and unable to resist him. That thus it had been
done in Sofala, and it was taken ; therefore let Monomotapa
beware of what he was about, this being the custom of the Father,
and the pouring of the water on the head was the tungo by which
he took the land, especially the words which he said while
pouring the water.
That the Father came from Chepute, and had been there
before he came hither, and had left his people and come alone
that he might be taken for a man who had come to see the king,
and would afterwards do what he liked.
These engangas also said that the Father was a wizard who
brought heat and hunger, and had a dead man's bone and other
medicines to kill the king and take the kingdom.
They said so much that the king commanded the Father to be
killed, and told me if I had any property in the Father's house
to secure it, as he was going to order him to be killed.
Then I left him, having gained nothing, and he ordered the
engangas to go to him, and they went, as I have said, and told
him what I have stated.
When this message came, I wrote to the Father, and then went
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 103
to the king, who said that the most he could do to the Father
was to command him to return.
This was on Friday, on Saturday he summoned his mother to
assist at the council, and what they did therein is best known to
themselves. The mother returned to her house, and I followed
her. She told me that the Father would return to the shore,
and that she would go and speak to her son on Sunday morning.
She said nothing further, though they had decided that he was
to be killed that night, as in fact was done.
They also told the king that another man was coming, with a
woman with him, in search of the Father, who was already late,
t and was also a wizard. That his highness should look to himself,
for if he did not kill him, he would escape in secret, and the
people of the country would kill each other without knowing who
was to blame.
On the day they killed him the Father sent me all the orna-
ments of the Mass, namely vestments, chalice, and other things
which are stated in the memoranda made before his death.
That same day he made about fifty Christians, and gave to one
a piece of cloth, and half to another, and to others strings of
beads, at which the king was incensed, and ordered the pieces of
cloth to be taken from all those who had turned Christian, and
there was great danger of his commanding them all to be killed.
I made known all that passed between myself and the king to
the Father Dom Gonpalo, and wrote to him, and he always
replied that our Lord had the care of all things. That same day
I went to confession to the Father, and he told me that he was
to die. I was weeping with him, but he told me that he was not
grieved at his own death, but only because he feared the evil
would not end there.
After this he dressed himself in his long cassock with a surplice
over it, and said to me, " Antonio Caiado, it is certain that I am
more ready to die than the Moors who are to kill me. I forgive
the king, who is but a youth, and his mother, because the Moors
have deceived them." And all this he said with his face wreathed
with smiles.
So they found him, with a crucifix at his head, which I obtained
afterwards with an arm broken and the head and nails missing,
and thus it is sent by Balthazar Gramaxo and Jeronymo Martins.
They told the king, when he commanded him to be killed, not
104 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
to leave the body under the sun, or they would all be poisoned,
but to have it thrown into the river. And when they had killed
him they threw him into the river Monsengense by night,
dragging the body and carrying it on their shoulders.
After his death they spread a report that some days he was
seen stripped to the waist, and came to the palisade of the king's
enclosure and took bark from the stakes and tied it to his shirt.
And that an infise came with people howling round the palisade,
and the king sent to take them, and at last the engangas went
and captured the Father, and a thunderbolt fell and broke one
of the stakes in the king's door. They even told him that the
key of the chest was full of witchcraft, with many other things
which they tell him, although the Father is dead. And they
spread many other slanderous reports, which Jeronymo Martins
will relate, as he heard all these things.
Da Viagem do Padre D. Goncalo ao Reino de Manamotapa e de seu
felice transito.
Pax xpi. Jhus.
Offerecia-se larga materia para escrever do felice transito e
bemaventurado fim do nosso charissimo padre D. Gonpalo ; mas
por isso se contar por muitas pessoas e de diversas maneiras
ordenou o nosso padre provincial que a verdade se soubesse e
collegisse n'esta, assim de uma carta que do mesmo reino escreveu
um homem a outro amigo seu, como do mestre do navio que la
levou o padre D. Goncalo com o qual aqui falamos, e de um moco
que levava comsigo que de Mopambique trouxe o padre Pina a
este collegio de Goa.
Depois que o padre D. Goncalo fez christao ao rei de Inhambane
e a rainha e boa copia de gente, deixou la o padre Andre
Fernandes e o irmao Andre da Costa para ensinarem os christaos
e os instruirem nas cousas da fe e elle veiu-se a Mocambique com
determinapao de se fazer prestes para ir ao imperio de Mana-
motapa negoceado, por Pantaleao de Sa, capitao de Sofala, das
pecas necessarias para el-rei e de tudo o mais que convinha.
Partiu-se de Mocambique em uma fusta pequena com cinco ou
aeis portuguezes em sua companhia a 18 de setembro.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 105
Chegando ao longo da costa perto do rio de Mafuta noventa
leguas de Moparubique Ihe deu uma tormenta de ventos e mares
tarn grosses que todos a uina se davam ja por perdidos pela muita
agua que entrava na fusta e a furia da tormenta ser muito grande.
Poz-se o padre em cima do baleu da fusta em geolhos com as
maos e olhos alevantados para o ceu encommendando a Deus a si
e aos mais e prouve a Nosso Senhor que os ouviu a todos e cessou
depois a tempestade ficou o mar tranquillo, abocaram o rio, e
entraram dentro dia de S. Jeronymo.
E sahidos em terra antes de jantar ordenou-se um altar portatil
para o padre dizer missa na praia onde o calor do sol era tarn
grande que calpados nao podiam os portuguezes esperar o ardor
do sol, em tanto que do tempo que o padre poz em dizer missa
Ihe rebentou toda a cabeca em empolas e nunca quiz admittir
mezinha alguma para curar, antes assim foi com ellas em carne
viva ate por si sararem.
Estiveram tres dias em Mafute e d'ahi se partiram com bom
tempo para o rio de Quilimane, aonde outra vez se salvaram com
muito trabalho, assim em outra tempestade que Ihes vein, como
na entrada do rio.
Chegados a terra foram a um logar principal aonde el-rei de
Guiloa mouro que se chama Mingoaxane Ihes fez grande aga-
salhado e por elle ser amigo dos portuguezes, e nao ter mesquitas
nem outras observancias da seita mahometica mandou algumas
cousas de mantimento ao padre. E fallando depois ambos acerca
da eonversao Ihe disse que todos os que em suas terras se
quizessem fazer christaos ihe daria para isso licenpa e folgaria
muito de ser quern em seu reino ensinasse a lei verdadeira de
Deus.
Porem como o padre levava por seu principal a conversao da
principal pessoa d'aquelles reinos que era o rei de Monomotapa
nao se quiz ali deter porque Ihe pareceu tambem que seria cousa
facil a conversao d'este reino, feito o maior.
Offereceu-lhe el-rei outra embarcagao para irem mais despe-
jados. Nao a quiz o padre acceitar por ser muito mais segura a
fusta e despedindo-se d'elle com muitos signaes de amor, d'aquelle
logar de Quilimane se partiram para o rio de Cuama, o maior que
dista de Sofala trinta leguas onde Ihe deu outra tempestade que
foi necessario com ella metterem-se em uma bahia que se chama
Linde, onde estiveram treze dias.
106 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Ahi veiu ter com elles um pangaio que vinha de Mozambique,
e proseguindo sua viagem em companhia da fusta para a barra de
Cuama, apartou-se o pangaio da fusta uma quarta feira e a quinta
se perdeu.
Entrando a fusta em Cuama estiveram ali dois dias onde o
padre disse missa e por que aquillo era entrar ja pelo rio das
terras de Manamotapa, fez o padre uma exhortapao aos portu-
guezes em que Ihes pedia muito o encommendassem a Nosso
Senhor pois sabiam de quanto pezo e importancia era o negocio
que ia commetter e que pelo amor de Deus se nao escandalisassem
nem Ike estrankassem o recolhimento que d'alli ate se desembar-
carem havia de ter porque nada se podia fazer sem primeiro se
coinmunicar com Deus por orapao.
E pediu que Ihe pozessem uns bretangins ao derredor do toldo
da fusta que era pequeno onde se recolheu sem fallar com ninguem
oito dias e nao comia mais que uma vez ao dia uma mancheia de
graos torrados sem por nenhuma via querer comer outra cousa e
bebia sobre elles um pucaro de agua.
Alii se estava em continua orapao depois de rezar suas horas e
se algum tempo Ihe ficava gastava-o em ler pelo cathalogo dos
'santos.
Passados oito dias chegaram a um logar que se chamava
Inhanguoma. Fizeram-n'o a saber ao padre. Perguntou elle ao
mestre da fusta quam longe era d'alli a Sena, que era o derradeiro
logar aonde a fusta podia chegar, e mostrou-lh'o o mestre por
estar d'alli um tiro de espingarda.
Fel-os o padre entao por em geolhos para que rezassem um
pater nosier e uma ave maria a Nossa Senhora da Graca pela
conversao de el-rei de Manamotapa.
D'ahi se foram para Sena que e uma povoacjao muy grande onde
estavam dez ou quinze portuguezes de assento com alguns
christaos de ca da India.
E porque o padre alii havia de estar alguns dias esperando por
recado de el-rei de Manamotapa para Ihe ir fallar, fizeram os
christaos de ca da India com os portuguezes uma choupanasinha
ao padre onde se agasalhava e dizia todos os dias missa.
E por a maior parte dos christaos que ali havia estarem aman-
cebados, fel-os o padre a quasi todos casar ; administrando-lhes os
sacramentos ; ensinava-lhes a doutrina e occupava-se tambem em
aprender a lingua do Mocaranga porque a de Inhambane ja a sabia.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 107
Aqui baptisou os escravos portuguezes e gente de suas familias
que seriam ate quinhentas pessoas pouco mais ou menos.
D'este logar de Sena ia o padre os mais dos dias a visitar el-rei
de Inhamior, que estava uma legua d'ahi, gentio e sugeito
tambem ao rei de Manamotapa, e fallando o padre por algumas
vezes com elle Ihe disse o rei que de muy boamente se queria
fazer christao com sua mulher e oito filhos que tinha se o padre
os quizesse baptisar.
padre por nao ter quern deixar com elle para o ensinar e Ihe
dar noticia das cousas de Deus disse-lhe que seria melhor e mais
conveniente fazer-se primeiro el-rei de Manamotapa, porque seria
aggraval-o fazendo outros primeiro christaos, que perservasse no
desejo e admoestasse aos seus a terem fe e esperanpa em Deus
pois estava certo Deus Ihe nao havia de faltar.
E alii em Sena estiveram dois mezes tendo o padre maiidado
recado a Manamotapa, mandou d'ahi a cem leguas a outro logar
que se chama Tete uma carta sua que o mestre levava a um
portuguez por nome Gomes Coelho em que Ihe pedia muito que
viesse alii ter com elle por este homem ser muito aniigo de el-rei
e entender a lingua para Ihe fallar.
N'este interim em que a fusta foi, a qual poz sete dias em ir e
vir, chegou recado de el-rei a Sena com um embaixador que
vinha receber ao padre e trazer-lhe recado de el-rei para que
Veiu alii ter com o padre Gomes Coelho e tornaram para o
mesmo logar de Tete e porque era ja por terra ficou o fato para
vir de vagar.
Levava o padre somente consigo os ornamentos as costas e
muitas vezes passava ribeiras com agua pelo pescoco e os orna-
mentos com sua pedra d'ara, calix e todo o mais apparelho da
missa a cabe?a ou alevantado nas maos e assim caminhava.
Outro rio passou que por ser muito largo e o padre ir carregado
e nao poder nadar metteram-n'o os cafres em uma panella muito
grande larga por cima e iam todos nadando pegados a ella ate
que o puzeram da outra banda do rio.
Chegaram a Chatucuy que e um logar perto de Manamotapa
vespera de Natal. Alii disse o padre todas as tres missas d'aquella
solemne festa com grandissima consolafao sua e dos portuguezes
que com elle iam e d'ahi se foi para Manamotapa a primeira
oitava do Natal.
108 Records of Smith-Eastern Africa.
Chegando a cidade mandou-o el-rei logo vi&itar em que 1 Ihe
mandava el-rei uma somma de oiro e muitas vaccas e gente para
seu servi?o porque Ihe tinham dito os portuguezes que la estavam
que alem do padre ser um homem, isto e, de grande virtude que
era tambem muito nobre e das principaes pessoas da India.
Gomes Coelho que acima digo ficou em Tete por estar outro
portuguez muito amigo e familiar de el-rei em Manamotapa por
nome Antonio Caiado o que foi o que veio com o presente ao
padre.
Tornou o padre com grande humildade e reconhecimento de
tal beneficio a mandar o presente a el-rei ; mandou-lbe dizer quo
Antonio Caiado Ihe diria qual era o ouro que elle vinha buscar,
com outras boas palavras.
Espantou-se el-rei de haver entre os portuguezes homem que
nao quizesse ouro nem mantimentos e gente para seu servico.
Foi o padre visital-o levando-lhe algumas pecas. Kecebeu-o
el-rei com grande gosto e contentamento e com Ihe fazer a maicwr
honra que dizem os portuguezes nunca havia feito a outro homem,
que foi mettel-o dentro de uma casa sua onde nao entra ninguem
e alii fez assentar ao padre em uma alcatifa junto consigo deuma
banda e sua mae da outra, e Antonio Caiado da porta fallara a
lingua.
E el-rei Ihe fez logo quatro perguntas : a primeira quantas
mulheres queria ; a segunda se queria ouro ; a terceira terras ; a
quarta vaccas, que valem tanto na terra como o mesmo ouro,,
segundo dizem os portuguezes que de la vem.
E como o padre Ihe respondesse que nenhuma cousa queria
mais que a Sua Alteza, espautado d'isso disse a lingua : " ora, nao
e possivel que um homem que nao quer nenhuma cousa d'e&tas
que Ihe offerefo sendo tarn natural a todos o desejo d'ellas que
nao e como os outros homens senao que nasceu das ervas e d'ellas
teve seu principio " e fez-lhe no fim grandes offerecimentos de
tudo que houvesse mister, despedindo-se com palavras de muito
amor, se foi o padre para uma casinha que Ihe deram, onde dizia
missa e se recolhia com Nosso Senhor.
Estando um dia dizendo missa e passando uns senhores do reino
pela porta e vendo no altar uma imagem de Nossa Senhora da
Gra9a, muito formosa que o padre levava, foram dizer a el-rei que
o padre tinha uma mozunga, id est, mulher de grande ibrmusura
em sua casa, que Ih'a mandasse pedir.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 109
Mandou-lhe el-rei dizer logo que Ihe disseram que trazia elle
ahi uma mulher comsigo, que desejava muito de a ver, que a
levasse la.
Tomou o padre o retabulo embrulhado em uns pannos ricos e
foi-se la, e primeiro que Ih'a mostrasse, Ihe declarou pela lingua
como aquella senhora era mae de Deus, e que todos os reis e
imperadores da terra eram seus servos.
Como o teve preparado com Ihe accrescentar mais o apetite e
desejo de a ver, descobriu o retabulo e Ih'a mostrou ; cousa que o
rei e sua mae muito folgaram de ver.
E depois de Ihe fazer grande reverencia e acatamento pediu ao
padre que por amor de Deus Ihe desse aquella Senhora para a ter
em sua casa porque Ihe parecia que com isso Ihe fazia muita
merce.
Disse-lhe o padre que era muito contente e foi o mesmo padre
a casa onde o rei dormia preparar-lhe uma maneira de oratorio
com pannos ricos onde a poz.
Contam os portuguezes que de la vieram que por quatro ou
cinco noites estando o rei que e ainda 111090 meio dormindo Ihe
parecia aquella Senhora no retabulo cercada de uma luz divina
com um resplendor muito glorioso e suave e se punha a fallar com
o rei com uma muy grande e doce suavidade no vulto.
Elle espantado d'aquella novidade acordando fazia-o saber a
mae e aos portuguezes, os quaes o iam dizer ao padre, cada vez
que Ih'o el-rei dizia, e fallando por derradeiro com o padre Ihe
disse que estranhamente sentia nao entender a lingua d'aquella
Senhora, que todas as noites fallava com elle.
O padre, dizem, que Ihe respondeu que aquella lingua que era
divina e celestial e que a nao podia entender senao quern vivia
na lei santa do filho d'aquella Senhora que era Deus e redemptor
do mundo, que como Sua Alteza fosse christao, ficaria capaz de a
entender.
Mostiou-lhe el-rei vontade de o ser ; posto que Ih'o declarou
por palavras; d'ahi a um dia ou dois Ihe mandou dizer por
Antonio Caiado que Ihe rogava que o fosse fazer christao porque
o desejava muito ser elle e sua mae.
Foi o padre dilatando-lhe por alguns dias o baptismo para o ir
instruindo nas cousas da fe e duas vezes ao dia o ia cathequizar.
Da chegada do padre a Manamotapa a vinte e cinco dias pouco
mais ou menos se fez o rei christao com sua mae.
1 10 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Fez-lhes o padre muita festa no dia do baptismo. Poz-Ihe
nome D. Sebastiao e sua mae D. Maria ; deu-lhe o padre pecas
ricas que levava e el-rei Ihe mandou no mesmo dia eem yaccas de
presente porque nao queria tomar ouro.
padre as mandou a casa de Antonio Caiado seccar e fazer em
tassalhos para repartir com os pobres que alii vinham a casa, de
que os naturaes da terra grandemente se edificaram.
Fez mais o padre christaos obra de duzentos e cineoenta on
trezentas pessoas pouco mais ou menos dos principaes senhores
e cabepas do reino, os quaes nunca Ihe sahiam de casa, uns
a virem aprender doatrina, outros a Ihe trazer leite, 6vos r
manteiga, cabritos e outras cousas da terra, das quaes o padre
nada comia nem came alguma mais que urn pouco de milho
zaburro cozido com algumas hervas e algumas fructas amargosas
do matto.
Era o padre tarn amado de el-rei e de todos os senhores que
nunca o deixavam. A genie nobre e plebeia toda se queria fazer
christa.
padre nao cessava de glorificar a Deus e muitos outros
insignes e heroicos actos fazia de amor de Deus e grandes obras
de penitencia e severidade comsigo mesmo que deixo de escrever
assim por nao ser difuso como por tambem nao as saberem
explicar os que de la vieram mais que dizerem verem Ihe sempre
fazer obras santissimas e que os muito admirava.
Porem como Deus Nosso Senhor tinha determinado de collocar
ao padre em seu reino glorioso e Ihe dar muy glorioso e copioso
premio por tal genero de servipos nem podendo o diabo soffrer
tamanhos despojos e triumphos de almas que tantos mil annos
havia pacificamente senhoreava determinou instar vehementissi-
mamente com toda a sua perversa sagacidade por semear discordia
e dissencao no eorapao do rei para o dissuadir d'aquelle grande
amor e concepto que tinha do padre, e para isto effectuar nao Ihe
faltaram seus instrumentos que foram alguns mouros ricos e
abastados que alii estavam aos quaes summamente pesou da con-
verspao do rei, e por terem com elle muita entrada e conjuncta
familiaridade sendo grandissimos feiticeiros e embaidores foram-se
a el-rei com pretexto de sentir sua desventura e perdipao de seu
reino e estado e comep aram-n'o a persuadir que tivesse para si que
o padre era um grandissimo feiticeiro e nao homem, assacando-lhe
muitos testernunhos falsos, os quaes Antonio Caiado depois escre-
Records of South-Eastern Africa. Ill
veu a um amigo seu cuja carta aqui veiu ter, que sao os que
abaixo direi.
E d'esta conjuracao e malicia era principal um mouro natural
de Mozambique, que e o mesmo Mafamede, chama-se Mingane
caciz dos mouros.
Este quando nao podia ir fallar a el-rei mandava-lhe oculta-
mente um moco habil mouro tambem, que sob color de ir negociar
ia conspirar seu veneno diabolico contra o padre e o que elles
diziam a el-rei e o seguinte.
Disseram-lhe que os engangas mouros, (que sam os mores
feiticeiros da terra, os quaes deitam sortes com quatro paus) que
o padre vinha por mandado do governador da India e do capitao
de Sofala para ver a terra e se havia muita gente n'ella para Ihes
logo tornar a mandar recado e vir grande exercito para matarem
a el-rei e Ihe tomarem o reino e que o padre vinha por mandado
de Chapute, s. o Chiteve que e outro rei de Sofala que foi seu
creado alevantado para que dissesse aos morefos, que sam os
nobres do reino que como o nao vinham tomar por senhor e
tinham por rei a quern nao era de direito, que o padre trazia
determinado matar a el-rei e a todos os da terra com dizer que se
fizessem christaos e como Ihe lancasse a agua pela cabeca e dissesse
as palavras dos langarios s. portuguezes que logo ficavam debaixo
d'elle para nao serem contra elle e que assim o fizeram em Sofala,
e que olhasse Manamotapa o que fazia porque este era o costume
do padre, e que botar agua pela cabefa era o tungo s. unturas
com que tomava a terra, e principalmente as palavras que Ihe
diziam quando Ihe botava a agua.
Que o padre fora primeiro a Chepute que viesse a Manamotapa,
que la deixara sua gente, vindo-se para que cuidasse que era
homem que vinha tratar amizade com el-rei e depois fazer a sua.
E que o padre era moroo que quer dizer feiticeiro, traidor, o
qua! trazia o sol e a fome, e um osso de finado e outras mezinhas
para tomar a terra e matar a el- rei.
Que la vinha outro detraz com uma mulher em busca do padre
que tambem era feiticeiro, que olhasse Sua Alteza por si porque
se o deixava ir sem o matar, que elle se havia de ir sem o saber
ninguem, e que a gente da terra se havia de matar uns aos outros
sem saberem de quern Ihes vinha a morte.
Antes de se romperem estas trainees dos mouros disse o padre
D. Goncalo a Antonio Caiado : " Eu sei que el-rei me ha de
112 Records of South- Eastern Africa.
matar e estou muito alvoro?ado para receber da mao de Dens tarn
bemaventurado fim."
Respondeu-lhe Antonio Caiado muito espantado rindo-se do
que o padre Ihe dizia : " Impossivel e que el-rei sendo tarn amigo
de vossa reverendissima tal fa9a." E indo-se ver com el-rei o
achou muy perturbado e commovido pelo que os mouros Ihe
tinham dito, dizendo-lhe : " Se tendes algum fato em casa do
padre mandae-o arrecadar, porque o hei de mandar matar."
Indo-lhe a mao Antonio Caiado tornou-lhe a dizer que mandaria
chamar os engangas e consultaria com elles o caso.
Fez logo Antonio Caiado d'isto sabedor ao padre e de todo o
mais que Ihe vinha ter a noticia.
Tornando Antonio Caiado a fallar com Sua Alteza Ihe disse
el-rei que o mais que poderia fazer a homem que tanto mal Ihe
tinha machinado era mandal-o que se tornasse.
Isto foi a sexta feira depois da terceira dominga de quaresma,
e ao sabbado mandou chamar el-rei a sua mae ao conselho, que
fizeram com os engangas ; foi do demonio.
Tornando-se a mae para casa, logo pela manha foi apoz ella
Antonio Caiado para saber d'ella o que la passara ; respondeu-lhe
que o padre se tornaria para a praia, e que ella ao domingo viria
fallar com seu filho, sem Ihe dizer mais outra cousa, e ja la
deixavam concertado quando o haviain de matar.
Vindo ter Antonio Caiado com o padre Ihe disse o padre
D. Gonpalo : " Pe90-vos muito por amor de Deus que vades a um
logar (que estava d'ahi a um pedayo) e que digaes aos portuguezes,
dois ou tres que ahi estam, que se venham logo confessar e vos
com elles e tomar o Santissimo Sacramento, porque se nao for hoje
ja vol-o nao poderei dar."
Partiu-se elle em busca dos outros e esperou o padre ate perto
do meio dia por elles, e quando viu que tardavam consagrou duas
hostias que tinha e cosumiu-as.
Em o rnesmo dia fez obra de cincoenta christaos aos quaes deu
pannos para se vestirem e suas manilhas de contas para trazerem.
E a tarde vieram os portuguezes ; fel-os o padre confessar pois
Ihe neb podia ja dar o Santissimo Sacramento, e com grande
alegria e contentamento os esteve animando e consolando, estaudo
elles bem fora de cuidarem o que o padre tinha em seu peito.
Antes d'isto (nao sei se quatro dias) escreveu o padre D.
Gon?alo uma carta ao padre Antonio de Quadros nosso psidiv
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 113
provincial e outra ao capitao de Sofala, em que dava larguissimas
novas de todo seu successo. Estas cartas vindo depois com o fato
em uma fusta se perderam por se perder a mesma embarcacao
no mar.
Tornados os portuguezes para suas casas, mandou logo nas
costas d'elles o padre o fatinho que tinha em casa, s. livros,
ornamentos de missa, e dois mocos que comsigo tinha, ficando-lhe
somente um crucifixo e uma vela para de noite.
Tornando Antonio Caiado ja sobre a tarde a fallar com o padre
achou-o passeiando junto de sua casa vestido em uma roupeta
nova e uma sobrepelliz em cima.
Em o padre o vendo Ihe disse pondo-lhe a mao no peito :
"Antonio Caiado por certo melhor aparelhado estou eu para
morrer que os inimigos que me ham de matar. Eu perdoo a el-
rei que e mopo e a sua mae porque os mouros os enganaram," e
isto com a boca cheia de riso.
Despediu-se Antonio Caiado do padre e diz que Ihe mandou de
casa dois mofos seus que dormissem aquella noite em companhia
do padre.
N'isto que ate aqui tenho dito convem quasi todos os que
vieram de Manamotapa, o que se segue de sua morte nol-o contou
o moco do padre D. Goncalo que de la veiu e diz que Ih'o conta-
ram os mofos de Antonio Caiado que la dormiram aquella noite,
os quaes Ihe disseram que o padre andara junto de casa passeiando
em um terreiro ate perto da meia noite como que se aparelhava
para tarn gloriosa Jornada.
Os passos eram acelerados desejando ja ver-se desatado e
reinando com Christo, os olhos quasi sempre pregados nos ceus,
as maos ora levantadas, ora estentidas a maneira de cruz, seus
suspires intimos e cordeaes, que Ihe sahiam das entranhas.
Era isto sabbado a noite vespera da gloriosa Santa Suzana.
Depois se recolheu para a sua choupana e fazendo oracao deante
do crucifixo que so Ihe ficava na casa por companheiro, deitou-se
no chao sobre uma esteira de cannas com o crucifixo junto de
si e a candeia acesa. Parece que enlevado do somno dos justos
adormeceu.
Os inimigos estavam esperando per esta opportunidade. En-
tram dentro sete ou oito e dizem os mocos que estavam dentro
em casa que conheceram um d'elles que era ainda gentio o qua!
ii. i
114 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
por muitas vezes tinha comido com o padre e com os nobres da
familia de el-rei, por nome Mocurume.
Este dizem que se Ihe assentou sobre os peitos e quatro dos
assistentes o alevantaram do chao pelos brapos e pernas e assim
estendido vieram outros dois e Ihe ataram uma fita no pesco9O e
apertando de uma parte e de outra, depois de pela boca e narizes
lanpar uma boa copia de sangue deu o espirito ao creador.
Lanparam-lhe entao uma corda ou barapo em o pescopo e a rasto
dizem que o lanparam em um rio que d'ahi estava perto que se
chama Monsengece por terem dito a el-rei que o nao deixasse
estar ao sol porque a peponha d'aquelle homem bastaria para os
contaminar a todos.
Ao outro dia de madrugada senao ainda quasi de noite mandou
Antonio Caiado este mopo do padre que aqui estava com outro sen
que pelo melhor modo que fosse possivel fossem espreitar a casa
do padre para saber o como estava.
Acharam os mopos pelo caminho perto de casa o rasto de sangue
que ainda Ihe ia sahindo quando o levaram.
A casa estava so e os mopos que aquella noite alii dormirarn
quando os inimigos o queriam tirar para fora para o levarem a
rasto se acolheram e esconderam-se no matto.
Acharam na casa o crucifixo feito em pedapos que outra vez
tornaram a levar e o deram na mao de Antonio Caiado. Isto e
charissimos irmaos o que com toda a industria possivel pudernos
colligir do nosso dilectissimo padre D. Goncalo.
Depois ainda do padre ser morto para confirmarem a el-rei ern
sua obstinapao e dureza Ihe mettiam em cabepa outras ignorancias
crassissimas, dizendo que viram ao padre despido da cinta para
cima e que se vinha a estacada d'el-rei e d'alli tomava as cascas
dos paus e as atava na camisa, e um corisco por sua causa que-
brara um pau da porta d'el-rei, e que ate a chave do caixao do
padre tinha mezinhas e feiticos.
Mandava el-rei matar aquelles cincoenta christaos que o padre
fizera no dia de seu felice transito e que Ihes tomassem todos os
pannos e contas que o padre Ihes dera.
A ito acudiram os encoces que sam os principaes senhores da
terra e disseram a el-rei " Se tu, senhor, mandas matar estes
homens por receberem a agua que o padre Ihes lanpou pela cabepa
e ficarem como o padre, manda-nos matar a nos tambem que
juntamente a recebemos e a ti, pois tambem te fizeste christao."
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 115
Desistiu entao de o mandar fazer e recolheu-se confuso para
dentro.
D'ahi a dois ou tres dias pouco mais ou menos quando ja
pareceu aquelles portuguezes que alii estavam, que ja poderia o
furor d'el-rei estar aplacado e elle mais capaz de receber doutrina
e reprehensao, dizem que foram a elle e Ihe estranharam muito o
gravissimo pecado que tinha comettido em ordenar a morte do
padre, por alem dos castigos e males que Deus por isso Ihe havia
de dar, que por o padre ser pessoa tarn nobre nao seria muito
mandarem da India uma armada sobre elle para o destruir, e
outras cousas de terror que o metteram por dentro.
Comepou o mopo a escusar-se e a mostrar-se mais de sentimento
pela morte do padre lanpando a culpa a sobeja instigapao dos
mouros. E dizem mais uma cousa que nao sabemos de certo,
somente a escrevo por o dizer o mestre da fusta que levou o padre
e o mofo que aqui esta n'este Collegio, que Ih'o contaram que el-
rei de pezaroso e envergonhado do que tinha feito, querendo
mostrar por signaes evidentes o desgosto que tinha da morte do
padre, mandara matar aos quatro mouros principaes que Ihe tin-
ham persuadido isto, e que dois d'elles mataram logo e o Mingane
com outros eram fugidos.
E que parece em nenhum modo escapariam pela grandissima
diligencia que se poe na execupao da vontade d'el-rei, e ser elle
muy potente, tanto que poe de trezentos mil homens para cima
em campo quando quer como me affirmou um capitao de Sofala.
Esta foi a bemdita Jornada, peregrinacao e ditoso fim do nosso
dilectissimo padre D. Gonpalo.
padre provincial alem do conde viso-rei o desejar muito esta
com grande vontade e alvoroco esperando a monjao para mandar
alguns padres e irmaos aquelle imperio e monarchia tarn grande e
levar adiante o que se tern comecado.
Nao parece deixara de ser muy felice o successo d'esta obra e
ella em si muito solida pois os fundamentos d'aquella Egreja vam
edificados sobre sangue derramado puramente pela honra e gloria
de Jesu Christo Nosso Deus e Senhor etc.
D'este Collegio de S. Paulo de Goa a 15 de dezembro de 1561.
Por commissao do padre provincial.
Servo inutil de todos,
Luiz FEOES.
i 2
116 Records of South- Eastern Africa.
[English translation of the foregoing.]
Cf the Voyage of the Father DOM GONCALO to the Kingdom of
Monomotapa and of his happy passing away.
Pax Christi. Jesus.
There is a quantity of material available concerning the happy
passing away and blessed death of our beloved Father Dorn
Gonpalo, but as it is related by many persons and in many
different manners, our Father Provincial ordered that the truth
should be made known and gathered from a letter written by
an individual in that kingdom to a friend of his, and from the
account of the master of the ship in which Father Dom Goncalo
went there, with whom we have spoken here, and that of a young
man whom he took with him to Mozambique and whom Father
Pina brought to this college of Goa.
After Father Dom Gonpalo had made the king of Inhambane
a Christian, together with the queen and a good number of the
people, he left there Father Andre Fernandes and Brother Andre
da Costa to instruct the Christians in the Faith, and came himself
to Mozambique with the determination to get ready to go to the
kingdom of Monomotapa as soon as he had negotiated through
Pantaleao de Sa, the captain of Sofala, for the pieces of cloth
necessary for the king, and everything else which was required.
He set out from Mozambique in a small pinnace, in company
with five or six Portuguese on the 18th of September.
Arriving along the coast near the river Mafuta ninety leagues
from Mozambique, there arose such a storm of wind and heavy
waves that they all gave themselves up for lost, on account of
the fury of the storm and the quantity of water shipped by the
pinnace.
The Father placed himself on his knees on the baleu [gallery ?]
of the pinnace, with his eyes and hands raised to Heaven, com-
mending himself and his companions to God, and our Lord
proved that he had heard their prayer, for after this the tempest
ceased and the sea grew calm, and they reached the mouth of the
river and entered it on the feast of St. Jerome.
When they had landed, before dining, a portable altar was set
up that the Father might say Mass on the shore, where the heat
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 117
of the sun was so great that the Portuguese could not bear it with
their shoes on, so that in the time which it took the Father to
say Mass his head was all blistered, and he would never consent
to use any remedy, but let it remain a raw wound till it healed
of itself.
They were three days at Mafute, and thence they set out with
fair weather for the river Quilimane, where again they had great
trouble to save themselves, both in another tempest which arose
and in entering the river.
On reaching land, they went to the principal kraal where the
king of Guiloa dwells, who is called Mingoaxane. He gave them
a good welcome, and being a friend to the Portuguese and having
no mosques or other observances of the Mohamedan sect, he sent
some provisions to the Father. And afterwards in speaking to
him about conversion, he said that all those in his kingdom
wished to become Christians, and he would give him permission
for that purpose and would rejoice very much to see the true law
of God taught in his kingdom.
But the Father, whose chief end was the conversion of the
principal person of those kingdoms, who is the king of Mono-
motapa, would not delay there, because it seemed to him that
the conversion of that kingdom would be an easy matter when the
greater work was accomplished.
The king offered them another vessel that they might travel
more easily, but the Father would not accept it, as the pinnace
was much more secure; and taking leave of him with many
marks of affection, they left Quilimane and set out for the larger
river of Cuama, which is thirty leagues distant from Sofala.
Here they met with another storm, which obliged them to put
into a bay called Linde, where they remained thirteen days.
Here they met with a pangaio from Mozambique, which con-
tinued the voyage in their company for the entrance of the
Cuama. The pangaio parted company with the pinnace on a
Wednesday, and on the Thursday was lost.
On entering the Cuama the pinnace remained there two days,
and the Father said Mass, and as they were already penetrating
the land of Monomotapa by the river, the Father made an
exhortation to the Portuguese, in which he asked them earnestly
to commend him to our Lord, as they knew how weighty and
important was the business which he was about to undertake,
118 Eeeords of South-Eastern Africa.
and begged them for the love of God not to be scandalised or
surprised at the retirement in which he must keep himself from
that time until they disembarked, for nothing could be accom-
plished without first communicating with God in prayer.
He asked them to hang a cloth around the awning of the
pinnace, which was small, and here he went into retreat, speaking
to no one for eight days, and only eating once a day a handful
of roasted grain, and refusing everything else, and with this he
drank a cup of water.
Here he remained in constant meditation after he had said his
office, and if any time remained he spent it in reading the lives
of the saints.
After eight days they reached a place called Inhanguoma.
They informed the Father, who asked the master of the pinnace
how far it was to Sena, which was the last place to which the
pinnace could go, and he pointed it out to him within a musket-
shot.
Then the Father made them all kneel down and say a Pater
Noster and an Ave Maria to our Lady of Grace, for the conversion
of the king of Monomotapa.
Thence they went to Sena, which is a large town, where there
are ten or fifteen Portuguese settlers, with some Christians from
India.
And as the Father had to remain there some days to await a
message from the king of Monomotapa that he might go and
speak to him, the Christians from India and the Portuguese
made him a small hut in which he found shelter and said Mass
every day.
The greater number of the Christians there were living in
concubinage, and the Father induced most of these to marry,
administering the sacraments to them and instructing them. He
also occupied himself in learning the language of Mocaranga, as
he was already acquainted with that of Inhambane.
Here he baptized the Portuguese slaves and the members of
their families, who numbered about five hundred souls, a little
more or less.
From Sena the Father went nearly every day to visit the
king of Inhamior, which was a league distant, a pagan, subject to
the king of Monomotapa; and several times in the course of
conversation the king told the Father he would willingly be a
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 119
Christian with his wife and eight children, if he would baptize
them.
The Father, having no one to leave with him to instruct him
in the doctrine of God, said that it would be better to make the
king of Monomotapa a Christian first, as it would be an offence
to him to make others so before him, but that he should persevere
in his desire and admonish his people to have faith and hope in
God, who certainly would not fail him.
The Father remained at Sena two months, and having sent a
message to Monomotapa, he sent a letter by the master of the
pinnace to a place called Tete, a hundred leagues distant, to a
Portuguese called Gomes Coelho, earnestly begging him to come
and see him, as he was a great friend of the king and was able to
speak his language.
In the meanwhile, during the absence of the pinnace which
took seven days going and returning, an ambassador from the
king arrived at Sena to receive the Father and to bring a message
from the king inviting him to come and see him.
Gomes Coelho came to the Father, and they travelled together
to Tete, and as the journey was now by land they left all their
goods to be sent on more slowly. Only the Father carried the
church ornaments on his shoulders, often crossing rivers with the
water up to his neck, carrying the ornaments, altar-stone, chalice,
and other things necessary for saying Mass, upon his head or held
up in his hands, and thus they proceeded on their way.
One river which they had to pass was very wide, and the
Father being burdened and unable to swim, the Kaffirs placed
him in a large pot, very wide at the top, and swam across the
river holding on to it till they reached the other side.
They reached Chatucuy, which is a place close to Monomotapa,
on Christmas Eve. Here the Father said all the three Masses of
that solemn feast with the greatest consolation to himself and
the Portuguese who were with him; and thence they reached
Monomotapa on the first day of the octave of Christmas.
On reaching the city, the king immediately sent to visit him,
sending the Father a large sum in gold and many cows and
people to serve him, the Portuguese there having told him that
the Father, besides being a man of great virtue, was also very
noble and one of the principal persons of India.
Gomes Coelho aforesaid remained in Tete, there being another
120 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Portuguese in Monomotapa very friendly and familiar with the
king, called Antonio Caiado, who brought the king's present to
the Father.
The Father, with great humility and gratitude for such a
benefit, returned the present to the king, saying that Antonio
Caiado would tell him what was the gold he came to seek, with
other good words.
The king was overcome with surprise to find a man among the
Portuguese who did not want gold, provisions, or people to
serve him.
The Father went to visit him, taking him some pieces of cloth.
The king received him with great pleasure and satisfaction, and
showed him the greatest honour he had ever done to any man,
according to the Portuguese, which was to admit him into a house
of his to which no one is ever admitted, and there made him sit
on a carpet between himself and his mother, while Antonio
Caiado stood in the doorway to act as interpreter.
The king asked him four questions : first, how many wives he
wanted ; second, if he wanted gold, third, if he wanted lands,
and fourth, if he wanted cows, which according to the Portu-
guese from those parts are worth more than gold in that country.
And as the Father replied that he wanted nothing but His
Highness, the king in amazement said to the interpreter, " It is
not possible that a man who cares for none of these things which
are offered to him, the desire for which is so natural to all, should
be like other men, but he must have been born of the herbs and
had his origin in them." Then he made him many offers of
everything he might want, taking leave of him with many
expressions of affection, and the Father retired to a little house
they had given him, where he said Mass and communed with
our Lord.
One day when he was saying Mass, some nobles of the kingdom
passed before the door and saw upon the altar a very beautiful
picture of our Lady of Grace, which the Father had brought with
him, and they went and told the king that the Father had a
mozunga, id est a very beautiful woman, in his house, and that
he should ask for her.
The king sent him a message that he was told he had a
woman with him, and desired him to bring her to him, as he very
much desired to see her.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 121
The Father wrapped the picture in rich stuffs and carried it to
the king, but before showing it he informed him through the
interpreter that this lady was the mother of God and all the
kings and emperors of the earth were her servants.
Having thus prepared him and increased his desire to see her,
he uncovered the picture and exhibited it to the king and his
mother, who were delighted to behold it, and after having shown
it great reverence and respect he begged the Father for the love
of God to give him the Lady that he might keep her in his
house, by which it seemed to him he was doing him a great
favour.
The Father said he would be very glad to do so, and went to
the house where the king slept that he might himself arrange a
kind of oratory with rich hangings, where he placed the picture.
The Portuguese who came from that place declare that for four
or five nights the king, who is still quite young, being half asleep,
the Lady of the picture appeared to him surrounded by a divine
light of soft and glorious splendour, and spoke to the king with
a great and gentle sweetness of countenance.
Much amazed, he made it known to his mother and the Portu-
guese, who went and told the Father each time they heard it ;
and at last speaking of it to the Father he said that he was
strangely grieved that he could not understand the language in
which that Lady spoke to him every night.
They say the Father replied that it was a divine and celestial
language which none could understand save those who lived in
the holy law of that Lady's son, who was God and the redeemer
of the world, and when His Highness was a Christian he would
be able to understand it.
The king showed himself very willing to become a Christian,
though only in words. A day or two later he sent a message by
Antonio Caiado begging the Father to come and make him and
his mother Christians, which they both greatly desired.
The Father delayed the baptism for a few days in order to
instruct him in the Faith, and catechized him twice a day.
Within twenty-five days, a little more or less, of the Father's
arrival in Monomotapa the king and his mother became
Christians.
The Father made a great feast of the day of their baptism.
He gave the king the name of Dom Sebastian and his mother
122 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
that of Dona Maria. He presented the king with some nch
pieces of stuff which he had brought with him, and the king sent
him a hundred cows the same day, because he would not take
gold. The Father sent them to the house of Antonio Caiado to
be cut in pieces and dried, to be distributed to the poor who
came to the house, by which the natives were greatly edified.
The Father made between two hundred and fifty and three
hundred Christians, or thereabouts, from among the principal
nobles and chiefs of the country, who were never out of his house,
some coming for instruction, others bringing him milk, eggs,
butter, kids, and other things to be had there, of which the
Father ate nothing, never touching meat, but living on a little
millet cooked with herbs, and some bitter fruits found in the
thicket.
The Father was so beloved by the king and all the nobles
that they never left him. All the people, noble and plebeian,
wished to become Christians.
The Father never ceased glorifying God, and did many other
notable and heroic acts through love of God, and of penitential
severity towards himself, which I do not write down for fear of
being diffuse and because those who came from that place could
not explain them, only saying that they always saw him engaged
in most holy works and that he greatly astonished them.
But as God our Lord had determined to place the Father in
His glorious kingdom and to bestow upon him a most glorious
and abundant reward for the service he had rendered, and as the
devil could not bear to see this triumphant spoil of souls over
whom he had lorded it peacefully for so many thousand years, he
determined to vehemently instil discord and dissension with all his
perverse sagacity into the heart of the king, to turn him from the
great love and esteem he had for the Father ; and his instruments
for the purpose were not wanting. These were some wealthy
Moors of those parts, who were greatly vexed by the king's con-
version, and being in great favour and familiarity with him, and
great magicians and deceivers, they sought him with the pretext
of being greatly grieved at the loss of his kingdom and state, and
began to persuade him that the Father was a great sorcerer and
not a man, bringing many false accusations against him, which
Antonio Caiado wrote down in a letter to a friend, which was
afterwards sent here, and the accusations are stated below.
Records of South-Eastern Africa, 123
The chief of this conspiracy and malice was a Moor, a native
of Mozambique, who is the same Mafamede that is called Mingane,
the cacique of the Moors.
This man, finding that he could not speak to the king, secretly
sent him a clever young man, also a Moor, who under colour of
some business came to conspire and instil his diabolical poison
against the Father ; and what they told the king is as follows :
They said that the Moorish engangas (who are the Moorish
wizards of that land, who cast lots with four sticks) knew that the
Father came by order of the governor of India and the captain
of Sofala, to inspect the country and see what number of people
were there, and send them information on the point, that they
might then send a large army to kill the king and take his
kingdom ; and that he came by command of Chepute, namely
Ohiteve who is another king of Sofala, his rebellious subject, to
tell the morefos, who are the nobles of the kingdom, that as they
did not come and acknowledge him as their lord, and made one
their king who had no lawful right, the Father had come thither
determined to kill the king and all the people of the country by
inducing them to become Christians and pouring water on their
heads and saying the words of the langarios, namely the Portu-
guese, by which they were made subject to him and would not
stand against him, for so it had been done in Sofala ; and that
Monomotapa should beware of what he did, for this was the
custom of the Father, and that the pouring of water on the head
was the tungo, that is the anointing, by which he took the land,
and especially by the words he said while pouring the water.
That the Father went first to Chepute before coming to Mono-
motapa, and had left his people there that it might be thought
he was a man who had come in friendship to the king, and after-
wards his ends could be accomplished.
That the Father was a moroo, which means a wizard, a traitor
who* brought heat and hunger, and had with him a dead man's
bone and other medicines to take the country and kill the king.
That another was to follow him with a woman in search of the
Father, and he was also a wizard, and that the king should look
to himself, for if he let him depart without killing him he would
get away without anyone knowing it, and the people of the
country would kill each other without knowing who was the cause
of their death.
124 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Before this treason of the Moors was known, Father Dom
Gonpalo said to Antonio Caiado : " I know that the king will kill
me, and I am delighted to receive such a happy end from the
hand of God."
Antonio Caiado replied " It is impossible that the king should
do such a thing, being such a friend to your Reverence." And
going to the king, he found him much troubled and moved by
what the Moors had said to him, and he said to him, " If you
have any property in the Father's house secure it, for I must
command him to be killed."
Antonio Caiado returning to him again, he said he would call
the engangas and would consult with them upon the matter.
Antonio Caiado immediately made known all that he had
heard to the Father.
And again returning to the king, his highness said that the
most he could do to a man who had plotted such evil against him
was to command him to depart.
This was on the Friday after the third Sunday of Lent, and on
the Saturday the king sent for his mother to attend the council
with the engangas, which was a work of the devil.
The mother returning to her house, the next day Antonio
Caiado went to her and asked her what had happened. She
replied that the Father would return to the shore, and that she
would go and speak to her son on Sunday, without telling him
anything else, though they had already agreed when he was to
be killed.
Antonio Caiado then going to speak with the Father, the latter
said to him : " I entreat you for the love of God to go to a certain
place (which was at a little distance) and tell the two or three
Portuguese who are there to come to confession directly, and
come with them yourself and receive the Blessed Sacrament, for
if it is not done to-day I shall not be able to give it to you."
Then Antonio Caiado left him and went in search of the others,
and the Father waited for them till nearly mid-day, and seeing
that they did not come he consecrated two hosts which he had
and consumed them.
That same day he baptized fifty Christians, to whom he gave
pieces of cloth in which to dress themselves and bracelets of
beads to wear. And in the afternoon the Portuguese came to
him, and he made them go to confession, but could not then give
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 125
them the Blessed Sacrament ; and he consoled and encouraged
them with great joy, they being far from guessing what was in
his heart.
Before this (I do not know if it was four days) Father Dom
Gonpalo wrote a letter to Father Antonio de Quadros, our Father
Provincial, and another to the captain of Sofala, in which he gave
a long account of his success. These letters, being sent after-
wards with his property in a pinnace, were lost at sea with that
When the Portuguese returned to their houses, the Father
made them carry away on their shoulders everything which he
had in the house, namely books and ornaments for Mass, sending
with them two youths he had with him, and keeping nothing
but a crucifix and a light for the night.
Returning to speak to him in the evening, Antonio Caiado
found him walking up and down near his house, dressed in a new
cassock with a surplice over it. On seeing him, the Father put
his hand on his breast and said " Antonio Caiado I am certainly
better prepared to die than the enemies who are to kill me. I
forgive the king, who is but a youth, and his mother, because the
Moors have deceived them." And this he said with his face
wreathed in smiles.
Antonio Caiado took leave of the Father, saying that he would
send two of his servants to sleep in his company that night.
So far almost all those who came from Monomotapa agree with
what has been related, but what follows concerning his death was
not told to him by the servant of Dom Gon?alo who came from
that place, but he says it was told to him by the two servants of
Antonio Caiado who slept in the Father's house that night.
They say that the Father walked up and down a piece of ground
near his house until nearly midnight, preparing for his glorious
journey. His steps were hurried as if he wished to be already
free and reigning with Christ; his eyes were nearly always
raised to heaven, his hands now raised, now extended in the
form of a cross, his deep and heartfelt sighs came from his inmost
soul.
This was on Saturday night, the eve of the feast of the glorious
St. Susanna. Then he retired to his hut and prayed before the
crucifix, which was all he had left in the house, after which he
lay down upon a mat of reeds with the crucifix beside him and
126 Records of South- Eastern Africa.
the lamp alight, and seemed as if he was already sleeping the
sleep of the just.
The enemies were awaiting this opportunity. Seven or eight
of them entered, and the servants who were in the house say that
they knew one of them who was still a heathen and had often
dined with the Father and with the nobles of the King's family.
His name was Mocurume.
They say that he laid the Father on his chest, and two of his
assistants raised him from the ground by his hands and feet, and
while he was thus extended two others tied a rope round his neck
and each pulled it on either side, so that the blood rushed from
his nose and mouth, and he gave up his spirit to the creator.
They then tied a rope round his neck, and by the trace of
blood they say that the body was thrown into the river called
Monsengece, which was close by, the king having been told that
his body should not be left under the sun, for the poison of that
man was enough to contaminate them all.
The next day at dawn, while it was still almost dark, Antonio
Caiado sent the servant of the Father who came here, and another
of his own, to observe the Father's house as far as possible and
see how he fared.
The young men found the track of blood near the house, for it
was still flowing when they carried away the body.
The house was deserted, the servants who had slept there that
night when the enemies were dragging out the body to carry it
away, escaped, and by their traces had hidden in the thicket.
In the house they found the crucifix broken to pieces, which
they returned to get, and gave it into the hands of Antonio
Caiado.
This, beloved brethren, is all that with the greatest diligence we
have been able to learn concerning our beloved Father Gonpalo.
Even after the Father was dead, to confirm the king in his
obstinacy and hardness they put the grossest absurdities into his
head, saying that they saw the Father stripped to the waist, and
that he came to the king's enclosure and took the bark from the
stakes of the palisade and tied it to his shirt, and that it was
through this a thunderbolt broke one of the stakes in the king's
door, and that even the key of the Father's chest had some
medicine or witchcraft in it.
The king commanded that the fifty Christians baptized by the
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 127
Father on the day of his happy death should be killed, and the
pieces of cloth and beads given to them by him should be taken
from them.
Upon this the encoces, who are the principal lords of the
country, came and said to the king " Sir, if you command these
men to be killed for receiving the water which the Father poured
on their heads, and that they be treated like the Father, com-
mand us to be killed also, who received it with them, and yourself
as well, for you also turned Christian." He then desisted from
this command, and retired into his house in confusion.
About two or three days afterwards, when it seemed to the
Portuguese there that the king's fury might be appeased and he
be more fit to receive instruction and admonition, they went to
him, as it is said, and expressed their amazement at the grievous
sin he had committed in ordering the Father's death, and besides
the evils and punishments which God would send upon him, the
Father being a person of such nobility it would be small wonder
if an army was sent from India to destroy him, and other reasons,
in fear of which he retired into his house.
The young man now began to excuse himself, and to show
more sorrow for the Father's death, throwing the blame upon the
instigation of the Moors. They further say, but it is not certain,
the master of the pinnace which carried the Father and his
servant who is now here in this college having only written to
report that he was told, that the king, sorry and ashamed of what
he had done, wishing to show by evident signs that he was
grieved for the Father's death, commanded the four principal
Moors who persuaded him to it to be put to death, and two of
them were immediately killed, and Mingane and others fled.
But it does not seem that they can possibly escape, on account
of the great diligence with which the king's orders are executed,
he being very powerful and able to bring three hundred thousand
men into the field when he likes, as I was assured by a captain
of Sofala.
This was the blessed journey, pilgrimage, and happy end of
our beloved Father Gonpalo.
The Father Provincial, besides the great wish of the Count
Viceroy, is awaiting the monsoon with great joy and rapture, to
send some Fathers and Brothers to that empire and great
monarchy to carry on the work thus begun.
128 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
It seems that this work cannot fail to have a happy issue, and
to prove solid in itself, the foundations of that Church being
built upon blood shed purely for the honour and glory of Jesus
Christ, our God and Lord &c.
From this College of St. Paul of Goa, the 15th of December
1561.
By command of the Father Provincial.
The unprofitable servant of all,
Luiz FROES.
Extracto da Carta do Irmdo ANTONIO FERNANDES aos Padres e
Irmaos da Companhia de Jesus em Coimlra.
Tambem chegou o padre Andre Fernandes com o capitao de
Mopambique de Inhambane quatro dias antes que nos embarcasse-
mos de maneira que se ajuntaram seis padres e cinco irmaos, os
quaes se determinaram de ir todos para Goa. Como vieram, por
ser mais service de Deus entao, se embarcaram ; o padre Andre
Fernandes na nao Rainha e o padre Fernao da Cunha e os outros
dois padres com os indios na nossa nao, por ser o agasalhado
maior.
Em Goa 15 de setembro de 1562.
[English translation of the foregoing.]
Extract from a letter from the Brother ANTONIO FERNANDES to the
Fathers and Brothers of the Company of Jesus at Coimbra.
Father Andre Fernandes also arrived with the captain of
Mozambique from Inhambane four days before we embarked, so
that six Fathers and four Brothers were assembled, all with the
purpose of going to Goa. As they came, it being then for the
greater service of God, so they embarked, Father Andre
Fernandes in the ship Eainha and Father Fernao da Cunha and
the other two Fathers with the Indians in our ship, the accommo-
dation being better.
Goa, 15th of September 1562.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 129
Carta do Padre ANDRE FERNANDES para os Irmdos e Padres da
Companhia de Jesus em Portugal.
A graca e amor do Espirito Santo seja sempre em nossas almas.
Amen.
Pela obediencia me foi mandado que vos escrevesse esta em
que vos desse conta dos costumes da gente d'aquella terra onde
andei e do mais a proposito para consolapao de todos ; mas ainda
que me tomou descuidado irei dizendo o que me lembrar.
Primeiramente parece aquelle reino de Inhambane da banda
do sul debaixo do Capricornio. E terra calidissima quando alii
anda o sol, e quando se desvia muito frio. Perto do mar chove
bastantemente e quanto mais se afastam d'elle menos e.
Annos ha que por seccos nao nascem as sementes e entao se
manteem com as carnes que cacam, especialmente elephantes e
fructas do matto que ali ha muitas alguns annos ainda que sam
muito ruins e assim os mantimentos o sam somente os feijoes e o
milho zaburro que tambem na Lombardia se come ainda que o de
la e melhor e d'este onde chove ha em abastan?a e onde menos ha
muito pouco e assim o mais do tempo se manteem com o que
tenho dito.
Toda e gente pobre e vestem commumente pelles de animaes,
couro que e a maior parte. Cingem-se com uma corda qualquer
que fazem de cascas d'arvores ; alguns mais ricos que tratam com
os portuguezes n'esta mesma corda atam um pedapo de panno
diante e outro detraz, e homens que sao mais ricos cingem-se com
um panno da cinta para baixo, para arriba todos andam descubertos.
E com serem tarn pobres sam superbissimos, e cada um parece
ser rei do matto. Teem boas forpas e sam muito ligeiros e soltos
no correr apoz um elephante ate que o rnatam, porque ainda que
parece animal pezado todavia corre muito, especialmente se o
tomam pela manha antes de farto e beber, porque se e depois
ficam mais carregados, que e o tempo em que o elles querem
achar. E entre outras maneiras que teem de os matar a mais
commum e que achando o bando os capadores que sempre vam de
vinte para riba, um sempre capitao por ser mais dextro ; como os
acham fala Ihe como se entendesse e diz-lhe "Oula, vos estaes
tarn descuidados, pois aqui vem Inhacungo (que e o mais famoso
entre elles cujo hospede ja fui) que determina matar de vos os que
puder, por isso tende paciencia."
II. K
130 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Os que fogem seguem alguns, e os que sam mais valentes que
se veem a elles, aguardam n'os com muito born tento e quando
chegam a elles para os levar furtam-lhes o corpo, e ao passar dam
Ihes nas pernas com um instruments da maneira dos que usam os
magarefes, ainda que maior, e como sam animaes grandes com o
peso com pouca cousa que cortam do pe Ih'o quebram e cahem.
E n'estas arremetteduras que fazem os elephantes muitas vezes
os colhem e fazem em pedajos senao sam muito dextros, e os que
fogem depois de canpados volvem ao capador que da mesma
maneira os mata.
Fazem tambem umas sebes de grandes ramos de arvores ern
logares acomodados e em riba de uma arvore que na mesma sebe
esta penduram por uma corda um pau de comprimento de dois
covados de grossura conveniente por uma ponta, e na outra Ihe
mettem em um buraco que Ihe fazem um delgado bem agudo e
cheio de herva que chamam de besteiro e a corda em que este pau
esta, esta presa esta tambem no chao em uns paus como o que la
chamamos alpape em tal maneira que pondo o elephante o pe
n'elles solta a corda e o pau vem de riba com forca e com o
hervado Ihe da pelo espinhafo e o mata, e se nao cahe logo nao
vae muito longe.
N'estas armadilhas tambem matam os rhinocerontes que dizem
ser mais bravo animal que todos, e perto donde eu estava cahiu
em uma d'estas armadilhas um.
Ha tambem entre elles muitos tigres e oncas e alguns leoes e
toda veapao e em parte se manteem muitos da ca?a que estes
animaes matam e deixam, digo leoes e tigres.
E esta gente muito dada a prazeres de cantar e tanger. Seus
instrumentos sam muitas cabapas liadas com cordas e um pau
feito em arco algumas grandes e outras pequenas e as bocas a
qual com uma casca de mel silvestre apegam os buzios para que
tomem bem e teem suas contras fabordoes etc.
Dam musicas de noite ao rei e a quern Ihe da alguma cousa e
os que mores brados dam teem por melhores musicos.
As cantigas que cantam commumente sam o louvor do a que
cantam, s. " Ills bom homem porque uma vez me deste isto, outra
estoutro e me daras mais."
Duas sam muito continuas entre elles que sam, uma :
" Abenezaganbuia " que quer dizer os portuguezes comem muitas
cousas juntas ou muitas iguarias, porque elles nao costumain
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 131
comer mais que uma e emquanto comem nao bebem neni
quando bebem nao comem, nao por temperanca, mas por
costume.
As vezes teem festa de beber que dura tres, quatro dias sem
comerem. seu vinho e de frutas do matto, e de toda a maneira
de mantimento que comem fazem que bebem a que sam muito
afeipoados e bebe um d'elles tanto como tres allemaes.
E outra cantiga e : Gombe zuco virato ambuze capana virato,"
que quer dizer : a vacca tern couro para sapato e a cabra nao tern
couro para sapato, nao porque elles andem calfados porque
nenhum anda senao se tern os pes doentes debaixo, e se ha de
andar por matto aspero entao fazem umas solas de couro da vacca
que poem debaixo dos pes liadas com umas correas.
E seu bailar e representar os autos da guerra todos, assim cercos
como ser cercado, batalhas campaes, veneer, ser vencidos, tomar
lenha, agua por forpa, e assim o demais que em ella acontece e
tudo muito proprio.
E a maneira como se vestem para esta festa e a mais loucan que
para nenhuma festa e para isto teem pennas de animaes, que nao
sejam muito largas, compridas com os rabos e atam-n'as de redor
de si para que quando dam umas voltas sobre um pe que dam
muito ligeiras, fapam grande roda e quando sahem do posto um
ou dois sahem com tanta ligeireza que e maravilha ; e com o pe
lanpam areia tarn alto que parece a quern o nao viu que se nao
pode crer, e isto logo fazem tambem quando alguma pessoa
grande morre.
Sam grandes comedores de carne e do demais ; mas de carne
especialmente, e dez comem uma vacca.
Os casamentos se fazem como compras e vendas porque uma
mulher vale tanto como uma vacca, e quando querem desfazem o
casamento tornando o que a mulher custou e um pode casar com
muitas mulheres juntamente ; so o parentesco de pae e filhos e
irmaos e irmas impede os ajuntamentos.
Para que as mulheres sejam castas teem-se todos persuadido de
tempo antigo que se alguma fizer n'esta parte o que nao deve que
morrera ella e os filhos e ainda parentes, e para remediar isto
quando acontece que sam muitos casos usam cousas que nao se
possam dizer e feitas ficam muito seguros.
E se o que pecar com mulher depois a quer, pagando o qne
custou dam Ih'a livremente com boa vontade. Estas mesmas
K 2
132 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
torpezas usam quando algtim morre para lancar fora o mal de que
a familia ficou infeecionada que por serem taes as nao digo.
Ninguem sabe quando algum morre nem onde se enterra
confessa, fora das pessoas a quern accusar que e pae a filho, irinao
a irma ou parentes mais chegados.
Uma das cousas e mais principal porque esta cousa e tarn
secreta e por nao serem lancados da conversa?ao dos outros como
pessoas que trazem a morte comsigo.
E todas as mortes e enfermidades de uns dizem ser outros
causa, e para isso lanam sortes, digo, para saber as enfermidades,
as quaes sao uns cauris fixados pelas costas e cheios de cera de
vespas preta e teem sorte e azar como nos dados, e estas lanfam
com muitos que e mais difficultoso de saber e com poucos, de que
ha officiaes.
E quando um esta doente manda lanpar as sortes depois que
paga ou promette para saber de que e enfermo e sahe a sorte que
porque fez de comer em uma panella velha ou dormiu em esteira
velha ou tocou cousa de algum morto.
Sabida a causa diz o enfermo que saiba com que sera sao e torna
em sua vontade uma arvore ou herva e se a sorte sahe que nao e
aquella boa, toma outra ate que acerta a sorte.
Entao vae buscar a herva ou folhas e pisa-as e com aquelle
summo e com agua misturada molha a parte enferma ou todo o
corpo e as cousas da casa que Ihe disse a sorte que era causa da
enfermidade.
Outras maneiras teem tambem de se curar muito enormes que
nao digo. Commummente quando algum morre consultam com
certos feiticeiros que ha na terra que teem muito credito, Ihes
diga quern matou paes ou parentes.
E os mais famosos advinham por rastro como sabujos que assim
andam elles rastejando e cheirando um hysope de sedas compridas
e creio que sam de onagro, que n'esta terra ha infindo, o qual as
vezes poem no cbao digo as sedas e torna-as ao nariz e assim
advinha a casa onde estam os feitipos e para que matou o defunto
e a maneira como o matou e todas sam muito grandes mentiras
e totalmente impossiveis e algumas graciosas das quaes direi
algumas de meu tempo.
A este rei disse um feiticeiro com que consultou na morte de
um filho e filha que ao filho mataram porque uns homens poseram
os pes sobre as suas pegadas, e a filha que Ih'a matara uma minha
Becords of South-Eastern Africa. 133
visinha porque vindo ella de fora suando Ihe alimpou o suor e Ih'o
levou para sua casa com a sugidade do po que trazia pegado no
rosto e assim morrera, e mataram a pobre visinha pelo mesmo
caso e reprehendendo eu a el-rei da cousa me disse que aquella
era sua lei fazer o que o feiticeiro mandava senao ficava elle
homicida da morte dos filhos.
A um sobrinho de el-rei disseram que morrera uma sua filha
porque um seu tio vestira um panno que ella sendo ainda menina
de mama ourinara.
Outro porque sua mulher emprestou uma panella a outra que
quando Ih'a mandou trazia a morte em si e matou-lhe um filho
digo da que Ih'a tinha emprestado, que logo Ihe fizeram pagar
outro por elle.
E outro que sua mulher se foi d'elle, disseram que por so isso
morrera e o que depois casou com ella foi sentenciado que o
pagasse como de feito pagou um mofo, e nao quizeram que fosse
femea porque podia parir e porem o nome a creatura do morto,
que commummente a estas pagas nao admittem machos porque
sam custosos e as femeas trabalham, e porem estas demandas entre
elles se chamam milandos e a maneira que teem em julgar
estas cousas e a seguinte :
pae ou mae do morto ou a pessoa a quern compete depois de
saber do feiticeiro quern o matou se vae a el-rei e leva-lhe alguma
cousa com que o contente a que chamam boca porque se e menos
que isto diz elle " Eu orelhas tenho para te ouvir ; mas tu nao
tens boca para me i'allar."
Torna entao por mais ate que satisfaz e entao assigna el-rei
juizes para certo dia, e veem as partes tambem com seus does
aonde estao os ditos juizes e o povo debaixo de arvore commum-
mente e varrem com a mao e poem o que trazem ali e acontece-
Ihes como com el-rei, s. que nao ouvem ate que nao fale com a
boca o que arriba digo.
Comeca primeiro o auctor a falar alto assaz e muito pausado e
de vagar e a cada parte ou palavra acode um que tambem pagam
com som ainda mais alto e diz deco o que monta tanto como
assim e ou bem dizes o qual deco serve assim ao autor como ao
reu que sempre e condemnado para entoar a cousa, na qual da
parte do que demanda nao se diz cousa que por via alguma possa
parecer possivel, e os bemditos dos juizes julgam por elle tarn
sejniros como se fora a mais certu cousa do mundo.
134 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
De modo que entre elles todo o impossivel se ere e o arre-
zoado se arrenega, e assim me disseram que responderam a urn
portuguez a quern perguntaram se havia na India elephantes,
e elle disse que sim e mansos e que trabalhavam, responderam
que nao podia ser que podiam os portuguezes muito, e fazer os
ceus e os planetas etc., mas que nao aman9ar elephantes.
De sorte que as cousas d'esta qualidade se castigam com muito
rigor; os furtos nem mortes provados e vistas a olhos nem os
adulteries se castigam de nenhuma maneira.
Se urn deve ao outro alguma cousa que entre elles as mais e
muito pouco especialmente se nao e da mesma povoapao ainda
que seja de outra muito perto, nao Ih'o pede commummente mas
chama os do seu logar e vae onde o outro tern algumas cabrinhas
ou vacca e traz-lhe por um vinte e as mais vezes se fica com isso,
e o outro vae a outro logar e toma tambem a soldo e livra (como
dizem) como Ihe a elle fizeram e diz " o tal me tomou as minhas
cabras ou vaccas por isso vos tomo eu as vossas " e este vae ao
outro onde melhor parado o acha e o outro a outro e assim se vae
dobrando a cousa como aconteceu em meu tempo.
E por esta causa estam quasi todos mal uns com os outros, e as
feiras nao se pode caminhar sem primeiro abrir os caminhos com
dadivas e ainda assim se roubam porque a todos devem.
Tambem se acostuma entre elles se algum e accusado de algum
crime nega e diz que nao e tal verdade, que quer tomar com elle
que o accusa o motro, que e pe^onha que um official d'aquella
cousa tern e entao se parte aonde dizem que ha de dar o motro,
que esta ja peitado d'ambos ou pelo menos do que falsamente
accusa e depois de Ihes dar de beber certas cousas para os pre-
parar Ihes da a pe?onha que leva em uma unha do dedo pollegar
que tern muito comprida e toma a gamella de agua em que diz
trazel-a e da a beber ao que nao quer matar agua pura e ao outro
abaixa a unha e toca na agua e assim o mata e sua geragao fica
infame para sempre.
E esta cousa e muito usada entre elles e um irmao de el-rei e
um sobrinho estiveram para o tomar porque cada um dizia do
outro que era feiticeiro ; trabalhei eu por o nao fazerem, mas
como e gente que nada fazem por virtude nao creio que o
deixaram de fazer pelo que Ihes disse mas por medo ou por
outra cousa.
Aos que advinham chamam sortes nao chamam feiticeiros : mas
Records of South- Eastern Africa. 135
aos que dizem que o sam que as mais vezes sam a quern elles
querein mal e algumas aos que mais simples e singelamente
vivern ; mas quasi nenhuma cousa fazem sem superstiyao e as
mais d'ellas pestiferas que nao se podem trazer a memoria sem
muito grande fastio, e por esta razao deixo de as escrever.
Honrain ao que chamam Muzimo, e pelos attributes que Ihe
dam parece ser o que os mouros e gentios chamam Nacibo, que e
tanto como dita ou fortuna e assim dizem elles que e a dita de
seus antepassados e que os favorece em suas cousas, s. que sejam
bemquistos e lh.es succedam bem as mercadorias.
E dizem que vem de noite este Mozimo estando dormindo e
Ihes pede de comer e elles Ihes dam do que comem e bebem, s.
lanfando-lhes ao pe de uma arvore grande e verde.
E dizem que os Mozimos de uns matam a geragao de outros
quando elles Ih'o requerem, e junto onde eu estava ameacou um
cafre a um xeque com o seu Mozimo se nao fizesse tal cousa que
o mataria, e de feito morreu quando o cafre disse.
Eu algum tempo tive que morreriam de imaginapao muitos
que so por serern ameapados morrem, e assim mesmo que estes
ieiticeiros nao tinham communicapao com o demo mas que diziam
o que Ihes vinha a boca, segundo a rudeza e desordem e mentiras
que dizem quando sam perguntados em cousas de seu mister.
Mas ora falem de si ora pelo demonio que se acommoda a suas
compreipoes e rudezas, todavia eu era maravilhado de homens
humanos crerem as impossibilidades e mentiras tarn provadas e
como estes Ihes dizem tarn cridas, e fazerem tarn pouco caso das
que sam conformes a toda a razao.
Tambem para suas advinhapoes matam frangos e ratos e olham
as tripas e pelo vazio e cheio d'ellas julgam, e na agua e com
outros instrumentos de seus cabapos tambem para saberem os
furtos e as menos vezes acertam.
No demais dizem que nao ha Deus nem paraizo nem inferno
nem obras mas nem boas, mas que tudo e indifferente, nem teem
alma somente a vida, depois que nao fica nada d'elles.
Que tiveram um cafre grande que e pae de todos, e sua mulher
era branca; mas isto creio que dizem porque veem que ha
homens brancos e pretos, e os portuguezes Ihes dizem que todos
somos filhos de um pae e de uma mae, e por mais honra sua dizem
que o pae era o preto.
Nao ha entre elles nenhuma maneira de gujeigao de vasssiln a
136 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
rei nem subdito a senhor nem filho a pae; mas cada um faz o
que quer.
Convidam uns aos outros algumas vezes a comer e beber mas e
aos que Ih'o ham de pagar tresdobrado que com quern o nao tern
nenhuma caridade usam e em sorte hora nasce o que pouco pode
entre elles.
E um dos mores impedimentos que entre elles ha para se
fructificar me parecia ser este, s. serem totalmente indomitos e
indisciplinados, porque de nenhuma maneira sonrem reprehensao
nem castigo, e por isso me vi entre elles em muitos perigos
quando os reprehendia de seus abuses.
E uma vez me disseram da parte de el-rei que me queriam
matar porque eu dissera que se elle nao guardava a lei de Jesu
etc., que havia de ir ao inferno onde havia de arder em fogo para
todo o sempre, e a meu ver me achei entao com animo e vontade
preparado bastantemente para padecer por Christo.
Outras vezes me cercaram muitos d'elles com suas annas com
que me chegavam ate muito perto dos olhos e d'ahi nao passaram,
outros diziam a altas vozes matemol-o com flecha ou queimemos-
Ihe a casa e a elle, e isto com grande furia ; mas parece que nao
estava eu ainda de vez como o padre 1). Gonpalo que esta na
gloria.
Todavia creio nao ser nunca vencido do temor por estas arneapas
para que os deixasse de reprehender muito livremente de suas
supersti9oes e ainda ao rei de uma maneira que os seus se
espantavam do que Ihe eu dizia e temiam achar-se presentes
n'aquelle tempo.
E mais o fiz dizer que era verdade que nao dava chuva com
que se creavam as novidades, que sua mor excellencia que os reis
teem e a causa porque ham mais proveito de seus subditos, e
aiuda quasi toda a causa de algum respeito se Ih'o teem e porque
creem que elle Ihes da a agua e Ih'a pode tirar quaudo quizer e
elle quando os ameaja diz que Ihes nao dara agua.
Mas isto foi a tempo que eu era tido por mais sabedor feiticeiro
e mor que entre elles havia e nao ousou negar-me o que Ihe
pareceu que eu sabia por via porem de feiticeiro e os seus que eu
levei por tantas para os tirar a elles e os demais d'este error.
Emquanto estavam se maravilhavam e assim os que d'elles o
ouviam e assim os feiticeiros me temiam e se envergonhavam
diante de mim ; mas estes cuidavam que eu advinhava pelos
Records of South- Eastern Africa. 137
livros, porque nao cahem na maneira como se entende o que
n'elles se contem, e um d'elles me dava pelo breviario um
escravo.
Outros provavam ser eu o mais feiticeiro por minha antiguidade
porque como entre elles nao sam os homens brancos ate cento ou
mais annos e a sel-o chegavam poucos porque a terra e enferma,
e ver-me a mim tam bianco julgavam ser eu de muitos annos e
viver por feitifos e conservar as forjas de os poder aturar ainda
aos mais mancebos caminhando todo o dia quando eram assaz
grandes calmas, a gente mais simples dizia que se eu tam velho
era tam rijo que faria sendo mopo.
Lembro-me agora que acabando de dizer missa um dia me
mandou dizer el-rei que queria consultar com os feiticeiros que
m'o fazia saber. Respondi que o nao fizesse porque era cousa em
que Deus muito se offendia.
Todavia inandou elle aos feiticeiros, primeiro que consultasse
com elles, que buscassem os feitipos e feiticeiros que ha via na
terra. Acimo digo que estes a quern eu chamo nao sam os que
elles teem por taes, mas chamam-n'os songos que quer dizer
sabedores ou advinhos e aos que estes nomeiam por feiticeiros
esses sam tidos por taes. E o que achavam segundo o sube de
um cafrinho christao que estava comigo eram cousas que elles
mesmos encondem de noite ou tambem traziam comsigo e jogando
de certo passapassa que entre elles ha ainda que e um pouco
grosseiro e o poem no logar em casa onde querem e dizem que
tal ou tal pessoa o poz alii e usa d'elle para matar os homens, as
quaes cousas sao pedacos de couro, de cornos, de pannos, cabellos
e de cousas similhantes, que dizem que sam pegonha.
Estiveram dois dias em buscar a terra acompanhados sempre
de gente armada por mais seguros entrarem onde quizessem, mas
eu os nao deixei entrar na casa onde dizia missa, ainde que muito
porn'aram.
*****
Os juramentos d'esta gente commumente sam tomar a terra
na mao e levantal-a junto da boca e assoprar-lhe, ou fogo, digo
que assoprando qualquer d'estas cousas a deixam cahir.
Outro mais solemne costume que teem mas este nao jura
ninguem senao quando el-rei o manda, que e no seu atabaque
grande da guerra que quando o tange ouve-se tres ou quatro
leguas.
138 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Este juramento se da por esta maneira. Poe-se o que ha de
jurar em giolhos diante do atabaque e fala com elle como se
ouvisse e diz-lhe : " A mim me dam juramentos por tal cousa
se a eu fiz tu me mata, mas se nao, nao queiras que sem razao
inoura," e poe Ihe a mao no couro, e beija uma vez antes que jure
e outra depois.
E dizem que os que juram mentira que morrem, por onde me
parece que entre elles pode muito a imaginapao, e o rnais bacharel
d'elles todos a quern eu disse que aquillo nao podia matar porque
era pau e couro d'animal morto, respondeu-me que ainda que
assim fosse todavia elle matava.
Este juramento como digo nao n'o da el-rei senao a seus
familiares porque os mais duvida-se quererao por-se a perigo
segundo tanto e evidente.
Entre esta bemdita gente andei alguns mezes mais de dois
annos e se eu tivera alento para santo certo ficara e muito bem
terso mas o meu sugeito nao deu de si a disposipao que convinha
para me ajudar de tantas e tarn boas occasioes e tanto perdi.
Mas vindo ao caso ; quasi sempre morri de fome, porque
ainda os outros trabalhos se sentiam. A fome carregava mais,
especialmente seis mezes ou mais que quasi de todo me falleceu,
ou tinha tarn pouco que se urn dia ha via uma pouca de carne que
as vezes era de vinte em vinte dias ou quinze, nao comia este dia
senao urna vez e pouco e pouco e jejuava a vespera d'elle e a
oitava.
E isto nos primeiros dois ou tres mezes ate que se me acabou
aquillo que tinha, s. castipaes e um pe de uma cruz que tinha de
cobre e parte do fato em que me agasalhava e entao comecei a
fazer mais prisao e nao comia mais que uma vez ao dia e se me
achava a noite muito fraco comia algum bocado nao porem pao
nem carne mas de certa sevandilha ou legumes que ha entre elles
a mais ruim a meu apetite que pudera ser, e ainda que eu quizera
nao podia tomar d'elle senao muito pouco porque era cad a dia um
bolo nao grande.
Eram n'este tempo meus visinhos dois sobrinhos d'el-rei dos
melhores homens da terra e comeparam a entrar na minha chopa
duas gallinhas ou tres para porem ; pedi-lhes eu entao que
houvessem por bem que eu comesse os ovos que ellas puzessem na
minha estancia e que Ihes pagaria quando pudesse.
Fizeram-n'o elles com boa vontacle e comia cada dia um e as
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 139
vezes mais e foram me muito bons em uma enfermidade que tive
que assados com um pouco de sal achava-os muito bons.
Tambem houve por um certo partido um pouco de leite, que as
vezes era menos que uma d'essas malgas, outras vezes alguma
cousa mais, e andava ja tarn acostumado a pouco mantimento que
quasi nao sentia nunca fome somente que dormia mal e doia-me a
cabeca.
E algumas vezes me a?udiam com algumas aboboras e outras
fruitas do matto, porque o tempo nao era para mais nem elles
me faziam menos que a seus parentes, e el-rei que me pudera
emprestar alguma cousa, nao quiz ; mas eu fiquei consolado porque
confiei ja que o rei da terra me fallecia o da gloria me sustentaria
como fez por sua bondade e ao tempo conveniente me soccorreu de
todo, trazendo alii um meu amigo que me desempenhou dos ovos
e leite.
E demais todavia eu estava ja muito fraco e nao pudera andar
mais a pe que meia legua, andando antes sete e oito e mais.
Tive n'este tempo algumas enfermidades mas eram febres tarn
brandas que nao me davam muito trabalho e por bondade do
Senhor nenhuma tristeza nem queixume tive de ninguem, mas
tarn alegre que agora me maravilho.
E um dia me veiu ao pensamento se morresse quern me
enterraria, porque elles como digo nao costumam a quern nao
teem muita obrigacao.
Lembrou-me que faria primeiro a cova ao pe de uma area em
que dormia e se a quizessem abrir para tomar o queestavadentro,
que valia muito pouco, que abrindo-a me lancariam na cova, e
assini ficaria, e fiquei bem satisfeito com este remedio.
No demais como digo sempre fui muito alegre e consolado e
tenho para mim que o nao fora tanto se tivera abundancia,
somente sentia nao serem os christaos como deviam ; mas nao
afrouxava de os amoestar no que me parecia cumprir-lhes, ainda
que via que aproveitava pouco.
E por esta razao e por ter cartas da obediencia me vim ainda
que o rei nao quizera ; mas ter-me por seu captivo (se se atrevera)
que nem elle nem os seus se queriam ajudar de mim em nada
do que para bem de suas almas Ihe pudera ser bom ; mas antes
dizia que se havia de estar em sua terra que nao havia de ensinar
a doutrina christa, ao que Ihe respondi que eu nao tinha outra
mercadoria senao eusinar-lhe a lei de Deus seu Creador se a
140 Records of South- Eastern Africa.
queriam acceitar quando nao que a obediencia a que eu havia de
obedecer antes que a elle com a condicao que queria, me mandava
retirar e assim me vim, porque estava ja prestes a embarcapao
para me partir. Nao me alargo mais somente que de entao ate
agora tive em refazer as forpas d'antes, e quasi perdi todos ou
alguma parte dos sentidos e em todos senti diminuipao ; mas fui
aqui tarn bem pensado que ja estou para partir logo agora.
Nosso Senhor seja com todos que me da muita pressa o padre
Balthazar Dias que nos vamos, que me acompanha ate a
embarcajao.
Indigno irmao que a todos em Christo ama,
ANDRE FERNANDES.
De Goa a 5 de dezembro de 1562.
[English translation of the foregoing.]
Letter from the Father ANDRE FERNANDES to the Brothers and
Fathers of the Society of Jesus in Portugal.
The grace and love of the Holy Ghost be ever in our hearts.
Amen.
I am commanded by obedience to write this letter to you, to
give you an account of the customs of the people of the land in
which I was and of whatever may tend to the consolation of all,,
and though I am unprepared for the task I will set down what
occurs to my memory.
In the first place that kingdom of Inhambane seems to be
below Capricorn on the southern side. It is extremely hot in the
presence of the sun, but very cold in its absence. Near the
sea shore there is sufficient rain, but it becomes less the farther
you get from the shore.
Some years none of the crops grow, on account of drought, and
then they live upon meat which they procure by hunting,
especially elephants, and upon wild fruits, which some years are
very plentiful and sometimes very bad. Otherwise their provi-
sions are only beans and millet, such as is eaten in Lombard y,
though it is of better quality there. Where there is rain millet
is abundant, but where there is less rain it is very scarce, so that
they generally live on what I have said.
All the people are poor, and usually dress in the skins of
Records of South- Eastern Africa. 141
animals, chiefly hides tied round the waist with a cord, which
they make of the bark of trees ; some who are richer and trade with
the Portuguese tie a piece of cloth before and at the back with
the same cord, and those who are still richer gird themselves
with a piece of cloth from the waist downwards. The upper part
of their body is always naked. Though so poor they are very
proud, and each one seems a king of the woods. They are very
strong, and light and agile in pursuing an elephant until they
have killed it, for though it seems a heavy animal it can run
very well, especially if hunted in the morning before it has eaten
and drunk, for after this it is heavier and therefore the time they
prefer to hunt it. Among other ways of killing the elephants the
following is the most usual. The hunters, generally about twenty
and upwards, with the most skilful as leader, having found a herd
of elephants, the leader speaks to them as if they could under-
stand, saying, "Ho there! you are at your ease, but here is
Inhacungo (who is the most famous of them all, and whose guest
I was) determined to kill as many of you as he can, so just wait
awhile."
Some pursue those which try to escape, and some carefully
await those which are braver and rush upon them, and when they
are close the hunters leap aside and strike at their feet as they
pass with a weapon like that which is used in the slaughter house,
only larger, and as they are large animals, at the least wound in
their feet their weight breaks them and they fall. In the
onslaught made by the elephants the hunters are often caught
and trampled to pieces, unless they are very dextrous. When the
elephants which try to escape grow tired, they turn upon the
hunter and are killed in the same way.
They also make an enclosure of large branches in a convenient
place, and from one of the trees of this enclosure a piece of wood
about two ells in length hangs by a rope, one end of the wood is
of a convenient thickness, and in a hole at the other end they
put a thin sharp piece of wood full of the herb called black
hellebore, and the rope which holds the wood is made fast to
other pieces of wood on the ground arranged in what we call a
snare, so that as soon as the elephant put its foot upon them,
the rope is loosed and the piece of wood above strikes it with
force and wounds it with the poisoned stake in the spine, and if
the elephant does not fall at once it does not go far.
142 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Rhinoceroses are also killed by these snares, and are said to be
the wildest animals of all, and one fell into a snare close to the
place where I was.
There are also many tigers and panthers and some lions, and
all sorts of antelopes, and in various parts many of the people
live on the prey which these animals kill and leave, I mean the
lions and tigers.
These people are much given to the pleasures of singing and
playing. Their instruments are many gourds bound together
with cords, and a piece of wood bent like a bow, some large and
some small, and to the openings in which they fasten trumpets
with the wax of wild-honey to improve the sound, and they have
their treble and bass instruments, &c.
At night they serenade the king and anyone who has made
them a present, and he who makes the most noise is accounted
the best musician.
Their songs are generally in praise of him to whom they are
singing, as " this is a good man, he gave me this or that, and will
give me more."
Two songs are in common use among them, one is " Abeneza-
ganbuia," which means that the Portuguese eat many things at
the same time, or many different dishes, for they never eat of
more than one thing at a time, and they never eat and drink at
the same time, not from temperance, but from habit.
Sometimes they have drinking feasts which last three or four
days, during which they eat nothing. Their wine is made from
the fruit of the thickets ; and of all their provisions they make
some kind of drink, of which they are very fond, and one of them
will drink more than three Germans.
The other song is : " Gombe zuco virato ambuze capana
virato," which means, the cow has leather for shoes and the
goat has no leather for shoes ; not because they wear shoes, for
they all go barefoot unless the soles of their feet are sore,
and they have to walk among prickly undergrowth, then they
make soles of cow-hide and fasten them beneath their feet with
straps.
Their dance represents all the actions of warfare, as surround-
ing the enemy, being surrounded, open warfare, conquering, being
conquered, taking wood and water by force, and everything else
which can occur in war, all very appropriately expressed.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 143
Their dress for this feast is finer than for any other, for on this
occasion they have skins of animals rather narrow with the tails
attached, and these they tie round them so that when they twirl
round on one foot, which they do with great lightness, the tails
fly out in a large circle, and when one or two advance out of the
ranks, they fly out with marvellous lightness and throw the sand
into the air with their feet to such a height that it is hardly
credible by those who have not seen it. This they also do
directly a great man dies.
They are great eaters of meat and other things, but especially
meat, ten of them can eat a whole cow.
Marriages are a matter of sale and barter, for a woman is worth
as much as a cow, and when they please they can dissolve the
marriage, refunding the price of the woman. One man can
marry many wives at the same time, the relationship of parent
and children and brothers and sisters being the only impediment
to their intercourse.
To make the women chaste, they have been taught from
ancient times that if any woman in these parts did what she
ought not that both herself and children and even her relations
would die, and to prevent this, when any evil has been committed,
which very often happens, they do the most unspeakable things,
and when they are done think themselves secure.
If anyone sins with a woman and then wishes to have her, she
is willingly delivered to him if he will pay what she costs. They
make use of the same evil customs abovesaid when anyone dies,
to drive away the infection from the family, which being such
as they are I will not mention.
No one knows when one of them dies, nor is his place of burial
made known except to his parents, children, brothers and sisters,
or nearest relations. One of the chief reasons for this secrecy is
that they may not be cut off from intercourse with the others, as
persons bringing death with them.
Every death and illness is laid to the charge of something else,
and to discover what the illness may be they cast lots with small
shells stuck at the back with the wax of black wasps, and these
show good or bad omens like dice, and when many are thrown
the divination is more difficult than with few, and certain officials
are appointed for this purpose.
When any one is ill, he commands the lots to be cast, having
144 Records of South- Eastern Africa.
previously paid or promised to do so, to find out from what illness
he is suffering, and the lots declare that his illness is caused by
cooking his food in an old pot, sleeping on an old mat, or
touching something belonging to the dead.
The cause of the illness being made known, the invalid again
causes lots to be cast to discover what will cure him. He chooses
any tree or herb, and if the lots declare that it is not good he
chooses another, until the answer is favourable.
The herb or leaves are then procured and trampled under foot,
and with the juice mixed with water they bathe the affected part,
or the whole body, and the things in the house which have been
pointed out as the source of the illness.
They have other ways of curing themselves, so monstrous that
I do not mention them. Generally when anyone dies, they con-
sult certain wizards of the country who enjoy great credit, to
learn who killed their parents or relations.
The most famous of these divine by scent like bloodhounds,
following the trail and smelling a tuft of long bristles, which I
think are those of the onagra or wild ass, which are very
numerous in this country ; sometimes they place these bristles
on the ground and then put them to their noses and so divine in
what house there are spells, why the deceased was killed, and
how, all of which are great lies and absolutely impossible, some
being laughable, of which I will relate several that happened in
my time.
This king was told by a wizard whom he consulted upon the
death of a son and daughter, that the son was killed by certain
men treading in his foot- prints, and that a neighbour of mine
killed the daughter, because seeing her outside in a state of per-
spiration, she wiped it off and carried it into her house together
with the dust and dirt off her face, and this was the cause of her
death. For this they put my poor neighbour to death, and on
my admonishing the king for so doing, he replied that it was
his law to obey the wizard or he would be held guilty of his
children's death.
They told a nephew of the king that his daughter died because
one of her uncles wore a piece of cloth which had been wet with
her urine when she was still a babe at the breast.
Another whose wife borrowed a pot from another woman was
told that the pot brought death with it, and was the cause of the
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 145
death of one of his sons, and she who lent it was made to pay for
it with a son of her own.
Another whose wife left him was said to have died from that
cause, and he who afterwards married her was sentenced to pay
for it, which he did with a boy, for they would not have a female
because she might bear children, and they gave the child the
dead man's name, though usually in these cases they will not
take a male because they are expensive, but the females work,
but these demands are called milandos among them, and are
decided as follows :
The father or mother of the deceased, or such person who has
the right, having heard from the wizard who was responsible for
the death, goes to the king, carrying him a present which is
called a " mouth," because if it is not sufficient to content him he
says : " I have ears to hear you, but you have no mouth to speak
to me." The suitor then returns for more gifts until the king is
satisfied and appoints judges for a certain day. Both parties
come with gifts to the place where the said judges are assembled
with the people generally under a tree, and with a gesture of the
hand they lay down what they have brought, and here it again
happens as with the king, the judges cannot hear till they have
spoken with the mouth abovesaid.
First the plaintiff begins to speak loud enough, with pauses
and very slowly, and at each word or pause another, who is also
paid, chimes in louder and says deco, which is equivalent to " so
it is " or " well said," and this deco serves both plaintiff and de-
fendant (who is always condemned) to state the case, and though
nothing is ever said for the plaintiff which could by any means
seem possible, the favour of the judges always gives judgment
for him, as if the matter was the most certain thing on earth.
Thus among them everything impossible is believed, and what
is reasonable is denied, and I am told that a Portuguese whom
they had asked if there were elephants in India and who replied
that there were tame elephants there who could work, was
answered by them that it could not possibly be, that the Portu-
guese could do many things such as make the skies and planets,
&c., but that they could not tame an elephant.
So that things of this sort are severely punished, but robbery,
murders seen and proved by eye-witnesses, and adulteries are not
punished in any way.
II. L
146 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
If one owes another anything, which among them is very little
at most, especially if they are not of the same village, even
though they may be quite near each other, they do not ask for
their own, but call together those of their village, and seek some
place where the other has goats or cattle, and carry off twenty
for one, and generally manage to keep possession of them. The
other goes to the other village and retaliates in the same
manner as the former did to him, saying "such a one took
my goats or cows and so I have taken yours." The other
again (retaliates wherever he sees the best opportunity, and
thus they go on doubling the amount, as has happened in my
time.
Thus they are almost always at variance with each other, and
cannot repair to the markets without first opening the way with
gifts, and thus they rob each other because they are all in each
other's debt.
It is also their custom, if any be accused of a crime, for him to
deny it and say that such is not the case, and they will take the
motro, which is a certain poison, with their accuser, and there is
one whose office it is to administer it. Then they assemble at
the place appointed for administering the motro, the officer in
charge of it having been previously bribed by both parties, or at
least by the false accuser, and after giving them certain things
to drink he administers the poison which he carries in his
thumb-nail, which they wear very long ; and he takes the bowl
of water, which is supposed to contain it, and gives pure water to
him he wishes to save, but dips his nail in the water before
presenting it to the other, who dies of the poison, and his
descendants are held in infamy ever after.
This is frequently practised among them. A brother and a
nephew of the king were about to take the poison because each
accused the other of being a wizard ; I endeavoured to dissuade
them, but as these people do nothing from virtue, I do not think
that this was the cause of their desisting, but rather fear or some
other motive.
Those who practise divination are called soothsayers, not
wizards, and those whom they accuse as wizards are generally
those against whom they have some ill-will, and sometimes those
who live singly and simply. But they do scarcely anything
without superstitious practices, most of them so foul that they
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 147
Cannot be called to mind without loathing, for which reason I do
not set them down.
They honour a god they call Muzimo, who by the attributes
ascribed to him seems to be the same as the god the Moors and
heathens call Nacibo, which is the same as Luck or Fortune,
thus they say he is the luck of their forefathers and favours them
in their undertakings, namely that they may be well-liked and
successful with their merchandise.
They say that this Mozimo comes at night when they are
asleep to ask for food, and they give him food and drink by
placing it at the foot of a great green tree.
They say that the Mozimos of one can kill the family of
another when they require it of them, and near the place where
I was, a Kaffir threatened a chief with his Mozimo, saying that if
he did not do a certain thing he would kill him, and the chief
did eventually die at the time the Kaffir said.
At one time I thought that they died by force of imagination,
for some die simply from being threatened, and also that these
wizards had no dealings with the devil, but simply said whatever
came into their heads, judging from their crude and disconnected
sayings and the lies they tell when they are questioned on any
matter pertaining to their business.
But they sometimes speak of themselves, and sometimes by
the demon, who accommodates himself to the rudeness of their
comprehension, nevertheless I was amazed that human beings
could lend credence to the patent impossibilities and lies which
they tell them, and so disregard what is conformable to all
reason.
For their divinations they kill fowls and mice and examine the
intestines, judging from their emptiness or fullness; they also
use water and other instruments of their gourds to discover
robberies, but their sentence is oftener wrong than not.
For the rest they say there is neither God nor paradise nor
hell, nor good and evil deeds, but that nothing is of importance,
nor have they any soul, but only this life, and nothing to
follow it.
They say that there was a great Kaffir, the father of all men,
whose wife was white ; but I think they say this because they
see that men are both black and white, and the Portuguese
have told them that we are all sons of one father and mother,
L 2
148 Betords of South-Eastern Africa.
and for their own honour they say that it was the father who
was black.
There is no sort of subjection among them, such as vassal to
king, or son to father, but every one does as he likes.
They sometimes invite each other to eat and drink, but only
those who can repay them threefold, for they show no charity to
those who have nothing, whence it arises that I could do but
little among them.
One of the chief impediments against their yielding fruit seems
to me to be their total want of discipline and yoke, for they will
by no means endure admonition or punishment, and from this
cause I have often been in great danger in their midst when I
admonished them for their excesses.
Once they brought me word from the king that he wished me
to be put to death, because I said that if he did not keep the law
of Jesus, &c., that he must go to hell and burn in flames for ever,
and I think I was then sufficiently prepared with will and courage
to suffer for Christ.
Another time they surrounded me with their arms, which they
put near to my eyes, but no farther, others cried aloud, "kill
him with arrows, or let us burn him in his house," and all this
with great fury, but it seems that I was not then to share the fate
of Father Dom Goncalo, who is in glory.
Nevertheless I do not think I was ever overcome with terror
by their threats, so as to desist from boldly reprehending them
for their superstitions, even the king himself, in such a manner
that his people were alarmed at what I said and feared to be
present at the time.
Further I made him own that he did not give the rain that
causes the crops to prosper, and that the chief excellence which
kings possess is the advantage derived from their subjects, and
that almost the only cause of such respect as they had for him
was that they thought he had power to give them water and could
deprive them of it at his will, and when he wishes to threaten
them he says he will give them no water.
But this was at a time when I was considered a greater
magician and sage than any among them ; and he did not dare
to deny what he thought I knew through sorcery, and I treated
his wizards for what they were worth, in order to draw them and
the rest from their errors, so that they marvelled at me and so
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 149
did those who heard of it from them ; but they thought that I
practised divination from books, not knowing how it is possible
to understand what they contain, and one offered me a slave for
my breviary.
Others proved me to be the greatest wizard on account of my
age, for among them men do not grow grey until they are a
hundred or more, an age to which few attain, the climate being
so unhealthy. And seeing my hair so white they thought I must
be extremely old, and kept myself alive by witchcraft, being still
strong enough to keep pace even with the youngest of them in
walking all day in the midst of great heat, and the most simple
among the people said that if I was so strong in my old age what
must I have been in my youth.
I remember now that once when I had just finished saying
Mass, the king sent word that he wished to consult the wizards
and sent to let me know of it. I replied that he ought not to do
it, for it was a thing which gave great offence to God.
Nevertheless he sent for the wizards, bidding them seek all the
bewitching matter and wizards in the country before he consulted
them. I have said before that those whom I call wizards are not
those to whom they give that name, but rather call them songos,
which means sages or soothsayers, and those which these latter
accuse of being wizards are considered as such. And the things
they discover, as I learned from a little Christian Kaffir, are what
they themselves have hidden in the night or bring with them
and place in some part of the house by means of a sort of rude
jugglery common among them. And then they say it was
placed there by such or such a one, and that he uses it to kill
other people, these things being pieces of hide, horns, cloth, hair,
and other similar things which they say are poison.
They went about for two days always accompanied by armed
men, that they might more securely enter wherever they liked, but
I did not let them enter the house in which I say Mass, though
they insisted on it strongly.
*****
The usual oaths of these people are to take earth ox fire in
their hands, raise it to their mouths and blow upon it, and having
blown upon it they drop it.
There is another more solemn form of oath, which is only used
at the command of the king, and this is to swear by the king's
150 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
great war drum, which when they play upon it is heard at a
distance of three or four leagues.
This oath is administered in the following manner : He who is
to swear places himself on his knees before the drum and speaks
to it as if it could understand, saying " An oath is administered
to me for such or such a cause, if I am guilty kill me, but if not,
do not let me die for nothing," and then he places his hand on
the hide and kisses it once before the oath and once after it.
They say that those who swear falsely die, from whence I judge
that the force of imagination is very great among them, and the
most talkative among them, to whom I said that this could not
kill because it was wood and the hide of a dead animal, replied
that though that might be, it killed nevertheless.
This oath, as I have said, is not administered by the king to
any but his familiars, for it is doubtful if any others would be
willing to expose themselves to such evident peril.
Among these fortunate people E dwelt for two years and some
months, and certainly if I had the strength to be a saint I should
have become so in a short time, but I have not in myself such
dispositions as are fitted to assist me in profiting by so many
good opportunities which I lost.
But to come to the point, I almost died of hunger, for though
other hardships were felt, hunger was the worst, especially for six
mouths or more, during which I wanted for everything, or had so
little that if one day I had a little meat, which sometimes was
only every twenty or fifteen days, I only ate once that day, and
very little, and fasted on the eve of it and all the octave.
This was for two or three months, until all that I had was
gone, which was candlesticks and the foot of a copper cross which
I had and part of my clothing. After this I began to be more
sparing and only ate once a day, and if I felt very weak at night
I ate a few mouthfuls not of bread or meat but a sort of caterpillar
or of vegetables of this country, the worst thing possible to my
taste, and though I had wished it I could not have had more
than a little, having only a small cake of it every day.
My neighbours at this time were two nephews of the king,
some of the best men in the country, and two or three hens
began to come into my hut to lay, and I asked them to let me
have the eggs which they laid on my premises and I would pay
for them when I could. They willingly agreed to it, and I ate
Records of South- Eastern Africa. 151
one and sometimes more every day, and they were very good for
me in an illness which I had, and I found them very good roasted
with salt.
From another quarter I had a little milk, generally less than a
porringer full, sometimes a little more, and I was already so
accustomed to little food that I hardly felt hunger, but I slept
badly and my head pained me.
Sometimes they brought me gourds and other fruits of the
thicket, for the season yielded nothing else, and their relations
fared no better than I did, and the king, who might have lent
me something, refused to do so ; but I consoled myself, having
confidence that though the king of the earth failed me, the king
of glory would sustain me, as he did, by his goodness, and
succoured me with all things necessary at a fitting time, bringing
thither one of my friends who paid my debts for the eggs and
milk.
Nevertheless I was very weak and could not walk farther than
half a league, whereas before T could walk seven or eight and
more.
During this time I had some illnesses, but they were mild
fevers and did not cause me much suffering, and by the goodness
of our Lord I suffered no sadness, nor did I complain, but felt so
happy that now I marvel at it.
One day the thought came to me that if I died there would be
none to bury me, for as I have said they only bury those to whom
they are bound. I thought that I would dig a grave at the foot
of the chest on which I slept, so that if they tried to open it to
take what was inside it, which was of small value, in opening it
they would cast me into the grave, and I was satisfied with this
remedy.
In everything else, as I have said, I was happy and found
consolation, only I grieved that the Christians were not what
they ought to be, and never desisted from admonishing them in
what I thought their duty, although I saw it was of little avail.
For this reason, and having received letters of obedience, I left
the place, though the king was unwilling and would have kept
me as his captive had he dared, though neither himself nor his
people would assist me in anything that could profit them for
the good of their souls, but rather he said that if I was to remain
in his land I must not teach the Christian doctrine, to which I
152 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
replied that I had no other business than to teach him the law of
God his Creator if he would accept it, but if not that obedience to
those to whom I owed it before him commanded me under such
conditions to retire, and so I came away because the vessel in
which I was to travel was ready to start. I shall say no more,
but that from that time to this I have been recruiting my former
strength, for I had lost all or part of my faculties and felt them
all diminished, but I have been so well cared for here that I am
now ready to start.
Our Lord be with all. Father Balthazar Dias is hurrying me
to start, for he accompanies me to the ship.
An unworthy brother who loves you all in Christ,
ANDRE FERNANDES.
Goa, 5th of December 1562.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 153
NAUFRAGIO
DA
NAO S. THOMfc
Na terra dos Fumos, no Anno de 1589.*
GOVERNANDO o Estado da India Manoel de Souza Coutinho,
partio de Cbchim Estevao da Veiga na Nao S. Thome em Janeiro
de 1589, e tomou a derrota por fora dos Baixos, e hindo demandar
a Ilha de Diogo Kodrigues, que esta em vinte graos do Sul, onde
Ihe deo o vento Sueste ta5 rijo, que logo alevantou os mares de
feigao que hindo correndo a Nao a vontade do vento, com o
trapear que fez, abrio por proa pela botecadura, por onde lancando
fora a estopa do calafeto comecou a fazer alguma agoa, a que logo
acodirao, e remedearad muito bem; e abonancandolhe o vento
forao sua derrota athe a altura da Ponta da Ilha de S. Lourenco,
em altura de vinte e seis graos, de noventa para cem legoas da
terra, onde tornou a abrir outra agoa em mayor quantidade, que
a primeira, por outro lugar mais perigoso, que foy por popa
abaixo das escoas as primeiras picas, onde he mais difficultoso de
se ella tomar, que em toda a outra parte : e acodindo os Officiaes,
despejaraS a Nao por aquella parte, e derao com a agoa, que era
muito grossa, por cuspir as estopas, e as pastas de chumbo, que se
pregarao por cima, o que tudo nasceo do calafeto, por cuja causa
se perdem muitas Naos, no que se tern muito pouco resguardo, e
os Officiaes muito pouco escrupulo, como se nao ficassem a sua
conta tantas vidas, e tantas fazendas como se metem nestas Naos.
Achada a agoa virao que era hum torno tamanho, que se hum
Official metia a mad a for?a della lha tornava a rebater para fora.
E porque se nad podia tomar sem cortarem as picas, o fizerao
contra o parecer de muitos; e todavia tendo cortadas algumas,
tornarao a sobrestar, por ser aquelle lugar o em que se fecha toda
a Nao, e nella nao hia pregadura para se tornar a remediar,
* This narrative was prepared in 1611, at the request of Dona Anna de Lima,
by Diogo do Couto, who was then Keeper of the Archives of India. He was
one of the shipwrecked party.
154 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
porque as mais, ou todas estas Naos anda5 a Deos misericordia,
por pouparem quatro cruzados; e com facas, pregos grandes, e
outras eouzas entupirao o melhor que pudereo aquelle lugar, e
com muitos saquinhos de arroz, que meterao entre as picas e
liames para que fizessem pegamapo, ordenandolhe por cima huma
area que sustentasse estes saquinhos de arroz para baixo, e os nao
pudesse a agoa suspender.
Com isto ficarao alguma couza alliviados, e a agoa comepou a
ser menos na bomba, e assim forao seguindo seo caminho com
bom tempo athe altura de trinta e dois graos e meyo do Sul, cento
e sincoenta legoas da Bahia da Alagoa, e oitenta da mais chegada
terra do Natal. Nesta paragem Ihe saltou o vento ao Ponente da
parte do Sudueste, sendo ja onze dias de Marpo ; com o que to-
marao as velas, ficando so os papafigos, com que se fizerao na
vblta do Norte, e com o trabalho do vento, e dos mares, a agoa a
abrir pelo mesmo lugar tao apressada, que em pouco espaco havia
ja seis palmos no porao, e toda a gente se meteo em grande
revblta, e se comecou a alijar ao mar todas as eouzas do conves,
para ficarem as escotilhas lestes ; e com os aldrbpes das bombas
nas maos, sem descancarem, passarao toda a noite, e sendo ja
mais dous palmos de agoa, q cresceo sobre o lastro do porao
comecou a cobrir as pipas, e o pao preto, que por cima ja andavao'
nadando de bordo a bordo, dando no costado da Nao tamanhas
pancadas, que abalava toda a Nao. E porque a agoa crescia,
atravessarao os Officiaes algumas entenas por cima das escotilhas
da popa, e de proa, pelas quaes ordenarao nauitos barris de
seis almudes, que desciao, e sobiao com facilidade, aos quaes se
repartirao todos os da Nao, sem haver exceppao de pessoa,
sendo D. Paulo de Lima, que nella hia com sua mulher, o
primeiro, e assim Bernardim de Carvalho, o Capitao Estevao
da Veiga, Gregorio Botelho sogro de Guterre de Monroy, que
levava alii sua filha para seo marido, que estava no Keyno, e
outros cavalheiros, e Eeligiosos que na Nao hiao, que todos de
dia e de noite trabalharao nas bombas e aldrbpes dos Barris, sem
se apartarem delles, nem para comer ; porque os Padres andavao
pelo conves com biscouto, conservas, e agoa, consolando a todos,
assim corporal, como espiritualmente. E com toda esta diligencia
a agoa era cada vez mais, com o que se determinarao a hir buscar
a terra no mais perto, para vararem nella, para onde virarao com
o Traquete de proa e Cevadeira, e nao ouzarao de bolir na vela
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 155
grande ; por nao largarem os aldropes e bombas das maos, porque
qualquer espapo, que o fizerao, bastara para se sumergirem.
E hindo demandar a terra, sendo ja catorze de Marpo, se acabou
de encher o porao de agoa, e as bombas de se entupir com a
pimenta, que foy ao porao, por onde ja deixavao de laborar, e os
homens a descorcoar ; mas aquelles Fidalgos, Religiosos, e Caval-
heiros honrados, com grande coracao e animo trabalhando sempre,
esforcavao os mais ao trabalho, persuadindo a nao largarem os
aldropes das maos, porque isso os sustentava. Os Officiaes
gastarao aquelle dia em desentupir as bombas, forrando os trepes
com folha de flandes por se nao tornarem a empaxar. E porque
tambem era necessario alijarem ao mar tudo o que pudessem,
encomendarao este negocio a certas pessoas, que forao deitando
todas as riquezas, e loucainhas, de que a Nao hia requissima,
ganhado tudo com tanto suor de huns, e com tanto encargo de
outros.
Ao outro dia, que forao quinze do mez, estava ja a cuberta de
sobre o porao chea de agoa, e o vento era Sudueste, e de quando
em quando vinha com huns salseiros de agoa muito rijos, que Ihe
davao outro trabalho de novo. Emfim tudo era contra elles, athe
o leme da Nao deixou de governar, por cuja causa ella ficou
atravessada, sem velas, por serem todas rotas, nao acodindo os da
Nao a nada, por nao largarem as bombas das maos, porque nisso
estava algum remedio, se o havia. Toda esta noite passarao com
grandes trabalhos, e desconsola9oens, porque tudo quanto viao
Ihe reprezentava a morte ; porque por baixo virao a Nao chea de
agoa, por cima o Ceo conjurado contra todos, porque athe elle se
Ihe encobrio com a mayor cerrafao e escuridade que se vio. ar
assobiava de todas as partes, que parecia Ihe estava bradando,
morte, morte ; e nao bastando a agoa que por baixo Ihe entrava,
e de cima, que o Ceo lancava sobre elles, parecia, que os queria
alagar com outro diluvio. Dentro na Nao tudo o que se ouvia
erao suspires, gemidos, gritos, prantos, e misericordias, que se
pediao a Deos, que parecia, que por alguns peccados de alguns
que hiao naquella Nao, estava irado contra elles.
Ao outro dia em amanhecendo, que se virao todos sem nenhum
remedio, tratarao de lan?ar o batel ao mar, para o que foy neces-
sario largar os barris para se abrir a Nao, na qual entre as cuber-
tas, parecia que andavao todos os espiritos danados, com o
estrondo das couzas que nadavao, e davao humas nas outras, e
156 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
que corriao de bordo a bordo, de maneira que aos que abaixd
desciao se Ihes reprezentava o ultimo juizo. Os Officiaes, e
outros homens derao pressa ao concerto do batel, a que fizerao
suas arrombadas, e o que Ihe mais pareceo necessario para a
viagem, o que tudo se fez com grande trabalho pelos grandes
balances que a Nao dava, por andarem os mares cruzados, os
quaes Ihes entravao pelo Portalb, que estava aberto, para por elle
alijarem tudo ao mar ; o que era causa de se acabar de alagar a
Nao. Ja neste tempo hiao governando ao Noroeste, porque se
fazia o Piloto muito perto da terra, e assim o estavao tanto, que
aquelle dia ao por do Sol affirmou hum Marinheiro, que a vira, e
bradou de cima da Gavea : Terra, terra. E por nao saber o Piloto
se naquella parte haveria Arrecifes, onde se a Nao encalhasse, e
se perdessem todos, pareceo-lhe bem desviarse, e governar ao
Nordeste, para como fosse de dia a hir demandar, para se poder
salvar toda a gente, que toda aquella noite passou na mayor
afflicpao de espirito, e no mayor trabalho do corpo, que se podia
imaginar.
Ao outro dia, tanto que amanheceo, nao virao terra, e lancarao
o batel ao mar com muito trabalho, porque hindo no ar sobre os
aparelhos, se lancavao os homens a elle como doudos, sem D. Paulo
de Lima, que se tinha metido dentro com huma espada na mao,
Ihe poder valer, porque se quiz segurar dos Marinheiros, que se
nao fossem nelle, e o deixassem ; e sem embargo de cutiladas, e
crisadas, que se derao em muitos muy despiadosamente, nao deixou
de se lan$ar nelle tanta gente, que em chegando ao mar se hou-
vera de socobrar ; e com muito trabalho tornou D. Paulo de Lima
a fazer sobir alguns para cima, promettendolhes, que todos os
que coubessem, se haviao de salvar nelle. E ficando o batel em
bom estado, se foy por por popa da Nao para tomar pela varanda
as mulheres, que alii hiao, os Eeligiosos, e os homens Fidalgos,
porque a Nao dava grandes balanpos, e houverao medo que
metesse o batel no fundo ; afastouse hum pouco para fora, e dalli
se deo ordem para que as mulheres se amarrassem em pecas de
caca, pelas quaes dependuradas as calavao abaixo ; e o batel
chegava a tomallas, mergulhadas muitas vezes, com muito trabalho,
lastima, e magoa de todos.
Nesta obra andava na Nao Bernardim de Carvalho, sobre quern
descarregarao todos os trabalhos daquelle negocio, e de toda a
Nao ; porque D. Paulo de Lima, como era bom Christao, e te-
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 157
mente a Deos, havia que aquelle castigo era por seos peccados ;
eom o que andava tao acanhado, que nao parecia ser aquelle, que
em tao grandes riscos e perigos, como os em que se vio, nunca
perdeo hum ponto de seo esforco e animo, que a qui Ihe faltou de
todo. Tomarao-se desta maneira : a mulher do mesmo D. Paulo,
D. Marianna mulher de Guterres de Monroy, e D. Joanna de
Mendoca mulher que fora de Goncalo Gomes de Azevedo, que hia
para o Keyno meterse em hum Mosteiro, desenganada do mundo,
sendo ainda moca, e que se podia lograr delle, Dona muito
virtuosa, e que em toda esta Jornada deo a todos hum admiravel
exemplo de sua virtude, como em seos lugares tocaremos ; a qual
levava comsigo huma filha de menos de dous annos, com quern
ella estava abrafada, com os olhos nos Ceos pedindo a Deos
misericordia, e para a amarrarem foy necessario tiralla dos bra9os,
e entregalla a huma ama sua. Apoz ellas se embarcarao os
Padres, e Bernardim de Carvalho, e o derradeiro de todos o
Mestre, e Contra-Mestre, que andarao fazendo prestes alguns
barns de biscouto, e agoa que lancarao no batel, e com elles se
entulhou o batel, e se foy afastando.
Vendo D. Joanna de Mendoca que Ihe ficava a filha na Nao, a
qual via estar no cblo da sua ama, que de la lha mostrava, mos-
trando-a com grandes prantos, e lastimas, forao tantas as magoas,
e couzas que disse, que moveo a todos a chegarem a Nao y e
pedirem a menina a ama, dizendolhe que a amarrasse a huma
caca, e a lancasse abaixo, o que ella nao quiz fazer, dizendo, que
tambem a tomassem, senao que a nao havia de entregar ; e nunca
a puderao persuadir a outra couza, por muito que sua senhora Iho
pedio com lagrimas, e piedades, que puderao mover hum Tigre,
se tivera a crianca em seos bracos. E porque nisto houve detenca,
e a moca estava emperrada, e a Nao dava huns balances cruelissi-
inos, foy forpado afastarem o batel, porque se nao metesse no
fundo, o que foy com grande compaixao da triste may, que estava
com os olhos na filha, com aquella piedade com que todas as
costumao por nos seos, que muito amao. E vendo que Ihe era
for?ado deixalla, tomando ella antes ficar com ella, e em seos
brafos, que a entregar aquellas crueis ondas, que pareciao que ja
a queriao tragar, virou as cbstas para a Nao, e pondo os olhos no
Ceo offereceo a Deos a tenra filha em sacrificio, como outro Isaac,
pedindo a Deos misericordia para si, porque sua filha era inno-
cente, e sabia que a tinha bem segura. Este espectaculo nao
158 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
deixou de causar em todos gravissima dor naquelle estado, em
que cada hum tinha bem necessidade de compaixao alheya, se
alii houvera animos livres para a poderem ter dos males d'outros.
Afastando o batel hum pouco, ficarao esperando de largo pelo
Padre Frey Niculao do Rozario da Ordem dos Pregadores, que se
nao quiz embarcar no bate], sem confessar quantos ficavao na
Nao ; porque nao quiz, que pois a tanta gente Ihe faltavao todas
as consolapoens do corpo, Ihe faltassem as da alma ; e assim con-
fessou, e consolou a todos com muita caridade, chorando com
elles suas miserias, e absolvendo-os, assirn em particular, como em
geral. E porque nao era possivel chegar o batel a tomallo por
forca, porque estava apostado a se deixar ficar na Nao para Qon-
solacao daquella gente, mas tanto Ihe disse D. Paulo de Lima, e
tantos protestos Ihe fez com todos os que mais hiao no batel, que
se houve de lanpar ao mar, e a nado se recolheo no batel, onde
foy muy festejado de todos por sua virtude e exemplo que em
toda aquella viagem deo, pelo qual era muy amado e reverenci-
ado de todos. E depois de ser recolhido forao governando para
terra.
Os da Nao, vendo partido o batel, e nao Ihe ficando outra
esperanpa de remedio, que a que Deos, e elles ordenassem, fizerao
algumas jangadas, o melhor que puderao, que ja ficavao a bordo
da Nao, quando o batel se afastou ; mas como Deos Nosso Senhor
tinha escolhido aquelles para acabarem naquelle lugar, todos se
sumergirao, e o mesmo fizerao duas manchuas, que hiao arrisadas
por popa da Nao. E certo que devia de ser aquelle castigo de
Deos, porque facilissimamente se pudera salvar toda a gente desta
Nao, se os do batel nao quizerao tratar de si sos ; porque bem
puderao dar primeiro ordem a grandes jangadas, em que se toda
a gente recolhera com a agoa, e mantimentos, as quaes o batel
fora guiando athe terra, que estava tao perto. que ao outro dia se
vio, tendo para isso tanto espaco de tempo, que durou a Nao
vinte e quatro horas, sem Ihe darem a bomba, nas quaes se
puderao ordenar todas as jangadas que quizerao, pois levavao
entenas, mastros, e vergas, e tanta madeira, que Ihe sobejava.
Porque mais difficultosa foy a perdipao da Nao Santiago no Baixo
da Judia (como na decima Decada fica dito) e fizerao-se muitas
jangadas, de que algumas chegarao a terra sem favor do Esquife,
nem batel, durando a viagem oito dias. Mas as pessoas a que
nesta Nao se pudera ter respeito, e que podiao mandar ordenar
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 159
isto, erao D. Paulo de Lima, que tinha perdido aquelle nunca
vencido animo, com se ver com sua mulher naquelle estado; e
outro Bernardim de Carvalho Fidalgo muito honrado, e muito
bom cavalleiro, mas de natureza tao branda, que por ver nos
Officiaes todos huma grande alterapao, dissimulou com couzas que
entendia bem, por se nao perder tudo ; porque esta gente do mar,
em hum caso como este, nao tern respeito a nada, nem elles
depois forao castigados por excesses que cometterao nestas
viagens.
E tornando ao batel, tanto, que cometteo sua viagem, acharao-
no os Officiaes tao pejado, por hir muito carregado, e com todo o
grosso debaixo da agoa, que fizerao grandes requerimentos, que se
lanpassem algumas pessoas ao mar para se poderem salvar as
outras ; o que aquelles Fidalgos consentirao, deixando a eleipao
dellas aos Officiaes, que logo lanparao ao mar seis pessoas, que
forao tomadas nos ares, lanpados nelle, onde ficarao sumergidas
das crueis ondas, sem mais apparecerera. Este piedoso sacrificio
levou os olhos dos que o virao, tanto atras de si, que ficarao pas-
mados, sem saberem o que viao, ou como couza que se Ihes repre-
zentava em sonhos : e posto que estas seis pessoas se despejarao,
ficarao ainda no batel cento e quatro. E hindo sua viagem nao
puderao surdir avante, porque a agoa os hia lanpando da terra
para o mar, porque nem os homens hiao para remar, de cancados
dos trabalhos passados, nem o batel hia para se marear, de muy
pezado ; e sendo meya noite se acharao da Nao ao mar hum bom
espaco : pelo que tomando o remo se tornarao a chegar a ella, e
virao dentro muitos fogos, que erao velas acezas, porque toda a
noite os da Nao passarao em Procissoens, e Ladainhas encomen-
dandose a Deos Nosso Senhor com vbzes, e clamores tao altos, que
no batel se ouvirao.
Em amanhecendo se chegou o batel bem a Nao, e fallarao com
os de dentro, animando-os a fazerem jangadas, ofierecendose a
esperarem para os acompanhar ; os de dentro responderao com
grandes gritos e prantos, pedindo misericordia em vbzes tao pro-
fundas e piedosas, que metiao medo e terror; porque como a
manhaa nao era bem clara, fazia parecer aquillo mais medonho e
espantoso. Descuberto o dia tratarao de hirem algumas pessoas
a Nao a tomar espingardas, e mantimentos, ao que se lanparao a
nado tres ou quatro Marinheiros, que em sobindo acima acharao
ja a cuberta da Nao chea de agoa, e a gente toda como alienada
160 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
com o temor da morte, que esperavaS, e todavia tinhao no
chapiteo da popa hum fermoso retabolo de Nossa Senhora, ao
redor do qual estavao todas as escravas descabelladas em hum
piedoso pranto, pedindo aquella Senhora misericordia, estando
diante de todas a ama de D. Joanna com a menina nos brapos,
donde nunca a largou, cuja idade Ihe nao deixava conhecer o
perigo em que estava ; e ainda que o sentira, Iho fizera sua
innocencia estimar em pouco, porque nao ha couza que fapa
parecer a morte mais temerbsa, que o receyo da salvacao. Os
Marinheiros lancarao ao mar alguns barris de agoa, e biscouto, e
hum de vinho, que se recolherao no batel, que desejou de chegar
a Nao a despejar inda de algumas pessoas, porque nao estava para
navegar. Os Marinheiros se recolherao sem trazerem a menina
de D. Joanna ; porque os mais destes homens sao deshumanos e
crueis por natureza.
E porque nao puderao chegar a Nao para fazerem aquelle
despejo, se afastarao, e deixarao aos Officiaes fazer seo oflScio, os
quaes forao deitando ao mar algumas pessoas, que forao, hum
Diogo Fernandes bom homem, e muito apoucado, que acabara de
ser Feitor de Ceilao ; e hum Soldado chamado Diogo de Seixas,
e Diogo Duarte mercador, e Diogo Lopes Bayao, que anclara
muitos annos no Balagate, onde o Idalxa Ihe tinha dados tres mil
cruzados de renda, por ser homem de industria, e invenpoens, o
qual tratava em cavallos de Goa para la, e Ihe levava todos os
avizos, e ainda se suspeitava que era duvidoso na Fe, pclo que o
mandavao para o Keyno (do qual na nossa decima Decada demos
larga conta) porque foy o que teceo as meadas de se passar a
terra firme ufucao, que o Idalxa desejou de haver as mads para
o matar, por Ihe pertencer o Reyno, e assim desta vez o acolheo
por ardis deste Diogo Lopes, e Ihe mandou tirar os olhos. Este
Diogo Lopes, quando o tomarao para o lanpar ao mar, entregou ao
Padre Frey Niculao hum bizalho de pedraria, que diziao valer
des ou doze mil cruzados, encomendandolhe que se o pudesse
salvar o entregaria a seos Procuradores se fosse a Goa, ou a seos
herdeiros, se Deos o levasse ao Keyno. E com estes homens
lanparao tambem no mar alguns escravos, que todos logo forao
sumergidos daquellas crueis ondas.
Feita esta abominavel crueldade por maos destes Officiaes do
mar, os quaes permittio Deos, que pagassem muy cedo, com todos
ou os mais delles morrerem em terra por aquelles matos com
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 161
grandes desconsolapoens. Comepou o batel a tocar o remo para
terra, e sendo afastados da Nao as des horas do dia, Ihe virao dar
hum grande balance, e apoz elle esconderse toda debaixo da agoa,
desaparecendo a vista de todos como hum rayo; de que elles
ficarao como homens pasmados, parecendo hum sonho, verem
assini huma Nao, em que havia pouco hiao navegando, tao carre-
gada de riquezas, e loucainhas, que quasi nao tinha estimacao,
comida das ondas, sumergida debaixo das agoas, enthezourando
nas concavidades do mar tantas couzas, assim dos que nella hiao,
como dos que ficavao na India, adquiridas pelos meyos que Deos
sabe. Pelo que muitas vezes permitte se logrem tao pouco como
estas. E posto que este espectaculo foy muy temeroso a todos, a
desconsolada de D. Joanna de Mendopa foy de mayor dor e
paixao, porque via sua filha tao tenra e mimosa sua, manjar de
algum monstro do mar, que pode ser, que ainda bracejando a
tragasse ; mas como ella tinha offerecido ja tudo em sacrificio a
Deos, com elle praticou dentro em seo corapao suas lastimas, a
que elle nao podia deixar de acodir com alguma consolacao
espiritual, porque na paciencia, virtude, e exemplos que neste
negocio mostrou, se podia isto suspeitar.
Ao Batel derao huma vela que se Ihe ordenou ; e com o vento,
que era Levante, foy demandar a mais proxima terra pelo rumo
que levarao, da qual houverao vista sobre a tarde aos vinte dias
de Marco, e com grande alvoro?o (se o podia haver em cora^oens,
que tantas magoas virao havia tao pouco) se forao chegando a
ella; e por Ihes anoitecer tomarao a vela, porque nao fosse
encalhar em parte onde se afogassem todos, ja que Deos alii os
levara. E certo que he couza muito para ponderar a perdicao
desta Nao, e a morte da gente que nella ficou ; porque em muitas
couzas se vio ser aquillo hum juizo de Deos muito evidente ;
porque se aquella noite que o Marinheiro disse que vira terra,
acertara de pela manhaa, ou o Piloto nao se desviara de noite
della, em nenhuma forma pudera perecer aquella gente ; porque
estariao, quando muito, della oito legoas, e a Nao deo muito largo
espa^o para o batel lan?ar aquella batelada de gente em terra, e
tornar pela que Ihe ficava: e ainda puderao fazer mais, que
fora, virem com a Nao athe encalhar, que ainda que fosse duas
legoas da terra, ficavalhe mais perto para se levar toda'a gente no
batel; e ainda que o nao tiverao, em jangadas, que alii fariao
todos com grande alvoroco a vista da terra, se poderiao salvar.
II. M
162 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Mas os peccados taparao os olhos a todos para nao entenderem
isto, e se perderem aquelles que nascerao para aquillo.
Ao outro dia pela manhaa se chegarao bem a terra, e surgirao
na quebranja do mar, por ser alii tudo limpo, e lanparao alguns
Marinheiros fora para hirem ver se havia algumas povoapoes, os
quaes de cima de huns medaos de area enxergarao fogos, e hindo-
os demandar derao em humas palhocas, em que moravao alguns
Cafres, que em vendo aquelles homens lanparao a fugir, mas
tornando a conhecer serem Portuguezes, pela cornunicafao que
com elles tinhao por causa do resgate de Marfim, que todos os
annos alii vao fazer, tornarao logo a elles muy domesticos, e em
sua companhia forao athe a praya, sem se entenderem, porque nao
fallava nenhum delles nossa lingoagem. Ventava neste tempo
Ponente, peloque assentarao todos de se hirem de longo da Costa
athe o Uio de Lourenpo Marques ; e recolhendo os Marinheiros
comef arao a navegar, mas como o vento foy crescendo, o fizerao os
inares de feigao, que Ihes foy for?ado vararem naquella praya, por
nao hirem depois a fazello em outra, em que perigassem.
Encalhando o batel puzerao-se todos em terra com algum
biscouto que levavao, e prepararao as espingardas e armas para
algnma neeessidade ; aquella noite passarao entre huns medaos
de area, onde fizerao seos fogos ; e passarao com muito boa vigia.
Era isto aos yinte e dous de Marco, e ao outro dia puzerao fogo
ao batel para Ihe tirarem a pregadura, por ser couza estimada
ntre os Cafres, para com ella fazerem seo resgate, e fizerao
alforge de ootonias para o caminho, e fazendo algumas borrachas
<le couros (que a caso se lancarao no batel) para levarem agoa
para o caminho : e fazendo resenho da gente, acharao-se noventa
oito pessoas, com mttlheces, das quaes nomearemos as de que
tivemos noticia : Capitao Estevao da Veiga, D. Paulo de Lima,
D. Beatris sue, mulher, Gregorio Botelho, sua filha D. Marianna,
mulher de Guterre de Monroy, D. Joanna de Mendopa, mulher
que foy de Gon^alo Gomes de Azevedo, Bernardim de Carvalho,
Manoel Cabral da Veiga, Christovao Eebelk) Bodovalho, Nicolao
-da Silva, Diogo Lopes Leitao, hum irmao da mulher de D. Paulo
de Lima, Francisco Dorta, Feitor da Nao, Antonio Caldeira, filho
de Manoel Caldeira, o Contador das Naos, o Padre Frey Nicolao
do Rosarib da Ordem dos Pregadores, o Padre Frey Antonio,
Capucho Leigo, Marcos Carneiro, Mestre da Nao, Gaspar Fernan-
des, Piloto, Diogo de Couto, que se tinha perdido na Nao
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 163
Santiago no Baixo da Judia, e outros Marinheiros, e Grumetes.
As armas que se acharao forao sinco espingardas, outras tantas
espadas, hum barril de polvora, alguns murroens ; e dos remos do
batel fizerao hasteas de lancas, e por ferros Ihe puzerao verrumas
dos Carpinteiros, e o biscouto se repartio por todos, a dous, tres
punhados cada hum, e encherao as borrachas de agoa. E este
foy o provimento para o caminho que determinavao fazer.
Aos vinte e tres de Marpo comecarao a caminhar, hindo diante
de todos o Padre Frey Antonio, Capucho, com hum Crucifixo
arvorado, e ordenarao das velas do batel dous andores amarrados
em alguns remos para aquellas mulheres caminharem, as quaes
haviao de levar as cbstas os Marinheiros e Grumetes, a quern D.
Paulo de Lima prometteo huma quantidade de dinheiro. As
mulheres, a de D. Paulo, e Guterre de Monroy levavao juboens
brancos, calpoens compridos athe o chao, e barretes vermelhos ; so
D. Joanna de Mendo9a hia vestida no Habito de S. Francisco,
porque como hia com tenpao de se meter Freira em algum
Mosteiro de Santa Clara, quis vestir alii o seo Habito, porque se
morresse naquelle caminho, fosse nelle, e assim Ihe ficassem seos
dezejos cumpridos em parte : e depois o cumprio bem, porque ja
que na India Ihe faltou Mosteiro de Santa Clara, em que se
metesse, naquelle Habito seo, que nunca mais largou, se recolheo
para Nossa Senhora do Cabo, onde fez huma cazinha, ou huma
cella, em que se foy agazalhar, por estar perto dos Padres
Capuchos, que alii fazem vida santa, e ella nao menos que elles, e
assim vive com tanto recolhimento e abstinencia e orapao, que em
nenhuma clauzura pudera ser mais, e sua vida e exemplo tern
consolado esta Cidade de Goa.
Primeiro que continuemos com o caminho que estes perdidos
fizerao por esta Cafraria, nos pareceo bem fazer huma breve
descripao desta parte, porque de todas as mais a temos feita na
nossa nona Decada, onde tratamos da conquista das Minas do
Ouro, que por alii andou fazendo o Governador Francisco Barreto,
e Vasco Fernandes Homem, e agora faremos desde este lugar
onde o batel encalhou, athe o Cabo das Correntes, onde chegamos,
com a outra descricao dos Reynos de Monomotapa, e de todos os
mais daquelle Sertao, e maritimo desta Ethiopia interior.
A esta parte, em que este batel encalhou, chamao os nossos
Mareantes commummente Terra dos Fumos ; e assim esta nome-
ada nas nossas Cartas de marear ; o qual nome Ihe foy posto,
M 2
164 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
pelos nossos, que por alii primeiro passarao, pelos muitos fumos
que de noite virao em terra ; mas os Cafres naturaes Ihe chamao
Terra dos Macomates, por huns Cafres assim chamados, que vivem
ao redor daquellas prayas. Encalhou este batel em vinte e sete
graos e hum terco, adiante de hum rio, que nas nossas Cartas
anda sem nome, que esta em vinte e sete graos e meyo, ao qual
os nossos que navegao de Mopambique para o rio de Lourengo
Marques ao resgate de Marfim, chamao de Simao Dote, por hum
Portuguez deste nome, que a elle foy ter em hum Pangayo, o
qual rio he pequeno, e capaz so de embarcapoens pequenas, e sera
sincoenta legoas afastado da Bahia de Louren?o Marquez para
oSul.
Toda esta terra dos Fumos he do Bey chamado Viragune, que
se estende mais de trinta legoas para o Sertao, e pela banda do
Sul parte com outro chamado Mocalapapa, que se estende athe >
Sertao do Rio de Santa Luzia, que esta em altura de vinte e oito
graos e hum quarto, athe a primeira terra do Natal, aonde se
ajunta com outro Eeyno do Vambe que corre para o Sul, aonde
tambem os nossos vao fazer resgate do Marfim. E deste Reyno,
que toma muita parte da terra, que chamao do Natal, athe o
Cabo de Boa Esperanca nao ha Reys, e tudo he possuido de
Senhores, que chamao Ancozes, que sao Cabepas, e Regedores de
tres, quatro, e sinco Aldeas. E tornando do Reyno de Viragune,
que he toda aquella terra dos Fumos, vay o Reyno do Inhaca
correndo ao Nordeste, o qual se estende athe a Ponta da Bahia de
Lourenco Marques da banda do Sul, o qual nas nossas Cartas
de marear se chama o rio de S. Lourenfo, que esta em altura
de vinte e sinco graos e tres quartos, e ainda senhorea duas Ilhas
q estaS na mesma Ponta, huma chamada Choambone, que he
povoada, e tern sete Aldeas, que sera de quatro legoas, e tern
muitas vacas, cabras e gallinhas ; a outra se chama Setimuro, que
he despovoada, e sera de duas legoas, na qual os nossos, que alii
vao ao resgate de Marfim, se apozentao, para estarem mais seguros
dos Negros da terra, porque o mayor commercio que tern he com
ste Inhaca. Tern esta Ilha muito boa agoa, muitos pescados, e
Tartarugas, ainda que a casca nao presta para nada.
E porque temos chegado a esta Bahia, que he famosa, e das
principaes de toda a terra, o que os Geografos chamao Africa,
faremos della huma demonstracao, para se verem melhor os Reys,
que vivem derredor della. Finjamos huma Borboleta, que faz
Eecords of South-Eastern Africa. 165
duas pontas, esta do Inhaca que dissemos, e outra da banda do
Norte, onde esta o Reyno do Manhipa, de que logo falaremos ; e
sera distancia de huma boca a outra de seis legoas, e de fundo da
boca para dentro catorze bra9as. No meyo da Bahia faz huma
Ilha, a que os nossos puzerao nome dos Passaros, pelos muitos que
alii ha, tao grandes como Patos, e tao gordos, que de suas
inxundias fazem azeite para as candeas, e bitacolas dos Navios.
As azas desta Borboleta, a da banda do Sul he rio, que vay
cortando ao Sudueste, sobre o qual de huma e outra parte se
estende o Eeyno de Belingane, e assim se chama o rio ; a outra
aza da banda do Norte vay tirando direito a elle, he o rio do
Manhica, do qual o Reyno toma o nome, o qual rio he o mayor
de todos os que alii vem esbocar, e hum dos que dissemos na
nossa oitava Decada na Descripao do Reyno Monomotapa, que
sahia da Alagoa grande, juntamente com o Nilo, e outros ; o qual
rio se vay meter naquella parte a que chamao commummente
Bahia Fermosa, que he o proprio Rio do Espirito Santo. Aqui
fazem os Portuguezes resgate de Marfim, e tern alii sua Feitoria,
onde residem quatro mezes do anno, que dura esta moncao. O
cabo desta Borboleta, que se divide em duas farpas, sao dous rios,
que da mesma maneira do cabo farpado vao meterse naquella
Alagoa, que he o corpo desta Borboleta ; e sobre a farpa da banda
do Norte jaz o Reyno do Rumo, que foy o em que Manoel de
Souza Sepulveda, quando por alii passou com sua mulher, largou
as armas, como na sexta Decada escrevemos, e onde elle e seos
filhos morrerao, e onde o mesmo Manoel de Souza desapareceo,
metendose de magoa de ver a mulher, e filhos mortos pelos matos,
onde parece foy comido das feras. Este mato dahi a alguns
annos, o mandou aquelle Rey cortar e rogar para aproveitar
aquelles campos, no qual dizem os Cafres naturaes, que acharao
dous anneis ricos de pedraria, que o Rey tern, e mostra ainda hoje
aos Portuguezes que alii vao resgatar ; e de alguns sabemos estas
couzas, e nos affirrnarao que virao estes anneis, os quaes verisimel-
mente se tern serem do mesmo Manoel de Souza, que os levaria
comsigo nos dedos.
A outra farpa do Cabo da Borboleta da banda do Sul, he hum
Reyno a que chamao Anzete ; e ha se de saber, que entre estes
Cafres tanto que hum succede no Reyno logo se hao de appellidar
do nome do Reyno em que succede. Parte este Reyno com
humas grandes Serranias de mais de vinte legoas, tao asperas,.
166 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
intrataveis, e fortes por natureza, que nao tern entrada senao por
alguns passes muito difficultosos, e em cima se estendem muito
Ifirgas campinas, as quaes sao de hum Senhor chamado Mo-
nhimpeca, o qual por nenhum caso desce a baixo, nem communica
com os vizinhos, porque todos, huns e outros sao muito grandes
ladroens. Ha nestas Serras infinites Elefantes, e este Senhor
tern grandes covas cheas de seos dentes, os quaes nunca quiz
resgatar com os Portuguezes, porque se recea, que mandando
abaixo Ihos tomem os vizinhos. Vive este Cafre em cima muito
seguro de tudo, e sem haver mister ninguem, porque a terra Ihe
da em cima tudo o que Ihe he necessario para passar a vida.
Tern as gentes destas Serras a mesma lingoa dos Vumos, e
Anzates seos vizinhos, e sao todos comummente, assim homens,
como mulheres, tamanhos de corpos, que parecem Gigantes.
Estes dous rios que fazem as farpas do cabo da Borboleta, dous
dias de caminho donde se metem la em cima, formao outro rio,
que atravessa do Anzete athe o Vumo, e vay cortando aquella
ferpa pelo meyo sobre o qual vive hum Bey chamado Angomanes,
cujo Eeyno se estende para o Ponente ; e corre este rio pelo pe
de humas Serras, a cuja fralda estao algumas povoapoens ; e hum
Portuguez nos disse, que hindo por este rio acima ao resgate em
huma embarcacao, fora dar com as gentes destas povoapoens, que
andavao pescando em barcos pequenos, os quaes vio que quando
queriao alguma couza da terra, chegavao com seos barcos a parte
que os podiao ouvir, e davao certos silvos e apitos, aos quaes Ihe
acodiao os da Aldea com tudo o que queriao ; porque por aquelles
assovios se entendem, mas nao deixao de ter lingoa propria, e
muito differente de todas as mais daquelles Eeynos.
E tornando a boca do Bio do Espirito Santo, que he o focinho
desta Borboleta, ao Bio do Manhipa, delle corre hum esteiro que
vay tirando ao Sudueste, e corta aquella ponta que fica em Ilha,
a que os nossos puzerao nome do Mel, da qual vay correndo a
Costa direita athe o rio dos Beys, a que hoje os nossos chamao do
Ouro, que esta em altura de vinte e sinco graos, sobre o qual
da banda do Ponente se estende hum Beyno, que chamao do
Inhapula, e da outra banda o de Manupa, que he vassallo do
outro. Daqui vay encurvando a Costa athe o Cabo das Correntes,
tanto que faz huma muy penetrante Enseada, de que nas nossas
Cartas de marear se nao faz demostracao, a qual quando os Navios
de Mopambique vao ao Bio de Lourenpo Marques, parece que
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 1 67
atravessao hum grande golfo, e de longo desta Enseada vivem
huns Cafres chamados Mocrangas, grandes ladroens. No meyo
della anda lanpado hum rio nas nossas Cartas de marear em vinte
e quatro graos menos hum quinto, a que chamao da Bazaruta,
que alii nao ha, nem por toda aquella Costa algum deste nome, so
ha ilhas da Pa^aruta, que estao em vinte e hum graos e meyo,
defronte da Ponta que nas nossas Cartas se chama de S. Sebastiao,
que esta em altura de vinte e dous graos e hum terco, do qual ja
temos dado conta na nona Decada na descricao que atras dissemos
que tinhamos feito de toda a Cafraria. No Sertao desta Enseada
dos Mocrangas ha dous Keynos, o de Manuka, que ja nomeamos,
que fica na parte que dissemos, o outro do Inhaboze que vay athe
hum grande rio, que se chama Inharingue, antes do Cabo das
Correlates, que he o mesmo que acabamos de dizer, que nas Cartas
de marear se chama da Bazaruta, mas esta mais chegado ao Cabo
das Correntes do que se ve nas mesmas Cartas. Sobre este rio da
banda do Ponente esta o Eeyno de Pande, visinho ao de Inha-
buze, o qual parte com o Eeyno no Monhibene, que corre delle
ao Norte de longo do mesmo rio, o qual vay partir com outro
Eeyno, que chamao do Javara, que fica para o Sertao sobre este
rio, e da outra banda ha outros dous Eeynos, o de Gamba mais
para o mar, e o Mocumba ao Sertao. Todos estes Eeynos desta
descripao sao muy conhecidos dos Portuguezes que vao de Mopani-
bique resgatar Marfim aquelles Eeynos. Com o que concluimos
aqui com elles. E porque nao era fora de proposito tratarmos
tambem dos barbaros costumes, e leys destes Cafres, o nao trato
aqui porque he fora de minha tenpao, e so quero dar noticia do
que aconteceo a gente da perdicao no caminho, athe chegarem ao
Eio de Lourenpo Marques.
Postos os nossos perdidos ao caminho, como atras dissemos,
forao de longo da praya muito devagar, por causa das mulheres,
comendo do pouco biscouto, que leva vao, e bebendo da pouca
agoa das borrachas, que a mayor parte della se Ihe tinha hido
pelas costuras. E assim desta maneira, fazendo/ 1 pouzos, forao
athe noite que se recolherao a huns medaos de area, onde se
agazalharao, buscando em todo este caminho sempre hum lugar
separado para as mulheres, e alii fizerao suas fogueiras, e dormirao
sobre a dura area, que nao tinhao outros colchoens, nem outros
cobertores, mais que o Ceo. Ao outro dia tornarao a seo caminho,
sem levarem ja que comer, nem que beber, e pela praya forao
168 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
tomando alguns Cranguejos, que comiao assados, hindo as mul-
heres ja muy canpadas, e sobre todas bem desconsolada D. Joanna
de Mendopa, que as outras duas, huma levava seo marido, e outra
seo pay, que as hiao ajudando e consolando o melhor que podiao ;
so esta Dona hia desabrigada e magoada, porque nao levava entre
toda aquella gente huma pessoa de sua obrigapao, que em hum
tal trabalho a pudesse soccorrer. Mas como Deos Nosso Senhor
tinha os olhos nella, por ella levar todo o seo corapao posto nelle,
quiz elle que se compadecesse della Bernardim de Carvalho
Fidalgo de muita virtude, o qual vendo-a so, e canpada se chegou
a ella a Ihe dar a mao, com tamanha honestidade, como se devia
a huma mulher, que tanto se tinha morta as couzas do mundo,
que o proprio dia que poz os pes em terra vestio o habito de S.
Francisco, e cortou seos fermosos cabellos, fazendo delles sacrificio
ao mesmo Deos, deixando-os por aquellas partes entregues aos
ventos, que os levarao ; e assim por todo o caminho em quanto
durou deo tal exemplo de si, que levava admirados a todos. E
este Fidalgo a foy servindo com tanto amor, e resguardo, por ver
nella aquella mortificapao, que esquecido dos seos trabalhos,
tomou tanto os outros a sua conta, que nao sey pay, nem irmao,
que mais o pudera fazer. Assim forao caminhando com grande
trabalho das mulheres, que ja levavao os pes empollados, e feitos
chagas, o que foy causa de hirem tao devagar, que ao terceiro dia
da Jornada tratarao algumas pessoas de se adiantarem, por nao se
atreverem com caminho tao vagaroso, e tao falto de tudo, que nao
comiao senao Cranguejos, e alguma fruta do mato, e algumas
couzas poucas, que forao resgatando com os Cafres.
A esta desordem dos que se queriao adiantar, acodirao o
Capitao, e D. Paulo de Lima, e com palavras de muita obrigapao
os persuadirao a se deixarem hir, affirmandolhes, que Deos os
soccorreria ; e assim dalli em diante levarao melhor ordem, porque
se repartirao em duas esquadras, Paulo de Lima com ametade da
gente adiante com as armas, e o Capitao Estevao da Veiga com a
outra detras, e as mulheres no rneyo, que hiao taes, que cortavao
os corapoens de todos : e assim se forao compassando com el las.
Ja neste tempo, que era ao segundo dia, hiao seguidos de alguns
Cafres, que seriao perto de trezentos, que parece levavao os olhos
em alguns barretes, e naquella pouquidade que viao, e assim se
forao chegando pouco e pouco athe se desavergonharem a se
atravessarem diante, e acometterem os nossos, fazendo suas
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 169
algazarras, e maneando suas armas, a que elles chamao Pemberar.
Capitao, e D. Paulo de Lima vendo aquella determinafao,
puzerao-se em hum corpo, deitando pela banda de fora as espin-
gardas e lanpas, levando sempre as mulheres no meyo, e forao
acometter os Cafres, que ja vinhao com grandes gritos e alaridos
arremetendo com os nossos, deitando sobre elles muitos arremepos
de paos tostados, a que chamao Fimbos, que derrubao hum boy se
Ihe acertao, dos quaes os nossos nao receberao dano ; e disparando
nelles as espingardas, em ouvindo o estrondo, houverao tamanho
medo, que todos juntos se deitarao pelo chao, e de gatinhas, como
Bogios, em saltos forao fugindo para os matos ; com o que os
nossos ficarao livres delles, e forao continuando seo caminho.
No mesmo dia Ihe sahirao por entre humas quebradas de humas
Serras outro magote de Cafres, entre os quaes vinha hum muito
velho com a barba toda branca, e cuberto com huma pelle de
Tigre, e junto a elle huma Cafra, que parecia sua mulher, e
chegando muito domesticos aos nossos, Ihes disserao por acenos,
que os seguissem, o que fizerao cuidando que era Senhor de
alguma Aldea, e forao pelo mesmo caminho que elles trouxerao,
pelo qual forao com trabalho, por ser hum pouco aspero, athe
chegarem a huma povoapao, que estava ao longo de huma Alagoa
de mais de huma legoa de comprido ; o Cafre Ihes offereceo
gazalhado, que elles aceitarao, aonde repouzarao o que ficava do
dia, e toda a noite sem inquietapao alguma ; e as Cafras da Aldea
acodirao a ver aquellas mulheres como couza de espanto, e toda
a noite Ihes fizerao muitas festas, e bailes, que Ihe ellas perdoarao,
porque com a matinada as nao deixarao dormir, tendo bem grande
necessidade de algum repouzo. Aqui Ihes trouxerao gallinhas,
cabras, peixe cru e assado, massa de farinha de milho, de que
faziao bolos, que tudo Ihes resgatarao por pedacos de pregos, e
algumas camizas, que para isso tiravao dos corpos. Passarao aqui
athe o outro dia naquella rustica recreapao, e tomou o Piloto o
Sol, e achou estar aquella Alagoa em vinte e seis graos e meyo
do Sul.
He esta Alagoa de agoa doce, mas entra nella a mare por hum
riacho, que de baixamar se passa pelo joelho, porq na boca faz o
mar grande quebranfa, e por esta causa a agoa da Alagoa he hum
pouco salobra, mas ha naquella parte muitos pocos de que bebem.
Este dia foy de Kamos, e pelo muito gazalhado que aqui receberao
puzerao aquelle rio o norne de Abundancia. Ao outro dia tornarao
170 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
a buscar a praya, pela qual acharao algumas aduellas de pipas, e
hum pao de serra, e pedacos de taboas, e de outros paos. E os
Cafres que hiao acompanhando os nossos Ihes disserao, que aquillo
fora dos Portuguezes que alii aportarao ; pelo que pareceo a todos,
que seria alguma das jangadas da Nao Santiago, que a corrente
da agoa levaria aquella parte, porque algumas ficarao, mas nao se
soube mais que de duas. mor trabalho, que os nossos padecerao
por este caminho da praya, foy a sede, que os apertava tanto,
que se tornarao a meter pelo Sertao, ainda que fosse com mor
trabalho.
Ao outro dia que partirao do Bio da Abundancia, forao dar com
outro rUcho, que hia meterse em outra Alagoa nao menor que a
passada, a qual passarao de baixamar, e nelle tomou o Piloto ao
outro dia o Sol, e achouse em vinte e seis graos, e hum quarto.
Daqui por diante forao entrando pelas terras do Key de Manhipa,
de que na descripao atras fallamos, o qual ja tinha avizo daquella
gente, e os mandou acompanhar por alguns homens seos, que os
i'estejarao muito, e elles se alegrarao em extreme com hum Cafre,
que Ihe fallou Portuguez muito claro, e Ihe disse, que havia
menos de des dias que se tinha partido do rio de Lourenco
Marques huma Naveta para Mozambique, da qual era Capitao
hum Jeronymo Leitao, que levava muito Marfim. Assim neste
alvoroco chegarao a povoapao, e a entrada della se assentarao a
sombra de huma fermosa arvore, aonde acodio toda a Aldea,
assim homens, como mulheres, a ver os nossos, ficando como
pasmados de ver as mulheres, couza que nunca virao, e as Cafras
vendo-as tao canpadas e maltratadas, faziao mostrasde compaixao,
e chegandose a ellas Ihes faziao mimos e caricias, offerecendolhes
suas cazas, e ainda as queriao levar logo comsigo. Nao tardou
muito ElBey, que logo chegou acompanhado de muita gente :
vinha nu, e encachado co hum panno que Ihe cobria as partes
inferiores, e cuberto com hum ferragoulo de panno verdozo, que
Ihe o Alferes mor D. Jorge de Menezes tinha mandado de Mof am-
bique, sendo Capitao D. Paulo de Lima. Capitao, e todos os
mais se levantarao, e o receberao com grandes cortezias, e elle
com o rosto muito alegre os abrapou, e se assentou com elles ao
pe da arvore, onde os nossos Ihe contarao sua desaventura, e
trabalhos do caminho, e que todos vinhao muy alvorogados por
chegarem a elle, porque sabiao quao amigo era dos Portuguezes,
e que nelle esperavao achar remedio para suas necessidades.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 171
EIRey os ouvio muito bem, e Ihes mandou responder humana-
mente condoendose delles, e Ihes offereceo tudo o que houvesse-
em sua terra. E porque Ihes pareceo razao darem a este homem
alguuia couza de prezente ; porque estes homens sempre estao
com os olhos nas maos para verem se levais que Ihes dar;
buscando entre todos alguma couza para Ihe darem, acharao hum
panno lavrado de ouro, com que D. Marianna se cobria, e huma
bacia de cobre, couza que elles muito estimao, e hum pedapo de
ferro grosso, e tudo Ihe ofierecerao, mandandolhe dizer qne Ihes
perdoasse, que nao salvarao mais que suas pessoas, como elle via r
e que ainda aquelle panno tomavao aquella mulher ; e assim Iho
lancarao por cima das cbstas ; com o que ficou tao ufanoy que-
olhava para si de huma e outra parte, e de alegre se ria ptra os
Cafres, havendo que aquelle era o dia de seo mayor triunfo. El
logo deo recado aos seos para que Ihes trouxessem alguma eomzat
de comer. Os quaes tornarao logo com dous balayos de- hum
legume a que chamao Ameixoeira, e huma cabra, e Ihes pedio
ficassem naquella Aldea, que nella os proveria como pudesse athe
para o anno vir o Navio da resgate ; e que era de parecer se nao
arriscassem por terra, porque de longo daquella Bahia por onde
haviao de passar viviao huns Cafres grandes ladroens, que os
haviao de roubar e matar, e que ja seo pay avizara disso a Manoel
de Souza Sepulveda quando por alii passara, e que por nao seguir
seo conselho, se perdera : dizendo mais aos nossos, que se nao se
haviao por seguros naquella Aldea, que elle os mandaria por ern
huma Ilha, onde achariao ainda as cazas em que os Portuguezes
viviao quando alii vinhao ao resgate do Marfim, e huma embar-
capao pequena para seo servifo, e que la os mandaria prover do
que houvessem mister. Elles Iho tiverao em merce, e Ihe
aceitarao o conselho, pedindolhe que os encaminhasse a Ilha, e
licenpa sua para logo ao outro dia se passarem para ella.
EIRey logo assim que se tomou tao apressada resolufao, deixan-
dolhes pessoas para os acompanhar athe os porem na Ilha, se
recolheo, e os nossos se sahirao da Aldea, e forao passar a noite
fora do campo, com grandes atalayas e fogos, e alii fizerao seos
bolos, e guizarao seo comer, e os Cafres Ihes levarao a vender
gallinhas, graos, feijoens, e outras couzas.
Era isto em Quinta feira de Endoenpas, pela qual razao nao se
quizerao mudar dalli athe dia de Paschoa da Resurreipao, que
eahio a dous de Abril. Este dia comeparao a caminhar com mais
172 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
folego, mas nao sem trabalho ; porque Ihes choveo tanta agoa que
os tratou mal, e a segunda oitava forao a vista da Bahia do
Espirito Santo, e por ser tarde se alojarao aquella noite o melhor
que puderao, e ao outro dia se chegarao ao mar, e os Cafres, que
os guiavao, fizerao sinal aos da Ilha, que estava perto, os quaes
logo acodirao com duas almadias pequenas, em que passarao a
Ilha naquelle dia, e no outro, e por ella caminharao huma legoa,
achando a toda cuberta de fermoso arvoredo, e de pastes muy
vistosos, nos quaes se apascentava muito fermoso gado d'ElRey, e
la no cabo da Ilha sobre a Bahia acharao algumas cazas palhapas,
em que se agazalharao, e ao outro dia passarao daquella Ilha
a outra de baixamar com a agoa pela cinta, a qual se chama
Setimino, de que fallamos em outra parte, onde acharao mais de
sincoenta choupanas, que os Portuguezes do resgate deixarao
feitas, e nellas se agazalharao como melhor puderao. Aqui
acharao duas embarcacoens pequenas, e vistas pelos Officiaes da
Nao, acharao que estavao muy boas para se poderem passar a
outra banda da Bahia, que era tao larga, que se nao enxergava a
terra de huma parte para a outra, e alvidrarao, que huma que era
mais capaz, poderia recolher sessenta pessoas, e a pequena quinze,
com o que todos ficarao alegres, porque haviao que como se vissem
da outra parte, teriao mais remedio para passar a Sofala ; e assim
comecou o Carpinteiro a concertar as embarcacoens, e mandarao
pedir para isso licenca ao Manhica, e algumas pepas de prata, das
poucas que se salvarao, o qual lha mandou, e forao preparando
tudo para a passagem.
Tendo tudo prestes para a passagem, aos dezoito de Abril se
comeparao a embarcar em ambas as embarcapoens, cuidando que
fossem capazes de levar todos ; e tanto que a gente se comepou a
embarcar, comecarao ellas a encherse de agoa, de feipao, que os
que estavao dentro bradavao, que os puzessem em terra, porque
se hiao ao fundo. Assim se tornarao a desembarcar todos mo-
Ihados, e desconsolados, e a recolher nas choupanas, desenganados
do remedio, que cuidavao ter. Os Marinheiros todos em hum
corpo pedirao que Ihes dessem as embarcapoens, que se queriao
aventurar nellas, e que levariao recado ao Inhabane, onde pode
ser se negociasse algum Pangayo para os hir buscar. Sobre isto se
comecarao a alterar razoens de parte a parte com gritos, e demazias
da parte desta gente, que nesta Carreira he muito alterada ; nao
querendo os Nobres, e Soldados, que Ihes dessem as embarcacoens,
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 173
assim por nao ficarem desabrigados sem ellas, como por se nao
dividirem aquelles homens, porque a salvafao de todos estava em
hirem juntos e unidos, sobre que houve tantas porfias, e sobeji-
doens, que parecia hum labyrinto e confuzao, sem se acabarem de
entender, nem detenninar.
Ja a este tempo estava D. Paulo de Lima recolhido com sua
mulher em huma choupana, porque como desconfiou de passar a
outra parte, nao quiz tratar de nenhuma outra couza mais que de
se encomendar a Deos, sem querer ver o que hia fora, nem acodir
a nada. Capitao, e Bernardim de Carvalho, com os mais
Nobres, Mestre, e Piloto, sabendo o modo de como estava, forao
ter com elle, e Ihe pedirao os nao quizesse desamparar de seo
conselho, porque todos estavao apostados a nao seguirem senao
sua ordem, e o acompanharem, ou alii, ou por onde quer que fosse.
D. Paulo de Lima como estava resolute em se deixar alii ficar, e
a se entregar nas maos de Deos, para o que delle ordenasse, Ihes
pedio que o deixassem, que era velho, e canpado, e que se via com
sua mulher naquelles trabalhos, que estava detenu mad o de fazer
alii vida eremitica, e passar o que della Ihe restasse em penitencia
de seos peccados ; que la se aviessem, que so Ihes amrmava, que
qualquer gente que se passasse da outra banda, e ainda que elle
fosse de envolta, que tanto que se vissem da outra parte, o haviao
de desamparar, e adiantarem-se ; e que para depois se ver com
sua mulher so por prayas desertas, e inhabitaveis, que antes se
queria deixar estar alii athe ver o que Deos tinha delle deter-
minado : que quern se quizesse passar, o fizesse em boa hora,
porque elle ja nao queria tratar mais que da salvacao da alma, que
para o corpo qualquer parte da terra Ihe bastava. Estas palavras,
que elle nao disse sem lagrimas, que Ihe corriao por suas vener-
andas barbas, magoarao a todos tanto, que se nao puderao ter nao
chorassem com elle, e assim entre ellas, e solucos Ihe pedirao
aquellas pessoas a quern elle podia ter mais respeito, que se
quizesse consolar, e que se lembrasse daquelle seo tao grande
animo com que em todas as couzas em que Ihe Deos Nosso Senhor
tinha feito tantas merces, e dado tantas vitorias, se assinalara
tanto; e que pois elle com tanto esforpo o dotara, tambem de
hum muito vivo e esperto saber e conselho, que naquelle transe,
em que Ihe era mais necessario, nao se ha via assim de entregar
nas maos da ventura, que seria tentar ao mesmo Deos, que de
tantas partes o dotara ; que elle, que o tinha guardado athe alii,
174 Becords of South-Eastern Africa.
o faria athe o levar a terra de Christaos, onde melhor poderia
satisfazer o seo pensamento ; que quizesse para isso tratar do que
convinha a sua vida, e de sua mulher, pela qual a havia de poupar
muito, porque se elle morresse de puro pezar, como nao estava
muito longe, que na outra vida Ihe pediriao conta de ser unica
oceasiao de a deixar no meyo daquelles brutos desamparada, e
arriscada a huma desesperapao : que todos os que alii estavao se
Ihe offereciao, e davao sua fe de nunca ja mais em nenhuma
oceasiao e tempo o desampararem, e seguirem sua mesma fortuna,
a qual por onde quer que o levasse a elle, os levaria a elles : e
que fizesse conta com sua consciencia, e que visse, que se punha
a risco sua alma, em se entregar assim a morte por sua propria
vontade : que seria tentar a Deos, do qual parecia que desconfiava
naquella parte, sabendo elle certo, que sua misericordia nao era
limitada, e que se nao deixasse assim veneer da fortuna, que
sempre toda a vida trouxera debaixo dos pes.
Depois daquelles Fidalgos Ihe dizerem estas couzas, Ihe
offereceo o Mestre da Nao, como Cabe^a de toda a gente do mar,
em nome de todos, de nunca em nenhum trabalho o deixarem, e
de sempre o acompanharem athe perderem por elle a vida ; e que
s Marinheiros mais saos se Ihe offereciao a Ihe levar sua mulher
em hum andor, e de a servirem por todo o caminho por onde
fossem, como era razao. A estas couzas na& pode D. Paulo de
Lima deixar de se mover, e de se entregar nas maos de todos ; e
logo alii com seo parecer assentarao, que passasse ametade da
gente na primeira barcada, com a qual fosse o Capitao Estevao da
Veiga, e que como ficassem da outra parte, tornassem as embar-
ea^oens pelos que ficassem, o que logo se fez ; e o Capitao com o
Piloto se embarcou na embarcacao mayor com quarenta e sinco*
pessoas, em que entravao o Guardiao, o Sota- Piloto Diogo Lopes
Leitao, Francisco Dorta Feitor da Nao, e Antonio Caldeira : toda
a mais gente era do mar. Na outra barca mais pequena s&
embarcou o Mestre com quinze pessoas, em que entravao hum
filho seo, o Padre Frey Nicolao do Rosario da Ordem dos Prega-
dores, e toda a mais gente da ordinaria, ficando na Ilha trinta &
seis pessoas, que erao os Fidalgos, e Cavalleiros, que nao quizerao-
largar a D. Paulo, com o qual ficarao tambem as outras Donas.
Afastadas as embarcacoens da terra, derao a vela, e fora<>
atravessando a outra banda, e ao por do Sol ferrarao nella terra,
huma legoa do rio do Manhifa para Leste, o que souberao de
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 175
huns Cafres, que alii encontrarao. E porque o vento Ihes aealmou,
surgirao alii aquella noite, que este foy o erro desta viagem, e dos
trabalhos que ao diante se verao, o que tudo nasceo de pouparem
hum pequeno de trabalho ; porque se tomarao o remo na mao,
facilmente puderao entrar para dentro, e hir buscar o rio do
Inhaca, que Ihe nao ficava atras mais de huma legoa. Em fim
surtos alii passarao toda a noite, e tanto que amanheceo comepou
a ventar Ponente da banda do Sudueste, que Ihes ficava contraria
para tornarem ao rio, com o que hou verao por inelhor parecer
hirem correndo a Costa athe o Bio do Ouro, que era dalli treze on
catorze legoas, e que como o vento se mudasse, poderiao tornar
pelos que ficavao na Ilha, e assim forao correndo a Costa, que era
muito limpa ; mas sobre a tarde Ihes foy o vento escaceando athe
se por em Sul Sueste, que fica naquella Costa sendo travessao,.
com o qual forao rolando para a terra athe os por na quebranpa
do mar; pelo que Ihes foy forpado aos da embarcayao grand
virarem outro bordo, mas a mais pequena surgio, e por Ihe que-
brarem as cbrdas, que erao de hervas, tornarao a dar a vela, com
que forao hum poucd sem surdirem avante, antes se acharem no
rollo do mar ; pelo que se afastarao, e se tornarao a marear melhor,
e por boa industria do Mestre, e Deos assim o ordenar, forao
metendo tanto de 16, que vingarao as pontas,, e forao tomar a boca
do rio do Inhaca ja pela manhaa, e em terra acharao por novas,
que na povoapao em que EIRey vivia, doze legoas pelo rio acima,
estavao alguns Portuguezes : e com este alvoropo tomarao o remo,
e com assaz trabalho, por hirem todos muy fracos, forao entrando
pelo rio, e em dous dias chegarao a povoapao, aonde acodio logo
Jeronymo Leitao com alguns companheiros, que haveria hum mez
tinhao partido do rio de Lourenpo Marques, como atras dissemos,
com hum Pangayo carregado de Marfim, com que tinhao dado a
Costa no Rio do Ouro, onde forao roubados, e se tinhao passado
para a povoapao daquelle Inhaca, por ter conhecimento delle. E
em se vendo, huns se abraparao com muitas lagrimas e amor,
dandose huns aos outros conta de seos trabalhos, e dalli forao
levados a EIRey, que os recebeo bem, consolou, e mandou
E porque nao sabiao que seria feito da embarcapao em que hia
o Capitao, assentou o Mestre, com parecer de Jeronymo Leytao,
que se mandasse aquella almadia, porque soubesse o que Ihe
tinha acontecido, porque nao desconfiasse de todo; e elegeraa
176 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
tres pessoas para hirem na almadia, duas da companhia d
Jeronymo Leytao, e outra do Mestre, e mandarao dizer a D. Paul
que logo se passasse a outra banda, porque a terra era boa, e qu ;
estariao mais a sua vontade athe vir embarcagao de Sofala, qu<
logo mandarao pedir, porque juntamente com a almadia despedii
Jeronymo Leytao hum seo 01090 com hum Marinheiro Mouro df
Naveta que se perdeo, com cartas ao Capitao daquella Fortaleza
em que Ihe dava conta da perdipao da Nao, e da gente que della
escapara, e de tudo o mais que Ihe era acontecido, e assim da sua !
pedindolhe mandasse logo hum Pangayo em que se fossem. E
assim deixaremos huns e outros, por continuarmos com os que 1
estavao na Ilha. Os quaes vendo, que as almadias nao tornavao
em sete oito e des dias, nao sabendo a que o attribuissem, mais
que ao descuido do Capitao, o sentio D. Paulo muito, e de apaixo-
nado se destemperou contra elle, e nao se sabendo determinar
passou muitos dias em grandes malencolias, e o mesmo aconteceo
a todos, que forao desconfiando de terem o remedio que esperavao
nas embarcacoens, para se tirarem daquella Ilha, assim por faltar
ja o mantimento, como por hirem adoecendo algumas pessoas.
E sendo ja passado quasi hum mez, e que nao havia novas da
outra gente, tomando parecer todos entre si do que fariao,
assentarao, que pois nao podiao ter Navio de Mofambique senao
dalli a hum anno, que caminhassem por terra, e rodeassem
aquella Bahia ; porque se alii haviao de ficar morrendo a fome,
e de doen?a, que menos mal era arriscarem-se aos trabalhos do
caminho, encomendando-se a Deos, que elle os guiaria.
Com esta resolucao mandarao recado ao Manhica daquella
determinate, e a pedirlhe os aconselhasse, e Ihes desse licenpa
para se partirem dalli. A este reeado Ihes mandou respond er,
que Ihes nao havia de aconselhar tal Jornada, pelo grande risco,
que por aquelle caminho correriao, porque ja agora estavao
divididos, e que se estiverao juntos (inda que nao sem risco)
entao Iho poderia aconselhar : e que se aquillo era porque Ihes
faltassem mantimentos, que elle os mandaria prover o melhor que
pudesse, como sempre fizera ; e que se todavia a elles Ihes
parecesse bem aquella Jornada, a fizessem muito embora, que elle
lha nao havia de estorvar, porque se nao dissesse, que os queria
reprezar em sua terra. Com esta reposta ficarao os nossos
suspensos, e atalhados, sem se saberem determinar no q fariao.
Neste mesmo tempo chegou a almadia, que mandava o Mestre
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 177
IB Jeronymo Leitao, a qual quando a virao vir pelo mar, aeodirao
si, pray a, como se nella Ihes viera todo o seo remedio ; e desem-
t)>arcados estes homens forao levados nos bra?os de todos com
hrrandes lagrimas de alvoropo. Dalli forao a D. Paulo de Lima,
fque estava em sua choupana, e delles souberao o que succedera as
Ismbarcafoens, e que da de Estevao da Veiga nao sabiao dar novas,
83 lhas derao de tudo o mais que Ihes tinha succedido ; e que o
tMestre, e Jeronymo Leitao Ihes pediao se passassem logo da
]outra banda, porque alem da terra ser de hum Key amigo dos
IPortuguezes, era muito abastada de tudo.
1 Com estas novas ficou D. Paulo de Lima muito alvoropado, e
logo tratou de sua partida ; mas porque nao cabiao na almadia
mais de catorze pessoas, fez eleipao dos que haviao de hir e ficar,
e na primeira barcada coube a sorte a elle com sua mulher, e seo
irmao, Manoel Cabral da Veiga, Christovao Rebello, e outras
pessoas, que prefaziao o numero, ficando em terra para a outra
barcada Bernardim de Carvalho, que estava muito doente, Gre-
gorio Botelho, sua filha D. Marianna, e com ella D. Joanna de
Mendopa, por se agazalharem sempre ambas, por nao terem
maridos, e outras pessoas. Apartada a almadia da terra, no
mesmo dia foy tomar a boca do rio do Inhaca, e por elle forao
caminhando tres dias. E chegando ao lugar forao muy festejados
d'ElRey, e dos Portuguezes, e alii se agazalharao todos em pobres
cazinhas, sem mais alfayas que algumas esteiras, e outros pal ha
seca. E tratando de tornarem a mandar a almadia, nao houve
entre todos quern quizesse hir nella, por estarem fracos, e comepa-
rem logo a adoecer de febres.
Os que ficarao na Ilha, aguardarao athe o quinto e sexto dia
pela embarcapao, e como Ihes faltou nelles, andavao como pas-
mados sem se saberem determinar em nada, nem haver quern os
aconselhasse, e animasse ; porque Bernardim de Carvalho, que o
podia fazer, estava muito mal de febres, e como Ihe faltarao os
remedies, e elle nao tinha outro mimo, que humas papas de arnei-
xoeira, e o duro chao em que repouzava, cancou a natureza, e
entregouse nas rnaos da morte, na qual hora elle deo mostras de
muito bom Christao, na grande pacienoia com que por amor de
Decs a soffria, e no arrependimento que mostrou de seos peccados.
Foy sua inorte mnito sentida e chorada de todos, por ser hum
Fidalgo muito brando, e de partes e qualidades muy esmeradas, e
que em todos os trabalhos teve elle sempre o mayor quinhao,
n. N
178 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
acodindo a toda a hora a todos em suas mayores necessidades,
principalmente a D. Joanna de Mendo?a, que como dissemos,
pela ver so, se chegou a ella, e acompanhou, e servio por todo
aquelle caminho, com tanto resguardo, honra, e virtude, que fez
pasmar a todos, principalmente naquella Ilha, porque elle hia ao
mato cortar lenha para ella, e a trazia sobre suas cbstas, hia a
fonte acarretar agoa ; a gallinha, quando se resgatava, elle a
matava, depenava e guizava, comendo della Gregorio Botelho,
sua filha D. Mariana, e D. Joanna de Mendopa, ficando a elle
sempre o menor quinhao, e ainda desse guardava hunia pega para
D. Joanna para a noite, oil para o outro dia. E seguindo os mais
da companhia, de puro trabalho morreo. E o que he mais para
lastimar, que sua morte foy certamente do mais miseravel mal
que podia ser, porque estava cuberto de piolhos, que o seo corpo
creou da humidade do chao, e do suor dos trabalhos. Foy
enterrado ao pe de huma Cruz, que alii tinhao os nossos, nu, na
terra nua, com hum piedoso pranto de todos, principalmente de
D. Joanna de Mendofa, que o sentio como se fora seo proprio
Pay, pelo muito que Ihe devia, e pela falta que em seos trabalhos
Ihe havia de fazer; ficando muito desconsolada, sem Ibe ficar
quern della se condoece, senao Gregorio Botelho, e sua filha D.
Marianna com quern ella se agazalhava por honestidade. Falle-
cerao mais algumas pessoas, em que entrou o Contra-Mestre, e
Calafate. E porque totalmente Ihes faltava com que resgatarem
o de que tinhao necessidade, passarao-se a outra Ilha que era
povoada, donde mandarao recado ao Manhica do que Ihes
acontecera, e das grandes necessidades em que ficavao, pedindolhe
os mandaese prover do necessario athe vir o Pangayo do resgate,
donde se Ihe pagaria tudo muito bem. E Ihes mandou dizer, que
se fossem para a sua povoacao, porque estando perto delle, sabe-
ria do que tinhao necessidade para se Ihe dar, porque estando tao
afastados, nao podia saber se Ihe dariao o que elle mandasse.
Com este recado estiverao abalados a se passarem para la, ainda
que alguns o contra-diziao ; e toda- via deixarao-se por entao ficar.
E nbs tambem o faremos aqui, por continuarmos com a outra
embarcacao, em que hia o Capitao Estevao da Veiga.
Agora continuaremos com esta embarcacao que deixamos com
o vento travessao que Ihe deo, com o qual se fizerao em outra
volta, mas nao puderao vingar nada, antes se acharao sobre o rollo
o mar, que os tratava muyto mal. Peloque se desenganarao, e
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 179
assentarao ser forfado dar a Costa, antes que a Lua se puzesse,
porque era isto de noite, que depois o poderiao fazer em parte em
que todos perigassem : e assim forao encalhar em huma praya de
area, onde se deixarao ficar o que restava da noite com fogueiras
que fizerao, e com duas espingardas cevadas para se fossem
necessarias. Ao outro dia tanto que amanheceo forao seguindo
seo caminho para o Eio do Ouro, seguidos ja de muitos Cafres,
que logo acodirao, e os forao inquietando, e acomettendo muitas
vezes, athe se desavergonharem tanto, que Ihes tirarao os barretes
das cabe?as, e os alforges das costas, tudo de pullo, com huma
ligeireza como de Bogios, sem os nossos os poderem afastar de si
por muitas vezes que os acommetterao. E assim neste trabalho,
c^pm grande canpasso do corpo chegarao ao Kio do Ouro tao
cangados que nao podiao dar hum passo, hindo a este tempo ja
com elles hum Cafre chamado Inhatembe de caza d'ElRey, homem
conhecido dos Portuguezes, e que ja tinha hido a Mofambiquf,
que os guiou athe a povoacao, onde entrarao com huma hora de
noite, na qual pouzava o Reylnhapula, de que na descricao desta
terra fallamos, o qual os sahio a receber humanamente, e os
mandou agazalhar a todos em huma caza grande, e Ihes derao
algumas couzas da terra para comerem, mas resgatando-a por
pedacos de pregos.
Ao outro dia forao vizitar o Eey, e Ihe derao conta de seos
trabalhos, e pedirao os mandasse acompanhar athe Inhabane por
alguma pessoa fiel, que alii achariao com que Ihe pagar. EIRey
os consolou, e Ihes deo o mesmo Inhatambe, que com elles
chegara alii, o qual era Xeque ; em satisfacao do que Ihe derao
hum chapeo pardo, que elle estimou muito, o alii se deixarao ficar
tres dias, nos quaes adoecerao alguns companheiros de febres ; e
por se acharem logo mal sinco ou seis, foy necessario deixarem-nos,
alii para que tendo melhoria se fossem a Inhabane, para o qae
mandarao pedir licenca a EIRey, que elle Ihes deo. E assim se
puzerao ao caminho, hindo os mais delles em estado que se nao
podiao bolir, principalmente o Piloto da Nao Gaspar Gonfalves,
que hia no cabo. Este dia forao ter a huma Aldea do Xeque.
que com elles hia, que os agazalhou muito bem, e alii ficarao
aquella noite.
No dia seguinte Ihes chegou pela posta hum Cafre com recado
de EIRey Inhapula, que logo tornassem a sua Aldea, e tirassern
della hum Portuguez, que morrera, e levassem os doentes, porque
v '
N -
180 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
nao queriao alii ver nenhum morto, porque o Sol se enojou contra
elle, e se escorideria, e nao deixaria chover sobre a terra, e que
nao claria fruitos, nem mantimentos todo aquelle anno. Isto
diziao, porque tinhao para si que os Portuguezes, porque os viao
alvos, e louros, erao filhos do Sol. Estevao da Veiga ficou mnito
enfadado com aquelle recado, e foy necessario mandar alguns dos
que estavao mais saos que fossem aquelle negocio, os quaes
chegando la, querendo enterrar o morto, nao o consentirao, antes
logo com muita pressa Iho fizerao tirar da Aldea quasi a rastos, e
os doentes as costas ; e fora no mato deixarao o morto cuberto
com huma pouca de terra ; e dos doentes souberao, que tanto que
os Cafres os virao com a febre, que deo a todos como modorra,
sem bolirem com pes, nem maos, que cuidando serem mortos, Ihes
puzerao fogo nos pes para ver se boliao ; e deixando o morto,
levarao os doentes comsigo atke a povoagao, em que os nossos
estavao.
Ao outro dia passarao o Kio do Ouro a outra parte, o qual seria
de hum tiro de espingarda de largura, em cuja barra quebra o
mar todo em flor, e dentro nao he capaz senao de vazilhas
pequenas, e esta em altura de vinte e sinco graos, e a borda delle
deixarao dous companheiros ja no cabo com os derradeiros arrancos,
dos quaes se apartarao com grande dor e compaixao, acompan-
hando-os em quanto tiverao sentimento para Ihes fazerem lem-
branga das couzas da alma, e Ihes repetirem o Santissimo Xome
de JESUS. Oh por quao bem afortunados se pbdem ter aquelles,
que ficarao na Nao, que todos os seos trabalhos se concluirao em
hum momento ! e por quao infelices se pbdem julgar estes, que
cuidarao ter melhor sorte em escaparem della ! porque seos
trabalhos, riscos, perigos, e emfim morte, Ihe veyo tudo a ser mais
penoso, e de mais dura. E certo que cuido, que por isto so
respondeo aquelle Filosofo a hum que Ihe perguntou, que couza
era morte ? dizendolhe assim : Morte he hum sonho eterno, hum
espanto de ricos, hum apartamento de amigos, huma incerta
peregrinafao, hum ladrao do homem, hum fim dos que vivem, e
hum principio dos que morrem. Porque tudo isto se achara nos
desta perdifao ; porque que mayor sonho, e que mayor espanto de
ricos ha, que o que estes virao em si ? Hum dia tao ricos, e
contentes, hindo fazendo sua viagem com huma Nao tao potente,
tao rica, e cheade loucainhas, e ao outro sumirse-lhes debaixo dos
pes, e hirse enthesourar tudo nas entranhas do mar. Que mais
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 181
lastimoso apartamento de amigos, que o que aqui virao estes,
deixando-os por aquellas prayas acabando seo termo, sem outra
consolapad e companhia, que a solidao d aquellas barbaras areas ?
Que mais incerta peregrinacao, que esta que por aqui vao fazendo,
vendose cada hora em tantos riscos e perigos, e tudo, emfim, por
esta maneira tao lastimoso, que se por aqnellas areas houvera
Tigres e Leoens, certo que se puderao compadecer mais delles, do
que o fizerao daquelle escravo Androdo, a quern hum Leao em
Africa sustentou tantos tempos em hum a cova, por estar manco
com hum estrepe metido por hum pe, o qual Ihe o Leao tirou, e
lambendo a chaga com sua lingoa o sarou. Estas desaventuras,
e outras, que cada dia se vem por esta Carreira da India, puderao
servir de balizas aos homens, principalmente aos Fidalgos
Capitaens de Fortalezas, para nellas se moderarem, e contentarem
com o que Deos boamente Ihes der, e deixarem viver os pobres,
porque o Sol no Ceo, e a agoa na fonte nao os da Deos so para os
Grandes. Kepetimos tantas vezes esta materia pelo discurso das
nossas Decadas, porque as grandes deshumanidades e injustipas
que cada dia vemos usar por essas Fortalezas com os pequenos
dellas, nos tern bem escandalisado ; mas Deos he tao justo,
que ja que os Keys se descuidao com o castigo, o faz elle com
mao tan to mais pezada, quanto he mor sua justipa, que a dos
homens.
E tornando aos perdidos, depois de passarem o Kio do Onro,
forao ter ao Keyno do Mamupa, que os agazalhou muito bem, e
ficarao alii tres dias, nos quaes Ihes morrerao sinco ou seis com-
panheiros da pessima agoa que acharao, que toda era limos e
sugidade, cujos ccrpos os negros da Aldea fizerao logo tirar fora
com tanta pressa, que a rastos os levarao athe os deitarem entre
huns brejos, e entre estes foy tambem o Piloto Gaspar Gonpalves,
que escapou da perdipao da Nao Santiago nos baixos da Judia
para vir a morrer nestas partes, com a mayor desconsolapao que
se podia imaginar. Daqui se partirao os que ficarao, acompan-
hados de dous filhos daquelle Key, que por aquelle caminho os
livrarao de muitos perigos, e traipoens, que os Cafres Ihes ordena-
rao. Neste dia deixarao outros dous companheiros estirados nos
matos, por ja nao poderem caminhar de fracos e mortaes, dos
quaes amigos se despedirao com assas de lagrimas e desconsola-
poens. vlquella noite chegarao a huma Aldea de hum Cafre
chamado Inhabuzc, onde se agazalharao, e. dalli forao ter ao
182 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Reyno do Panda mais chegado ao Cabo das Correntes, a que os
de Mozambique commummente chamao Imbane ; e aquelle Rey
os agazalhoi muito bem, e os nao deixou partir dalli senao ao
quinto dia, por ser muito antigo costume seo fazerem alii deter os
amigos para Ihes mostrarem o amor que Ihes tern, nos quaes os
banqueteao, e fazem muitas festas, como fizerao a estes perdidos ;
porque aquelle Rey he muito amigo dos Portuguezes, pelo comercio
e communicacao que tern com os de Mozambique.
Dalli se partirao acompanhados de hum filho d'ElRey, e aos
onze dias de Mayo, dia em que cahio a Ascensao do Senhor,
chegarao a outro rio tamanho como o do Ouro, que esta em altura
de vinte e quatro graos e meyo, o qual divide os Keynos do Panda,
e Gamba, e passandose a outra banda, forao ter a Cidade deste
Rey Gamba, que seria do rio legoa e meya, o qual por saber ja de
sua vinda, os mandou receber e agazalhar muito bem. Este Rey,
e seos filhos erao Christaos bautizados pelo Padro Gonpalo da
Silveira da Companhia de JESUS, que no anno de 1560. e 561.
andou por aquellas partes entre aquelles barbaros pregando a Ley
do Sagrado Euangelho, e ao Rey poz nome Bastiao de Sa, assim
em memoria d'ElRey D. Sebastiao, que reinava, como de Bastiao
de Sa, que era naquelle tempo Capitao de Mozambique; e aos
filhos, a hum poz nome Pero de Sa, e a outro Joao de Sa ; e assim
bautizou outros alguns Cafres, que todos tomarao as alcunhas de
Sas. E porque Ihe era necessario passarse ao Reyno de Monomo-
tapa, onde o martirio Ihe estava aguardando, deixou alii com elles
o Padre Andre Fernandes seo companheiro, Varao verdadeira-
mente Apostolico, de grande doutrina e santidade, pelo qual dizia
o seo Padre Mestre Francisco, que era hum verdadeiro Israelita ;
o qual Padre Andre Fernandes esteve neste Reyno com grande
exemplo de vida, e ameapado cada hora do martirio, que sua alma
dezejava padecer por Christo Nosso Senhor, que elle nunca recuzou,
anteg cada vez que Ihe davao rebate que o mandavao matar, espe-
rava por aquella hora com tanta consolapao e alegria, que ja Ihe
parecia cahia sobre sua cabeca, aquella fermosa e resplandecente
coroa, que no Ceo se da aos verdadeiros Martyres. Este Varao, a
que com razao pbsso chamar Santo, pela innocencia de sua vida,
viveo pois nesta Cidade de Goa muitos annos com raro exemplo
de virtude, e nella morreo, homem de noventa annos, e foy
daquelles, que se recolherao na Companhia de JESUS em tempo do
Beato Padre Ignacio seo Fundador. Muitas couzas pudera dizer
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 183
da virtnde, vida, e morte deste Varao, porque o communieamos
muitos annos, e fomos muito seo devoto ; mas porque o Padre
Sebastiao Gonpalves da Companhia de JESUS no Compendio que
faz dos Yaroens da sua Cornpanhia, que passarao a estas partes,
trata delle, e do Padre Gonpalo da Silveira mais particularmente,
o deixamos nos agora, por continuarmos com estes perdidos athe
os por em porto seguro.
Deste Reyno de Gamba se partirao aos vinte e hum de Mayo,
que foy vespera do Espirito Santo, e chegarao ao Hio do Inhabane,
aonde acharao hum misti90 chamado Simao Lopes, filho de Sofala
que alii estava fugido por couzas que tocavao a Fe, o qual os
agazalhou o melhor que pode, por ser pobre, e ja a este tempo nao
erao mais de trinta pessoas, de quarenta e sinco que partirao.
Alii souberao de Simao Lopes, que nao podia vir pangayo do
Mozambique senao em Novembro ; com o que tomarao seo con-
selho, e assentarao de caminhar por terra, por aquella ser muito
doentia, por jazer debaixo do Tropico de Cancro; e depois de
descanparem alguns dias se puzerao ao caminho, e em quatro
chegarao ao Bio de Boene muito mal tratados dos Cafres, que por
aquelle caminho os salteavao ; e passado o rio a outra parte, forao
caminhando athe outro chamado Morambele, que por ser muito
alto Ihe forao buscar vao muito acima, e nestes caminhos forao
acabados de esbulhar desse pouco que levavao. Passado o rio
forao ter a huma povoapao chamada Sane, que esta na ponta
daquella terra, que nas Cartas de marear se chama de S. Sebastiao,
onde comeparao atravessar a enceada de Sane, que de baixamar
espraya tanto, que a sinco e seis legoas se nao ve o mar ; e por
ella caminhamos a mayor parte do dia muy apressados, porque a
mare os nao atropelasse, e se puzerao da outra parte, tendo camin-
hado por ella mais de sinco legoas, e da outra banda repouzarao,
e tornarao pela manhaa a seo caminho, athe hum lugar chamado-
Fubaxe, onde acharao hum Portuguez com hum Luzio, qne he
embarcapao daquellas partes, com que alii viera a fazer resgate >
com o qual ja estava o Guardiao da Nao, que Estevao da Veiga,
tinha mandado diante com recado a Sofala para ver se havia
remedio para hir embarcapao alguma buscar a D. Paulo de Lima,,
e aos que ficavao na Ilha ; e alii estiverao todo aquelle dia com
grande alvorogo, por verem que se hiao chegando para terra de
salva?ao : e logo se passarao a Ilha Bazaruta, onde estava hum
filho de Sofala chamado Antonio Rodrigues para elle os encamin-
184 Mecords of South-Eastern Africa.
bar athe Sofala, a qual he povoada de Mouros, que agazalhiirao a
todos muito bem.
Dalli por ordem de Antonio Kodrigues se embarcarao para
Sofala em embarcapao que negociou, e as trinta legoas que ha
athe aquella Fortaleza as andarao muito depressa, e sem trabalho ;
e aos quatro dias de viagem entrarao pelo Bio de Sofala dentro, e
sem ninguem saber, desembarcarao em procissao, e forao a Igreja
de Nossa Senhora do Bosario dos Padres Pregadores, a qual se
offerecerao com muitas lagrimas, dandolhe os agradecimentos das
merces, que della receberao por toda aquella Jornada. Alii acodio
o Capitao daquella Fortaleza com todos os casados, e os abraparao
a todos com muito amor, e cada hum tomou o seo hospede, e assim
se repartirao todos por aquelles moradores, que os agazalharao com
muita humanidade, mandando-os lavar, e fazer os cabellos, por
hirem quasi feitos salvages, e recreandose de tudo tao bastaute-
mente, que em breves dias tornarao em seo ser, e ja Ihes parecia
que estavao ern outro mundo. O Capitao tinha ja comprado hum
Paugayo para mandar por D. Paulo de Lima, porque por huma
carta de Jerouymo Leitao soube de sua perdipao, e com a chegada
desta gente se apressou mais, e mandou embarcar todas as couzas
necessarias para os perdidos, e vestidos, e roupas para seo resgate.
Este Pangayo fez-se logo a vela, e em poucos dias chegou a
Inhabane, aonde dos que ficarao doentes da Cornpanhia de Estevao
da Veiga erao ja niortos tres, e os mais convalecerao logo com os
reined ios que Ihes forao no Pangayo. E porque Ihes nao era
possivel passar ao Bio do Espirito Santo, por ser o Pangayo
pequeno, partio Simao Lopes por terra com a roupa, contas, e
mais couzas, que tudo levou as costas de Cafres, e o Pangayo se
tornou para Sofala com os doentes que alii achou.
Havia quasi hum mez que D. Paulo de Lima se tinha passado
a outra banda do Bio de Lourenpo Marques, sem haver quern
quizesse levar a almadia aos que ficavao na Ilha, por estarem
todos fracos, e enfermos, trabalhando D. Paulo nisso tudo o que
pode, athe acabar com o Mestre da Nao, e Jeronymo Leitao, que
mandassem aquelle negocio os homens que estivessem mais para
isso, e de todos elegerao tres, que a poder de brapo se passarao a
Ilha, onde acharao todos bem desconsolados, e desesperados de
poderem vir buscallos, e todavia alvoroparao-se muito com a
almadia, se fizerao prestes para passar nella : e porque nao era
apaz de toda a gente, comefou a haver entre todos grandes alvo-
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 185
rocos, porque os que acertassem de ficar, estavao arriscados a nao
tornarern por elles ; mas os mesmos, que trouxerao a almadia, os
segurarao com Ihes prometterem e jurarem, que nao faziao mais,
que lanfar aquella gente na boca do rio, e tornar a voltar ; e para
mayor seguranpa sua se deixou hum delles ficar em refens, com o
que se quietarao. E logo se embarcou Gregorio Botelho com sua
filha, e D. Joanna de Mendoga, e outras oito ou des pessoas ; e
atravessando a bahia no mesino dia forao a outra parte, e lanpando
a gcnte na pouta da boca do Rio do Inhaca, tornarao a voltar
pelos outros, e chegarao a Ilha ao outro dia, e recolherao todos
sem ficar nenhum, mais que os mortos, que ficarao para sempre, e
todos os puzerao da outra parte ; e achando ainda os da primeira
barcada na boca do rio, se meterao todos na almadia, que ainda
que pequena, nao arriscavao nada, porque hiao pelo rio acima, que
era estreito, e de longo da terra ; assim mal compostos e apinhados
chegarao a povoacao, aonde os forao receber os nossos da com-
pauhia de D. Paulo, e se festejarao em extreme, e EIRey os
mandou agazalhar pela povoapao, ficando sempre D. Joanna de
Mendoca em companhia de D. Marianna. Depois de descanparein
se ajuntarao todos, e tratarao se seria bem passarem-se a Inhabane ;
e Jeronymo Leitao, que era mais pratico naquella terra, Ihes
disse, que nao se bolissein dalli athe vir o Pangayo, que seria em
Outubro, porque elle ja tinha escrito a Sofala sobre isso, e que
nao era de parecer, que se arriscassem por terra, porque os Cafres,
que dalli por diante havia, erao grandes ladroens, e muito crueis ;
que pois estavao alii em terra segura, Ihes nao haviao de faltar
niantimentos, porque o Rey, e seos Vassallos os haviao de prover
muito bem com o olho no Pangayo que esperavao, por saberem
que tudo se Ihes havia de enxergar muito bem ; porque aquelles
Cafres nao faziao nenhuma couza por virtude.
Com o parecer deste homem se determinarao todos em ficar;
mas como a terra era doentia, por estar debaixo do Tropico, como
ja dissemos, comeparao alguns a adoecer de febres malignas, de
que morrerao de pressa os mais delles, em que entrou o Mestre,
cujos corpos se enterrarao na corrente do Rio, pelos Cafres nao
consentirem fazerem-no na sua terra. D. Paulo de Lima parece
que Ihe adivinhava o corafao algum grande mal naquella parte, e
muitas vezes pedio a Jeronymo Leytao o quizesse levar daquella
Aldea, e acompanhallo e guiallo, fazendolhe seos offereciinentos,
e promessas com grande eificacia; mas como este homem era
186 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
variavel, humas vezes dizia que sim, outras que nao, pondo
sempre por inconvenientes as difficuldades do caminho, e risco
dos Cafres. Neste sim, e neste nao trouxe a D. Paulo nmitos dias
sem se determinar nem em huma couza, nem em outra, de que
elle veyo a receber tamanho disgosto, e dar em tanta melancolia,
que cahio em cama, ou para melhor dizer no chao, que essa era a
verdadeira, e como era de sincoenta annos, os remedies nenhuns,
os colchoens e Ian goes mimosos a dura terra, sem consolacao
alguma mais que as da alma, por ter a sua cabeceira o Padre
Frey Nicolao do Rosario, que muito devagar o confessou, e con-
solou ; e ao setimo dia de sua cahida deo a alma a Deos Nosso
Senhor aos dous de Agosto, em que os Frades de S. Francisco
celebrao a festa de Nossa Senhora de Porciuncula, em que tern
Jubileo plenissimo, da qual festa este Fidalgo era muito devoto ;
e segundo elle deo mostras de grande Chris tao, e de arrependido
penitente, com hum grande exemplo de paciencia, de presumir
he, que sua alma sobiria a gozar na Gloria daquelle Jubileo que
la durara em quanto Deos durar, que sera sem fim.
Sua morte foy para todos a mayor desconsolafao que se podia
imagiuar, assim por verem hum Fidalgo de tantas partes, e cali-
dades boas, de que a natureza o dotou, fallecer no mayor desamparo
que se nunca vio, como por se verem ficar sem hum tamanho
conselho, como nelle tiverao todos em seos mayores trabalhos ;
porque em pondo os olhos naquella sua authoridade, gravidade, e
notavel paciencia, todos se Ihes moderavao, e ficavao de menos
pezo ; e assim foy pranteado como se fora pay de todos. Deixemos
os extremos, que fez sua mulher, que he melhor passar por elles,
por nao movermos a tantas lagrimas aos que lerem esta nossa
Kelacao ; mas pbdese julgar quaes podiao ser os de huma mulher
que perdia hum tal marido ; e mais naquelle tempo em que ell a
tinha tanta necessidade delle para seo remedio, e consolapao,
vendose ficar tao so e desamparada, em parte onde so Deos Nosso
Senhor a podia soccorrer.
E V.M. (Senhora D. Anna de Lima) bem sey, que ao lerdes
isto, nao vos hao de faltar piedosas lagrimas, derraniadas com
muita razao pela perda de hum irmao tanto para amar, como
sempre, Senhora, fizestes, e pelo desamparo em que acabou, no
qual, Senhora, vos haverieis por muito ditosa de vos poderdes
achar a sua ilharga, e dardeslhes algum pequeno de allivio, com
Ihe reclinardes a cabepa em vosso regapo, para ao menos elle
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 187
morrer com alguma consola?ao, e vos nao ficardes com tamanha
magoa; mas podeisvos, Senhora, consolar muito com ouvirdes
aqui q as mostras que deo a bora de sua morte (como disse) vos
podem certificar de sua salvapao : e pelas que na vida deo de sua
prudencia, valor, e esforco, gloriardesvos de tal irmao, e depois de
vossos longos annos, vossos filhos, netos, e posteriores, jactaremse
de suas proezas, e cavallarias, porque em minhas Historias vivira
eternamente, e ainda que nao tao alevantado como elle merece,
ao menos sera o como pude, que bem dezejey de ser muito
inelhor.
Inhaca Senhor daquella terra teve logo avizo de sua morte,
e com muita pressa mandou que o levassem fora da povoapao, coin
o que foy tirado dos bracos da cara consorte, e quasi aos hombros
foy levado fora do povoado, e ao pe de duas arvores que alii ao
longo do rio estavao, Ihe fizerao huma cova, em que o deitarao,
sem outra mortalha que a pobre e suja camiza, e calpoens com que
se salvou, e sem outras pompas funeraes que as lagrimas dos com-
panheiros, que forao muitas, e sem outras insignias senao os ramos
secos daquellas arvores, nem outras carnpas, e pedras marmores,
que aquellas areas, que o cobriao, qual outro Pompeo nas prayas
do Egypto.
Sua mulher D. Brites ficou alguns tempos na Cafraria com as
outras que se salvarao, padecendo infinitas miserias e necessidades,
e depois se forao para Mozambique, mandando D. Brites primeiro
desenterrar os ossos de seo marido D. Paulo de Lima, os quaes
levou comsigo metidos em hum saco athe Goa, e Ihe ordenou
sepultura em S. Francisco daquella Cidade na Capella pequena
do Serafico Padre, que esta entrando pela porta principal a mao
direita, onde estao metidos na parede com huma lamina de cobre,
em que tern seo letreiro, o qual diz assim : Canatale, Ddbul, e Jor.
Dirao que esta aqui D. Paulo de Lima, a quern os trabalhos
acabarao na Cafraria na era de 1589.
Das couzas principaes, que fez esta Senhora, nao deixarey de
louvar esta obra de trazer a ossada de seo marido pelo meyo
daquella Cafraria athe a embarcar, que foy heroica e digna de se
Ihe engrandecer. Por outra couza notavel nao quero passar, que
he, que de toda esta gente desta Nao, nao cuido que ha hoje vivo
algum, mais que estas tres mulhercs, ella, D. Marianna mulher de
Guterres de Monroy, e D. Joanna de Mendofa, que esta recolhida
em huma caza em Nossa Senhora do Cabo, vestida no Habito de
188 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
S. Francisco, Senhora de muita virtude, e em que toJa esta
Cidade de Goa tern postos os olhos por seo muito exemplo, reco-
Ihimento, virtuoso procedimento. E com isto dou fim a esta
breve Belapao, que permitta Decs Nosso Senhor seja para muito.
louvor e gloria sua.
[English translation of the foregoing.]
WKECK
OF
THE SHIP SAINT THOMAS
On the Land of Fumos, in the year 1589,
While Manuel de Sousa Coutinho was governor of India, in-
January 1589 Estevao da Veiga sailed from Cochin in the ship
Saint TJwmas. He steered a course outside of the Shoals, and on
reaching the island of Diogo Kodrigues, which is in latitude
twenty degrees south, a strong gale from the south-east sprang
up and caused such a heavy sea that, with the pitching and
rolling, one of the seams in the bow of the ship was opened, while
she was running before the wind, and she began to leak ; but this,
was soon repaired.
The weather clearing up, the ship continued her course to the
latitude of the Point; of the island of Madagascar, in twenty-six
degrees, where ninety to a hundred leagues from land she com-
menced to leak again much worse than on the first occasion, and
in a very dangerous place, which was in a part of the stern where
it was more difficult to be got at than anywhere else. The
officers assisted to remove everything from that part of the ship,
and they found that the leak which was great was occasioned
by the forcing back of the seams of oakum and the sheets of
lead nailed upon them, which was owing to the caulking, a
matter that causes the loss of many vessels, but to which very
little regard is paid, and the officers do not give it sufficient
attention, as if the safety of so many lives and so much merchandise
on board did not depend upon it.
Having found the leak, they saw that it was like a spout, so
large that if an officer inserted his hand it was forced back by
Records of South- Eastern Africa. 189
the water. As they could not get at it without cutting some of
the lining planks, they did this against the opinion of many,
but having cut several they desisted, as this was the place where
the whole ship was fastened together, and they had no spikes on
board to repair such damage, for the most or all of these vessels
sail at the mercy of God, to save four cruzados. With knives,
large nails, and other things they stopped the leak as well as
they could, and filled in the space between the lining and the
ribs with small bags of rice to form a sticky substance ; but they
could not entirely prevent the inflow of water.
To some extent, however, this helped them, and the water
began to be less in the pump, so that they pursued their course
in fair weather to the latitude of thirty-two degrees and a half
south, a hundred and fifty leagues from Delagoa Bay and eighty
from the nearest part of the Land of Natal. In this locality the
wind changed to south-west, it being already the 12th of March,
so they took in all sail except the courses, and stood towards the
north. With the labouring caused by the wind and the sea the
leak opened again in the same place so quickly that in a short
time there were six palms of water in the hold. The people
were thereby put into great consternation, and commenced to
throw overboard all that was on the deck, to have the hatches
free; they passed that night with the pump handles in their
hands, without resting. In the morning there were two more
palms of water in the hold, and it began to cover the barrels and
timber, which floated about from side to side, and with the
rolling gave such blows that the whole ship trembled.
As the water increased, the officers fixed some yards across the
ship above the after and fore hatches, to which were attached
pulleys with kegs that could be run up and down easily, and all
on board, without exception, were allotted to work these, Dom
Paul de Lima, who was accompanied by his wife, being the first
called upon, then Bernard im de Carvalho, the captain Estevao da
Veiga, Gregorio Botelho father in law of Guterre de Monroy, who
was taking his daughter to her husband in Portugal, and other
gentlemen and members of religious orders.
All worked day and night at the pumps and kegs, without
leaving them even to take refreshment, for the Fathers went
about the deck with biscuit, preserves, and water, consoling all
bodily as well as spiritually. Notwithstanding this diligence
190 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
the water constantly increased, so that they determined to seek
the nearest land and run the ship ashore on it. With this object
they set the foresail and spritsail, but did not venture to use the
mainsail, that they might not take people from the pumps and
kegs, because any time lost from these might be sufficient to
cause the ship to go down.
While they were approaching the land, on the 14th of March
the water filled the lower hold, and the pumps became stopped up
with the pepper that formed part of the cargo, in consequence of
which the men lost heart and ceased to work ; but some noblemen y
members of religious orders, and honourable gentlemen, with
great courage and devotion continuing to labour, encouraged
others and persuaded them not to lay down the baling gear,
because that might save them. The officers passed that day in
clearing the pumps and in overlaying the openings with tin plates
that they might not again become choked. As it was also
necessary to throw overboard as much as they could, this duty
was entrusted to certain persons, who cast into the sea all the
riches and finery with which the ship was laden, that was gained
with so much toil by some and with so much care by others.
The next day, which was the 15th of the month, the lower deck
became covered with water, the wind was from the south-west y
and from time to time very heavy showers fell, which caused
additional distress. In short everything was against them, for
at length the helm ceased to guide the ship, and she broached
to, being without sails, as every one was engaged with the pumps,
because in them was the only hope of relief. All that night
they passed in great trouble and distress, for everything they
could see represented death. Beneath them was a ship full of
water, above them a sky covered with the deepest gloom and
darkness, as if conspiring against all. The air moaned on every
side, as if it was calling out death ! death ! while as if the water
which was entering beneath them was not sufficient, from above
the sky poured upon them as if to overwhelm them in another
deluge. Within the ship nothing was heard but sighs, groans,
wailings, moans, and prayers to God for mercy, as it seemed that
for the sins of some who were in the ship He was wroth
with all.
At dawn next day, as every one saw there was no other
resource, they spoke of getting out the boat, for which purpose it
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 191
was necessary to desist from using the kegs for baling. Between
the decks it seemed as if all the evil spirits were busy, so great
a noise was made by the things that were floating about, striking
against each other, and washing from side to side in such a way
that those who went below fancied they beheld a likeness of the
last judgment. The officers and other people made haste in
getting the boat ready, to which they attached the tackles, and
in it they placed whatever appeared requisite for the passage.
This was performed with much difficulty, owing to the rolling of
the ship, which was lying in a cross sea, and to the water entering
by the opening in the bulwarks through which the goods had
been cast overboard, which was the cause of her completely filling.
At this time they were steering north-west, because the pilot
pronounced them to be very close to the shore, and they were
really so near that at sunset on this day a sailor declared he saw
it and shouted from the masthead land ! land ! And as the
pilot did not know whether there were any reefs in that locality,
on which if the ship should strike she would be totally lost, it
appeared good to him to alter the course and steer north-east, so
as to approach in the day time in order to save all the people.
That whole night was passed in the greatest depression of spirits
and in more bodily trouble than can be imagined.
Next day at dawn they could not see the land, and the boat
was got out with great difficulty, because while it was still on the
tackles in the air, the men threw themselves into it like maniacs.
Dom Paul de Lima, who had posted himself in it sword in hand,
was unable to keep them back. He wished to prevent the sailors
going off in it and leaving him, but in spite of sword-thrusts and
blows which he dealt without mercy, they crowded into it, s
that on reaching the sea it must have foundered. With great
difficulty Dom Paul de Lima induced some of them to return, by
promising that all it could contain should be saved in it.
The boat being in proper condition, it went to the stern of the
ship to take from the gallery the women, the members of religious
orders, and the noblemen who were there, and as the ship was
pitching so heavily that they were afraid it might swamp the
boat, it was kept at a little distance. Orders were then given
that with pieces of muslin the women should be lowered into the
boat, which succeeded in taking them in, after many immersions,
with great trouble, misery, and pain to all.
192 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
On the ship this duty, as well as all other responsibilities, fell
upon Bernardim de Carvalho, because Dom Paul de Lima, being
a good Christian and fearing God, imagined that this disaster
was caused by his sins, by which idea he was so cast down that
he did not seem the same man who in the midst of the many
risks and perils in which he had found himself had never lost a
particle of that strength and courage which now completely
failed him.
In the manner aforesaid were embarked the wife of the said
Dom Paul, Dona Mariana, wife of Guterre de Monroy, and Dona
Joanna de Mendopa, widow of Goncalo Gomes de Azevedo, who
was going to Portugal to enter a convent, being disenchanted
with the world, though still young and able to enjoy it. She
was a very virtuous lady, who gave to all an admirable example
during the whole of this voyage, as we shall relate in its place.
She had with her a daughter not two years old, whom she held in
her arms, and with her eyes raised to heaven asked mercy of God.
To lower her into the boat, it was necessary to force the child
from her arms, and deliver it to the nurse. After these, there
embarked the Fathers, and Bernardim de Carvalho, and last of
all the master and the boatswain, who procured some kegs of
biscuit and water and threw them into the boat, which, being
now full, put off.
Dona Joanna de Mendopa, seeing that her daughter remained
in the ship in the arms of her nurse, who held her up to view
with loud lamentations and grief, displayed such sorrow and
made such heartrending exclamations that all were moved to
return to the ship and beg the child of the nurse. They bade
her make it fast to a piece of muslin, and lower it to the boat,
which she refused to do, saying that unless they took her in also
she would not give up the child, nor could she be otherwise
persuaded, though her mistress besought her with tears aiwl
entreaties which might have moved a tiger had the child been in
its clutches.
This caused some delay, and the woman being obstinate, and
the ship plunging greatly, they were obliged to put off the bo.it
that it might not be swamped, which they did with deep com-
passion for the sad mother, whose eyes were fixed upon her child
with such affection as all are wont to show when they look upon
those they dearly love. Seeing that she was forced to leave tho
Records of South- Eastern Africa. 193
child, though she would much rather have remained clasping her
in her arms than have abandoned her to the cruel waves which
seemed ready to engulf her, she turned her back upon the ship,
and lifting her eyes to heaven offered to God her tender child in
sacrifice, like another Isaac, begging His mercy for herself, know-
ing well that the child was innocent and that He would have her
in safe keeping. Such a spectacle could not fail to cause deep
sorrow to those who were in that state when each has need of the
compassion of others, if there were any free to feel for ills beyond
their own.
The boat having put off a little, remained waiting at a distance
for Friar Nicolas of the Kosary, of the Order of Preachers, who
refused to leave without first confessing all those who remained
on board, not wishing that so many people should lack spiritual
as well as corporal consolation. Thus he confessed and consoled
all with great charity, weeping with them for their misfortunes,
and absolving them in general and in particular. And because
it was not possible for the boat to draw near and take him off by
force, because he was determined to remain for the consolation of
those people, Dom Paul de Lima said so much and the others
in the boat urged him so strongly that he was persuaded to throw
himself into the sea and swim to the boat, where he was made
much of by all for his virtue and the example which he gave
throughout the voyage, for which he was much loved and
reverenced. When he had been taken in, they steered for the
land.
Those in the ship, seeing the departure of the boat, and having
no further hope but in God and their own efforts, made some
rafts as best they could, which were still on board when the boat
put off. But God our Lord had chosen that these should perish
in that place, for they all foundered, as did also two Indian boats
which were at the stern of the ship. It is certain that this must
have been a punishment from God, for all the people in the ship
might easily have been saved if those in the boat had not cared
only for their own security. They might first have prepared
large rafts, on which all might have taken refuge, with water and
provisions, and been guided by the boat to land, which was so
near that it was seen next day. There would have been ample
time for this, as the ship remained afloat twenty-four hours with-
out pumping, during which as many rafts as might be needed
n. o
194 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
could have been prepared, for there were masts, yards, and more
than sufficient timber.
The wreck of the ship Santiago on the Baixo da Judia (as is
related in the tenth Decade) took place under more difficult cir-
cumstances, yet her crew made many rafts, of which some reached
land without help from the skiff or boat, the passage lasting eight
days. But the persons in the ship who might have seen to this
were Dom Paul de Lima, who lost his previously unvanquished
courage on finding himself with his wife in such straits, and the
other Bernardim de Carvalho, an honourable nobleman and a
gallant gentleman, but of so mild a disposition that, seeing great
disorder among the seamen, he overlooked many things, that all
might not be lost. Seamen in such a case as this respect nothing,
nor were they afterwards punished for the excesses they com-
mitted.
To return to the boat. As soon as it set out, the officers found
it so overburdened, being so heavily laden that it was nearly
under water, that they were very urgent for some to be thrown
overboard to save the rest. To this the noblemen consented,
leaving the choice to the seamen, who threw six persons into the
sea. These were lifted into the air and thrown overboard, where
they were swallowed by the cruel waves, and never reappeared.
This pitiful sacrifice so shocked those who looked upon it that
they remained astounded, not realising what they saw, or regarding
it as something seen in a dream. And when the boat was
lightened of these six persons, there still remained a hundred
and four.
Continuing on their way, they could not get forward, the water
driving them from the land out to sea, the men being unable to
row from the fatigue of past labour, and the boat being un-
manageable from its weight. At midnight they found themselves
out at sea a good distance from the ship, and taking to their oars,
rowed towards it. They saw many lights in it, which were burn-
ing candles, for those in the ship passed the whole night in
processions and saying litanies, recommending themselves to God
with loud cries and clamour, which could be heard in the boat.
In the morning the boat drew near to the ship and the officers
spoke to those on board, encouraging them to make rafts, and
offering to wait and accompany them. Those in the ship replied
with loud cries and wails, begging for mercy in voices so heartfelt
Records of Soufh- Eastern Africa. 195
and pitiful as to inspire fear, which was rendered more awful and
appalling because it was still in the early dawn. When it was
full daylight several persons tried to reach the ship, to get guns
and provisions, for which purpose three or four sailors swam to
her. On getting on board they found the deck already under
water, and the people mad with fear of the death awaiting them,
and still upon the gallery of the stern they had a beautiful
picture of our Lady, round which were all the slaves dishevelled,
in piteous supplication, begging her mercy.
The nurse of Dona Joanna was standing before them all with
the child, which she never put down, in her arms, whose tender
age did not permit her to realise her danger, and even had she
done so in her innocence it would have troubled her little, for
there is nothing which makes death so fearful as doubt of salva-
tion. The sailors threw into the sea several barrels of water and
biscuit, and one of wine, that were taken into the boat, which it
was desired should approach the ship to lighten it of still more
persons, as it was not fit for navigation. The sailors returned
without Doua Joanna's child, because most of these men are
inhuman and cruel by nature.
As the boat could not reach the ship to be lightened in this
manner, it drew off, and the seamen were allowed to throw more
persons overboard. These were Diogo Fernandes, a good man,
but very faint-hearted, who had just relinquished the post of
factor of Ceylon ; a soldier named Diogo de Seixas ; Diogo
Duarte, a merchant ; and Diogo Lopes Bayao, who was for many
years in Balagate, where Idal Shah gave him a salary of three
thousand cruzados, he being a man of industry and inven-
tion, trading in horses at Goa for that place, and keeping him
informed of everything. He was even suspected of being doubtful
in the faith, for which reason he was sent to Portugal, (of which
we have given a long Jiccount in our tenth decade), for it was he
who contrived the plot to bring Cufu Khan to the mainland,
whom Idal Shah wished to have in his power, because the kingdom
belonged to him, and on this occasion he succeeded through the
craft of the said Diogo Lopes, and commanded his eyes to be put
out. This man, when he was seized to be thrown overboard,
entrusted to Father Nicolas a quantity of uncut stones, which he
said were worth ten or twelve thousand cruzados, recommending
him, if be were saved, to deliver them to his agents at Goa, if he
o 2
1 ( J6 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
went thither, or to his heirs, if God brought him to Portugal.
Several slaves were thrown overboard with these men, and were
at once swallowed by the cruel waves.
This abominable cruelty having been accomplished by the sea-
men, which God permitted, but caused them to pay dearly, all or
most of them dying on shore in the wilderness in great misery,
the boat began to row towards the land. Being at a distance
from the ship, at ten o'clock in the morning they saw her
give one great plunge, and founder, disappearing under the
water in sight of all like a flash of lightning. They were left
astounded, as men in a dream, seeing the ship in which they had
so lately been journeying, laden with riches and merchandise
almost beyond estimation, swallowed by the waves and sunk
under the waters, burying in the caves of the ocean everything
belonging to those in her and to others in India, acquired by
such means as God knows, for which reason He often permits as
little enjoyment from it as in this case.
Though the sight was fearful to all, the sorrow of Dona Joanna
de Mendopa was greater and more passionate, for she saw her
danghter, her tender darling, perhaps the prey of some sea monster
that might devour her while she was still alive; but as she had
already offered everything in sacrifice to God, while she experi-
enced this grief within her heart, He cannot have failed to
succour her with some spiritual consolation, as may well be
concluded from the patience, virtue, and example which she
showed on this occasion.
A sail was set in the boat, and with the wind from the east
they steered for the nearest land upon the course they had been
following when they saw it on the 20th of March. They drew
near to it with great rejoicing (if such could be in hearts which
had lately suffered such misery), and as it was nightfall they took
in the sail, that they might not run aground in some spot where
they would all be drowned, now that God had brought them to
shore.
Certainly the loss of this ship and the death of those who were
in her is a matter to be pondered over, for in many points it
appears to have been an evident judgment of God. If that night
when the sailor said he saw land it had been visible in the
morning, or if the pilot had not changed the course during the
night, the people could not by any means have perished, for
Becords of South-Eastern Africa. 197
they were only eight leagues from the shore at most, and the
ship allowed ample time to have landed the first boatload and
returned for the rest. Or, still- better, they might have
remained in the ship till she ran aground, which, though two
leagues from land, would have made it easier to save the people
with the boat, and even on rafts had they not had the boat, which
all would have made with a good heart in sight of land, and
could thus have been saved. But sin blinded their eyes, so that
they could not understand this, and those were lost who had been
born for such a fate.
The next day in the morning they reached the land in safety,
and anchored where the waves broke, for there the bottom was
clear. Several sailors were then put on shore to see if they could
find any villages. Perceiving fires from the top of some sand-
hills they went in search of them, and found some straw huts
inhabited by Kaffirs. These fled on their approach, but recog-
nising them as Portuguese, from the dealings they had with
them in the ivory trade, which is carried on every year there,
they returned to them very familiarly and went with them to the
shore, but without understanding each other, because none of
them spoke our language. The wind was then blowing from the
west, and all agreed to proceed along the coast as far as the river
of Lourengo Marques. The sailors re-embarked, and they went
on their way ; but the wind increased and the waves rose, so that
they were forced to run aground on that shore, lest they sliouM
be driven to do so upon some other where they might perish.
Running the boat ashore, they all landed with some biscuit
they had with them, and prepared their guns and other arms in
case of necessity. They passed that night among some sandhills,
where they lit their fires, keeping a vigilant watch. This was
on the 22nd of March, and the next day they set fire to the boat
to get out the nails which are much esteemed among the
Kaffirs to trade with, and they made calico wallets for the
journey, and several water-bags from some skins which had been
thrown into the boat by chance, to carry water for the road.
They then made a muster of those present, and found that they
were ninety-eight persons, counting the women, of whom we
name those we have knowledge of : Captain Estevao da Veiga,
Dom Paul de Lima, l)ona Beatrice his wife, Gregorio Botelho
and his daughter Dona Mariana wife of Guterre de Monroy, Dona
198 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Joanna de Mendopa widow of Gonpalo Gomes de Azevedo,
Bernardim de Carvalho, Manuel Cabral da Veiga, Christovao
Hebello Kodovalho, Nicolao da Silva, Diogo Lopes Leitao brother
of the wife of Dom Paul de Lima, Francisco Dorta factor of the
ship, Antonio Caldeira son of Manuel Caldeira the accountant of
the ships, Father Nicolas of the Rosary, of the Order of Preachers,
Father Antonio, a secular Franciscan, Marcos Carneiro the ship's
master, Gaspar Fernandez the pilot, Diogo de Couto, who was
wrecked in the ship Santiago on the Baixo da Judia, and others,
sailors and ships' boys.
The arms were found to consist of five guns, as many swords,
a keg of powder, and several lints. With the oars of the boat
they made lance handles, with carpenters' gimlets for heads.
The biscuit was divided among them all, in two or three handfuls
apiece, the water-skins were filled, and this was their provision
for the journey they had resolved to undertake.
On the 23rd of March they set out, the Franciscan Father
Antonio going first with a crucifix as a standard. Two hammocks
were made from the sails of the boat slung on oars, in which the
women might travel, carried by the sailors and ship's boys, to
whom Dom Paul de Lima promised a large sum of money. The
wives of Dom Paul and Guterre de Monroy wore white tunics,
trousers reaching to the ground, and red caps, but Dona Joanna
de Mendopa was dressed in the habit of Saint Francis, because it
was her intention to enter as a sister into one of the convents of
Saint Clare, and she wished to put on her habit that if she died
on the journey she might be so clothed and her desire might be
in part fulfilled. And afterwards she accomplished this, for
though there was no convent of Saint Clare in India which she
could enter, she retired to our Lady of the Cape, in her habit
which she never again took off, and built a little house or cell
into which she withdrew, to be near the Franciscan Fathers who
there lead holy lives, and herself no less so. Here she lives in
such retirement, abstinence, and contemplation, that no cloister
could be better, and her life and example are a consolation to
this city of Goa.
Before continuing to relate the events of the journey of these
castaways in Kaffraria, it seems proper to give a brief description
of those parts, as we have done of all the others in our ninth
Decade, where we treat of the conquest of the gold-mines by the
Records of South- Eastern Africa. 199
governor Francisco Barreto and Vasco Fernandas Homem. This
we shall now do from the spot where the boat came ashore to
Cape Correntes, which we reached in the description of the
kingdoms of Monomotapa and those of the interior and coast of
this Lower Ethiopia.
The place where the boat came ashore is commonly known to
our navigators as the land of Fumos, and is so marked upon our
charts, which name was given to it by the first of our people who
visited it, from the quantity of smoke which they saw on the
land at night ; but the native Kaffirs call it the land of the
Makomates, from some Kaffirs so named who live along its
shores. The boat landed in latitude twenty-seven degrees and a
third, near a river unnamed in our charts, which is in latitude
27 and which our people who go from Mozambique to the
river of Lourenpo Marques to carry on the ivory trade call
the river of Simao Dote, from a Portuguese who went there in a
pangayo. This river is small, is only navigable with small craft,
and is about fifty leagues distant from the bay of Lourenpo
Marques, to the south.
All this land of Fumos is under the king called Viragune ; it
extends more than thirty leagues into the interior, and on the
southern side is bounded by another land called Mokalapapa,
which extends from the river Saint Lucia, which is in latitude
twenty-eight and a quarter degrees, to the land of Natal. Here
it joins another kingdom, that of Vambe, which runs south, where
our people also carry on a trade in ivory. From this kingdom,
which includes a great part of the land called Natal, to the Cape
of Good Hope there are no other kings, but all is in the possession
of chiefs called Inkosis, who are the heads and governors of three,
four, or five villages.
From the kingdom of Viragune, which is all that land of
Fumos, the kingdom of Inhaka runs to the north-east, and extends
to the point of the bay of Lourenjo Marques, on the southern side,
which on our charts is called the river of Saint Louren^o, and is
in latitude twenty-five degrees and three quarters. Included in
it are two islands off the said point, one called Choambone, which
is inhabited and has seven villages, is about four leagues in
extent, and has many cows, goats, and hens ; and another, called
Setimuro, which is without people, and may be two leagues in
extent. Here our people engaged in the ivory trade make their
200 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
station, to be more secure from the blacks of the country, and the
best ivory trade they have is with the Inhaka. This island has
very good water, abundance of fish, aiid tortoises, though their
shells are worthless.
As we have now reached this bay, which is famous, and one of
the principal of the continent called Africa by geographers, we
shall describe it, that it may better appear what kings live
around it. Let us suppose a butterfly, with two points, the one
of Inhaka aforesaid, and another on the northern side, where is
the kingdom of Manisa, of which we shall afterwards speak. The
distance from one side of the mouth to the other is about six
leagues, and the depth from the mouth inwards fourteen fathoms.
In the middle of the bay is an island, which our people call
the isle of Birds, because of the great numbers there, which are
as large as geese, and so fat that their grease is used as oil for
the lamps and binnacles of ships. The wings of this butterfly on
the southern side have a river, which runs south-west, upon both
sides of which extends the kingdom of Belingane, and so the
river is called. The wing on the northern side has the river
Manisa, which flows from the north, from which the kingdom
takes its name.
. This river is the largest of those that discharge here, and one
of those which, as we said in our eighth Decade, in the descrip-
tion of the kingdom of Monomotapa, flows out of the Great Lake
together with the Nile and others. It enters the part which is
commonly called Bahia Fermosa, which is in fact the river
Espirito Santo. Here the Portuguese trade in ivory, and have a
factory, which they occupy during the four months of the year
that the monsoon lasts.
The end of this butterfly is divided into two streamers, which are
two rivers, that from this direction run into the bay, which is the
body of the butterfly. On the streamer to the north is the king-
dom of Rumo, which was where Manuel de Sousa Sepulveda,
when he passed there with his wife, delivered up his arms, as we
described in the sixth decade, and where she and her children
died and the said Manuel de Sousa disappeared, entering the
thickets in his sorrow at seeing the death of his wife and children,
where he is supposed to have been devoured by wild beasts.
A few years ago the king commanded this thicket to be cleared,
to turn the ground to advantage, in which the native Kaffirs say
RecorJs of South-Eastern Africa. 201
they found two rings with valuable stones, which the king has,
and shows to this day to the Portuguese who go there to trade.
We heard this from several people, who assured us that they saw
these rings, which are supposed to have belonged to the said
Manuel de Sousa, who was wearing them on his fingers.
The other streamer at the end of the butterfly on the southern
side is the kingdom called Anzete ; it should be known that
among these Kaffirs as soon as one succeeds to a government he
is called by the name of the kingdom he rules. This kingdom
is divided by great mountain ranges, extending more than twenty
leagues, so rugged, impenetrable, and impregnable by nature,
that they cannot be traversed except by several very difficult
passes. On their summits are many large plains, which belong
to a chief named Monhimpeka, who never under any circum-
stances descends from the mountains or holds communication
with his neighbours, who are great thieves.
In these mountains there are numerous elephants, and this
chief has great caves full of their tusks; but he would never
trade with the Portuguese, fearing that if he sent them down
from the mountains they would be stolen by his neighbours.
This Kaffir lives on these heights in great security, and has no
need of anything, for the laad yields him all the necessaries of
life. The people of these mountains speak the same language as
the Vumos and Anzetes, their neighbours, and are generally, both
men and women, of such great stature that they look like giants.
The two rivers which form the streamers at the end of the
butterfly unite, and two days journey farther up another branches
oif which flows from Anzete to Vumo, and cuts that tract of land
through the middle. Upon this river lives a king called
Angomanes, whose country extends towards the west ; and the
river runs at the foot of some mountains, upon whose skirts are
several villages. We were told by a Portuguese who went to
trade up this river in a vessel that he came upon the people of
these villages, who were fishing in small craft, and he noticed
that when they required anything from the shore they moved
their boats to a spot whence they could be heard, and gave
certain calls and whistles, upon which the people from the
villages brought all they required, for they understand each
other by these sounds ; nevertheless they have a language of
their own, very different from that of all the other kingdoms.
202 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
To return to the mouth of the river Espirito Santo, which is
the head of the butterfly, between it and the river Manisa there
runs a strait towards the south-west, and cuts off that point,
making it an island, which our people call Mel. From it the
coast runs directly to the river Dos Keys, which our people now
call the Ouro, in latitude twenty-five degrees, on the western side
of which lies the kingdom called Inhapula, and on the other side
that of Manusa, which is its dependency.
Here the coast curves in as far as Cape Correntes, making a
deep bay not marked upon our charts, and when the ships from
Mozambique go to the river of Louren?o Marques, it appears as
if they were crossing a great gulf. Along this bay there live
certain Kaffirs called Mocrangas, who are great thieves. In the
middle of it there is marked upon our charts a river in latitude
23, which is called Bazaruta, but it does not exist, nor is there
a stream of that name on the whole coast. There are only the
islands of Bazaruta, in latitude 21, opposite the point called
St. Sebastian on our maps, which is in latitude 22^, of which we
have already given an account in the ninth Decade, in the
description of the whole of Kaffraria.
In the interior behind this bay of the Mocrangas are two king-
doms : that of Manusa already mentioned, which lies in the part
aforesaid,;and the other of Inhabuze, which extends to a great
river called Inharingue, below Cape Correntes. This is the one
we have just mentioned as called Bazaruta on the charts, but it
is nearer Cape Correntes than is indicated thereon. Upon the
western side of this river is the kingdom of Pande, next to that
of Inhabuze, which has on the north the kingdom of Monhibene,
along the said river, and joins another kingdom called Javara,
which is situated upon this river in the interior. On the opposite
side are two other kingdoms : that of Gamba nearer the sea, and
that of Mocumba in the interior.
All the kingdoms mentioned in this description are well known
to the Portuguese, who resort to them from Mozambique to trade
for ivory. Upon which we will say no more of them ; and though
it would not be out of place to treat of the barbarous customs and
laws of these Kaffirs, I will not do so here, because it is foreign to
my purpose, which is only to relate what befell the people of this
wreck upon their way until they reached the river of Lourenjo
Marques.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 203
Our castaways, having set forth upon their journey as already
stated, travelled along the shore very slowly, oil account of the
women, eating a little of the biscuit they had with them and
drinking a little water from the skins, for most of it had leaked
through the seams. In this way, with frequent stoppages, they
travelled until night, when they halted among some sand hills
where they took shelter, seeking, as they did all through the
journey, a separate place for the women ; and made their fires
and slept upon the hard sand, having no covering but the sky.
The next day they resumed their journey, being already without
food or water, and they caught some crabs upon the shore, which
they roasted and ate. The women were already overcome with
fatigue, above all the disconsolate Dona Joanna de Mendofa, for
the two others were assisted, one by her husband and the other
by her father, who aided and consoled them as well as they could,
and this lady alone was unprotected and sorrowful, for there was
not among all those people a single one bound to her by any tie,
who could assist her in this necessity.
But God our Lord turned His eyes upon her who had given
Him her heart, and moved Bernardim de Carvalho, a virtuous
nobleman, to take compassion upon her. He, seeing her weary
and alone, drew near and gave his hand to assist her, with all the
respect due to a woman dead to the things of this earth, who on
the very day she set foot on land put on the habit of Saint
Francis and cut off her beautiful hair, sacrificing it to Grod and
leaving it in those parts to be scattered by the winds. Thus
during the whole of the journey, as long as it lasted, she showed
such an example that all were lost in admiration. And the
aforesaid nobleman served her with such love and respect, seeing
her mortification, that forgetting his own hardships he thought
only of her, so that no father or brother could have done more.
Thus they went on their way with great suffering to the
women, whose feet were already blistered and wounded, which
forced them to go so slowly that on the third day some wished to
push forward, that they might not risk their lives by such delay
in want of everything, with nothing to eat but crabs, fruit from
the thickets, and a few trifling things which they obtained in
trade with the Kaffirs.
When it was known that some wished to hasten forward, the
captain and Doiii Paul de Lima went to them, and with urgent
204 . Records of South-Eastern Africa.
words dissuaded them from carrying out their intention, assuring
them that God would succour them. From that time forward
they kept better order, for they divided into two parties, half the
people with Paul de Lima in front with the arms, Captain Estevao
da Veiga behind with the rest, and the women between, who were
in such a state that it went to the hearts of all ; and thus they
proceeded sympathising with them.
Already on the second day they were followed by some Kaffirs,
numbering about three hundred, who seemed to have cast their
eyes upon the caps and other trifles which they saw, and they
drew nearer and nearer, until growing bolder, they got in front
of our people, shouting their war-cries and brandishing their
arms, which they call Pemberar. The captain and Dom Paul de
Lima, seeing their determination, formed into one body, placing
the guns and lances on the outside and the women in the centre,
and advanced towards the Kaffirs, who came on with loud cries
and shouts, attacking them and hurling many fire hardened
sticks, which they call fimbos, which would fell an ox it' they
struck it, but which did not harm any of our people. The guns
being fired upon them, they were so terrified on hearing the
discharge that they threw themselves upon the ground, and
bounding like monkeys upon all fours they fled into the thickets ;
and our people being rid of them, pursued their journey.
The same day there came to them through some passes in the
mountains another baud of Kaffirs, among whom there was one
very old, with a white beard, clad in a tiger's skin, and with him
a Kaffir woman who appeared to be his wife. They drew near
very familiarly, and made signs to our people to follow them,
which they did, thinking that he was the chief of some village.
They led them by the same road they had used in coming, which
they followed with difficulty, it being rather rugged, "until they
reached a village, which was near a lake more than a league in
length. The Kaffir offered them shelter, which they accepted,
and rested there the rest of the day and all the night, without
disturbance. The Kaffir women of the village thronged to see
the white women, as something marvellous, and all night they
gave them many entertainments and dances, which they would
gladly have excused, as the noise prevented them from sleeping,
and they had great need of rest.
Here they brought hens, goats, fish raw and roasted, and paste
Records of South-Eastern Africa^ 205
of millet-flour, of which they make cakes, and they exchanged all
this for piei-es of nails and several shirts which their owners
stripped off for the purpose. Our people remained until the
next day in this rustic recreation, and the pilot took the alti-
tude of the sun and found the lake to be situated in 26^ south
latitude.
This is a fresh water lake, but the tide enters it by a little
river which at low water reaches to the knees. The sea breaks
violently at its mouth, and therefore the water of the lake is
rather brackish, but there are many wells in those parts from
which they drink. This was Palm Sunday, and because of the
entertainment they found there they gave this river the name of
Abundance. The next day they returned to the shore, where
they found some staves of barrels, the handle of a saw, some
pieces of plank, and other wood. The Kaffirs who accompanied
them said these things were left by some Portuguese who came
ashore at that place ; and therefore all supposed that they must
have been from one of the rafts of the ship Santiago, which the
current brought there, for several were made, but only two were
heard of again. The greatest hardship which our people suffered
in the journey along the shore was thirst, which tormented them
so that they returned into the interior, though it might be with
worse consequences.
The day after they left the river Abundance they came upon
another small stream, which also flowed into a lake not smaller
than the first. This they crossed at low water, and the pilot
again measured the altitude of the sun and found the latitude
26. Thenceforward they were penetrating the territory of the
king Inyaka,* of which we spoke in our description. He had
been informed of their approach, and sent several of his people to
accompany them, who made much of them ; and they were
extremely pleased on finding in the party a Kaffir who spoke
Portuguese very well. This man told them that less than ten
days previously a ship had left the river of Lourenfo Marques for
Mozambique, which carried much ivory, and the captain was
Jeronymo Leitao.
In joyful hope they reached the village, and sat down at the
* Manisa in the original, hut that this is an error, and that Inyaka is
intended, is evident from the context. The same misprint occurs on several
other occasions in the narrative.
206 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
entrance under a beautiful tree. -All the people of the village,
men and women, came out to see them, being astonished at the
sight of the women, for they had never met any before. The
Kaffir women, seeing them so weary and distressed, showed great
compassion, and drawing near caressed and made much of them,
offering thtir houses and desiring even to take them there at
once.
It was not long before the king arrived, accompanied by many
people. He was naked, except for a piece of cloth which covered
the lower part of his body and a green cloak which the Chief
Ensign Dom Jorge de Menezes had sent him from Mozambique
when Dom Paul de Lima was captain. The captain and all the
others rose up and received him with great courtesy, and he
embraced them with a joyful countenance and sat down with
them under the tree. Our people related their misfortunes and
the hardships they had suffered on the way, and said they were
all rejoiced at reaching his village, for they knew what a friend
he was to the Portuguese, and they hoped to obtain from him
succour in their necessities. The king gave them a good hearing,
and answered humanely, condoling with them, and offering them
everything his kingdom contained.
It seemed proper to them to make this man a present, because
these people are always on the watch to see if one has brought
anything to give them. They sought among themselves for
something, and found a piece of cloth worked in gold which
Dona Mariana used as a wrapper, a copper basin, a thing which
the Kaffirs hold in high value, and a large piece of iron, all of
which they presented to him, asking him to excuse them, for they
had only saved their persons, and even this piece of cloth had
been taken from one of the women. They threw it over his
shoulders, and he was so vain that he eyed himself on every side,
and laughed with glee among his Kaffirs, counting this the day
of his greatest triumph.
Then he gave orders to his people to bring food, and they
returned directly with two baskets of a kind of pulse which they
call ameixoeira, and a goat. He asked them to remain in that
village, and promised that he would provide for them as well as
he could until the arrival of the trading ship of that year ; and
said he was of opinion they should not risk travelling farther, for
along the bay where they must pass lived some Kaffirs who were
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 207
great thieves and would kill and rob them, and that his father
warned Manuel de Sousa Sepulveda of this when he passed that
way, and he was lost through not following this advice. He also
told our people that if they did not think themselves safe in the
village, he would order them to be taken to an island where they
would still find the houses in which the Portuguese lived when
they came for the ivory trade, and a small boat for their use ; and
there he would order them to be provided with whatever they
required.
They looked upon this as a favour, and accepted his advice,
asking him to direct them to the island and to give them leave
to go there the next day. As soon as they had come to this
hasty resolution the king withdrew, leaving people to accompany
them to the island, and our people went outside the village and
passed the night, having set sentinels and made many fires.
Here they made ash cakes and cooked their food, and the Kaffirs
brought hens, grain, beans, and other things for sale.
This was Thursday in holy week, and therefore they did not
wish to go farther until Easter-day, which fell on the second of
April. On this day they commenced their journey, with more
ease, but not without hardship, for it rained so heavily that they
suffered a good deal. On the second day of the octave they came
in sight of the bay of Espirito Santo, and as it was late, they
lodged that night as best they could. The next day they reached
the sea, and the Kaffirs who guided them made signals to those
on the island, which was near, and they came with two small
boats, in which our people passed over to the island that day and
the next. They journeyed about a league on the island, and
found it covered with beautiful trees and rich pastures, where
very fine cattle were grazing, which belonged to the king. At
the end of the island overlooking the bay they found some straw
huts in which they took shelter.
Next day at low tide, with the water to their waists, they passed
over to another island, called Setimino, of which we spoke else-
where. Here they found more than fifty huts, constructed and
left by the Portuguese traders, and in these they took shelter as
best they could. They found also two small vessels, which the
ship's officers examined and considered fit for use in passing to
the other side of the bay, which was so wide that the opposite
shore could not be seen. They judged that the larger of the
208 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
craft would hold sixty persons, and the smaller fifteen. At this
they were all rejoiced, for they thought that when they reached
the other side they would find less difficulty in getting to Sofala.
The carpenter therefore began to prepare the boats, and they sent
to Manisa some pieces of silver of the few they had saved, and
asked him to give them leave, which he did, so they pushed
forward the preparations for their passage.
Everything being ready, on the 18th of April they began to
embark in both boats, thinking they would hold them all. As
soon as they were on board, however, the boats began to fill with
water, so that those who were in them called out to be put ashore,
because they were sinking. Thus they disembarked again, wet
and disconsolate, and retired to their huts bereft of the means of
safety which they thought they had possessed.
The sailors in a body now asked that the boats should be given
to them, as they wished to venture onward. They said they
would take a message to Inhambane, where they might possibly
be able to arrange for a pangayo to return for the others. Upon
this an altercation arose, with loud words and insolence on the
part of the sailors, who had become unruly during the journey.
The noblemen and soldiers did not wish the boats to be given,
that they might not be left without them, and also that these
men might not separate from the others, for the salvation of all
depended upon keeping together. Upon this there was such
dissension and clamour that everything was in confusion, and
nothing could be understood or decided.
At this time Dom Paul de Lima had retired into a hut, with
his wife, because he had no hope of reaching the other side, and
wished only to be occupied in recommending himself to God,
without knowing what was going on or attending to anything
else. The captain, Bernardiin de Carvalho with the other noble-
men, the master, and the pilot, knowing his condition, sought
him, and begged him not to deprive them of his counsel, for all
were determined to obey his orders alone, and to remain in his
company there or wherever he chose. Dom Paul de Lima, who
had resolved to remain there, committing himself to the hands of
God and whatever might be His will, begged them to leave him,
for he was old and weary, and finding himself with his wife in
these straits, he was determined to lead a hermit's life there
and pass the remainder of his days in penance for his sins. He
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 209
observed that they were preparing to go, and he was certain that
whoever landed on the other side, even if he went also, as soon
as the shore was reached would push forward and abandon him,
and he would find himself with his wife in those desert and
uninhabitable wastes ; therefore he would rather remain behind
and see what fate God had reserved for him. He said further
that those who wished to go on had better do so at once, for he
only desired to consider the salvation of his soul, and as to his
body any portion of the earth would suffice for it.
These words, which he did not speak without tears running
down upon his venerable beard, so touched them all that they
could not refrain from weeping with him, and thus between their
tears and sobs, those persons for whom he had the most respect
begged him to be consoled and to remember that his was that
great spirit which had so distinguished itself on the many occa-
sions in which God our Lord had shown him so many favours and
given him so many victories ; and as with so much fortitude God
had also gifted him with such lively and enlightened knowledge
and counsel, in these straits, where they were more than ever
necessary, he ought not to abandon himself to his fate ; that this
was tempting the God who had so highly gifted him, and He,
who had preserved him so far, would continue to do so until He
brought him to a Christian land, where he would be better able
to accomplish his present purpose. Therefore, they said, he should
attend to the preservation of his life and that of his wife, for
whose sake he should spare himself, for if he died of sheer grief,
as now seemed likely, an account would be demanded of him in
the other life of having been the cause of leaving her among
those brutes unprotected and in danger of despair. All there
present offered themselves, and pledged their faith, that never at
any time or under any circumstances would they forsake him,
but would follow his fortune, and wherever it should lead him
there would they go also. They said that he should examine his
conscience and take note that he was risking his soul in thus
giving himself up to die of his own free will, that it was tempting
God, whom he seemed to distrust in this matter, knowing that
His mercy is unbounded, and that he should not let himself be
vanquished by fortune, which he had trodden under foot all
his life.
When the noblemen had spoken thus, the ship's master under-
210 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
took, as head of all the seamen, never to leave him in whatever
straits he might be, but always to follow him until they should
Jose their lives for him ; and acquainted him that the strongest
sailors offered to carry his wife in a litter, and to serve her all
through the journey, as was but just.
Upon this Dom Paul de Lima could not but yield and trust
himself to their hands. Then, by his advice, it was decided that
half the people should cross first, with Captain Estevao da Veiga,
and when they reached the other shore, the boats should return
for the rest. This was done. The captain and pilot embarked
in the largest boat, with forty-five persons, among whom were the
boatswain, the under-pilot Diogo Lopes Leitao, Francisco Dorta
the ship's factor, and Antonio Caldeira ; all the rest were seamen.
In the smaller boat there embarked the master with fifteen persons,
including his son, Friar Nicolas of the Order of Preachers, and
the others common people. Thirty-six persons remained on the
island, who were noblemen and gentlemen that would not leave
Dom Paul, and with them were the ladies.
The boats, having set sail, left the shore, and steered for the
other side. At sunset they reached land, and anchored one
league east of the river of Manisa, as they heard from some
Kaffirs whom they found there. The wind failing, they remained
at anchor all night, and this was the error of that voyage and
the cause of their future hardships ; and all arose from sparing
themselves a little labour, for if they had taken to the oars, they
might easily have gone in search of and entered the river of
Manisa, which was not more than a league behind them.
They remained at anchor all night, and in the morning the
wind blew from the west-south-west, which was unfavourable for
returning to the river, and therefore they thought it would be
better to go along the coast until they reached the river Ouro,
which was thirteen or fourteen leagues distant, and when the
wind changed they could return for those who remained on the
island. Thus they ran along the coast, which was very clear ;
but towards evening the wind lulled, until it shifted to south-
south-east, which was contrary. With this they drifted towards
the shore, until they were close to the surf, so that those in the
larger boat were obliged to turn about, but the smaller one cast
anchor. Her ropes, however, which were of grass, giving way,
she set sail again, and remained a little while without advancing,
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 211
o that they found themselves in the surf. But they drew off,
and by better navigation, the diligence of the master, and the
will of God, luffed so effectually that they cleared the points, and
in the morning had already reached the mouth of the river of
Manisa.
On shore they heard that in the village where the king lived,
twelve leagues up the stream, there were some Portuguese, and
so with hope they took to the oars, with some difficulty for they
were all very weak, and proceeded up the river, until after two
days they reached the village, where Jeronymo Leitao and some
of his companions immediately came to meet them. It was about
a month since he had left the river of Louren?o Marques, as
before related, with a pangayo laden with ivory, with which he
had gone to the river Ouro, and had there been robbed, after
which he had come to the village of this Manisa, with whom he
was acquainted. Upon thus meeting, they embraced each other
with many tears and much affection, and having related their
misfortunes, they were taken to the king, who received them
well, comforted them, and ordered them to be lodged.
As they did not know what had become of the captain's boat,
the master decided, with the advice of Jeronymo Leytao, to send
his boat to the island to relate what had occurred, that the people
there might not fall into despair. Three persons were chosen to
go in her, two of the company of Jeronymo Leytao and one of
that of the master. They also sent word to Dom Paul that he
should cross to the other side at once, for the country was good,
and he could wait there more at his ease until some ship should
come from Sofala, which they had sent to ask for ; as Joronymo
Leytao, at the same time as the boat left, sent a young man of
his company and a Moorish sailor from the lost ship with letters
to the captain of that fortress, giving him an account of the
wreck, of the people who had escaped, and of all that had
happened to the ship and to his own vessel, asking him to send a
pangayo for them.
Thus we will leave them, and return to those who had remained
on the island. Seeing that the boats did not return in seven,
eight, and ten days, they did not know to what it was to be
attributed, unless to the neglect of the captain. Dom Paul felt
it deeply and was very indignant with him, and not knowing
what resolution to take, passed many days in deep melancholy.
p 2
2 12 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
The same thing happened to them all, for they were losing the
hope of safety which they had expected from the boats enabling
them to leave the island, both because their provisions were
already exhausted and because some of their number had fallen
sick. A month having almost passed, and being still without
information concerning the others, they consulted among them-
selves what they should do, and by the advice of all it was agreed
that since no ship would arrive from Mozambique for a year, they
should proceed by land round the bay, for it would be a smaller
evil to risk the hardships of the journey, commending themselves
to the guidance of God, than to remain there to die of hunger
and sickness.
Having come to this determination, they sent a message to the
Inyaka, informing him of it, and asking his advice and permission
to leave that place. To this message he replied that he could
not advi.se them to undertake the journey, because of the dangers
they would meet on the road, for now they were separated, and
if they had been all together he might have advised it, though
even then it would not have been without risk ; and if their
resolution was due to want of provisions, he would command them
to be provided with the best he could get, as he had always done ;
nevertheless if they thought fit to undertake the journey they
might do so at once, for he would not prevent them, that it
might not be said that he wished to detain them in his country.
On this reply our people were in suspense and at a loss, not
knowing what to do.
At this time the boat, sent by the master and Jeronymo
Leytao, arrived, and when they saw it approaching they hastened
to the shore as if it held their only hope, and when the men
disembarked they were lifted in the arms of all with tears of joy.
Then they sought Dom Paul in his hut, and from them he learned
what had happened to the boats, and that nothing was known of
Estevao da Veiga ; and they related all that had since befallen
them and that the master and Jeronymo Leitao wished them to
cross to the other side, for not only was the king of the country
a friend to the Portuguese, but it was well provided with
everything.
Upon hearing this, Dom Paul de Lima was greatly rejoiced,
and at once prepared to depart ; but as the boat would only hold
fourteen, lots were drawn to see who should go first and \\h<>
Records of South-Eastern Africa,. 213
remain. The lot fell upon himself, his wife, his brother, Manuel
Cabral da Veiga, Christovao Kebello, and others to the aforesaid
number, to go first, leaving on shore to await the return of the
boat Bernardim de Carvalho, who was very ill, Gregorio Botelho,
his daughter Dona Mariana, and with her Dona Joanna de
Mendopa, who always lodged together, having no husbands, and
other persons. Leaving the shore, the boat reached the mouth
of the river of Manisa that same day, and they journeyed up it
three days. On reaching the village they were made much of by
the king and the Portuguese, and here they were all lodged in
poor huts with no furniture but a few mats, and some had only
dry straw. When the question arose of sending back the boat,
there was not one among them who would go in it, all being very
weak and beginning to falJ sick with fever.
Those who remained on the island watched for the boat until
the fifth and sixth day, but it did not appear, and they went
about as if stunned, not knowing what to do, and with no one to
counsel or encourage them, for Bernardim de Carvalho, who
might have done so, was very ill with fever ; and as all remedies
were wanting, and he had nothing but a gruel of ameixoeira and
the hard ground to lie upon, nature grew weary and delivered
him into the hands of death. In that hour he proved himself a
very good Christian, by the great patience with which he endured
it, for the love of God, and by the great contrition he showed for
his sins. His death was deeply felt and bewailed by all, for he
was a very amiable nobleman, of rare qualities and parts, and in
all their hardships took the heaviest share upon himself, assisting
all in their necessities at all times, especially Dona Joanna de
Mendoca, for, as we have said, seeing her alone, he drew near and
accompanied her, and served her throughout the journey with
such respect, honour, and virtue, that all were struck with admi-
ration. Especially was this the case while they were on the
island, for he went to the thicket to get wood for her, carrying it
on his shoulders, and to the spring to get water. When they
obtained a hen in trade, he it was who killed, plucked, and
cooked it, after which it was eaten by Gregorio Botelho, his
daughter Dona Mariana, and Dona Joanna de Mendoca, the
smallest portion always remaining for himself, and even of this
he would keep a piece for Dona Joanna at night, or for the next
day. According to the account of the rest of the company he
214 Records of South- Eastern Africa.
died of sheer hardship. And what is most to be lamented is that
his death was as miserable as it could be, for he was covered with
vermin, bred upon his body by the dampness of the soil and the
sweat of his labours. He was buried at the foot of a cross which
our people had erected there. Naked they laid him in the naked
earth, amid the pitying lamentation of all, especially of Dona
Joanna de Mendopa, who felt it as if he had been her own father,
because of all she owed to him and the loss he would be to her
in her necessities. She remained disconsolate, with none to
condole with her except Gregorio Botelho and his daughter
Dona Mariana, with whom she lodged for the sake of propriety.
Several other persons also died, including the boatswain and
the caulker. And because at last they had nothing left with
which to trade for what they required, they went over to the
other island, which was populated, and sent a message to Inyaka,
relating what had befallen them and the need in which they were,
asking him to command them to be provided with what they
required until the arrival of the trading vessel, when he would
be well paid for all. He replied that they should come to his
village, when -being at hand he would observe their needs and
provide for them, but while they were so far off he could not
know if they had been supplied according to his orders. Upon
this they were in readiness, and went there, though some were
opposed to it; nevertheless they remained there for the time
being, and there we will also leave them to return to the boat in
which was Captain Estevao da Veiga.
Let us follow the fate of this boat, which we left with a con-
trary wind that obliged them to put about ; but that was of no
avail, for they again found themselves among the breakers, from
which they received much damage. They then recognised that
their endeavours were useless, and that it was necessary they
should run the boat ashore before the moon set, for this was in
the night, as afterwards they would perhaps be obliged to do so
in some place where they would all perish. Therefore they ran
ashore on a sandy beach, where they remained the rest of the
night, by fires which they lit, and with two loaded guns in case
of necessity.
Next day, as soon as it was light, they proceeded on the road
to the river Ouro, already followed by many Kaffirs, who
assembled at once, and disturbed and molested them many times,
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 215
until they grew so bold that they snatched the caps from their
heads and the wallets from their backs, bounding away with the
agility of apes, our people being unable to get rid of them, though
they attacked them frequently. With this trouble and with
great bodily fatigue they reached the river Ouro so exhausted
I that they could not move a step farther, being at this time
accompanied by a Kaffir named Inhatembe, of the king's house-
hold, a man known to the Portuguese and who had been to
Mozambique. He guided them to the village, which they entered
at one o'clock the next morning. Here dwelt the king Inhapula,
of whom we spoke in the description of this country, and he
humanely came out to meet them, and ordered them to be lodged
in a large house together, giving them some provisions of that
country to eat, but in return for pieces of nails.
Next day they went to see the king, and gave him an account
of their misfortunes and asked him for a faithful guide as far as
Inhambane, where they would have the means of paying him.
The king consoled them, and gave them the same Inhatembe who
had accompanied them to that place, and who was a chief. They
presented to him a grey hat in return, which he valued highly ;
and he allowed them to remain there three days, during which
some of them fell ill with fever. Five or six being ill, it was
necessary to leave them there to proceed to Inhambane when
they were recovered, to which end they asked leave of the king,
who granted it. Thus they set out, most of them in such a state
that they could hardly move, especially the ship's pilot, Gaspar
(Jonpalves, who was almost at the last gasp. That day they
reached a village belonging to the chief who accompanied them,
where they were very well treated, and they remained there that
night.
Next day a Kaffir came to them in great haste with a message
from the king Inhapula, that they must return to his village at
once to remove a Portuguese who was dead, and take away the
sick, for there no one would look upon a corpse, and the sun
would be incensed against him and would allow no rain to fall
upon the earth, and would give no fruit or provisions all that
year. This they said because seeing the Portuguese white and
fair, they took them to be children of the sun. Estevao da Yeiga
was much disconcerted at this message, which made it necessary
to send those who were healthiest to perform the duty. These,
216 Eecords of South-Eastern Africa.
on arriving, wished to bury the dead ; but the Kaffirs would not
permit it, and with the greatest haste made them almost drag
the corpse out of the village and carry the sick away upon their
shoulders. They left the corpse in a thicket covered with a little
earth ; and the sick men told them that when the Kaffirs saw
them with the fever, which plunged them into a kind of lethargy
in which they moved neither arm nor leg, thinking they were
dead, they applied fire to their feet to see if they would stir.
Thus leaving the dead, they carried the sick to the village in
which our people were.
Next day they crossed to the other side of the river Ouro,
which is about a musket shot in width. At its mouth the sea
breaks in spray, and the river can only be navigated by very
small craft. It is situated in latitude twenty-five degrees. Upon
its banks they left two of their number who were already in the
throes of death, and from whom they parted with great sorrow,
remaining with them as long as they were conscious, to remind
them of spiritual things and to repeat to them the most holy
name of Jesus. Oh how fortunate may we consider those who
remained in the ship, whose misery was ended in a moment !
And how wretched these who thought themselves more happy in
escaping from it ! For their hardships, risks, dangers, and at
last death, were only rendered more painful and severe.
Certainly this alone would justify the reply which the philo-
sopher made to one who asked : What is death ? when he made
answer : Death is an eternal dream, the dread of the rich, the
separation of friends, an uncertain pilgrimage, a robber of men,
an end to those who live, and a beginning to those who die. For
all these are found in the circumstances of this wreck. What
deeper dream and what greater dread to the rich than what they
witnessed on this occasion ? One day so wealthy and happy,
travelling in so strong a ship, so richly laden and full of precious
things, and on the morrow to see her sink beneath their feet,
burying her treasures in the depths of the sea. What more
lamentable separation of friends than what they now experienced,
leaving these to end their lives upon those shores with no other
consolation and companionship than the solitude of savage
deserts. What more uncertain pilgrimage than this which they
were making, every hour being fraught with risk and danger,
and all of them in such a wretched condition that if there had
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 217
been lions and tigers in these deserts, they might have pitied
them more than they did the slave Androcles, who was preserved
for a long time by a lion in a cave in Africa, being lamed by a
splinter in his foot, which the lion drew out, and licked the
wound with his tongue till it was cured.
These disasters, and others which occur every day on the
passage to India, might serve as a warning to men, especially to
the noblemen and captains of fortresses, to moderate themselves
and be content with what the goodness of God has given them, and
allow the poor to live, for God has not made the sun in the
heavens and the water in the fountains for the great alone. We
repeat this so often in the course of our Decades, because we have
been greatly scandalised by the injustice and inhumanity daily
practised in these fortresses against the lowly. But God is so
just that though kings neglect to punish, He does so with a
heavier hand, by so much does His justice outweigh that of men.
To return to the castaways. After they had crossed the river
Ouro they went to the kingdom of Mamusa, where they were
very well received, and they remained there three days, during
which time five or six of their number died from the bad water
which was all they could find, and which was full of weeds and
filth. The blacks of the village required their bodies to be taken
away with such haste that they dragged them along and threw
them into a swamp. Among those who died was the pilot Gaspar
Gonpalves, who escaped from the wreck of the ship Santiago on
the shoals of Judia only to perish in these parts in the greatest
misery that can be imagined.
From this village the survivors set out again, accompanied by
two sons of the king, who saved them from many perils and
treacherous acts which the Kaffirs had planned against them on
the way. This day they left two more of their companions in the
thickets, for from weakness and sickness they could go no farther,
and their friends took leave of them with sorrow and many tears.
That night they reached the village of a Kaffir named Inhabuze,
where they took shelter, and from it they went to the kingdom of
Panda nearer to Cape Correntes, which the people of Mozambique
commonly call Imbaiie. The king received them very well, and
would not let them depart until the fifth day, for it is his ancient
custom to detain his friends there and show his love to them by
banquets and rejoicings, as he did in the case of these castaways,
218 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
for he is a great friend of the Portuguese, on account of the
commerce and communication he has with Mozambique.
From this village they set out again, accompanied by a son of
the king, and on the llth of May, on which the feast of our
Lord's ascension fell, they reached another river as large as the
Ouro, which is in latitude 24, and separates the kingdoms of
Panda and Gamba. Crossing to the other bank, they reached
the town of the king Gamba, which is about a league and a half
from the river, and he, having heard of their arrival, ordered
them to be well received and lodged.
This king and his sons were Christians, baptized by Father
Gonealo da Silveira, of the Company of Jesus, who in the years
1560 and 1561 traversed these parts preaching the law of the
Holy Gospel among the savages, and he gave the king the name
of Bastiao de Sa, both in memory of the monarch Dom Sebastiao
who was then reigning, and of Bastiao de Sa, who was captain of
Mozambique at that time. To his sons he gave the names of
Pedro de Sa and Joao de Sa, and he baptized several other
Kaffirs, who all took the surname de Sa.
It being necessary for him to go to the kingdom of Mono-
motapa, where martyrdom awaited him. he left here Father
Andre Fernandes, his companion, a truly apostolic man, of great
learning and sanctity, so that his Superior Father Francisco was
wont to say that he was a true Israelite. Father Andre Fernandes
remained in this kingdom, giving a goodly example by his life,
and constantly threatened with martyrdom, which his soul desired
to suffer for Christ our Lord, and which he never tried to avoid, but
on the contrary, whenever he was warned that his death had been
ordered, he awaited the hour with such consolation and joy that
it seemed to him as if the beautiful and resplendent crown which
heaven bestows upon true martyrs had already fallen on his head.
This man, who may with justice be called a saint, from the
innocence of his life, afterwards lived in this city of Goa for many
years, giving a rare example of virtue, and died here at the age
of ninety. He was among those who entered the Company of
Jesus in the time of the Blessed Father Ignatius, its founder.
Much might be said of his virtues, life, and death, for we were
familiar with him many years, and were very devoted to him ;
but as Father Sebastiao Gonpalves, of the Company of Jesus, in
his Compendium of the members of the Company who came to
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 219
these parts, speaks of him, and especially of Father Gonpalo da
Silveira, we will leave him at present to follow the fortune of the
castaways until we have brought them to a place of safety.
From the kingdom of Gamba they set out on the 21st of May,
which was the eve of Pentecost, and reached the river Inhambane,
where they found a mulatto named Simao Lopes, a native of
Sofala, who had fled to this place on account of matters concern-
ing the faith. He received them as well as he could, being poor,
and at that time there remained only thirty of the forty-five
persons who set out together. Here they heard from Simao
Lopes that no pangayo would come from Mozambique before
November. Upon this they took counsel, and agreed to travel
by land, the country where they were being very unhealthy, lying
under the tropic of Capricorn.
When they had rested some days they set out, and in four
days they reached the river Boene, having suffered much from
the Kaffirs who attacked them on the road. Having crossed to
the other side, they went on to another river called Morarnbele,
which was very deep, so they travelled some distance up it to
find a ford, and on the way they were robbed of the little they
had left. Having crossed this river, they came to a village named
Sane, which is on the point of the land called Saint Sebastian on
the charts. Here they began to pass along the indenture in the
coast called Sane, which at low tide is left bare, so that the sea is
not visible for five or six leagues. They travelled across it at
great speed the best part of the day, that the tide might not
overtake them, and after walking more than five leagues, they
reached the other side, where they rested.
Next day they resumed their journey, and went as far as to a
place called Fubaxe, where they found a Portuguese with a luzio,
which is a kind of boat used in those parts. He had come there
to trade, and with him was the boatswain of the ship, whom
Estevao da Veiga had sent on before with a message to Sofala, to
ascertain if a vessel could be obtained to go for Dom Paul de
Lima and those who were with him on the island. Here they
remained all that day, with great rejoicing, as they were
approaching a land of safety. Then they went over to the island
of Bazaruta, where there was a native of Sofala named Antonio
Rodrigues, to get assistance from him to reach Sofala. The
island is inhabited by Moors, who treated them all very well.
220 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
By direction of Antonio Rodrigues they embarked for Sofala in
a vessel which he procured, and sailed over the thirty leagues to
that fortress very quickly and without trouble. On the fourth
day of the voyage they entered the river of Sofala, unknown to
any one, and disembarking, went in procession to the church of
our Lady of the Kosary, belonging to the Order of Preachers.
To her they presented themselves with many tears, returning
thanks for the favours they had received from her during the
journey. Here the captain of the fortress and all the married
men came to meet them, embracing them with great affection,
and each took one of them as his guest. Thus they were dis-
tributed among the inhabitants, who treated them with great
humanity, washing them and cutting their hair, for they were
almost like savages, and providing them with abundance of food.
In a few days they were so far recovered that they were strong
again, and it seemed to them that they were in another world.
The captain had already bought a pangayo to send for Dom
Paul de Lima, for by a letter from Jeronymo Leitao he had learned
of his being wrecked, and on the arrival of these men he made
more haste and ordered everything necessary for the distressed
people to be embarked, together with clothes, and goods for their
ransom. The pangayo then set sail, and in a few days reached
Inhambane, where it was found that three of the sick men left
there from the company of Estevao da Veiga were already dead.
The others soon recovered by the help of the remedies brought
in the pangayo. As it was not possible to proceed to the river
Espirito Santo, because the pangayo was small, Simao Lopes went
over land with the cloth, beads, and other things, carried on the
shoulders of Kaffirs, and the pangayo returned to Sofala with the
sick they had found there.
It was almost a month after Dom Paul de Lima had passed
over to the northern side of the bay of Lourenpo Marques before
anyone would take back the boat for those who were left on the
island, for all were weak and ill. Dom Paul, however, did all in
his power, and at last he arranged with the ship's master and
Jeronymo Leitao, to send on this service those men who were
most fit for it, when they chose three from among the rest. By
the strength of their arms they reached the island, where they
found all disconsolate and despairing of ever being sent for ; but
now they rejoiced greatly at the sight of the boat, and prepared
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 221
to enter it. As it could not hold them all, great dissension arose,
for those who would be left behind ran the risk of no one return-
ing for them. Those, however, who came with the boat reassured
them with promises, swearing that as soon as they had landed
the others at the mouth of the river they would return for them,
and for greater security they left one of their number as a hostage,
by which those who remained were appeased.
Then Gregorio Botelho embarked with his daughter, Dona
Joanna de Mendoca, and eight or ten others, and crossing over
reached the opposite shore the same day. The people were
landed on the point at the mouth of the river of Manisa, and the
boat then returned for the others and reached the island the next
day. All embarked in her, none remaining but the dead, who
remained for ever ; and they safely reached the opposite shore.
There they found the first party, who joined them in the boat,
for though it was small, there was now no danger, as it went up
the river, which was narrow, and kept close to the shore.
Thus crowded and uncomfortable they reached the village,
where our people of the company of Dom Paul came to meet
them, and there was great rejoicing. The king commanded them
to be lodged in the village, Dona Joanna de Mendopa always
remaining in the company of Dona Mariana. After they had
rested, they all assembled and discussed whether it would be well
for them to proceed to Inhambane. Jeronymo Leitao, who was
best acquainted with the country, advised them not to move from
where they were until the coming of the pangayo, which would
be in October, for he had already written to Sofala on the subject.
It was his opinion that they ought not to risk travelling over
land, because the Kaffirs farther on were great thieves and very
cruel, and they were in a place of safety, where provisions would
not be wanting, as the king and his subjects would provide for
them well, with an eye to the coming of the pangayo, which they
expected, knowing that they would be well paid for all, although
these Kaffirs never do anything from virtue.
Upon hearing the opinion of this man, they resolved to
remain; but as the country was unhealthy, being under the
tropic, as has been said, they began to fall sick of malignant
fever, of which most of them speedily died, the master among the
number. Their bodies were buried in the current of the river,
for the Kaffirs would not allow them to be interred on shore.
222 Records of South- Eastern Africa.
As for Dom Paul de Lima, it would seem as if his heart fore-
boded that some great evil would happen to him in that place,
and he begged Jeronymo Leitao many times to take him away
from it, and accompany and guide him, making him many liberal
offers and promises ; but as this man was unstable, he replied
sometimes yes and sometimes no, always urging as obstacles the
difficulties of the road and the danger from the Kaffirs. He kept
Dom Paul many days in this uncertainty, without making up
his mind one way or the other, by which that nobleman was
thrown into such trouble and melancholy that he took to his bed,
or rather to the ground, for such is the truth. As he was fifty
years of age, and there were no remedies, but for comfortable
mattress and sheets he had only the hard ground, with none but
spiritual consolation, for he had at his side Father Nicolas of the
Kosary, who confessed at great length and consoled him, on the
seventh day of his illness he yielded his soul to God our Lord, on
the 2nd of August, the day on which the Franciscan friars keep
the feast of our Lady of the Small Portion, for which there is a
plenary indulgence. For this feast this nobleman had a great
devotion ; and from the signs he showed of being a good Christian
and a contrite penitent, with an example of great patience, it is
to be presumed that his soul ascended to enjoy in glory that
jubilee which there endures as long as God himself, which is
for ever.
His death was a greater source of grief to all than can be
imagined, both from seeing a nobleman of such parts and good
qualities as nature had endowed him with, die in the greatest
destitution ever seen, and from finding themselves bereft of his
valuable counsel, which had assisted them in their greatest hard-
ships, that were rendered more bearable and of less weight in
presence of his authority, gravity, and notable patience, and
therefore he was bewailed as if he had been the father of them all.
Let us pass over the extremities of grief to which his wife was
reduced, for it is better to do so, lest we should move the readers
of this narrative to equal sorrow ; but it may easily be imagined
what would be the grief of a wife on losing such a husband, and
still more so at a time when she had such need of him for help
and consolation, seeing herself alone and unprotected in a place
where only God our Lord could succour her.
And your Ladyship (Senhora Dona Anna de Lima) I well
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 223
know that on reading this you cannot fail to shed pious tears, and
with good reason, for the loss of a brother well worthy of the love
which you, Lady, have always borne him, and for the misery in
which he died, which you would have counted yourself happy to
have been able to alleviate in some measure, by being present at
his death, to have rested his head upon your lap, that he might have
died with some consolation, and you have remained less sorrowful ;
but, Lady, you may greatly console yourself by hearing that the
signs he gave at the hour of death (as I have said) may assure
you of his salvation, and those he gave in life of his prudence,
valour, and strength may make you glory in such a brother,
and after your long years of life your children, grandchildren,
and descendants shall boast of his prowess and knightly deeds,
for in my history he will live for ever, and though not so elevated
as he deserves, shall be so according to my powers, which I
greatly wish were much greater.
The lord of that country had knowledge of his death, and
ordered him to be at once removed from the village, upon which
he was taken from the arms of his beloved wife, and carried
almost on their shoulders out of the village. At the foot of two
trees on the bank of the river they made him a grave, in which
they laid him with no other shroud than the poor soiled shirt
and drawers in which he escaped from the ship, with no other
funeral pomp than the tears of his companions, which were
abundant, with no other escutcheon than the dry branches of
those trees, nor other gravestone and marble monument than the
sands which covered him like another Pompey on the shores of
Egypt.
His wife Dona Brites remained some time in Kaffraria with the
others who survived, enduring great misery and want. After-
wards, when they went to Mozambique, she caused her husband's
bones to be dug up and took them with her to Goa where she
gave them burial in the church of St. Francis of that city, in the
small chapel of the seraphic father, which is on the right hand as
one enters the principal door. They are buried in the wall, with
a copper tablet with his epitaph as follows : Canatale, Ddbul, and
Jor. Here lies Dom Paul de Lima, who died of hardships in
Kaffraria in the year 1589.
Of all the notable acts of this lady, I cannot fail to praise this
deed of bringing her husband's bones through Kaffraria until the
224 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
ship was reached, which was heroic, and makes her worthy of
being exalted. One other matter worthy of note I will not pass
over, which is that of all the persons who were in this ship, I do
not think one is alive to-day except the three women, herself,
Dona Mariana the wife of Guterre de Monroy, and Dona Joanna
de Mendoca, who is retired in a house in our Lady of the Cape,
clothed in the habit of St. Francis, a lady of great virtue, on
whom the eyes of all in this city of Goa are fixed, because of the
example she gives by her retirement and virtuous mode of life.
Upon which I shall conclude this brief narrative, which God
grant may be to His great praise and glory.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 225
NAUFKAGIO
DA
NAO SANTO ALBERTO
No Penedo das Fontes no anno de 1593. *
A NOTICIA da perdipao da Nao Santo Alberto no Penedo das
Fontes, principle da Terra do Natal, e a Relayao do caminho, que
fizerao em cem dias os Portuguezes, que della se salvarao, athe o
Rio de Lourenpo Marques, onde se embarcarao para Mopambique,
sao de grande importancia para nossas navegapoens, e para aviso
dellas muy necessarias. Porque o Naufragio ensina, como se
devem haver os navegantes em outro, que Ihes pbde acontecer, de
que remedios proveitosos usarao nelle, e quaes sao os apparentes
e danosos de que devem fugir, que prevenpoens farao para ser
menor a perda do mar, e mais segura a peregrinacao por terra,
como com menos perigo desembarcarao nella ; e a causa da per-
dicao desta Nao (que o he quasi de todas as que se perdem) a
relapao do caminho mostra qual devem seguir, e deixar, que
apercebimentos farao para a sua grandeza, e difficuldade, como
tratarao, e communicarao com os Cafres, com que meyos farao
com elles o necessario commercio, e sua barbara natureza, e
costumes. E para que de couzas tao importantes e novas se
tenha o necessario conhecimento, escrevo este breve tratado,
resumindo nelle hum largo cartapacio, que desta viagem fez o
Piloto da dita Nao ; o qual emendey, e verifiquey com a infor-
mapao, que depois me deo Nuno Velho Pereyra, Capitao mor que
foy dos Portuguezes nesta Jornada.
Partio pois a Nao Santo Alberto de Cochim a vinte e hum de
Janeiro de mil e quinhentos e noventa e tres, da qual era Capitao
Juliao de Faria Cerveira, Piloto Eodrigo Migueis, e Mestre Joao
Martins, e nella vinha para o Reyno D. Isabel Pereira filha de
* Compiled in 1597, from the manuscript journal kept by the pilot, by Joao
Baptista Lavanha, chief cosmographer to the king.
II. Q
226 Becords of Smith-Eastern Africa.
Francisco Pereira, Capitao, e Tanadar mbr da Ilha de Goa, dona
viuva, mulher que foy de Diogo de Mello Coutinho Capitao de
Ceilao, e trazia D. Luiza sua filha donzella fermosa de desaseis
annos, e assim vinhao Nuno Velho Pereira Capitao que fora de
Sofala, Francisco Velho seo sobrinho, Francisco da Silva, Joao de
Valadares de Sotomayor, D. Francisco de Azevedo, Francisco
Nunes Marinho, Gon?alo Mendes de Vasconcellos, Antonio Moniz
da Silva, Diogo Nunes Gramaxo Capitao da Nao S. Luis de
Malaca, que arribara a India, Antonio Godinho, Henrique Leite,
e Frey Pedro da Cruz Frade Agostinho, e Frey Pantaleao Domi-
nico, e outros muitos passageiros. E fazendo a Nao sua viagem
com tempo prospero chegou a altura de des graos da parte do Sul,
na qual paragern teve principio a sua perdipao ; porque nella se
Ihe abrio huma agoa, e posto que pouca, e que nao estorvasse a
derrota que se levava em demanda da ponta Austral da Ilha de
S. Lourenyo, chegada porem a vinte e sete graos sobreveyo vento
Sul com que esta agoa cresceo, e arrojando-a o vento, hindo a
Nao pela bolina, e metendo nmito de 16, por se afastar da dita
ponta, deo huma grande cabecada, com que rendeo o Gorupes,
que logo se concertou. Navegando deste modo com tempo
bonanca, e sem a bomba dar muito trabalho, houverao vista da
Terra do Natal aos vinte e hum de Marco em altura de trinta e
hum graos e meyo, a qual Costa correndo, e tomada a altura o
dia seguinte, se acharao em trinta e dous graos, em cuja tarde
houve vento Oeste por riba da terra, com que se fizerao na volta
do mar so com as velas grandes, e no quarto da madorra, sem
vento, nem mar que o causassem, comecou a Nao a fazer muita
agoa, crescendo em grande quantidade na bomba. Forao logo
ahaixo a reconhecella, e entendeo-se que entrava pelas picas de
popa, por baixo de huma caverna, lugar muy perigoso, e de difficil
remedio. Pareceo ao Capitao, e aos Officiaes, que o poderia ter,
-eortandose hum pedafo da dita caverna ; e assim se fez. E posto
que cortada se tomou a agoa, e come^ou a estancar (da qual boa
nova o Piloto e Mestre pedirao alvifaras a Nuno Velho Pereira, e
elle lhas prometteo) durou pouco esta melhoria, porque como a
agoa achou aquelle lugar fraco, arrombou-o com muito mayor
furia, e entraado na Nao cresceo em grande demazia. E assim
tern mostrado a experiencia, por este successo, e pelo da Nao S.
Thome, que foy quasi a elle semelhante, que se devem procurar
e fazer todos os outros remedios para tomar a agoa, mas nao este
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 227
de oortar madeira, sendo mais necessario accrescentalla, que
tiralla, porque posto que em boa apparencia, he depois muy
danado, como se vio nestas duas Naos, que se se nao cortara em
Santo Alberto huma caverna, em S. Thome hum peclaco da escota,
e ponta de pica, nao se senhoreara dellas tanto a agoa, e sendo
menos, e aproveitando mais os outros remedies, pode ser que esta
pudera arribar a Mozambique, e a outra dera a Costa, e nao se
perderao tao longe della.
Vendo os Officiaes o perigoso estado da Nao, e que nella havia
dezoito palmos de agoa, determinarao, que se alijasse, e arribasse
em popa. Huma couza e outra se comecou logo a executar ; e o
Mestre fez lestes e Escotilha grande, da qual com barris deitavao
a agoa fora, que foy grande allivio a Nao. que entendido de
alguns affeifoados aos brincos dos seos caixoens, que levavao no
conves, pararao em os alijar, esperando ja salvarse com elles, mas
promettendo-lhes a troco Nuno Velho Pereira (se Decs o levava
a salvamento a terra) quarenta e sinco quintaes de Cravo, que
trazia na Nao, pode tanto esta sombra de interesse, que ficou logo
desembaracado o conves, e crescendo depois o perigo se deitou ao
mar tudo o que havia na tolda dos Bombardeiros, e nos payees
das drogas, com que ficou cuberto de infinitas riquezas, lanzadas
as mais dellas por seos proprios donos, dos quaes erao naquelle
tempo tao aborrecidas e dresprezadas, como em outro forao amadas
e estimadas. Era ja quasi manhaa, e principio do dia seguinte,
e a agoa entrava em tanta demazia, que da segunda cuberta se nao
podiao tirar os caixoens, e quebrados com machados, se alijava o
fato, que nelles vinha. E posto que havia hum Gambte grande
aberto na Escotilha, outro pela Estrinqua, e outro pelo payol das
drogas, por onde com barris se deitava a agoa, e assim com as
bombas, com nenhuma couza destas diminuia. Continuouse todo
o dia este trabalho, acodindo Nuno Velho Pereira, o Capitao, os
JFidalgos, e Soldados, com grande presteza e diligencia a humas
partes, e o Mestre com a gente do mar a outras. E sendo noite
se empacharao as bombas com a Pimenta, e ficarao de nenhum
service. Havia ja na Nao doze palmos de agoa, com que muitos
perderao o animo, e os que o tinhao estavao tao cancados, que nao
havia quern fosse a segunda cuberta encher barris, na continuacao
do qual exercicio consistia a salvacao da Nao. Pelo que Nuno
Velho Pereira desceo abaixo ao porao da Nao com grande perigo
pendurando-se pelas cordas das bombas, e comecou encher os
Q2
228 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
barris, os outros Fidalgos e Soldados movidos deste exemplo
fizerao o mesmo, e nao largarao mao do trabalho toda aquella
noite. No fim da qual, e principio do dia seguinte se houve vista
da terra, como o Piloto promettera na tarde passada, cuja subita
vista assim alegrou a todos, e encheo de alvoroco, como se nella
nao estivera tao duvidosa a salvacao das suas vidas, como na Nao
que o mar hia sorvendo a grande furia.
Vista a terra attendeose em alijar tudo o que havia no castello,
debaixo da ponte, e na popa, com que alliviada algum tanto a
Nao, se derao as velas da Gavea grande, e a Cevadeira, para
chegar mais de pressa a Costa, governando porem sempre, e
parece que milagrosamente, porque levava ja duas cubertas cheyas
de agoa, e as mezas arrastando. E prevenindo Nuno Velho as
futuras necessidades de armas, e municoens, sem as quaes estava
tao certa a perdipao na terra que viao, como no mar em que
andavao, advertio ao Capitao, que mandasse recolher as armas,
polvora, churnbo, e murroens que se achassem, e deo ordem a
Antonio Moniz da Silva, que ajuntasse as suas espingardas, e as
que mais encontrasse, e atadas as metesse em alguma pipa, para
nella se salvarem. O que se fez ja com grande trabalho, reco-
Ihendose na tolda o que se achou, donde depois de vararem em
terra os pedacos da Nao, se tirou com difficuldade. Foy esta
preuencao, e lembranpa de Nuno Velho de tanta irnportancia, que
faltando, faltara o remedio de todos estes Portuguezes, porque
obrigados os Cafres do temor e espanto das suas armas, fizerao-se
domesticos, commutarao com os nossos seos mantimentos, e dei-
xarao de executar suas vontades, inclinadas naturalmente a roubos,
e traipoens, como se vera pelo discurso desta relacao ; e assim em
semelhantes desgrapas, e desestrados successes tenhase muita
conta com o recolhimento e guarda das armas, roupa, e cobre,
para o resgate e defensao, pois nisso vay tanto ; e advirtase que
tudo se ponha no chapiteo, para que com facilidade se salve.
Sendo ja perto da terra por ordem do Mestre, comecarao os
Carpinteiros a cortar os niastros, e em oito brapas e nieya tocando
o leme saltou fora, e nas oito deo a Nao a primeira pancada, pelo
que se acodio logo a cortar a enxarcea, com que cahirao os mastros,
com grande e lastimosa gritta de toda a gente. Cahidos os
mastros deitarao-se muitos a elles inconsideradamente, parecendo-
Ihes seguro remedio, para escapar do Naufragio. Mas como
estivessem aiuda pegados com alguma enxarcea, as impetuosas
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 229
ondas, que com grande furia rebentavao na Nao, derao nelles, e
todos afogarao, com pernas e bracos quebrados. Eecompen souse
este dano com hum bem nao esperado dos vivos (que da Nao viao
este triste espectaculo) o qual causarao os mesmos mastros, porque
as suas fiiriosas paneadas, que os espantavao, e das quaes com
grande temor esperavao serem socobrados, essas forao seo remedio,
desfazendo a Nao, e moendo-a de maneira, que (depois de encalhar
entre as nove e des boras do dia, vinte e quatro de Marpo, distante
de terra alguns quatro centos passos) se partio em duas partes,
despegandose as cubertas de cima, das duas debaixo, as quaes
fiearao no lugar em que estavao encalhadas ; e a parte superior se
chegou a terra, e della ficou muy perto. Estava na proa o
Capitao, o Piloto, e Mestre com muita gente, e a outra toda na
popa com Nuno Velho Pereira, que acompanhava e amava D.
Isabel, e D. Luiza, e era seo reparo das ondas, 'que apertadas
entre os mastros e a popa encapelavao por cima della, e em Nuno
Velho (que tinha estas Fidalgas recolhidas debaixo de hum
balandrao de chamalote) quebravao o impeto, e nao era tao poiico
furioso (principalmente na popa por estar a enxarcea, que
detinha os mastros, nella pegada) que nao fosse necessario ataremse
muitos homens com cordas a alguns paos fixes della, porque nao
fossem levados dos mares. Outros que sabiao nadar, temendo que
sobreviesse a noite antes de darem a Costa os pedapos da Nao em
que estavao, e que os mastros os disfizessem, ou que os virassem,
e assim ficassem debaixo delles afogados; botarao-se a nado, e
com os golpes da muita madeira, que andava vagando pelo mar,
e com a ressaca das grossas ondas, que rebentavao em grandes e
asperos penedos da praya, muitos delles se afogarao.
Comepandose a noite, se desapegou a popa da proa, que por
baixo athe aquella hora estiverao pegadas, com que tambem se
soltarao os mastros, e encalhou a popa muito direita na praya.
Mas receando Nuno Velho, que as grandes correntes daquella
Costa, que correm ao Sudueste, a levassem comsigo, sendo ja
muita parte de mare vazia, mandou a hum criado seo, bom
Soldado, chamado Diogo Femandes, que nadando fosse a terra, e
nella puzesse hum cabo, no qual amarrando aqnelle pedapo de
Nao ficasse seguro das ditas correntes. O Soldado o fez com
muito esforpo, e melhor vontade, e a mayor parte da gente que
estava nesta popa saltou em terra. Sendo meya noite se atravessou
o castello na dita popa, e por ella como por ponte, se puzerao na
230 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
praya os que nelle estavao. E na entrada do quarto da Alva
desembarcou Nuno Velho Pereira, e os Fidalgos, e Soldados que
acompanhavao a D. Isabel, e a D. Luiza, os quaes se forao alando
pelo cabo, que estava em terra, em quanto a mare foy enchendo,
e estando vazia ficarao em seco, e a pe enxuto sahirao. Depois
que todos se receberao com chorosos abrapos, derao muitas gracas
a Deos Nosso Senhor pelas grandes misericordias, que corn elles
usou no dia da sua milagrosa Encarnacao, livrando-os de tao
perigoso Naufragio, e salvando-os naquella praya (cuja altura
Austral he de trinta e dous graos e meyo) a que os nossos chamao
o Penedo das Fontes, e os Negros Tizombe, e contados os Por-
tuguezes, vivos acharao-se cento e vinte e sinco, e mortos vinte e
oito, e escravos vivos cento e sessenta, e mortos trinta e quatro,
e o que restou do dia se passou enxugando o fato, com que cada
hum escapara, ao longo de muitos fbgos, que logo se fizerao da
madeira que da Nao deo a Costa, aquentandose do muito frio que
sentiao, e repouzando dos trabalhos e angustias passadas.
Tal foy a perdipao desta Nao Santo Alberto, taes os successes
do seo JSaufragio, causado nao das tormentas do Cabo de Boa
Esperanca (pois sem chegar a elle, com prospero tempo se perdeo)
mas da querena, e sobrecarga, que como a esta Nao, assim a
outras muitas no fundo do mar hao sepultado. Ambas poz em
pratica a cobica dos contratadores, e navegantes. Os contrata-
dores, porque como seja de muito menos gasto dar querena a
huma Nao, que tiralla a monte, folgao muito com a invenpao
Italiana, a qual posto que serve para aquelle mar de Levante, a
cujas tormentas e tempestades podem parar Gales, e onde cada
oito dias se toma porto ; neste nosso Oceano he o seo uso huma
das causas da perdipao das Naos ; porque alem de se apodrecereni
as madeiras (posto que sejao colhidas em sua sazao) com a
continua estancia no mar, e desencadernarernse com as voltas da
querena, e grande pezo de tamanhas Carracas, calefetando-as por
este modo, recebem mal a estopa por estarem humidas, e pouco
enxutas: e quando depois navegando sao abaladas de grandes
mares, e combatidas de rijos ventos, despedemna, e abertas dao
entrada a agoa, que as sopobra. E assim tern mostrado a expe-
riencia, que quando desta danosa invencao se nao usava, fazia
huma Nao des ou doze viagens a India, e agora com ella nao
faz duas.
Accrescentao este dano os Officiaes que as fazem, ou concertao
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 231
de impreitada (que em toda a fabrica he prejudicial) os quaes por
apoupar em o tempo, ja que nao podem as materias, nao acabao
couza alguma como convem, e se requere em obra de tanta
importancia, e assim deixao tudo imperfeito ; e descobrindo na
Nao velha eyvas e faltas, que se nao remendarao bem sem perda
sua, dissinmlao com ellas, e enfeitao o dano de maneira, que
parepa bem concertado, e debaixo delle fica a perdicao escondida
e certa. Cortao-se tambem as madeiras fora de seo tempo e sazao,
a qual he na Lua mingoante de Janeiro, pelo que sao pezadas,
verdes, e desasonadas ; e como taes trocem, encolhem, e fendem,
e desencaixao-se do seo lugar ; com que despedindo a pregadura,
e estopa, abrem ; e com a humidade da agoa de fora, e grande
quentura da pimenta, e drogas de dentro, logo se apodrecem e
corrompem na priineira viagem ; e assim basta huma so taboa
colhida sem vez, para causar a perdipao de huma Nao. Tal devia
ser a madeira desta, pois a sua quilha (base e fundamento de
todas as Naos) era tao podre, que depois que a furia dos mares
arrancou o seo fundo donde estava, e deo com ella a Costa (com
algurnas pepas de artelharia que nelle ficarao) com hurna cana de
bengala a desfez Nuno Velho Pereira em pequenos pedapos.
Os navegantes nao sao rnenos culpados neste dano, importando-
Ihes mais, pois aventurao as vidas na Nao, a qual carregao, sem a
necessaria distribuicao das mercadorias, arrumando as leves na
parte inferior, e as pezadas na superior, devendo ser ao contrario.
E por enriquecerem brevemente, de tal maneira a sobrecarregao,
que passao a devida proporpao da carga a Nao, a qual excedida,
he forcado que fique incapaz de governo, e que precedendo qual-
quer das couzas apontadas, abra e se va a pique ao fundo. E he
esta tao forposa, que sem ella quasi nao bastao as outras a perderem
huma Nao, e esta sem ellas sim. Mostrando a experiencia que
algumas Naos velhas remendadas e concertadas com querena vem
da India, porque nao trazem, nem a carga com que podem, e as
novas com a sobrecarga se perdem.
Salvos da Nao Santo Alberto pelo dito modo os nossos, ao
seguinte dia vinte e seis de Marco, pedio-lhes o Capitao, que
fossem recolher as armas e mantimentos que acbassem; o que
logo se fez, hindo aos pedapos da Nao o Mestre e o Contra-Mestre
com toda a gente do mar, e a praya os Soldados : estes trouxerao
tres barris de polvora, e os outros doze espingardas, algumas
rodelas e espadas, tres calcleiroens, e hum pouco de arroz. A
232 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Polvora se entregou aos Bombardeiros (dando o cargo de Conde-
stabre ao mais experimentado) para que a enxugassem e refinassem
com hum barril de vinagre, que veyo a praya, e os mantimentos,
e as armas se puzerao ao longo da estapa de Nuno Velho, vigiandose
tudo dos nossos com muito cuidado, por se assegurarein dos roubos
e assaltos dos Cafres. E ao mesmo fim se atrincheirarao o melhor
que o sitio, e o tempo permittia ; e para se agazalharem fizerao
tendas de boas alcatifas de Cambaya, e Odiaz, de ricas colchas, de
Gunjoens, caixas, e esteiras de Maldiva, que se embarcarao para
bem differentes usos, nas quaes se recolhiao do frio da noite, e do
Sol de dia.
Determinouse logo ao outro dia, que forao vinte e sete, eleger
Capitao mbr, para o que nomearao os Soldados des eleitores, que
forao o Capitao Juliao de Faria, Francisco da Silva, Joao de
Valadares, Francisco Pereira Velho, Goncalo Mendes de Vascon-
cellos, Diogo Nunes Gramaxo, Antonio Godinho, Francisco Nunes
Marinho, Frey Pedro, e Frey Pantaleao ; e a gente do mar ao
Piloto e ao Mestre : aos quaes derao todos largo poder, e com
juramento se obrigarao haver por boa eleifao, a que por elles
fosse feita, promettendo de obedecer a quern nomeassem. E de
commum consentimento foy eleito por elles Nuno Yelho Pereira,
por sua nobreza, prudencia, esforco, e experiencia. Kecusou elle
a eleipao, pedindo a todos que se desse o cargo ao Capitao Juliao
de Faria, que por suas partes e bom procedimento na perdipao
daquella Nao o merecia, e no qual elle promettia ajudallo com o
conselho que da sua idade se devia querer e podia esperar. Nao
aceitarao a Nuno Velho esta escusa, e porque nao desse outra
nenhuma, Ihe disserao, que nao aceitando elle o cargo, deternii-
navao apartarse, e fazerem seo caminho desunidos, e em magotes,
por onde, e como melhor pudessem ; e como esta resolucao era a
total perda desta gente, porque se nao effeituasse, antepondo elle
o bem publico ao descanfo proprio, o aceitou, e com o devido
juramento prometteo cumprir suas obrigapoens, e todos com outro
semelhante de Ihe obedecer. Sendo ja tarcle, e mare vazia forao
a Nao alguns homens do mar com o Mestre, e trouxerao seis
espingardas, doze piques, e tres fardos de arroz, o que tudo se
entregou a Nuno Velho, e elle o mandou enxugar, para com o
mais se repartir com igualdade entre todos, e para se descubrir
ulguma outra couza se deo fogo aquella noite as reliquias da Nao.
O que se deve fazer em semolhantes successes, para se uproveitaivm
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 233
os nossos da pregadura para o resgate, e que a nao possao haver
os negros, senao da sua mao, e assim tenha a valia necessaria, e a
que nao for de servico deitese no mar a tempo que o nao vejao os
negros, e onde della se nao possao aproveitar : porque deixandose
na praya, como esta ficou, quando depois vierao os Cafres resgatar
gado, vendo-a nella o nao quizerao vender, e com elle se tornarao,
entendendo que brevemente seriao senhores do ferro, pelo qual
trocavao as suas vacas e carneiros.
Amanhecendo ao outro dia, mandou Nuno Velho o Capitao a
praya, e o Mestre com alguns homens a Nao, onde acharao tres
mosquetes, quatro espingardas, dous fardos de arroz, hum quarto
de carne, dous de vinho, e quatro jarras de pao, e algum azeite, e
muitas conservas. E depois de jantar acharao hum caixao do
Capitao mor de muitas pepas de ouro e prata, e alguns escritorios
pequenos cheyos de rosarios de cristal. Entregouse tudo ao
Capitao, e elle a Nuno Velho, e por seo mandado se guardava, e
do mantimento se provia a gente. Sendo ja tarde, e sabendo o
Senhor daquella terra por alguns dos "seos Cafres, que estavao
nelle os nossos, veyo visitar ao Capitao mbr com alguns sessenta
negros. Chegando ja perto delle, se levantou, e andando poucos
passos o recebeo, e o negro depois de o saudar dizendo Nanhata
Nanhata, em sinal de paz e amizade, Ihe deitou a mao a barba, e
correndoa por ella beijou a mesma mao, e a propria cortezia forao
fazendo todos os outros barbaros aos nossos, e os nossos a elles.
Chamavase este negro Luspance, era de boa estatura, bem feito,
de rosto alegre, nao muito negro, a barba curta, e os bigodes
longos, e de quarenta e sinco annos ao parecer. Depois que se
fizerao entre Nuno Velho e o negro as ceremonias ditas, assentarao-
se ambos em huma alcatifa, e junto delles dous escravos dos nossos,
hum de Manoel Fernandes Girao, que entendia a lingoa destes
Cafres, e fallava a de Mozambique, e outro de Antonio Godinho
que sabia esta, e fallava a nossa, e assim com dous interpretes se
communicavao. Perguntou Nuno Velho a este Cafre que Ihe
pareciao aquelles seos Soldados? ao que respondeo, que muito
bem, porque tinhao todas as feifoens do corpo as suas semelhantes,
e que erao filhos do Sol, por serem brancos; mas que folgaria
saber como vierao ter alii. Satisfez a esta pregunta Nuno Velho
dizendo, que erao vassallos do mais poderoso Rey da terra, a
quern obedecia e pagava tributo toda a India onde estava hum
seo Viso-Rey, que a governava, e da qual vindo elle para Portugal
234 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
sua patria em huma grande Nao, que recolhia toda aquella gente
e outra tanta que era ja morta, o mar com sua furia os havia
deitado naquella praya abrindose a Nao, de que todos os Cafres
se admiravao. Seguio a isto hum presente, que Ihes fez este Rey,
de dous carneiros grandes de casta de Ormuz, os quaes logo se
matarao, e repartirao pela geute, e vendo-os o negro mortos se foy
com outro seo Cafre a onde os esfolarao, e mandoulhe tomar da
immundicia, que se tirara dos buchos, e com sua mao a deitou no
mar com ceremonias e palavras de agradeeimento, por Ihe trazer
a sua terra os Portuguezes, de cuja perda esperava elle grande
ganho : pelo que como a ami go seo Ihe dava, e offerecia aquelle
presente. que feito se tornou a Nuno Velho, de quern foy
convidado com doce e vinho, que gavou muito, parecendolhe
couza boa para a barriga, sentindoa quente com elle. E queren-
dose hir Ihe aprezentou o Capitao mor huma bacia de latao cheya
de pregos, e hum escritorio dourado da China, com que o negro
ficou muy contente, e despedindose delle, e dos mais Portuguezes,
com a mesma ceremonia com que se receberao, se foy, promettendo
mandar ao outro dia hum seo homem que ensinasse onde havia
agoa, de que os nossos tinhao ja necessidade, bebendoa athe
aquelle tempo das pipas, que deixou o mar na praya, posto que
algum tanto salgada com a mistura das ondas. Era o vestido
destes Cafres hum mantao de pelles de bezerro, com o cabello
para fora, as quaes untao com grassa para serem brandas : o
calpado de duas e tres solas de couro crii, pegadas humas nas
outras, de forma redonda, nas quaes anda o pe atado com correyas,
e com elle correm com grande ligeireza ; trazem na mao em hum
delgado pao embrulhado hum cabo de Bugio, ou de Eapoza, com
que se alimpao, e fazem sombra aos olhos para ver. Usao deste
traje quasi todos os negros desta Cafraria, e os seos Reys e
principaes trazem pendurada na orelha esquerda huma campainha
de cobre seni badalo que elles fazem a seo modo. Sao estes e
todos os mais Cafres pastores, e lavradores, e disso vivem ; a
lavoura he de inilho, o qual he branco, do tamanho de pimenta
e dasse em huma mafaroca de huma planta da feifao e tamanho
de cani9o. Deste milho moido entre duas pedras, ou em piloens
de pao fazem farinha, e della bolos que cozem no borralho, e da
mesma fazem vinho misturando-a com muita agoa, a qual depois
que ferve em hum vaso de barro, e se esfria e azeda, bebem com
grande sabor. O gado he muito gordo, tenro, saboroso, c grande.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 235
(sendo os pastos grocissimos) o mais delle mocho, e a mayor parte
sao vacas, em cujo numero e abundancia consistem as suas
riquezas, e sustentao-se do leite dellas, e da manteiga que delle
fazem. Vivem juntos em pequenas povoa9oens de cazas feitas de
esteiras de junco, que nao defendem a chuva, as quaes sao
redondas e baixas, e se nellas morre algum delles, logo os outros
as desfazem, e toda a povoacao, e da mesma materia fabricao
outras em outro sitio, havendo que na Aldea, em que o seo
vizinho ou parente falleceo, succedera tudo desgragadamente. E
assim por afforrarem o trabalho quando algum adoece, levao-no
ao mato, porque se houver de morrer seja fora das casas, as quaes
cercao de huma sebe, e dentro della recolhem o seo gado.
Dormem entre pelles de animaes, no chao em huma cova estreita,
de seis e sete palmos de comprido, e de hum e dous de alto.
Usao vasos de barro secos ao Sol, e de madeira lavrados com
humas machadinhas de ferro, as quaes sao como huma cunha
metida em hum pao, e com as mesmas cortao o mato. E na
guerra servem-se de Azagayas, trazem cachorros capados da feifao
e tamanho dos nossos gozos grandes. Sao muy brutos, e nao
adorao couza alguma, e assim receberao com muita facilidade a
nossa Santa Ley Christaa. Crem que o Ceo he outro mundo
como este em que vivemos, povoado de outra gente, a qual cor-
rendo faz os trovoens, e ourinando causa a chuva. Circuncidasse
a mayor parte dos que povoao a terra de vinte e nove graos de
altura para baixo, sao muy sensuaes, e tern quantas mulheres
pbdem sustentar, das quaes sao ciosos : obedecem a Senhores que
chamao Ancosses ; a lingoa he quasi huma mesma em toda a
Cafraria, e he a differenja entre ellas semelhante a que ha nas
linguas de Italia, on nas ordinarias de Hespanha. Alongao-se
pouco das suas povoajoens, e assim nao sabem, nem tern noticia
mais que dos vizinhos ; sao muy interesseiros, e em quanto Ihes
nao pagao servem, mas se a satisfacao precede ao servico, nao se
espere delles, porque com ella se acolhem. Prezao dos metaes
os mais necessarios, como he o ferro, e cobre, e assim por muy
pequenos peda?os de qualquer destes trocao gado, que he o que
mais estimao, e com elles fazem o seo commercio, e commutafao,
e seos thezouros. O ouro e prata nao tern entre elles prepo, nem
parece que ha estes metaes na terra, nao vendo sinaes delles os
nossos por onde passarao. Os quaes so isto notarao dos trajes,
costumes, ceremonias, e leis destes Cafres ; nem deve haver mais
236 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
que notar entre tao barbara gente. A terra he abunclantissima e
fertissima ; virao por ella os Portuguezes das plantas delles
conhecidas, ouregaos, losna, fetos, agrioens, poejos, malvas, alecrim,
arruda, murta com grandes e saborosos mortinhos, silvas com
fruito, rosmanhinho, bredos, mentrastos, e herva babosa, e grande
que parecia arvore, cujas pencas erao de quatro e sinco palmos de
comprido, e de hum de largo, e do meyo deitava hum talo com
flores amarelas; e assim outras muitas hervas, que nunca virao,
senao por estes campos. As arvores diversissimas das nossas, e
como ellas so acharao oliveiras com muy pequenas azeitonas
azambujeiros, maceiras de anafega, e figueiras. Tern grandes e
espessos bosques, nos quaes nunca se encontrarao Leoens, Tigres,
nem animaes desta qualidade. Dos peponhentos viose huma so
vibora grande, que se matou, e algumas cobras como as nossas de
agoa, e lagartixas : e dos outros se dira onde se acharao. Nas
ribeiras que sao muitas, enxergarao-se peixes, e do que mais for
de considerapao, se dara noticia em seo devido lugar, dandose
neste a universal de toda a Cafraria, para melhor se entender o
que della se for tratando na relapao deste caminho.
Ao qual tornando, como foy manhaa do dia seguinte vinte e
nove de Mar9o pareceo ao Capitao mbr necessario para o born
governo daquelle pequeno Arrayal (pois sem elle senao pode
conservar couza alguma muito tempo) elegeremse os necessaries
Officiaes delle, e assim deo o cargo de o ordenar e distribuir ao
Capitao Juliao de Faria Cerveira, a Diogo Nunes Gramaxo
nomeou para Provedor, e a Joao Martins o Mestre para The-
zoureiro, e mandou que ambos tivessem a sua conta a guarda das
pepas de ouro, e prata, e das mais couzas do resgate, em companhia
de Frey Pedro, e se fizesse prezente Antonio Godinho, por ser
homem que tinha muita experiencia do commercio dos Cafres,
com os quaes tratara muito tempo nos Rios de Cuama. Repartio
logo o Capitao Juliao de Faria todo o Arrayal em suas principaes
partes, avanguarda, corpo de batalha, e retroguarda, e distribuio
os Soldados em tres partes para as vigias, das quaes se nomearao
Capitaens, Francisco da Silva, Joao de Valadares, e Francisco
Pereira, e dos homens do mar se fizerao outras tres, e Capitao
dellas o Piloto, o Mestre, e Custodio Gonpalves Contra-Mestre.
Derao-se aos Soldados com a ordem necessaria as armas, que se
haviao recolhido, e outras que aquelle dia so acharao, todas as
quaes forao doze piques, vinte e sete espingardas, sinco rnosquetes,
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 237
e espadas, e rodelas. E antevendo Nuno Velho o que para tao
larga Jornada era necessario, mandou aos Bombardeiros, que
refinada a polvora a recolhessem em Bambuzes (que se acharao
na praya de alguns, que servirao na Nao de baldes) os quaes se
encourassem por fora, para que se nao humedecesse. Ordenou
que se fizesseni saquetes como alforges, em que se levasse o cobre
de liuma caldeira, e de seis caldeiroens, em pequenos peda?os
cortados para o resgate, e outros sacos mayores da mesma feifao
para os poucos mantiinentos, que se recolherao da Nao. Da qual
como se nao salvasse outra fazenda, mais que os escritorios atras
ditos, e o caixao de Nuno Velho com desasete pepas de ouro, e
vinte e sete de prata, de todas fez elle aos seos Soldados hum
liberal prezente, desejando, que se igualara com a vontade com
que Iho offerecia, e assim mandou entregar as pecas ao Provedor,
e Thesoureiro, para que como chegassem a algum porto nosso,
se distribuisse entre todos o valor das que sobejassem da Jornada,
como se fez depois em Mozambique, onde por todos se repartirao
mil e seis centos cruzados, por que se venderao as que la chegarao.
Depois que todas estas couzas se ordenarao, proverao-se os nossos
de agoa, que os negros mostrarao em dous lugares, hum ao longo
da praya, em hum charco, no qual havia pouca, e o outro de tras
de hum monte, em humas popas ao longo de huma ribeira. E he
geral esta falta de agoa em toda a Costa da Cafraria, e nao he
nienbr a das fontes pelo Sertao, mas tern abundantes ribeiras de
boas agoas, com que se escuzao as das fontes.
Tratouse ao derradeiro de Mar?o do caminho que se havia de
fazer, e posto que a mayor parte dos vbtos foy que se caminhasse
ao longo da Costa, lembrado Nuno Velho da perdicao da Nao S.
Thome na Terra dos Fumos, anno de outenta e nove, cujos
successes lera em Goa escritos por Gaspar Ferreira Sota-Piloto
della, rnostrou com o seo exemplo, e com o Galeao S. Joao, que
naquellas partes se perderao os annos de sincoenta e dous, e
sincoenta e quatro, os grandes trabalhos, e difficultosos perigos
em que todos encprreriao, e as fomes, sedes, e infirmidades que
passariao costeando a Cafraria, e que seriao os seos males muito
mayores, por ser mayor a distancia do lugar, em que estavao, ao
Rio de Lourenpo Marques, primeiro porto daquella Costa, em que
os Portuguezes tratao, e resgatao. Mudarao todos de parecer
com este acertado (como o mostrou depois a experiencia). Pelo
que de commuin cousentimento se resolveo que se fizesse o
238 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
caminho pela terra dentro, e se fogisse dos trabalhos certos da
praya. que assentado, e repartida a gente pelo Capitao, como
havia de caminhar, e os Soldados assinaladas as estancas que
deviao guardar ; veyo o mesmo Ancosse, que os havia visitado, e
pedindolhe Nuno Velho guias, para que os encaminhassem, e
levassem a outro Ancosse seo vizinho, elle lhas prometteo, e
enviou ao tempo da partida. Para a qual mandou o Capitao mbr
que ao outro dia, primeiro de Abril, se aprestassem todos, e
naquella noite se deo bum rebate falso, a que com muita dili-
gencia e acordo acodirao os nossos Soldados com suas arrnas, e se
puzerao em seos ordenados lugares. E depois que se aquietarao,
e sendo de dia se puzerao no principio do caminho, mudando a
hum valle, que ficava entre dous montes, marchando com muito
concerto, vierao as guias com o seo Ancosse Luspance, e trouxerao
duas vacas, e dous carneiros, que por tres pedapos de cobre do
tamanho de huma mao se resgatarao. As vacas por mandado de
Nuno Velho se matarao a espingarda, como se fazia ordinaria-
mente diante dos negros para os espantar e atemorizar, e para o
mesmo effeito mandou atirar com os mosquetes a alguns quartos
vazios, nos quaes fizerao grande destroco e ruido, de que cheyo
de medo o Ancosse se quizera acolher, mas Nuno Velho o tomou
pelo brapo, e o segurou, e assim o fizerao os nossos aos outros
Cafres, e depois de comerem todos de companhia, se forao para
tornarem ao outro dia, em que havia de ser a partida, que nao foy,
por chover aquella noite muita agoa, e ser necessario enxugarem
as tendas e vestidos ao Sol, que foy muy claro.
Ao seguinte porem que forao tres de Abril sendo nove boras,
partirao daquella praya os Portuguezes, alguns delles feridos do
destroco passado, entre os quaes o hia muito em huma perna
Francisco Nunes Marinho, e com outra quebrada ficou hum negro
pequeno, encomendado aos Cafres, os quaes com o cobre que Ihes
derao para o curarem e sustentarem o recolherao, e agazalharao
com mostras de boa vontade. E assim ficarao os pedapos da Nao,
em que os nossos se salvarao, e debaixo das ondas as riquezas,
que com tanta ancia em muito tempo adquirirao, em hum so dia
perderao. Hia diante o Capitao, e o Piloto com huma das guias,
e as outras com o seo Eey levava Nuno Velho, e observando o
Piloto com hum relogio Solar a derrbta da sua estrada, vio que
hia ao Nornordeste. Era o caminho chao, e por huma fresca
varzea cheya de feno, pela qual andando de vagar, por ser a
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 239
primeira Jornada, chegarao as tres horas a hum valle, por que
corria huma fermosa ribeira, que nelle se metia em hum rio, o
qual no mesmo valle misturava as suas doces agoas com as
salgadas do mar. Neste sitio quiz a guia que se fizesse estanfa,
e foy a primeira desta peregrinagao, ao longo da ribeira, e de
espessas matas de diversas cores, que no valle havia, se alojou a
nossa gente.
Buscando ao outro dia ao longo do rio (que he o do Infante)
vao para se passar da outra banda, encontrarao-se dous negros,
aos quaes Luspance, que vinha com os nossos pedio, que os
levassem, e guiassem ao seo Ancosse, de que ficariao bem pagos.
Otorgarao-no os dous negros, e apresentados para este effeito ao
Capitao mbr, elle Ihes deitou aos pescogos dous rosarios de cristal,
com que se houverao por satisfeitos, e voltarao mostrando aos
nossos o vao, que se passou dando a agoa pelo joelho, por ser a
mare vazia. Neste rio havia muitos Cavallos marinhos, e muitas
adens ; e passados todos a outra banda, se despedirao os negros, e
o Ancosse Luspance, que da praya athe aquelle lugar vierao.
Do qual por diante seguirao os nossos as duas guias, que de novo
tomarao. Estas os levarao por huma costa acima cuberta de
espesso bosque, do alto da qual se deo em huma aprazivel
campina acompanhada, de huma e da outra parte, de outeiros
cheyos de arvoredo, a qual vay parar ao pe de hum alto, e
redondo monte, cuja ladeira cancou muito aos nossos. Pelo que
parando no cabo della, mandou Nuno Velho saber das guias, se
estava longe o lugar aonde determinavao estanciar? e dando
elles par reposta que sim, e que nao poderiao chegar a elle
aquella noite, ordenou que nao se passando avante se alojasse a
gente, o que se fez em hum valle, a que se desceo, no qual havia
muita lenha, e huma ribeira de muito boa agoa. Foy sempre a
estrada deste dia, como a de outros muitos, ao Nornordeste;
caminhouse algumas duas legoas, e por ella affirmavao os negros,
que se acharia sempre povoado, com mantimentos, agoa, e lenha.
Os quaes negros como virao os nossos alojados, pedirao licenja ao
Capitao mor, para hirem aquella noite a sua povoacao, e tra-
zerem ao outro dia vacas, e elle lha deo, e prometteo, que seriao
bem resgatadas.
Cumprirao os dous Cafres sua palavra, e vierao pela manhaa
com oito vacas, pelas quaes Ihes derao pedacos de cobre, que
valeriao dous cruzados. Caminhouse aquelle dia por vicosas
240 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
varzeas cheyas de alto feno, e com muitas ribeiras retalhadas, e
ao Sol posto parou o Arrayal ao longo de huma ribeira de inuy
espesso arvoredo cuberta, aonde se matarao duas das vacas, que
se haviao comprado, as quaes igualmente se repartirao entre
todos, como sempre se fez ein toda a Jornada. E neste alojamento
enterrarao os nossos dous mosquetes, por mandado de Nuno
Velho, por serem muy pezados, de grande einbarajo, e pouca
necessidade. Passousse a noite nelle com muita chuva, porque
era entao quasi o principio de Inverno naquellas partes do Sul,
correspodendo o mez de Abril nellas ao de Outubro nestas nossas
do Norte ; e no mesmo lugar ficou huma India velha, escrava do
Capitao, nao podendo aturar o caminho.
E porque os nossos estavao muy molhados, andarao ao outro
dia pouco, por muy boa terra chaa, e com poucos outeiros
humildes, abundantes de pastos, e agoas. E posto que o povoado
dos negros era perto, segundo elles diziao, sobreveyo a chuva de
maneira, que nao passarao da ribeira bem povoada de lenha, e ao
longo della ficarao.
Sendo manhaa do dia seguinte sete de Abril, depois que
comeo a gente toda (o que fazia de madrugada para caminhar
todo o dia) com^ou a marchar por bom caminho, e chao, e
havendo vista de humas cazas de negros, que erao dos que
levavao em sua companhia, elles temendose que os nossos Ihes
maltratassem as suas sementeiras de milho, que tinhao ao redor
dellas, deixaraS o caminho, e guiarao por onde o nao havia. O
que vendo o Capitao mbr, e perguntando, e sabendo a causa do
desvio, mandou parar o Arrayal, e deitar hum pregao, que
sobpena de morte, nenhuma pessoa tocasse em couza alguma
daquelles Cafres, e entendendo-o elles da lingoa, ficarao espantados,
e rindose tornarao ao caminho, e ao longo das suas mesmas cazas
se aposentarao os nossos, os quaes comprarao aos negros hum
pouco de milho para os escravos, e hum delles foy logo a visitar
o seo Ancosse, que perto estava daquellas cazas.
Chegarao os nossos a Aldea deste Eey ao outro dia as onze
horas, caminhando por huma terra chaa, e muy vicosa de grossos
pastos, o qual ja os estava esperando no caminho, com quatro
negros em sua companhia, que espantados de verem homens
brancos, e assegurados dos negros, que vinhao com os nossos, se
chegarao a elles, e o seo Ancosse ao Capitao mbr, que usando da
rnesma ceremonia do outro Ancosse Luspance, Ihe deitou a mao
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 241
a barba, e sentindoa branda e corredia, e a sua aspera e crespa,
com grande rizo o festejava, e acompanhando a Nuno Velho, e os
seos aos nossos, continuouse o caminho, deixando atras a Aldea,
da qual o negro mandou vir tres vacas, pelas quaes Ihe derao
nove pedacos pequenos de cobre, e as quatro da tarde se fez o
alojamento, onde havia agoa, e lenha, e nelle, despedido o Ancosse,
se matarao tres vacas, que com a igualdade costumada se
repartirao entre os nossos. Os quaes acharao pela terra que
tinhao andado, adens, perdizes, codornizes, pombas, garyas,
pardaes, e corvos, e nesta estanca ficarao quatro escravos dos
nossos, tres delles negros, e hum Malavar.
Encontrouse ao outro dia nove de Abril a pouco caminho
andado huma Aldea de poucas cazas, cercadas de hum curral, no
qual haveria cem vacas, e alguns cento e vinte carneiros muy
grandes de casta de Ormuz, e nellas vivia hum velho pay com
seos filhos e netos, os quaes com grande espanto e alegria receberao
os nossos, e com cabapos de leite, que a grande pressa ordenarao.
Comprarao-se-lhe quatro vacas, por cobre que Valeria tres vintens
e continuandose o caminho, nelle acharao sinco negros entre os
quaes vinha hum irmao do Cafre, que era guia, a quern o proprio
Ancosse Luspance entre gou os nossos. qual sabendo, que
vinha seo irmao e foy buscar, e o aprezentou ao Capitao mor
dizendo-lhe a razao, que entre ambos havia. Eecebeu-o Nuno
Velho muy humanamente, e elle com a sua costumada ceremonia
o festejou. Chamavase este negro Ubabu, era de meaa estatura,
bem feito, e proporcionado, nao muito preto, e de semblante
alegre. Sendo meyo dia mandou Nuno Velho ao Piloto, que
tomasse o Sol com o Astrolabio que salvara da perdipao, e soubesse
em que altura estavao. Fez o Piloto a operapao, e achou que
tinhao trinta e dous graos e seis minutos de altura do polo do
Sul; pelo que conforme o rumo, por que caminhavao tinhao
andado des legoas em oito dias e meyo, e segundo os embarafos
que traziao, nao o houverao por pouco, nao sendo o menbr D.
Isabel, e sua filha D. Luiza, as quaes traziao os escravos do
Capitao mbr as costas em cachas, concertadas ao modo de redes
do Brazil, que em Cuama chamao Machiras. A's quatro da tarde
chegarao a huma povoapao do negro Ubabu, o qual fez assentar
os nossos junto a sua caza, e com grande demostrafao de contenta-
mento Ihes mostrou o seo gado muy domestico, e manso, que
seriao duzentas vacas as mais dellas mochas, e as que o nao erao
II. R
242 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
excediao as outras na grandeza. Veyo mais hum rebanho de
duzentos carneiros grandes, e para significar o gosto com qne os
agazalhava, mandou vir suas mulheres, que erao sete, e tres filhas,
e alguns filhos. As mulheres disse o negro, que bailassem, e
ellas tangendo as palmas, e cantando, levantarao-se alguns ses-
senta negros da mesma povoapao, que assentados estavao vendo os
nossos, e ao niesmo som saltando bailarao. Houve-se Nuno
Velho por satisfeito da festa, e pedio ao Thesoureiro, que Ihes
desse continhas de cristal enfiadas em seda, as quaes deo aos
meninos (o que sempre costumava nesta Jornada) e assim tres
trebelhos de enxedres prezos de tres fios de seda, que deitou aos
pescocos das filhas do Ubabu, de que os irmaos, e o pay ficarao muy
agradecidos, e em retorno prometterao a Nuno Velho quatro
vacas, o qual com a mais gente se foy alojar perto da mesma
povoafao, ao longo de huma ribeira, em que nao faltava lenha.
Enxergouse no negro ao outro dia a cobifa, que tinha dissi-
mulado, e alem de entreter os nossos toda a manhaa com enganos,
e fmgimentos, quandd Ihe pedirao as quatro vacas promettidas,
pedio por ellas hum caldeirao de Nuno Velho, e como arrufado
de Iho nao darem, se foy assentar ao longo da sua caza com sua
familia. Determinou o Capitao mor levar este Negro com bran-
dura, e assim acompanhado de quinze Arcabuzeiros, e das lingoas
se chegou aonde elle estava, e com palavras amorosas o trouxe
comsigo, e na sua teiida o convidou com doce, e vinho. Tratando
de novo nella do resgate das vacas quiz o negro, que Ihe dessem
por tres, hum casti?al de latao, que na mao tinha : de que
canpado ja Nuno Velho mandou que marchasse a gente, affirmando
que castigara a este Cafre, se Ihe nao lembrara a bondade do
irmao (que se chamava Inhancoza) e a obrigagao que Ihe tinha.
Estava este negro auzente, que era hido a ver sua caza, apartada
do alojamento, e quando veyo, e soube o que era passado, inter-
cedeo pelo irmao Ubabu, e para o desculpar dizia, que devia estar
doudo, e offereceo-se de novo a acompanhar Nuno Velho athe o
por no caminho, que de tras de huma subida se fazia ao longo das
suas cazas. Aonde chegado raandou hum filho seo pequeno buscar
huma vaca, que Ihe aprezentou naquella tarde. Nella se agaza-
Ihou a gente junto de huma ribeira de espesso arvoredo povoada,
donde querendo-se hir Inhancosa promettendo que tornaria ao
outro dia, o nao consentio Nuno Velho sem deixar em refens
outro negro.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 243
Mudouse no seguinte dia, que foy Domingo de Ramos a ordem
de caminhar, e passouse a dianteira o Capitao mor, porque andava
pouco, e ao seo passo poderia aturar a mais gente. A qual
guiada do negro que ficou em lugar de Inhancosa, passou perto
de huma povoacao, e della a chamado do Cafre vierao resgatar
huma vaca, depois de se assentar o Arrayal onde havia agoa, e
lenha. Levavao os nossos o gado, que compravao entre si com
guarda, e quando se alojavao o recolhiao no meyo, e com cuidado
se vigiava de noite, porque o nao furtassem os Cafres. Os quaes
se estranhavao os nossos pela differenpa da cor, e dos trajes, nao
menos se espantavao as suas vacas, porque correndo de longe aos
Portuguezes, paravao junto delles, com os focinhos no ar, como
maravilhadas de couza tao nova. E tinhase tambem vigia (com
dissimulacao) nos negros, porque se nao fossem depois de pagos,
sendo costume seo fugirem como Ihes davao alguma couza.
Cancados os Mosqueteiros dos mosquetes, e sendo desnecessarios,
pareceo bem a Nimo Velho Pereira, e ao Capitao, que se lancassem
naquella ribeira, o que consentindo todos se fez, e della se foy
caminhando por huma estrada pedregosa (a qual sahiao negros
com leite, que davao a troco de pequenos pedapos de pregos) pelo
que foy a Jornada deste dia breve, e alojado o campo vierao outros
Cafres, que resgatarao tres vacas por cobre, que importaria dous
tostoens. Delles se offereceo hum a acompanhar os nossos, a
quern Nuno Velho mandou dar huma cobertura de hum Saleiro de
prata. Sao os trajes destes negros como os de Tizombe, e de
mais que elles trazem humas continhas vermelhas nas orelhas :
as quaes perguntando Nuno Velho ao Cafre, (a quern dera a
cobertura) donde vinhao, entendeo pelas confrontapoens, que as
traziao da terra de Inhaca, que he o Hey, que povoa o rio de
Lourenpo Marques. Sao estas contas de barro, de todas as core?,
da grandeza de coentro, e fazem-se na India, Negapatao, donde se
levao a Mopambique, e dalli pelas maos dos Portuguezes se com-
municao a estes negros, resgatando-as com elles por Marfim.
Antes que ao outro dia levantassem o Arrayal, veyo hum filho
de hum Ancosse que perto do alojamento estava, com vinte e
oito negros, que o acompanhavao, a quern Nuno Velho deitou ao
pescopo huma chave de hum escritorio, com huma cadeya de
prata. Mostrouse o Cafre muy contente, e para grangear alguma
outra pepa Ihe disse, que seo pay o mandava ver aquella gente
tao estranha, e que folgaria, ainda que torcessem alguma couza do
E 2
244 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
seo caminho, que o fizessem pela sua povoacao. Respondeolhe
Nuno Velho, que nao se havia desviar da estrada, e que nella se
poderia encontrar, com que se despedio este negro, e os que com
elle vierao, e o outro com grande dissimulapao, levando porem a
cubertura o seguio. Ficarao os nossos sem guia, pelo que foy
necessario guiar o Piloto por mandado do Capitao mor, o que elle
fez com kuma Agulha de hum relogio de Sol, endireitando ao
Nordeste, como athelli fizerao, e sempre que faltou guia, elle o
foy, posto que doente muitas vezes, e com grandes dores, as
quaes resistia com muito espirito (nao mostrando menos animo
no Naufragio da Nao) por cumprir com esta obrigafao, encamin-
hando seos companheiros por aquellas terras nunca delles, nem de
outros nenhuns Portuguezes vistas e tratadas. E sobindo hum
monte, que junto do alojamento estava, derao em hum bom
caminho, e muy povoado, ao qual vinhao os negros com muito
leite, e davao hum folle, que teria meyo almude, por tres e quatro
tachas de bomba. Ao Sol posto chegarao a huma grande ribeira,
que pareceo ao Piloto ser hum de tres rios que na Carta de
marear estao assinalados naquella altura, dos quaes ja se havia
passado o do Infante, que foy o primeiro, em que se virao os
Cavallos marinhos ; e este devia ser o terceiro conforme a altura,
chamado de S. Christovao ; e o do meyo, por hirem metidos pela
terra dentro, e nao ser muy grande, o nao encontrariao. Levava
este rio muita agoa, e corria muy rijainente, e vendo os nossos,
que hum pouco de gado o passava acima donde estavao, pelo
mesmo lugar o vadearao, posto que com trabalho e temor, que a
correnteza levasse algum fraco, e doente. Mas todos se acharao
da outra banda do rio, ao longo do qual estanciarao aquella noite,
e a grandes fogos que fizerao, se aquentarao, e enxugarao a roupa
molhada da passagem.
Seguindo o outro dia a derrota que levava o Piloto, por bom
caminho, e seguido, ao longo do qual havia povoaeoens, das quaes
sahiao a vender leite, e huma fruta semelhante as nossas balancias,
chamada dos Cafres Mabure, sendo onze horas, e o Sol muy
quente, repousarao todos juntos a huma ribeira assombrada de
arvoredo. Aonde veyo ter hum negro muy acompanhado de
outros, trazendo diante de si algumas cem vacas, que como mos-
trasse na pessoa, e aeompanhamento ser de mais qualidade, que
todos os Ancosses passados, mandou Nuno Velho estender huma
alcatifa apartado do Arrayal, em que o recolheo, e saudundo-so fi
Eecords of South-Eastern Africa. 245
inaneira costumada da terra, quiz o negro saber quern erao os
nossos Portuguezes, donde vinhao, e para onde hiao. Respondeo-
Ihe Nuno Velho, que erao vassallos do poderoso Rey de Hespanha,
e delles era elle seo Capitao, e que o mar (a que os negros
chamao Manga) hindo em huma Nao para a sua terra os deitara
naquella, a qual convinha atravessar, para chegarem a do Inhaca,
onde achariao embarcapao, que os tornasse a levar donde partirao.
Pedio-lhe Nuno Velho guias, e mantimentos ; huma couza, e
outra Ihe deo este negro. As guias forao dous filhos seos, com
outros dous negros, que os acompanhassem, e os mantimentos
duas vacas. Nuno Velho Ihe deitou ao pescofo, como chegou,
huma mao de almofariz que pezaria quatro arrates, e assiin
apresentou hum pequeno caldeirao, e humas contas de cristal, e a
tres filhos seos deo tres rosarios. Parecia o negro de oitenta
annos, chaniava-se Yibo, era alto de corpo, e muy preto. E
sendo duas horas, se despedio do Capitao mbr, ficando os dous
seos filhos guiando os nossos. Os quaes caminhando por huma
terra muy chaa. pondo-se o Sol fizerao alto, e alojarao-se debaixo
de humas arvores, que em hum campo junto de huma Aldea
estavao ; onde com licenpa se forao os dous irmaos, deixando em
seo lugar os outros dous negros, que tambem o dia seguinte se
despedirao, receando o despovoado.
Aos quinze de Abril Quinta Feira Santa, se comepou a cami-
nhar antes que sahisse o Sol, por boa terra de fermosos campos, e
abundosos pastes, e atrevessarao duas ribeiras, em huma das
quaes se detiverao huma hora, recolherao-se em outra, e nesta
estanp a matarao duas vacas, e com estreiteza se repartirao, apou-
pando-se outras duas que ficavao, para o despovoado que haviao
de atravessar os tres dias seguintes, segundo diziao os negros.
Depois que aquietarao os nossos, fizerao alguns devotos hum
Altar entre dous penedos em que puzerao hum Crucifixo, com
duas velas acezas, diante do qual Frey Pedro disse as Ladainhas,
e acabadas fez hum Sermao do tempo, que nao foy ouvido com
menos lagrimas, que pregado com devojao.
Os tres dias seguintes caruinharao por deshabitado; no pri-
meiro, que foy Sesta Feira Santa chegarao as onze a hum brejo
onde ha via pouca agoa, e turva, e menos sombras : mas as quatro
da tarde se passou hum largo e corrente rio dando a agoa pelo
joelho, e da outra banda se fez o alojamento ; e como o comer
nao era muito, aproveitarao-se de humas raizes, semelhantes a
246 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
outras chamadas entre Douro e Minho Nozelhas, que erao muy
doces, e da feipao de pequenas nabipas, as quaes se acharao por
este caminho. E porque os escravos de Nuno Velho Pereira
vinhao ja muy canpados de trazerem D. Isabel, e D. Luiza, rogou
elle ao Mestre, que acabasse com alguns homens do mar, que
fizessem levar estas Fidalgas. Ajudou-se o Mestre do favor do
Piloto, e ambos concluirao bem o que Ihes foy encomendado,
fazendo com desaseis Grumetes, que por mil cruzados as levassem
athe o rio de Lourenpo Marques, pelas quaes prometteo, e ficou
por fiador Nuno Velho, e por ellas os pagou em Mopambique.
Vespera de Pascoa com grande orvalhada se subio muy cedo a
hum outeiro, e depois que sahio o Sol, outros, que canpavao
muito os nossos, hindo a mayor parte descalpos, sendo ja os papa-
tos gastados, e valendo hum par des cruzados, e assim subindo, e
baixando (caminhando porem sempre por estrada seguida ao
mesmo rumo) tiverao a Festa a sombra de hum espesso arvoredo,
pelo qual corria huma ribeira, que passarao com agoapelo artelho.
Descanpando nella appareceo hum negro com duas mulheres, ao
qual se mandou a lingoa, que o trouxe a Nuno Velho (deixando
porem as negras apartadas da gente) elle Ihe pedio, que fosse sua
guia, e Ihe pagaria muy bem. Mas o Cafre se desculpou com a
carga que trazia, que a vir so fizera-o, e com hum prego que
Nuno Velho Ihe deo se foy muy contente. Nao o ficarao porem
os nossos vendo-se naquelle despovoado, pelo qual continuarao
seo caminho athe o Sol posto, que ao pe de hum monte, onde
havia agoa e lenha, se recolherao.
Sobirao a manhaa de Pascoa o monte, por elle acharao humas
raizes, que pareciao cenouras na folha, e no sabor, e pelo rnato
huma fruta algum tanto azeda, que semelhava a nossa fruta nova,
com que sentirao menos a falta que tinhao de mantimentos.
Ampararao-se da calma em hum alto, a sombra de humas arvores,
e sendo meyo dia tomou o Piloto o Sol, e feita a conta com a
declinapao, achou que tinha aquelle sitio trinta e hum graos de
altura de Polo Austral. Disse-o logo a Nuno Velho Pereira, e a
niais companhia, e a todos alegrou tao boa nova. Mas duroulhe
pouco este prazer, porque tornando ao caminho, e sobindo outro
monte, esperando descobrir delle povoado, nao virao senao esten-
didos e deshabitados campos, o que os desconsolou e entresticeo.
Alojarao aquella noite onde havia commodidade de lenha e agoa,
e resolveo-se nella, que ua seguinte manhaa se mandasscm quatro
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 247
homeus a hum alto, que ficava ao Sul da estanja, e outros quatro
a outro que estava ao Norte, para que delles vissem se se descobria
povoado. E em tanto o Arrayal se rnudaria a hum valle distante
donde estava ao parecer meya legoa, no qual se enxergava hunia
grande ribeira de agoa, e nella esperaria a estes descobridores.
Partirao em amanhecendo a huma, e a outra parte as nomeadas
Atalayas, e sendo ja o Sol alto, se foy por o Arrayal no lugar na
noite antes determinado. Aonde vierao as des horas os quatro
homens, que forao ao Sul sem novas de povoado, e as onze vierao
os outros (que erao Antonio Godinho, e Goncalo Mendes de
Vasconcellos, Siniao Mendes, e Antonio Moniz) cantando, e
chegados ao Capitao mor disserao, que daquelle alto, aonde os
mandara, descobrirao em hum valle nao muy longe gente, e muito
gado pacendo. Alegrarao-se todos com tao desejadas novas, e
passadas as horas da calma, se comegou a caminhar pela ribeira
aciina buscando vao, q se achou, e passou da outra banda dando a
agoa pelo joelho. Subio-se logo hum nionte (em cujas fraldas se
matou huma lebre) descanpando tres vezes, e do alto delle se
descobrio a gente, e o gado, que as quatro Atalayas virao. O
qual, porque era ja tarde, pouco a pouco se hia recolhendo para a
povoacao. Pareceo bem a Nuno Velho Pereira mandar la alguns
homens, e assim ordenou, que fosse o Mestre com Antonio
Godinho, e hum lingoa, acompanhados de tres Soldados, que erao
Goncalo Mendes, e Antonio Monteiro, e Simao Mendes. Partirao
estes homens logo, e o Arrayal, encobrindose com huns outeiros,
se foy assentar em hum valle junto a huns penedos, por nao ser
descuberto dos Cafres, e cauzarlhe espanto a multidao da gente.
O Mestre, e companheiros depois de andarem espaco de legoa e
meya, sendo ja noite virao huma caza, e della apartados, chamou
o lingoa, e pedio licenja para chegar. Hum negro que estava
neJla com mulher e filhos ao fogo, o apagou, porque nao desse
com elles se por sorte era seo inimigo Q- que chamava, e sahido
fora perguntou quern era ? porque conhecia nao ser natural
daquella terra, differenceando-o na pronunciapao das palavras.
Bespondeo o lingoa, que erao 'huns. homens, que elle folgaria de
ver, e tratar. Mas nao se fiando o Cat're Ihe disse, que fosse elle
so, e que os outros ficassem onde estavao. Assim se fez, e depois
que am bos os negros se tratarao, e o da pousada sou be do nosso,
que os companheiros erao pacificos, disse que viessem, chamou os
o lingoa, e forao do Cafre, e de sua mulher bem recebidos, c <-"in
248 Records of South- Eastern Africa.
leite, e logo, que se tornou a ascender, agazalhados. Deo o
Mestre a hospeda hum rosario de cristal, ella o agradeceo, e ficou
maravilhada de ver, que em todo se pareciao os nossos com os
negros, e so na cor se differenceavao. O marido Ihes vendeo por
hum pedafo de cobre hum cordeiro, que logo se matou, e poz a
assar. E comecando-o de comer (para o que nao faltava vontade)
vierao tres negros, e depois seis, os quaes posto que se assentarao,
e assegurarao os nossos, nao Ihes soube a cea tao bem, como fora
gostosa sem elles. E assim apressadamente, e com receyo aca-
bada, se despedirao dos Cafres, dizendo que se queriao tornar ao
seo Capitao, e darlhes nova delles, como fizerao tanto que
chegarao ao Arrayal, que foy na madrugada.
Nella se festejou o acontecimento, e muito mais a certeza do
povoado, que para se gozar se puzerao logo todos ao caminho,
que era muy bom ; e por elle forao parar ao pe de hum monte as
nove horas, no qual havia tres cazas de Cafres junto a hum
ribeiro. Vierao logo estes com leite, que pelas ordinarias tachas
resgatarao, e sabendo o Senhor da terra, chamado Inhancunha, da
chegada dos nossos a ella, veyo visitar o Capitao mbr, e foy delle
recebido e agazalhado em huma alcatifa. Deo-lhe hum rosario
de cristal, huma perna de coral, e hum remate de sonibreiro de
Sol de latao, com que o negro ficou em extreme alegre, e prometteo
guias, que Nuno Velho ihe pedio, e apresentou Ihe huma vaca, a
qual com outras seis que se resgatarao aquella manhaa se mata-
rao, e repartirao entre todos para dous dias, A'tarde se trocarao
por pedapos de cobre mais des, e sendo ja o Sol posto se despedio
Inhancunha de Nuno Velho para o esperar na sua povoacao, que
no alto do monte estava.
Nao se fez Jornada o dia seguinte, para que nelle se refizesse a
gente do trabalho passado, resgatarao-se porem nelle mais quatro
vacas, e muito leite, e milho. E como se soube pelas vizinhas
povoafoens, que os nossos nao erao hidos, vierao muitos negros e
negras a vellos, com os quaes ficarao des escravos, receando outro
despovoado como o passado. E Nuno Velho entendendo quanto
importava conservar o cobre, ferro, e a roupa que houvesse no
Arrayal para a commutapao dos mantimentos, e paga das guias,
e assim ser necessario guardarem-se algumas pepas para se darem
aos Keys, e Senhores das terras por que passavao ; e sabendo, que
alguns homens resgatavao os ditos mantimentos sem ordem do
Provedor, e Thesoureiro, com que se alterava o.prefo delles, e se
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 249
diminuiao as couzas necessarias para o resgate, mandou fazer
orjamento de todo o cobre, e ferro, e pepas que havia, obrigando
a todos com juramento que declarassem o que tinhao, e que o
entregassem aos ditos Officiaes, para que cessassem os incon-
venierites apontados, e com igualdade se distribuisse tudo, e
apoupando-se nao viesse a faltar quando mais necessario fosse.
Sendo ja o Sol sahido do outro dia, se subio o monte : 110 alto
aguardava o Ancosse Inhancunha, e dos Cafres que comsigo tinha,
deo ao Capitao mor dous para guias, e tres para apacentar, e
domesticar catorze vacas, que levavao os nossos. Deceo-se o
monte sendo ja duas horas, e derao em huma terra chaa, cuberta
de arvores grandes, com fruito amarello, do tamanho de ameixas
brancas, algum tan to azedo no gosto. Do qual comerao, e levarao
todos muito de huma so arvore, e de tal maneira estavao delle
carregadas, que pareceo que se nao colhera nenhiim. Passado
este arvoredo, e caminhando pouco mais, se fizerao horas de
recolher, e em hum campo abundoso de feno se deixou o gado, e
debaixo de arvores que o cercavao, se agazalhou a gente, nao
faltando agoa de hum ribeiro, que ao longo dellas corria.
Mudou-se daqui o outro dia vinte e tres de Abril o Arrayal,
levando o gado diante, passando muitas Aldeas, cujos moradores
resgatarao por poucas tachas, e contas de cristal, leite, e milho ;
sobirao-se alguns outeiros, que cancarao os nossos, e as onze
passado hum rio dando a agoa pela coixa, sestearao da outra
parte. Donde sendo a calma menos, tornarao a continuar o
caminho, nao chao, mas muy povoado, por ser a terra muito mais
fertil, e grossa, que a passada: chamao-lhe os negros Ospidai-
nhama, e em seos matos ha muy cheirosos cravos rosados, e verme-
Ihos, em tudo semelhantes aos de Portugual, senao nos pes, que os
tinhao estes mais longos. Ao Sol posto se assentou o Arrayal
junto de huma pequena povoacao, aonde tiverao lenha, e agoa,
que nao faltou tambem do Ceo, porque houve de noite huma
trovoada rija de Oeste com muita chuva.
Defronte deste alojamento estava hum monte alto, que se subio
na seguinte madrugada, e delle se desceo a hum campo cheyo de
povoapoens, pelo qual se caminhou athe as onze que se chegou a
huma ribeira, que entre pedras corria, e dellas havia lapas, a cuja
sombra passarao os nossos a calma. Alii os vierao ver das Aldeas
muitos negros com mulheres, e meninos, e com o seo bailar e
cantar os festejavao. Erao quasi todos Fulos, bem agestados e
250 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
dispbstos, o traje o mesmo, que o dos outros Cafres de Tizombe,
nao usao tanto de por a mao na barba como elles, e a troco de
muy poucas tachas derao muito leite, e bolos de milho, que
traziao, chamados delles Sincoa. Declinando o Sol se partirao
desta ribeira os nossos, e marckando pelo mesmo campo, chegarao
a outra, junto da qual se recolherao aquella noite debaixo de
grandes arvores sem fruto, com vinte e duas vacas.
Partirao desta ribeira ao outro dia, e comeparao a subir huma
montanha, que foy a primeira desta Jornada, a cujo alto chegarao
as nove horas, onde estava huma Povoacao, e delle se desceo a
hum campo, pelo qual entre muitas cazas se foy camiuhando
athe huma grande ribeira, em que havia muitos Cavatlos marinhos,
a qual, segundo os negros affirmavao, era a mesma donde se
partio pela manhaa, que com muitas voltas rodeava aquella terra.
Junto della 'se alojarao os nossos, e resgatarao dos negros seis
vacas por huma verruma grande, e peda9os de cobre, que pezariao
hum arratel. Destes Cafres se apartou hum a fallar so com o
lingoa, e vendo o Piloto, e perguntando-lhe o que entre elles
passara, respondeo que o negro Ihe dissera, que nao fossem por
aquelle caminho que levavao, porque era muy antigo, e desusado,
e por ter muitas serras despovoado hum grande espapo, e assiin
que era melhor seguir o outro, que hia ao longo de huma semi,
que junto delles estava, o qual nao era tao ermo, nem aspero,
como o outro. Pareceo Ihe bem ao Piloto o caminho que dizia o
negro, e mais a proposito da sua derrota, e assim o disse a Nuno
Velho, referindo-lhe tudo o que entre os negros passara. O
Capitao mbr deixou nelle a elleipao do caminho, e posto que se
pedirao aos Cafres guias para elle com largas promessas de satis-
fapao e paga, nunca o quizerao fazer, receando o despovoado que
havia. E assim para entrar por elle ao outro dia, se matarao aquella
noite duas vacas, que se distribuirao entre todos, e ficarao vinte e
seis ja inuy domesticas, e que qualquer Portuguez apacentava.
Comecarao em amanhecendo de caminhar para a serra, e para
a rodearem forao Leste ; chamao-lhe os negros Moxangala, he
muy vifosa, e fresca, e tao abundante de agoas, que em dous
dias, que os nossos fizerao a estrada ao longo della, atravessarao
vinte e tres ribeiras, das quaes as tres erao muy grandes ; algumas
se passarao este dia athe as quatro da tarde, em que chegando ao
pe de hum alto della, se assentou o campo. Vierao com os nnssos
a este alojamento quatro negros, que entraran pdn maobSa, os
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 251
quaes por maravilha os vinhao ver ; e o principal delles (chamado
Catine) apresentou ao Geral hum folle de leite, que Ihe elle
pagou com hum trebelho de Enxedres, que atado em hum fio de
seda branca Ihes deitou ao pescopo. Aprovarao estes Cafres o
caminho, e pedindolhes Nuno Velho, que por elle o guiassem,
prometterao de o fazer se a paga fosse igual ao trabalho, que o
muito despovoado merecia. Nao se desavierao nella, porque
como Ihe mostrarao hum castipal de latao, houverao-se por satis-
feitos, e ficando aquella noite com os nossos, mandarao dous dos
seos buscar vacas para resgatar o outro dia.
No qual caminhando ao longo da mesma serra, e assomando
em hum alto hum negro dos que forao buscar as vacas, sem ellas
o Catine se acolheo, e do outro que se chamava Noribe deitarao
mao os nossos, que vendo-se preso, com grande espanto e temor
bradava pelos outros, que de longe o consolavao. Domesticou-se
porem com promessas e dadivas, sendo huma dellas o casti?al
promettido ao companheiro, e houve por bem de guiar a nossa
gente assim amarrado. A qual seguindo ao longo da serra, e
passando a calma a sombra de huns penedos, pelos quaes corria
huma ribeira, fizerao o caminho a tarde ao Nordeste, e ao Sol
posto acabarao de passar a serra, e chegarao a hum rio, que com
muita furia corria por hum grande bosque. Ao longo delle se
agazalhou o Arrayal, e toniou mantimento necessario para dous
dias.
Passou-se o rio por algumas pedras grandes, que nelle havia, e
caminhando por terra chaa, encontrarao com outra serra, que
vinha de Leste ajuntar-se com a passada de Moxangala, e entre
arnbas havia hum valle, que corria ao Nordeste com estrada
seguida. Por ella caminharao os nossos em quanto durou o valle,
e delle subirao a outra serra, em cujo alto se soltou o negro que
guiava, de huma touca com que Nuno Velho Pereira o trazia
atado, e com hum grande salto atravessando hum regato fogio
correndo muy ligeiramente. Ficarao os nossos sem guia, e depois
que baixarao donde estavao, e subirao outro monte, nelle, por ser
todo de pedra, perderao o caminho que levavao. Virao delle
huma campina de abundoso pasto, e no cabo della dous grandes
outeiros, que entre duas serras ficavao. Os quaes porque estavao
ao Nordeste, e por entre elles parecia que teria o caminho melhor
sahida, ordenou o Piloto, que a elles indireitasse o Arrayal.
Assim se fez, e alem destes outeiros, encontrando com huma
252 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
ribeira, que corria por hum grande rochedo, nella se alojou sem
lenha, que fora bem necessaria para huma trovoado, que houve
aquella noite com chuva.
Amanhecendo se passou a ribeira por penedos, que nella havia,
dando a agoa pela joelho. Era a terra da outra banda chaa, e
de huma e da outra parte havia montes altos, eubertos de arvores
grandes e verdes. Cortava-a a toda a passada ribeira, que por
ella hia fazendo muitas vbltas, e assim a atravessarao os nossos
neste dia sinco vezes. A's onze a sombra de grandes penedos
passarao a calma, a qual abrandando se continuou o caminho, e
em huma penedia em que havia algumas arvores, se recolherao
por nao acharem outro melhor alojamento, no qual com grande
chuva e vento se passou aquella noite.
Ao derradeiro de Abril se subio pela manhaa hum monte, que
estava junto da estanca, e do cume delle seguia a terra chaa, que
passada se atravessou hum grosso ribeiro, que entre dous montes
corria. Subirao os nossos hum delles com esperanpa de desco
brir povoado, mas estavao muy longe delle, e desconsolados de o
nao verem, o tornarao a descer por hum caminho, que virao
seguido, a hum valle, onde por haver lenha, e agoa se agazalharao
as tres horas.
Meterao-se o outro dia, primeiro de Mayo, em hum bosque
(que perto do alojamento estava) tao alto, e espesso, e cerrado
por cima, que sendo o dia muy ventoso e chuvoso, e semelhante
a passada noite, debaixo delle, como em abrigadas cazas, se nao
sentia. E ao longo de hum ribeiro, que o atravessava, se assentou
o Arrayal com determinapao de nao fazerem mais larga Jornada,
porque o vento, a chuva, e o frio o nao consentiao. Derao porem
lugar de se poder tomar o Sol ao meyo dia, e saber o Piloto que
estava em 29. graos e 53. minutos. A qual nova alliviou
os prezentes trabalhos, e alegrou a Nuno Velho Pereira, e
a mais companhia, affirmando tambem o Piloto, que tinhao ja
passado o aspero, e fragoso daquella terra, pelo que se esforpassem
os fracos para caminhar, e chegar ao rio de Lourenco Marques no
fim de Junho, que era o tempo, ein que delle partia o Navio do
resgate para' Mozambique. Fundava-se Eodrigo Migueis (e com
razao) em ser a altura que achou do fim da terra do Natal, que
he a mais alta de toda a outra daquella Costa, e pelo ella ser,
ha na mesma parajem no mar grandes frios, e muito mayores
trovoadas.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 253
Cessarao estas aa manhaa do dia seguinte, e bonancou o tempo,
pelo que se levantou o campo, e sahido do bosque marchando por
huma pequena Costa, da qual baixou a huma terra chaa, e della
a huns outeiros, que passados descanparao os nossos no alto de
hum monte, no qual como DOS valles acharao agoa. Ficou inor-
rendo n-elle hum Portuguez, por nome Alvaro da Ponte, que
vindo muy doeate, e tres ou quatro jornadas as costas dos com-
panheiros com grande caridade, o frio dos dias atras o acabou de
todo; deixou-o ja Frey Pedro sem falla, e no mesmo estado
ficarao dous escravos, e huma escrava de D. Izabel. Com este
companheiro menos, caminhando os nossos depois da calma por
hum muy longo valle, onde acharao huma grande ribeira, junto
da qual se agazalharao sendo quasi noite. E daqui vendo o
Piloto, q para o Norte e Nordeste ficavao grandes e altas serras
cubertas de neve, determinou de guiar a Lesnordeste, como fez
na Jornada seguinte.
Foy ella muy trabalhosa, subindo-se muitos outeiros, e delles
hum monte. Ao seo cume forao dous homens a descobrir povo-
ado, baixarao sem novas delle, mas derao noticia, que a Lesnor-
deste virao quatro fumos, com que a gente se animou algum
tanto, parecendo-lhe que ao rumo, por que caminhava, havia
sinal de povoapao. Mas nao era senao de capadores, porque o
i'umo das povoapoens destes negros he tao pequeno, que quasi se
nao enxerga na caza, em que ha fogo. Pelo que tirando ao
mesmo direito assentouse o Arrayal em hum baixo, junto de
huma ribeira em que nao faltava lenha, havendo primeiro
passado por entre dous montes para descer ao valle porque ella
corria.
Com grande orvalhada se subio o outro dia hum pequeno
outeiro, cuberto de tao grosso e alto feno, que se nao viao os
nossos huns aos outros, e para poderem caminhar, o hiao apar-
tando. Do outeiro descendo a huma terra chaa, acharao o mayor,
e mais caudaloso rio que athelli tinhao encontrado ; eorria do
Norte ao Sul, e para apalpar o vao, foy por elle abaixo o Piloto
com outro companheiro, e o mesmo fizerao outros dous homens
por elle arriba. Mas em nenhuma parte o acharao tao bom, como
onde estava o Arrayal parado, porque fazendo naquelle direito
huma Ilheta, repartia-se em dous brapos, e assim hia a agoa
espalhada, e corria com naenos furia. Pelo q resolutos todos a
vadeallo naquelle lugar, passarao-no primeiro dous homens com
254 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
piques nas maos dandolhes a agoa pelos peitos, e tornarao onde
ficarao os companheiros, para Ihes ensinar o passo. Ordenouse
logo que os mais rijos se metessem na agoa, e de huns a outros se
atravessassem piques, nos quaes pegados como em Mainel,
passarao os fracos, e mulheres : os doentes com grande caridade
forao passados a outra banda aos hombros, e nas Machiras de
D. Izabel, a qual e sua filha metidas na agoa atravessarao o rio
levadas de brapo de Francisco da Silva, e de Joao de Valadares,
e da mesma maneira passou o Capitao mbr. Gastou-se nesta
passassem todo o dia, e pbstos todos da banda de alem (onde ja
estava o gado, que atravessou muy bem o rio) fizerao-se grandes
fogos, em que se aquentarao, e enxugarao ; e armando suas tendas
debaixo de grandes arvores, nellas se recolherao aquella noite,
depois de colherem a tarde pelo mato muitas mapans de anafega,
e murtinhos.
Estava defronte do alojamento hum monte que subirao, como
foy manhaa, e passado este, e outros sestearao a sombra de humas
arvores, refrescando-se com balancias, que naquelle sitio havia,
as quaes parecerao mais gostosas com a vista de tres negros, que
os nossos enxergarao em hum alto. Mandou Nuno Velho
Pereira a elles hum escravo seo, q com a contmuajao sabia ja a
lingoa ; este os trouxe comsigo, e Jhos aprezentou, os quaes o
saudarao dizendo Alada, Alada, differente saudapao da que usa-
vao os passados ; e depois de darem as desejadas novas do
povoado, e que estava perto, tornou hum delles a chamar outros
oito companheiros, que de tras do monte deixara. Voltarao
todos, e caminhando com os nossos (passada a calma) sendo ja
tarde Ihes pedirao, que por nao poderem hir aquella noite ao
povoado, quizessern parar nas suas cazas. Pareceo bem ao
Capitao mbr, e assim guiarao os negros a hum Valle muy fundo,
e de espinhoso mato cuberto, e nao parecendo, que poderia ser o
lugar habitado, senao de feras, prevenirao-se os nossos, e apres-
tarao as armas, temendo-se nelle de alguma treicao. Com tudo
seguirao os Cafres, e entre altos e asperos rochedos, pelos quaes
corria hum ribeiro, virao seis cazas, em que estes barbaros viviao
com suas mulheres, e junto dellas se assentou o Arrayal com a
costumada vigia.
Vendo os negros, que com ella nao podiao executar suas ten-
coens, que erao roubar algum gado, e o mais que pudessem, do
qual exercicio viviao naquelle despovoado, e da cacaque matavao,
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 255
parecendo-lhes, que poderiao ser sentidos, e castigados, fugirao
aquella noite com as mulheres, levando hum pouco de milho, que
ainda estava em espiga, nao deixando nas cazas mais que lacos,
e armadilhas. E sendo ja alto dia, quando os acharao menos
(depois que se buscarao para mostrarem o caminho) mandou
Nuno Velho, que guiasse o Piloto, como sempre fazia em seme-
Ihantes faltas. Ordenou elle que se fizesse a estrada a Leste, e
liavendo caminhado hum grande espaco sem verern povoado,
forao por ordem do Capitao mor alguns homens a dous altos, que
ficavao ao Leste, e ao Nordeste do lugar onde estavao, mas nem
huns, nem outros descobrirao o que tanto desejavao. Comecarao-
se a amotinar os impacientes, reprovando a Jornada do Sertao por
deshabitada, e pedindo a vozes, que os levassem ao mar.
Piloto e Mestre Ihes mostrarao como a via de Leste que seguiao
era para o mar a mais breve, o que sendo approvado por Nuno
Velho, os aquietou, e levantandose o campo, e hindo no mesmo
rumo de Leste derao em hum caminho seguido, pelo qual cami-
nharao de vagar athe a noite, que se agasalharao aolongo de hum
ribeiro, em que havia muito feno, e pouca lenha.
O contrario Ihes succedeo no alojamento seguinte, que o fizerao
debaixo de hum bosque de grandes arvores, sem agoa, havendo
caminhado a manhaa tod a por caminho bom e seguido, e per-
dendo-o a tarde em hum valle, tornarao a achar outro, ponco antes
que se recolhessem em hum alto, depois de terem subido outros ;
e visto de longe dous negros (quaudo ao meyo dia descanpavao)
os quaes como descobrirao os nossos fugirao.
Terminou-se o despovoado na Jornada passada, que em catorze
dias se atravessou ; e para ser menor, quern fizer o caminho por
esta Cafraria, como se achar em trinta graos de altura, faga-o a
Lesnordeste, porque por este rumo passara menos deserto, e
encontrara mais depressa com terra povoada. Na qual os nossos
entrarao aos oito de Mayo, e tao abundante de todos os manti-
mentos, que os fez esquecer das faltas, que delles tiverao no ermo,
posto que comerao sempre vacas, e das vinte e sete com que nelle
entrarao, chegarao aqui com doze. Como foy manhaa deste dia
continuarao seo caminho, em que encontrarao quatro negros, os
quaes com outros muitos havia grande espafo que viao os nossos,
e se vigiavao delles, e receosos do mal, que Ihes podia fazer tanta
gente, nao ousavao chegar ; pelo que mandou Nuno Velho a
estes quatro que se descobrirao, Antonio Godinho com Antonio o
256 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Lingoa, e com huns pedapos de cobre que Ihes deo, esperarao
tres delles, e o outro foy chamar alguns sincoenta que detras de
hum outeiro estavao escondidos. Vierao todos ao Arrayal, e os
principaes acompanhando Nuno Velho, Ihe forao dando largas
novas da fertilidade, e povoapao daquella terra : e tratando-se do
resgate dos mantimentos onde o caminho se dividia em dous,
para duas povoapoens, houve entre os Cafres differenpa sobre qual
das Aldeas seria primeira a que os nossos fossem. Aquietarao-se
dando Nuno Velho ao principal dos quatro que se encontrarao,
hum annel de Tambaca, que tirou do dedo a Gonpalo Mendes de
Vasconcellos, e promettendo, que a todos resgataria suas vacas,
comepando pelos mais vizinhos, que erao os sincoenta que ao
chamado de hum dos quatro vierao, e bailando, e cantando todos
encaminharao os nossos para a mesma parte de Lesnordeste, e
com elles chegarao a hum Valle de muito arvoredo, e agoa, onde
por ser ja tarde, e estar dalli o povoado alguma meya legoa, se
assentou o Arrayal. Nao Ihes pareceo longe aos negros para
virem a elle ver os nossos, trazendo muito milho, e bolos feitos
da farinha de huma semente do tamanho e cor do nosso milho,
chamada delles Ameixoeira, e de feijoens, e hum legume chamado
Jugo, que he do tamanho de favas pequenas, e assim leite, e
manteiga, que por pouoas taohas, e pedapos de pregos davao.
Vinhao entre estes barbaros alguns mancebos vestidos de esteiras
de Tabua, que he traje dos mopos nobres, em quanto nao trazem
armas, nem se ajuntao com as mulheres, dos quaes exercicios nao
usao senao de vinte e dous annos por diante. Sao todos bem
dispostos, mais pretos que os passados, mais verdadeiros, e nao
trazem caens em sua companhia como elles. Sendo ja duas horas
de noite veyo visitar ao Capitao mbr hum negro chamada Inhanze
filho do Bey daquella terra da parte de seo pay, com huma vaca
de prezente, e huma embaixada muy concertada, dizendo que
estando o Eey em huma sua Aldea, hum pouco apartada daquella
estanpa, soubera da sua chegada, com que se alegrara muito, e por
ser tarde, e tempo de elle descanpar do trabalho do caminho, o
nao vinha logo ver, mas que o faria pela manhaa. Eespondeo-
Ihe Nuno Velho Pereira com palavras agradecidas, e dando-lhe
hum pedapo de cobre do tamanho de huma mao, e hum prego
grande, se foy Inhanze muy contente.
Pareceo a Nuno Velho, que para se refazerem os nossos do
canpasso do caminho, e alentarem-se para o seguinte, e para
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 257
comprarem muitas vacas, seria acertado descanparem dous dias
no valle em que estavao alojados. que sabido pelos negros
circumviziiihos trouxerao a resgatar huma semente como Alpiste,
chainada delles Nechiniru, de que fazem farinha : gergelim,
milho, leite, manteiga, gallinhas, e carneiros ; e tanto de tudo,
que se nao matarao vacas, e disto sobejou aos escravos, nao
havendo ja no Arrayal quern quizesse comprar couza alguma.
Trocarao-se mais por pouco prepo de cobre nestes dous dias vinte
e quatro vacas, que com doze que sobejarao aos nossos do despo-
voado, erao por todas trinta e seis. Sendo onze horas veyo o Eey
da terra, chamado Mabomborucassobelo, acompanhado de alguns
sincoenta negros com azagayas, e comsigo trazia sua May.
Kecebeu-os o Capitao mbr com a cortezia devida, assentando-se
todos tres em huma alcatifa. Admirarao-se os Cafres da vista
dos nossos, e quiz o Rey saber particularmente do seo naufragio,
e peregrinapao, que referido por Nuno Velho Pereira mostrou o
negro, e os seos grandes espantos, apoz que seguio Nuno Velho,
que por fama soubera delle muito antes tie chegar as suas terras,
a qual o obrigara fazer o caminho por ellas para o ver. Ficou o
Barbaro muy vao, e dizendo-lhe os seos que seria bem que fossem
os nossos delle bem agazalhados, e guiados, pois de tao longe o
vinhao buscar, elle o approvou, e prometteo dar guias, e tudo
o mais, que nas suas Aldeas houvesse. Agradeceo Nuno Velho
deitando-lhe ao pescopo huma perna de coral atada em hum fio
de seda, e dandolhe hum tampao de caldeirao, e a May humas
contas de cristal guarnecidas de verde, e sendo horas de jantar
comerao com elle, e as tres horas se forao com toda a sua coni-
panhia. Solenizou tambern o Piloto esta estanpa com observar
nella a Altura do Polo, e achoii ser de vinte e nove graos, e
quarenta e sinco minutos, e haver tao pouca differenpa da altura
passada, foy a causa caminharem a Lesnordeste, e a Leste.
Deste Valle (onde ficarao quatro escravos, dous Cafres, hum
Japao, e hum Jao) a que os nossos puzerao nome da Misericordia
(pela grande que com elles usou Deos nosso Senhor trazendo-os
depois de atravessarem quatorze dias hum deserto, a mais fertil, e
abundante terra da Cafraria) partirao aos onze de Mayo com
guias, que o Key como promettera, deo a Nuno Velho aquella
manhaa despedindo-se delle, levando ao pescopo huma cubertura
de huma gorgoleta de prata, preza de hum fio de seda branca, e
aos dous negros dous pedapos de cobre, e dous pregos. Hia o
ir. s
258 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
caminho ao Nordeste, e por elle subirao hum alto, cuja descida
foy de pedra, e no valle acbarao tres povoapoens. Estas passadas,
e hum ribeiro, e hum monte, onde resgatarao duas vacas, chegarao
ja tarde a outro, o qual descendo-o por entre mato muy espinhoso,
toparao huma serra, que vinha do Nordeste, e com) o monte se
juntava. Nella Ihes anoiteceo com grande escuro, e assim nao
chegarao ao baixo onde havia agoa, e alojarao-se sem ella.
Acabarao de descer o outro dia do monte as dez horas, havia no
valle bom caminho ao Norte, pelo qual forao os nossos como
meya legoa, cubertos de hum arvoredo com fruta muy amargosa
da feipao de ferrobas, athe chegarem a huma ribeira, que vedearao,
dandolhe a agoa pela coixa. Terminava esta ribeira a terra do
Ancosse Mabomborucassobelo ; pelo que passada foy huma guia
chamar o Senhor daquella em que estava, cujo nome era Mocon-
golo. Veyo logo trazendo huma vaca ao Capitao mor, mostran-
dose muy contente de o ver, e promettendo que daria os
mantimentos, e as guias, que os dous negros, que vinhao com os
nossos, Ihe pedirao da parte do seo Bey. E porque athe aquelle
lugar era a sua Jornada, delle se voltarao com mais dous pedacos
de cobre, e dous rosarios de cristal guarnecidos de verde, com q
se houverao por tao bem pagos, que parereo aos que ficavao
excesso, e prodigalidade, e cobicando outra semelhante satisfapao,
se offerecerao logo muitos para o mesmo officio. Hidos os dous
negros, e despedindo-se o Mocongolo de Nuno Velho para o
esperar nas suas povoacoens, deixando-lhe alguns Cafres, que la
o guiassem, levantouse o Array al, e foy fazer o alojamento ao
longo da mais fermosa e fresca ribeira, que por todo o caminho
se havia visto. Corria de Oeste a Leste por hum valle metido
entre altos rochedos, todos cubertos de grandes e copadas
arvores de diversas cores.
Convidados os nossos da fresquidao desta ribeira, detiverao-se
nella hum dia, e por sua belleza Ihe puzerao nome das Flores
fermosas. E os negros Ihe chamao Mutangalo. Partirao della
(com sau'lade) aos quatorze de Mayo com dous negros do Aneosse,
que nao ficou descontente do que Ihe deo Nuno Velho, e parados
as onze a descanpar da calma debaixo de humas arvores, vierao as
mulheres dos guias com dous cabacos de muy boa manteiga, que
por cobre de valor de seis reis se resgatarao. Quiz porem Nuno
Velho pagar-lhes a vontade com que o trouxerao, e deo-lhes dous
meyos rosarios de cristal, com que ellas ficarao em extreme
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 259
contentes, e os maridos obrigados. E porque naquelle sitio nao
havia agoa, e faltava aos nossos, foy hum dos negros buscalla a
huma fonte, que pouco apartada do Arrayal estava, a qual foy
a primeira que se vio nesta Jornada, sendo todas as outras agoas
excellentes, de ribeiras que nella encontrarao. Passado o ardor
da sesta, que posto que em Inverno se sentia, quando o Sol nao
estava cuberto de nuvens, caminharao os nossos por boa estrada,
a qual sai'rao tres negros com hum cabaco de favos de muy
saboroso e alvo mel, que resgatado o repartio o Capitao mbr entre
todos, como fruta nova, e pouco antes que anoitecesse, se recolhe-
rao em hum fresco valle que entre grandes rochas se estendia,
povoado de algumas quinze Aldeas, das quaes vierao negros com
muito mantimento, que pela ordinaria moeda trocarao.
Rodearao os nossos huma destas rochas com o rosto ao Sueste,
e passada huma ribeira, que ao longo del la corria, tornarao fazer
o caminho ao Nordeste athe as des horas, que descanpando virao
mais de quinhentos sincoenta negros e negras com mantimento,
do qual se resgatarao seis vacas por valia de tres tostoens, muitos
bolos de milho, leite, manteiga, e mel. Acompanhavao estes
Cafres o seo Ancosse chamado Gogambampolo, que apresentou
ao Capitao mbr huma vaca, e hum filho seo que com elle vinha,
outru, e em pago dellas levarao dous pedacos de cobre, e dous
pregos grandes, com que se despedirao, e os nossos forao cami-
nhando por hum campo razo, cuberto de alto feno, no qual junto a
hum ribeiro fk-arao aquella noite.
Sendo manhaa do dia seguinte continuando o caminho pelo
mesmo campo chegarao as des horas a huma pequena ribeira,
em que de ambas as partes haveria algumas trinta povoacoens.
Dellas vierao muitos negros festejando com o seo cantar a vista
dos Portuguezes, e com grande affeipao (que Ihe foy bem paga)
os ajudarao a passar a ribeira. Erao as Aldeas da outra banda, de
outro Senhor, que logo veyo a visitar Nuno Velho, apresentando-
Ihe huma vaca, e em retorno levou hum pedapo de coral, dous de
cobre, e humas contas de cristal, com que deo licenpa aos seos,
que viessem vender o que tinhao (nao o costumando fazer os
negros sem ella) mas elles tardarao, e os nossos apressarao-se
tanto, que se forao deste lugar sem resgatar nelle couza algurna.
E em outro em que acharao agoa, se alojarao, matando das vacas
as que haviao mister, como se fazia sempre que era necessario.
Em quanto durou este bom caminho, nao se detiverao os nossos,
260 Records of SoutTi-Eastern Africa.
e assim andarao athe as onze horas duas legoas delle ; descancando
virao em hum outeiro sinco negros, foy a elles huma guia, que os
assegurou, e fez que chamassem o seo Ancosse, que com mais
cem Cafres estava escondido detras do outeiro. Veyo o negro
acompanhado dos seos, e todos com azagayas, e saudando a Nuno
Velho com o seo Alala, Alala, deo-lhe o parabem da chegada
aquella sua terra, na qual seria bem agazalhado, e delle encaminha-
do. E porque o Arrayal se queria ja alevantar, levando o Capitao
mor ao Ancosse pela rnao, puzerao-se os seos negros diante, e
cantamlo guiarao os nossos athe hum ribeiro, que se nao passou,
assim por ser ja tarde, como porque o caminho ficava da banda
de aquem. Havia da outra huma vicosa serra, e de ambas
povoapoens; donde vierao resgatar muito mantimento. Deo Nuno
Velho ao negro suas costumadas joyas, e estas forao huma perna
de coral, contas, e dous pedacos de cobre por huma vaca que Ihe
aprezentou, e pedindo-lhe dous homens seos, para que o guiassera,
Ihos deo logo. Hum delles affirnmva, q ja fora a terra do Inhaca,
onde vira Portuguezes, e Pangayo. Alegrou esta nova, posto que
falsa, em estremo os nossos, entendendo estavao em parte onde
delles havia conhecimento, e que nao devia ser a distancia muita
ao rio de Lourenfo Marques, pois este negro la fora (sendo
costume natural dos Cafres alongarem-se pouco da sua povoapao)
mas enganavao-se, que delle estariao algumas cem legoas, e o
negro nunca la fora. Cobrarao com tudo novos espiritos, e
animarao-se para o resto da Jornada, e com mais contentamento
do ordinario passarao aquella noite no seo alojamento, que junto a
dita ribeira fizerao.
Nelle esperarao o outro dia athe as nove horas o Ancosse, que
chegado averiguou com Nuno Velho, que se dessem as guias,
quando se tornassem, tres pedacos de cobre do tamanho de seis
dedos. Veyo tarn bem o pay de huma dellas, e pedio alguma
couza, e sem ella que a nao deixaria hir. Mandou-lhe dar Nuno
Velho hum pedafo de cobre, em hum prego pequeno, com que o
negro houve por bem, que fosse o filho. Concluido este concerto
levantou-se o Arrayal, e come9ou a caminhar por boa estrada, e
muy seguida, a qual atravessava huma ribeira, que os nossos
passarao, e della subirao hum monte em que se detiverao as horas
da calma* Vierao alii muitos negros e negras de humas povo-
afoens, que nas fraldas do monte estavao, com leite, manteiga, e
l>olos de milho, e passada a scsta toniarari a caminliar, c coin
Eecords of South-Eastern Africa. 261
huma hora de Sol se agazalharao debaixo de grandes maceiras de
anafega, carregadas de fruto, com o qual se entretiverao aquella
tarde, nao Ihes faltando agoa de hum ribeiro, em que havia
muitas adens.
Foy o frio, e a orvalhada tao grande aquella noite, que partirao
os nossos o dia seguinte as oito horas, passarao huma grande
ribeira por pedras, dando a agoa pelo joelho, e por bom caminho
vierao ter a sesta junto de outra, cercada de muitas povoapoens.
das quaes vierao negros a resgatar bolos de milho, e leite. E o
alojamento da tarde se fez em lugar abundante de agoa e lenha.
Assentado o Arrayal descerao por hum outeiro abaixo alguns
cento e vinte negros acompanhando hum de grande disposicao,
que as #uias disserao ser Key delles : pelo que como tal o agaza-
Ihou Nuno Velho em huma alcatifa, e pela lingoa Ihe disse, como
se perdera, e vinha de muy longe por aquellas terras, nas quaes
achara sempre acolhimento nos Senhores dellas, e assim o esperava
delle. Respondeo o Bey (que se chamava Gimbacucuba) que
elle tambem estava perdido, fora do seo Keyno, o qual outro seo
vizinho Ihe tomara com guerra, matando-lhe muita gente, e se
recolhera naquella terra de hum seo parente, pezando-lhe nao
estar na sua para o agazalhar, como os outros Keys alras fizerao.
Mostrou desta sua desgrapa o Capitao nior sentimento, e desejos
de o poder ajudar na recuperagao do seo estado (ao que todos os
negros derao huma elegre grita) e perguntou-lhe as causas da
guerra, e com quern a tivera. Disse-lhe o Key que hum Capitao
do Inhaca Ihe tomara a terra, e matara a gente, e pois estava sem
huma e sem outra, que nao havia para que tratar naquella
materia. Prometteo-lhe Nuno Velho o seo favor com o luhaca,
e que faria com elle, que Ihe restituisse o Key no por respeito dos
Portuguezes, dos quaes era amigo, e para que os seos vissem o
officio, que ello nisso fazia, que mandasse dous em sua companhia.
Aceitou o negro o offerecimento, e como pobre e desterrado deo a
Nuno Velho hum cabaco de leite, que Ihe foy pago com humas
contas, e com huma perna de coral, que elle estiniou, muito, por
Ihe dizerem, que era bom para o coracao, e para os olhos, e
querendo ja anoitecer se foy, ficando os nossos, e recolhendo-se
nas suas tendas.
Sairao dellas em amanhecendo, e a pouco caminho encontratao
com o Key Gimbacucuba, que ao pe de huma arvore os esperava
com tres mulheres suas, e muitos negros, Assentouse com elle o
262 Eeeords of Soutli-Eastern Africa.
Capitao mor, e tornou-lhe a pedir os homens, para que alcanpando
do Inhaca, que Ihe tornasse o Keyno (como esperava, e tinha por
certo) Ihe trouxessein as novas. Agradeceo o Rey a vontade, e
apartando-se com dous negros, que elegeo para a Jornada, esteve
fallando com elles, como q os informava do que deviao fazer, e
sendo horas de jantar se despedio de Nuno Velho levando huma
peca de Canequim, que Ihe deo, da qual fez quatro pannos, que
elle, e suas mulheres puzerao por nova e estranha gala, e como
tal a estimarao. Estando os nossos nesta estanpa vierao alguns
Cafres doentes, e aleijados pedir ao Capitao mbr, que os sarasse,
offerecendo-lhe carneiros, e cabritos que traziao. Dezejou elle
sarar-lhes as almas, ja que nao podia as enfermidades, e aleijoens
dos corpos, e assim Ihes disse, que so hum Deos que estava no
Ceo (o qual lugar mostrou com a mao) tinha poder para dar
saude, como so era o que dava a vida, e a tolhia. E com o sinal
da Sagrada Cruz (poderoso meyo para outras mayores maravilhas,
que sarar estes Gentios) os despedio, nao Ihes tomando nenhum
dos seos presentes. Passada a calma forao os nossos caminhando
por entre muitas povoapoens, nas quaes erao bem recebidos, e com
os seos can tares festejados, e em huma del las virao sahir de hum
curral muito gado, entre o qual havia dous muy grandes boys,
hum tinha tres cornos procedidos de hum que sahia da testa hum
palmo, donde todos tres com grande igualdade voltavao para
baixo, ficando hum delles no meyo ; e o outro boy tinha quatro,
dous ordinarios, e outros dous, que debaixo destes voltavao a
redor das orelhas. E pondo-se ja o Sol se fez o alojamento a
longo de hum ribeiro, com o qual se passarao na Jornada daquella
tarde outros sete.
Sao as noites por esta terra muy frias, e esta o pareceo muito
mais aos nossos por falta da lenha ; pelo que como foy manhaa,
para se aquentarem com o exercicio, comeparao a caminhar por
terra despovoada, sendo-o tambem a dos dous dias seguintes : era
porem de bons pastos, e de altas arvores cuberta, e tao fresca, que
rodeando-se hum monte se passarao muitas ribeiras, e se fez
estanpa ao longo de outra, que por hum estendido campo hia
dando muitas voltas. Acharao nella os nossos perdizes, e nao
virao mais lagartixas, cobras, e carochas, como pela outra atras
haviao visto. Encontrarao huma serra aos vinte e dous, que para
se atravessar com menos aspereza guiarao os negros ao Noroeste.
E tornando aos vinte e dous ao Nordeste, ora subindo montes, ora
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 263
caminhando por valles, e passando ribeiras, alojarao-se ao longo
de huma com o gado, do qual matando o que para seo manti-
mento era necessario, acharao nesta estanea trinta e nove vacas.
Choveo a manhaa do dia seguinte, e em quanto a agoa
impedio o caminho mandou Nuno Velho a hum Andre Martins de
Alcouchete com hum lingoa, e com huma das guias, pedir licenpa
ao Senhor da terra em que entravao, para passar por ella. E
sendo ja dez horas levantou-se o Arrayal, e caminhando pelo pe
de hum monte, por baixo de arvores espinhosas, quasi huma
legoa, encontrou duas cazas de negros, junto das quaes se tornou
a assentar. Alii veyo ter Andre Martins com o Ancosse, a quern
Nuno Velho agazalhou, como aos outros, e com humas contas de
cristal o contentou, e em retorno elle Ihe prometteo guias, e tudo
o mais, que na sua terra havia.
Nao deo porem ao outro dia (chegados os nossos as suas
povoa?oens, que erao sete, onde se recolherao) mais que leite,
manteiga, e bolos de milho, nao consentindo, que se resgatassem
vacas, porque estava de guerra com outro seo vizinho, e nao
queria que se vendessem os seos mantimentos, que para ella
poderiao haver mister. Mas levado do appetite de huma garrafa
de porcelana que vio ao Capitao mbr, deo-lhe a troco hum grand e
boy, e com grande festa, vendo-a luzir, e esfregando o vidrado,
que se nao tirava, a poz nos olhos, e depois os seos, nas partes do
corpo em que tinhao alguma dor, persuadindo-se que dava saude.
E como pelas Aldeas se soube, que o seo Ancosse, chamado
Uquine Inhana, tinha aquella . pe9a, vierao todos a vella, e fazer
com ella as mesmas ceremonias e supersticoens.
Foy necessario este ajuntamento dos negros, para ajudarem a
passar os nossos huma muy grande ribeira aos vinte e seis, que
sem elles fora de muito trabalho e perigo ; porque era rapida, e
dava a agoa pella cinta. Postos da outra banda se despedio o
negro dando duas guias, e nao consentindo, que passassem as que
o campo trazia, nem os dous negros, que o Eey Gimbacucuba
desterrado dera a Nuno Velho Pereira, para por elles Ihe mandar
a reposta do Inhaca, nao permittindo estes Cafres, que passassem
por suas terras os negros das alheyas. E depois que se descancou
hum pouco, se tornou a caminhar por entre povoado, de que vinha
muita gente vender mantimentos, e ver os nossos. Os quaes,
posto que erao duas horas de dia, se recolherao onde havia lenha
e agoa, por estar a outra longe.
2(5-1 Records of South- Eastern Africa.
Chegouse a ella o outro dia as dez horas, e era de huraa ribeira,
que corria do Nordeste ao Sudueste, e a mais larga, e de mayor
corrente, que se havia visto por aquelle caminho, e se na passada
houve negros, que a ajudarao a vadear, nesta onde mais necessarios
erao nao faltarao. Porque postos os nossos a borda, veyo o
Senhor da terra por nome Mutuadondommatale, coin alguns
trinta, e passando-a hum delles por hum prego que Ihe maiidou
dar Nuno Velho Pereira, com agoa pelos peitos, corria com tanta
furia, que desconfiarao os nossos de a poderem atravessar. E
assim buscou o Piloto no mato alguma madeira, de que fizessem
jangadas, mas achou-a toda tao macica e cerrada, que nao nadava
na agoa, e como pedra se hia ao fundo. Pelo que sabendo Nuno
Velho do Ancosse, que a ribeira baixaria ao outro dia, por ser a
agoa de chea, causada de huma trovoada passada, mandou que se
assentasse o Arrayal no mesmo lugar, e pedio ao negro, que se
queria hir, viesse pela manhaa com os seos para ajudarem a passar
os nossos. Sao ja estes negros mais cobiposos, e interesseiros, que
os de atras, e pnr cobre (do qual trazem manilhas nos bracos) por
que outros davao tres vacas, derao huma, nao tendo ja tanta valia
entre elles como entre os passados, e estimando-se a roupa, que os
outros nao queriao. Pelo que convem fazer grande cabedal do
cobre, e ferro para o resgate dos mantimentos athe esta parajem, e
guardar os pannos, para o fazerem daqui por diante, e assim os
pediao estes negros a troco das vacas. E porque nelles se conheceo
alguma cobica, e esta os nao puzesse em coudicao de fazerem algum
desacato, mandou Nuno Velho, que as vacas, que se houvesseru de
matar para o mantimento do campo, fosse a espingarda, como em
semelhantes casos se usava, para que com o seo torn ficassem
espantados e medrosos. Conseguio-se o que se pertendia, porque
morta por esta maneira huma vaca, ficarao os Cafres que estavao
prezentes admirados, e o Ancosse, que era ja hido, ouvindo no
caminho o estrondo, voltou com grande pressa a saber o que era.
E vendo os seos pasmados daquella tao grande maravilha para
elles, que Ihe eontarao, pedio a Nuno Velho mandasse matar
outra, a qual dando-lhe huma arcabuzada cahio logo. De que
nao menos maravilhado o negro, tomou o arcabuz na mad, e
dando-lhe mil voltas, disse que pois matava vacas, que tambem
mataria homens. Respondeo-lhe o lingoa, que assim era, e que a
tudo tirava a vida, matando a hum elefante, e a hum passarinho ;
com que ficou muito mais eonfuso, e com grande medo se tornou
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 265
as suas povoapoeus, nao sendo menor o que levavao os seos que o
acompanhavao.
Amanheceo o dia seguinte ta5 nublado que recearao os nossos,
que chovesse, e crescesse a ribeira. Mas levantando-se o Sol foy
resolvendo as nuvens, e tornando-o claro e sereno determinarao
passalla, e muito mais depois que por huma baliza, que nella
puzerao a tarde de antes, conheeerao, que havia baixado hum
palmo e meyo. Assim sendo ja vindo o negro com os seos,
escolheo delles dez os mayores, que comeparao a passar os mopos
as costas, Francisco Pereira, e Francisco da Silva com outros
negros tomarao aos hombros nas colchas D. Isabel, e sua filha, e
todo o mais Arrayal os foy seguindo. gado passou traba-
lliosamente, porque nao tomando pe levava-o a corrente. Mas
hum Cafre tirando pelas ventas com huma cbrda a huma vaca a
fez passar, com que as outras esforcadas se puzerao da outra
banda. Nella se fez o alojamento, havendo que se fizera boa
Jornada, vadeando aquella tao perigosa ribeira, a que os negros
chamao Uchugel, aos quaes se pagou muy bem o trabalho.
Mandou pela manhaa o Ancosse dous negros para guias, como
promettera, e hum para que Ihe levasse a paga dellas, que forao
dous pedapos de cobre (o qual tambem nao foy sem ella) e como
os nossos nao esperassem outra couza para continuar seo caminho,
logo o fizerao, e com grande canpasso, por ser muy cheyo de
pedras, costearao huma serra grande, que ticava da parte do Norte,
e ao pe della ihes anoiteceo em hum ribeiro, onde havia bom pasto
e arvores.
Sendo a estrada da mesma maneira a manhaa seguinte, encon-
trarao as onze hum negro, a quern o Capitao mbr disse, que fosse
chamar o seo Ancosse. Nao tardou muito a vir com alguns
quarenta, todos com azagayas, e rodellas, e adargas, que fazem de
couros. Os quaes bem recebidos dos nossos, levando Nuno Velho
o Ancosse pela ma5, chindo os outros diante escararnucando,
chegarao as suas povoapoens, que ao longo de hum ribeiro estava.
Nelle fez alto o Arrayal, e nao se veyo resgatar a elle mais que
huma vaca do Senhor da terra, por nao haver nella mantimentos
aquelle anno a falta de chuva, e assim custou cara, dando-se por
ella hum pedaco de Astrolabio quebrado, duas azas de caldeirao,
e seis peda?os de cobre. Nem a terra podia ser muy fertil, porque
toda era de montes asperos, e de grandes penedias e rochedos de
cor negra, e arvores poucas, e espinhosas. Da mesma qualidade
266 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
foy o caminho do derradeiro de Mayo, e onde nelle acharao os
nossos comodidade para se agazalharem, o fizerao.
Vinhao no Array al dous Grumetes doentes de cameras de
sangue, causadas de beber muito leite, e nao podendo ja aturar
com os companheiros, ficarao o primeiro de Junho no alojamento,
confessados por Frey Pedro, e encomendados a hum negro, que
por quatro pedacos de cobre Ihes desse de comer os dias que
vivessem, que segundo sua fraqueza deviao ser muy poucos. E
sendo a terra melhor, e o caminho menos Tragoso pararao os nossos
o tempo da calma junto de humas povoapoens. E porque se
achou o Capitao mor Juliao de Faria indisposto, ficarao no mesmo
lugar a noite, e nella resgatarao huma vaca do Senhor da terra
por huma aza de caldeirao, tres pedapos de cobre, e huma moeda
de prata Turquesca do tamanho de hum real de oyto.
Sentindo-se com melhoria o Capitao se caminhou o outro dia
com as guias, que deo o Ancosse das povoapoens, despedindo as
que vinhao com os nossos. Subirao o cume de huma serra, e
baixando della derao em terra chaa e aprasivel, na qual encon-
trarao muitos negros e negras, que Ihes davao espigas de milho,
porque Ihes puzessem as maos nas partes do corpo em que tinhao
dores, esperando livrarem-se dellas com aquelle remedio : faziao-
Ihe os nossos o Sinai da Cruz, e elles ficavao em extremo contentes
e alegres, e pondo-se diante da Avanguarda hiao cantando ao seo
modo. No meyo da descida de hum monte ficou o Array al, por
ser tarde, e quasi noite vierao a elle dous negros com huma vaca,
que aprezentarao a Nuno Velho Pereira da parte de huma viuva,
mulher que fora de hum Ancosse. Mostrou Nuno Velho aos
Cafres estimar muito aquella lembranpa, e mandou com elles a
viuva huma cortina de cama, de seda da China, lavrada de ouro e
matizes, e tres pedapos de cobre.
Desceo-se de todo pela manhaa o monte, e atravessou-se huma
ribeira, que pelo pe delle corria, e com o rosto ao Norte se tornou
a subir huma serra, do alto da qual voltava o caminho ao Nordeste,
e posto que com pedras, que lastimavao os pes dos descalpos, se
foy andando athe bem tarde, que chegarao a hum sitio, que
escolherao para alojamento, por haver nelle agoa, e lenha.
Partirao delle aos quatro, e encontrarao algumas povoapoens,
das quaes sahiao os negros com muito alvoropo a abrapar, e a
beijar na face os nossos, e tratando-os com grange domestiqueza
Ihes tomavao as contas, e deitadas ao pescopo beijavao a Cruz
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 267
dellas, como viao fazer. E entendendo a muita estima, que os
nossos faziao deste Santo Sinai, perguntavao, se era licito depois
de o ter recebido ajuntarem-se com suas mulheres. Coin esta
pratica chegarao todos a huma grande ribeira, a qual os Cafres
ajudarao a passar aos nossos com muita alegria, e voutade, que
Ihes pagarao com algumas continhas de cristal, e tiras de panno,
que logo atavao na cabepa : e porque erao ja horas de sesta
ficarao ao longo de huma sementeira de milho ja maduro, no qual
se nao tocou, assim por * nao escandalizar os negros, como porque
do que elles tiiihao colhido, erao muy liberaes dando-o por muy
pouca valia, e bolos feitos delle, e manteiga, e leite. Passada a
calma, e a ribeira, na qual acharao os Portuguezes muy doces, e
grandes murtinhos, caminharao por huma varzia toda serneada do
mesmo milho, e regada de agoa, que vinha de huma serra fronteira,
aqual subida toparao o Ancosse das povoapoens com alguns trinta
negros. Kecebeu-o o Capitao mor, e depois de Ihe con tar da sua
perdifad, e a Jornada, e pedir o que Ihe era necessario, disse o
Cafre, que Ihe pezava muito de seos trabalhos, mas que era bom
nao morrer, e que guias, e mantimentos Ihe nao faltariao. E em
sinal desta promessa mandou vir dous grandes boys, quatro
carneiros, e hum cabaco de leite, o que se Ihe pagou com tres
peuapos de cobre, huma aza de caldeirao, huma perna de coral, e
huma moeda de prata Turquesca. E em particular Ihe deo Nuno
Velho outra cortina da China, semelhante a que mandou a viuva,
com que o Ancosse, que se chamava Panjana, ficou em extreme
contente, e caminhando juntos por aquella sua terra, estando ja o
Arrayal alojado trouxerao a este negro hum grande cabago de
vinho, cheyo de baratas, feito de milho a que chamao Pombe, de
que deo de beber a Nuno Velho, e aos mais Portuguezes, que com
elle estavao, e todos o gostarao, por Ihe fazer mimo, e cortezia.
E porque era ja quasi noite, se foy ao seo povoado, promettendo
tornar ao outro dia com as guias, e os nossos se recolherao nas
suas ten das.
Comprio o negro sua palavra, e entreteve os nossos na estanpa
athe o jantar trocando hum boy por tres pedacos de cobre, e dando
outro a Nuno Velho, pelo qual elle Ihe aprezentou humas contas
de cristal, huma pedra de sangue, e hum pouco de balsamo, que
Ihe disserao ser bom remedio para a asma, de que elle era enfermo.
E vendo ao Piloto hum frasco de vidro de Ormuz Iho pedio, e
por elle Ihe deo hum grande boy, e hum fermoso carneiro. Sendo
268 Records of South-Eastern Africa,
ja passado meyo dia, levantou-se o campo, e por boa estrada, e
ehaa foy marchando, hindo tambem o Ancosse, que se nao sabia
apartar dos nossos. E ja Sol posto depois que se recolheo, se
despedio delles, e do Capitao mbr, mandando-lhe huma vitella, e
hum carneiro.
Temendo os negros hum pedaco de despovoado, que se seguia,
nao vierao ao outro dia, que foy o Pentecoste, para guiarem os
nossos, como promettera o Ancosse, e pela mesma razao houve
alguns Portuguezes mal sofridos, que determinarao apressar a
Jornada, apartandose da companhia. que enteiidendo: Nuno
velho a noite de antes, e que se perderiao, effeituando seos
errados intentos; com sua costnmada prudencia aquietou este
desassossego. E como foy inanhaa levantado o Arrayal foy
caminhando sem guias por boa terra, athe as onze horas, que
parou ao longo de hum ribeiro, onde vierao ter muitos negros
com o seo Ancosse chamado Malangana, que vivia em liunias
povoa$oens apartadas do caminho. E por ver os nossos sairao a
elle com huma vaca, que trocarao por hum pedapo de coral, &
dous de cobre. Pedio-lhe Nuno Velho guias, e pela mesma causa
do despovoado as negarao, mas ensinarao a estrada, e mostrarao
com a mao a derrbta que se havia de levar, a qual o Piloto marcou
logo com a Agulha, e era ao Nordeste, e por ella, depois que os
negros se forao, caminharao os nossos athe a noite, que em hum
bosque se agazalharao.
Pelo mesmo deserto forao aos sete, e aos oito ao meyo dia
eucontrarao huma serra muy fresca, que se dividia em duas partes,
huma della s hia ao Norte, e outra a Leste, e entre ambas ficava
hum grande e estendido valle. Virao os nossos na entrada delle
oito negros, que andavao queimando o feno, aos quaes se mandou
hum lingoa, para que os chamasse; forao alguns buscar o seo
Ancosse, e com elle vierao vinte. Andavao todos nesta serra
levantados, e de roubos se sustentavao, e assim vinhao armados com
azagayas e frechas : fingirao terem o seo Povoado longe, e para o seo
intento encaminharao os nossos a hum valle fundo, e em que nao
havia nem lenha, nem agoa. Levava Nuno Velho hum destes
negros, e vendo o desenquieto, e que dava mostras de querer
desviar alguma vaca do rebanho para a furtar, disse aos Soldados,
que estivessem alerta. E conhecendo o Piloto, que hia diante o
mesmo dos que o acompanhavao, voltou para riba, e apoz elle
todo o Arrayal, e parecendo-lhe aos Negros, que era descuberta
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 269
a sua danada tencao, forao dissimulando, e hum delles se nieteo
entre as vacas, e procurou desencaminhar huma ; pagouse-lhe este
seo atrevimento com huma haste de alabarda, dando-se-lhe huma
pancada na cabepa, de que cahio. que visto dos outros, a todo
correr fogirao, e este apoz elles, e sem tao roim companhia acabarao
os nossos a Jornada daquella tarde alojando-se ja quasi noite na
serra, onde vigiarao com grande cuidado, temendo-se dos Cafres.
Como foy manhaa fizerao o caminho ao longo da serra, que hia
a Leste, com o rosto a Lesnordeste, e della forao vistos de alguns
negros do alojamento passado, a cujos brados se ajuntarao outros
muitos com azagayas, os quaes por hum outeiro abaixo vierao
descendo para o Arrayal ; e porque se fossem como os passados, e
o nao achassem desordenado, fez alto, e posto em ordem tornou a
marchar. Detiverao-se os negros entendendo a determinate dos
nossos, e apartando-se delles alguns, chegarao a parte donde os
pudessem ouvir, e perguntarao quern erao, e que buscavao pellas
suas terras ? Respondeo-lhes o lingoa o que costumava, e delle,
e de Nuno Velho assegurados, forao chamar a seo Capitao, que foy
delle agazalhado, e com hum rosario de contas de cristal despedido.
Hidos estes, pouco espapo a diante encontrarao alguns sessenta,
dos quaes vierao tres ao Arrayal, o mais velho, depois que soube a
perdipao, e caminho dos nossos, chamou aos outros a grandes vozes,
dizendo : Vinde, vinde ver estes homens, que sao filhos do Sol, e
o vao buscar. Deixando todos as armas em guarda de hum
companheiro, e a todo correr baixarao a ver, e festejar os nossos, e
com elles caminharao athe horas de sesta, que a sombra de hum
bosque passarao. Trouxerao alii alguns negros milho, que derao
por contas de cristal, e tiras de parino de cores para a cabepa, e a
mesma estan^a veyo o seo Ancosse, em quern nao achando Nuno
Velho o agazalhado que esperava, e entendendo nelle dezejos
de acommetter os nossos achando-os desapercebidos, avisou aos
Soldados, que o aeompanhavao, para q aprestassem os areabuzes, e
cada hii assignalasse o negro, a q queria atirar. Conhecendo esta
determinapao dissimulou com a sua, e o Capitao mbr mandou que
caminhasse o campo, e se nao fizesse caso deste negro, nem da
sua povoapao, pela qual logo ao diante passou. Ao Sol posto se
fez alojamento em hum lugar commodo, do que se havia mister,
onde vierao dous negros de outras Aldeas, que contentes com
doas pedacos de cobre prometterao tornar ao outro dia a guiar os
nossos.
270 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Assira o comprirao amanhecendo no Arrayal, com cuja guia
subirao huma serra, e posto que della descobrirao outras, os Cafres
os levarao por caminhos, que facilitavao a aspereza dellas, e ficarao
a noite ao pe da derradeira : a qual atravessarao ao outro dia hindo
a Leste, e a Lessueste, e passada tornarao ao caminho de Lesnor-
deste por bosques muy espessos de arvores altas e sombrias, e
descendo huma costa, no baixo entre grandes rochedos estavao
humas cazas de negros, ao longo das quaes se alojarao.
Erao estes Cafres pobres, e nao tinhao senao hum pouco de
milho, e algum leite, que Ihes derao, e entre elles em huma
cabana, que se fez apartada das suas, ficou hum velho de setenta
annos por nome Alvaro Goncalves, pay do Contra-Mestre, que
vinha muy doente, e todos os companheiros tao canpados, que o
nao podiao mais levar aos hombros, como athe alii fizerao. Quize-
ra o piedoso filho ficar com elle, e nao se Ihe permittindo, deixou-
Ihe cobre para comprar o que houvesse mister, e em hum papel
escrito os nomes das couzas necessarias, para as pedir aos negros,
e com geraes lagrimas de tao lastimoso apartamento o tirarao
junto de seo pay, que com huma benpao o despedio, ficando
confessado, e como bom Christao muy conforme com a vontade de
Deos. Detiverao-se os nossos por esta causa no alojamento da
noite athe o meyo dia dos doze em que o Piloto tomou o Sol, e
achou que estavao em vinte e sete graos e vinte e sete minutos,
pelo que determinou de caminhar a Leste quarta a Nordeste para
tomar mais depressa a praya, da qual se fazia quarenta legoas, e
sendo duas horas veyo o Senhor das Povoapoens com guias, pelas
quaes Ihe deo Nuno Velho quatro pedapos de cobre, e seguidas do
Arrayal por terra chaa e boa, direitos a Leste (pai-a onde diziao os
negros, que estava o Povoado em que se vendiao as suas coutas
vermelhas, que sao as que vem ao rio de Lourenpo Marques)
chegou ao Sol posto a hum valle, onde se fez o alojamento.
Delle partirao aos treze, dia de Santo Antonio, e as des horas
virao muitas povoapoens das quaes vinhao niuitos Cafres a ver os
nossos, e como chegarao a elles os saudarao dizendo, Nanhata,
Nanhata, como os primeiros. Traziao estes entre si o seo Capitao,
que residia naquelle Povoado por man dado do Ancosse que estava
ausente ; foy bem recebido do Capitao mbr, e querendo saber delle
algumas couzas necessarias para o caminho, disse-lhe o negro que
clalli ao mar era Jornada de seis dias, e por outra parte era de doze
passando pelas terras do Inhaca, por onde se havia de vadcar hum
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 271
rio grande com agoa pelos peitos. Alegrou esta nova a todos,
sabendo que estavao tao pertos do lugar, em que esperavao achar
embarcayao. E passando as horas de sesta, veyo hum tilho do
Ancosse visitar a Nuno Velho da parte de seo pay, e feita a visita
se tornou logo, levando ao pesco^o huma medalha de prata, que se
tirou de hu cbpo, e os nossos depois q naquella estanja matarao
algumas vacas para o provimento ordinario, e resgatarao milho,
leite, manteiga, e carneiros, forao caminhando com o mesmo
Capitao por guia, athe que se recolherao quasi noite, junto de
huma ribeira donde o negro avizou ao seo Aucosse, para que viesse
ver Nuno Velho pela manhaa.
Estava a sua povoa?ao longe, e assim erao quasi onze horas
quando veyo. Sahio-o a receber Nuno Velho acompanhado de
quinze Arcabuzeiros, e o Ancosse (que se ehamava Gamabela)
vinha com cem negros sem armas, e tomandose ambos pelas maos
sentados em huma alcatifa, Ihe disse o Capitao mor, quanto folgava
de o ver, e de ser chegado aquella sua terra onde tinha o remedio
certo, para hir a que elle pretendia, e desejava. Respondeo-lhe o
Gamabela, que tinha razao de estar contente, porque ja estava
perto do campo, e que para acabar a Jornada Ihe nao faltaria couza
alguma, que elle tivesse, e pudesse. Aprezentarao-se logo hum
ao outro, o Ancosse duas vacas, e Nuno Velho humas contas de
Madreperola, huma peca de prata, sete pedacos de cobre, e huma
pedra de sangue. Apoz isto tratarao das guias, e forao nomeadas
do Gamabela, o seo Capitao (que com os nossos viera da outra
povoagao) e outros dous negros. Contente toda a gente do bom
acolhimento deste Cafre, e elle muito mais de o fazer, disse a
Nuno Velho, que em pago da vontade com que dava tudo o que
Ihe tinha pedido, queria delle huma peca, que em seo noine Ihe
ficasse para com ell a se lembrar sempre delle, e dos Portuguezes
q o acompanhavao. Kespondeo-lhe Nuno Velho Pereira que
assim o faria como elle pedia, e que daria a mais preciosa, e
estimada joya, que havia no mundo, e tomando a Cruz das
contas que ao pesco9o tinha, tirando o sombre iro, levantados
os olhos ao Ceo, com grande devo^ao a beijou, e dando a aos
Portuguezes, que junto delle estavao, os quaes fizerao a rnesma
ceremonia, a deo ao Ancosse, dizendo-lhe, que aquelle era o
sagrado penhor, que ihe deixaria da sua amizade, ao qual fizesse
a mesma reverencia, que vira fazer aos nossos. Tomou-a o
barbaro, e com semelhante acatamento a beijou, e a poz nos
272 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
olhos, e assim o fizerao todos os outros negros. E vendo Nuno
Velho a venerapao que faziao a Santissima Cruz, raandou a hum
Carpinteiro, que de huma arvore, que junto delle estava (ditosa
e bem nascida naquella Cafraria, pois de hum ramo seo se fez
o sinal de nossa salvacao) fizesse huma Cruz, que logo foy
feita de oito palmos de alto. E tendo-a com as maos Nuno
Velho, a entregou ao Gamabela, dizendo-lhe, que naquella arvore
vencera o Autor da vida a morte com a sua propria morte, e assim
della era remedio, dos enfermos saude, e na virtude daquelle
sinal vencerao os grandes Einperadores, e agora venciao os Keys
Catholicos a seos inimigos, e como dom tao excellente Iho dava, e
offerecia, para que o puzesse diante da sua casa. E todas as
manhaas, como saisse della, o reverenciasse beijando-o, e posto de
joelhos o adorasse, e quando faltasse saude aos seos vassallos, ou
chuva aos seos campos, com confianca lha pedisse : porque hum
Deos, e Hornem, que morto nelle remira o mundo, lha concederia.
Entregue com estas palavras o verdadeiro trofeo, e a singular
gloria da Christandade ao Ancosse, elle a poz as costas, e despedido
dos nossos com saudosas lagrimas do penhor que Ihes levava, e
seguido dos seos, que seriao alguns quinhentos, se foy com el la a
sua Povoacao, para fazer o que Nuno Velho Ihe dissera, e pedira.
Triunfo foy este da Sagrada Cruz, digno de se festejar a imitapao
dos de Constantino, e Heraclio, porque se aquelles christianissimos
e devotos Emperadores libertarao a verdadeira de seos inimigos,
hum dos Judeos, e outro dos Persas, com que ella ficou triunfante ;
esta (imagem daquella) foy por este honrado e virtuoso Fidalgo
levantada e arvorada no meyo da Cafraria, centre da gentilidade,
da qual hoje esta triunfando. E pois que abrapado com este doce
Madeiro se salvou o mundo do seo naufragio, querera Deos Nosso
Senhor allumiar o entendimento destes Gentios, para que
abracando-se com esta fiel Cruz que Ihes ficou, se salvein da
perdipao, e cegueira em que vivem.
Plantada por este modo a arvore da Santa Cruz na Cafraria, da
qual se pbdem esperar suavissimos frutos da salvacao daquella
gente ; ao outro dia, que forao quinze, despedidos os nossos della,
com o Gamabela, que quiz acompanhar ao Capitao mbr na
primeira Jornada, e com as guias, que elle tinha norneadas,
partirao daquelle lugar, e as des horas chegarao a huma casa,
donde se licenciou de Nuno Velho o Ancosse com verdadeiras
demonstracoens de amizade. Hido o negro continuou-se o
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 273
caminho por entre arvores espinhosas, e terra despovoada,
em que havia muita herva babosa, e sendo noite se alo-
jarao ao longo de huma ribeira muy fresca. Donde como
amanheceo tornarao a caminhar athe as duas horas, que acharao
povoapoens sem gente, mas com muitas gallinhas, e mantimentos.
Mandou Nuno Velho guardallas, porque se nao tomasse dellas
couza alguma, e chamados seos donos (que em huns outeiros
estavao) das guias, e das lingoas, baixarao alguns, e derao por
razao da fogida, e desemparo das cazas, a guerra que tinhao com
huns vizinhos seos : os quaes poucos dias antes Ihes levarao todo
o gado. E vendo que nao erao os nossos os inimigos de que se
temiao, tornarao todos as suas choupanas, e derao hum negro que
guiou o Arrayal aonde havia lenha, e agoa necessaria para a
estanca daquella noite.
Foy o outro dia da festa do Santissimo Sacramento, em que por
huma muy estendida varzia os nossos caminharao, povoada de
bons pastes, e arvoredo, e muito mais de vacas bravas, bufalos,
veados, lebres, porcos, e elefantes, que em numerosos bandos
andavao por ella pacendo. Forao estes os primeiros animaes deste
genero, que encontrarao por este longo caminho, os quaes descem
aquelles campos de huma grande serra, que os atravessava de
Norte a Sul. Nella se entrou por hum valle, pelo qual corria
huma ribeira, que se passou muitas vezes, e junto della se fez
alojamento.
Levantou-se delle o Arrayal, como foy manhaa, e caminhando
athe as des horas pelo mesmo valle e ribeira (que era em extreme
vi?osa, e fresca, cuberta de arvores de varias cores, nas quaes se
viao muitas papagayos verdes com bicos vermelhos, perdizes,
rolas, e outros diversos generos de passaros) subio-se huma ponta
da serra da parte do Sudueste, e em huma chaa que no alto della
se fazia se encontrarao quatro negros, que andavao a caca, os quaes
sabendo das guias, com quanta largueza compravao os nossos os
mantimentos, forao-se logo, dizendo que os hiao buscar ao seo
povoado. Nao os esperou porem o Arrayal, nem se deteve, senao
as horas de sesta, em hum bosque ao longo da propria ribeira.
Havia da outra banda hum outeiro, que se subio passada a calma,
e delle seguia huma estendida campina, que toda da dita ribeira
se regava : na qual havia alem da caca da Jornada passada, patos,
adens, tordos, grous, gallinhas do mato, e bogios, e em huma
alagoa, que della se fazia no lugar em que os nossos se recolherao,
-II, T
274 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
a noite virao muitos Cavallos marinhos, que com seos rinchos os
nao deixarao dormir quietamente. Pelo que mais tarde do
ordinario se levantarao o outro dia, no qual se chegou a hum
brejo, que as guias disserao estar perto do povoado, e alojando-se
ao longo delle, despedio Nuno Velho huma, para que fosse avisar
ao Ancosse da sua chegada.
A manhaa seguinte o mandou logo visitar por Antonio Godinho,
com outro negro, o qual voltou a tempo que os companheiros
estavao ja da banda de alem do brejo muy cancados de tirarem o
gado por cordas, porque nelle atolava. Mas com as novas que
deo, esquecerao todos os passados trabalhos. Estas forao ser o
Ancosse, que visitara, Capitao do Inhaca, o qual o recebera com
gazalhado, e promettera tudo o que havia na sua terra, athe
chegarem ao Inhaca, de quern sabia serem os Portuguezes amigos :
e que o Navio nao era partido, porque havia poucos dias, que
passarao por aquella sua povoacao negros com Marfim para o
resgate. Chegou logo hum Capitao deste Ancosse, que da sua
parte vinha visitar Nuno Velho, com dous cabritos, e duas gallinhas,
e apoz elle o niesmo Ancosse, que Nuno Velho assentou na sua
alcatifa, e depois que confirmou as novas, que dera Antonio
Godinho, e mostrou estimar muito perguntar-lhe o Capitao mor
pelo Inhaca, aprezentou-lhe duas vacas, e elle Ihe deo huma
cobertura de hum cbpo de prata, e quatro pedapos de cobre, e a
hum sobrinho seo, que trazia comsigo, outros tres pedapos, e
deitou-lhe ao pescoco ametade de hum cbpo pequeno de prata,
com que se forao muy contentes, por ser a povoacao longe, e os
nossos o ficarao muito mais, nao se rnudando daquella estanca do
brejo, na qual o Piloto tomando o Sol achou ser a altura do Polo
do Sul de vinte e sete graos, e vinte minutos, fazendo-se do porto
em que estava o Navio trinta legoas.
Caminharao os nossos para a povoapao do negro, como foy
manhaa, donde esperando levar boas e fieis guias, as acharao mas
e falsas ; foy huma dellas o mesmo Ancosse, o qual querendo-os
molestar, e cangar, para Ihe darem mais alguma couza, com hum
rodeyo os fez tornar ao mesmo brejo donde partirao. Mostrou-se
Nuno Velho queixoso, e aggravado, e pedio-lhe o que Ihe tinha
dado, porque delle nao queria guias, e assim desenganado o Cafre
da sua vaa esperanpa, tomou mais dous pedapos do cobre que Ihe
derao, e com outros tres negros seos, que o quizerao acompanhar,
comepou a guiar o campo por hum caminho de area, pelo qual
Becords of South-Eastern Africa. 275
havia 'palmeiras bravas, humas dellas com tamaras, e outras com
hurna fmta, que em Cuama chamao Macomas, e sao do tamanho
e feifao de peras pardas : e sendo ja noite se alojou debaixo de
hum arvoredo sem agoa.
Chegando pela manhaa a humas cazas, levou o Ancosse os donos
dellas comsigo, e desviou os nossos do caminho, metendo-os por
hum bosque, para nelle desencaminhar algumas vacas, e acolherse
com ellas ; o qual passado, e huma ribeira entrarao por outro,
mas como nestes lugares se nao descuidassem os nossos, com as
lembrancas do Capitao mor, hindo o negro diante com huma lingoa,
e nao podendo fazer o que pertendia, sendo o mato espesso, e
assim nao visto dos que vinhao atras, Ihe atirou com huma azagaya,
e errando-a fogio. A lingoa pegando de hum dos negros das cazas,
que perto de si estava, gritou, ao que acodirao os nossos deitando
tambem mao dos companheiros do que estava prezo. Com elles
se sahirao fora do bosque ao caminho, de que os haviao apartado,
e perguntando-lhes quern era o Ancosse fogido, disserao-lhe ser
hum grande ladrao chamado Bambe, ao qual por temor obedecerao,
e acompanharao. E pedindo-lhes Nuno Velho, que o quizessem
guiar athe o Inhaca, prometterao de o fazer, e que se o nao
levassem la, que os matasse. Postos com tudo a bom recado
forao caminhando por hum mato, atravessando hum brejo; da
outra banda havia boa estrada, que seguirao athe noite, que ao
longo de hum ribeiro se recolherao, nao faltando lenha de grandes
arvores, que junto delle havia.
He esta terra alagadifa, e assim de muitos brejos, e tendo ja
passados os que se hao dito, na manhaa dos vinte e tres passarao
outro trabalhosamente, porque alem de atolar muito, era no meyo
tao alto, que se nao chegava ao fundo com hum pique. Atravessou-
se este espaco, que era breve, com troncos, que se cortarao de
arvores, de que se fizerao Minhoteiras, e o mais se remediou com
muita espadana, que no brejo havia. Postos da outra banda os
nossos, e sendo horas de descancar do trabalho, e da calma, o
fizerao a sombra de arvores ; donde mandou Nuno Velho soltar
hum dos negros, para que se fosse a sua caza, e desse novas dos
outros, e com huma tira de Bretangil vermelho, e hum pedapo de
cobre se houve o Cafre por satisfeito da prizao ; e com os que
ficavao (que tambem hiao contentes esperando grande paga)
caminharao athe o Sol posto, que chegarao a outro brejo, aonde se
fez o alojamento. Delle se via ao Sudueste a foz de hum rio, que
T 2
276 Records of Scwth-Eastern Africa.
he o que nas cartas de marear se chama de Santa Luzia, em altura
de vinte e oito graos, quasi o qual se tinha ja passado o dia atras,
por parte que nao deo molestia, e longe da boca. Nella acabou
Fernando Alvares Cabral, Capitao da Nao S. Bento, atravessando a
em huma Almadia, e ao longo della, ao pe de hum outeiro, onde
nao chegao as ondas que o afogarao, esta enterrado.
O dia de S. Joao Baptista (que foy o seguinte) pela manhaa, se
descobrirao de hum alto povoaipoens, cujas cazas erao como as
nossas choupanas de vinha, e nao redondas como as passadas. Os
negros das quaes, como virao os nossos, se ajuntarao alguns
duzentos ; foy ter com elles o lingoa, de quern sabendo que erao
Portuguezes, vierao logo ver o Capitao mbr, e certificallo, que
estava nas terras do Inhaca, sendo aquella Povoapao de huma
irm&a sua, e que o Navio do resgate nao era partido. Alvoraparao-
se todos com tao boas novas, e chegando as cazas, veyo a irmaa do
Inhaca (que os negros diziao) com seo marido visitar Nuno Velho,
que os recebeo com a devida cortezia, e mostrandose pezaroso de
se nao poder deter alguns dias com elles, deo-lhes hum panno
preto, e dous pedapos de cobre. Descobria-se deste povoado o
mar, que como couza nova espantou os nossos, e he na parajem
onde chamao os Medaos do ouro. E sendo ja as horas da calma
passadas, tornarao a caminhar com hum negro do Inhaca, que da
sua parte viera ver a irmaa (despedindo os outros bem pagos) por
huma grande praya de area ruiva, que em breve espapo os canpou
muito, e della subindo ao alto dos Medaos, por onde se podia
andar com menos canpasso, chegarao Sol posto a huma povoapao,
que estava ao longo de hum rio, o qual por ser mare vazia passarao
logo, e sendo ja noite se alojarao da banda de alem, onde com-
prarao por pequenos pedapos de pannos, milho, gallinhas, e tainhas
grandes e gostosas.
Sendo o outro dia pela manhaa preamar eslava o rio nmy
crescido, e grande, e na boca fazia hum Ilheo, e assim nao sendo
baixamar, nao se vadea. He este o rio a que os perdidos Portu-
guezes da Nao S. Thome pnzerao nome da Abundancia. E
levantando-se o Arrayal, foy marchando por detras dos Medaos de
area por muy aprazivel, e fresca terra, athe o meyo dia, que ao
longo de huma Aldea parou. Tomou nella o Piloto o Sol, e
achou de altura vinte e seis graos e quarenta e sinco minutos, e
passada a calma, e hum brejo se fez o alojamento debaixo de
arvorcs grandes, que forao bem necessarias para defender da chuva,
que houve aquella noite.
Records of Smith-Eastern Africa. 277
Por largos e estendidos campos se caininhou athe as des horas
do dia seguinte, que chegarao os nossos a huma fermosa e grande
alagoa de agoa doce, que teria huma legoa de comprido, perto
della estavao duas povoacoens em que se resgatarao gallinhas, e
sesteando ao meyo- dia, tomou o Sol o Piloto, e achou-se em vinte
e seis graos e vinte minutos de altura. Dalli ao longo da mesma
alagoa forao andando, vendo muitas adens, patos, e garpas, e em
hum campo (alem della) se assentou o Arrayal, por se nao poder
chegar de dia ao povoado. Onde se matarao tres vacas, para o
provimento ordinario, e ainda ficavao vinte e tres, e porque passou
pelo alojamento hum negro, que deo novas, nao ser partido do rio
o Navio, determinou Nuno Velho mandar tres homens com a guia
para se certificar do que todos estes Cafres diziao. Forao estes
Antonio Godinho, Simao Mendes, e Antonio Monteiro, e sendo ja
muito noite, veyo hum negro com a guia, enviado do Inhaca a
vizitar Nuno Velho, o qual chegando a elle, fazendo huma grande
mezura, e tirando hum barrete que trazia na cabepa, disse : Beijo
as maos a V. M. como Cafre criado entre Portuguezes, ficando
naquella terra da perdipao do Galeao S. Joao. Festejarao todos a
cortezia, e as palavras della, e perguntando-lhe Nuno Velho cujo
era ? disse que d'ElRey, o qual recebera tanto gosto, vendo os
Portuguezes na sua povoapao, e sabendo delles, que elle era
chegado aquella terra, que logo o quizera vizitar, mas por ser noite
o deixara de fazer, que em tanto estivesse descanpado, porque o
Navio ainda estava no rio. Foy esta a mais alegre nova, que
tiverao os nossos Portuguezes em toda a Jornada, porque estando
o Navio no rio, tinhao todos esperanpa de vida, e salvapao, e sendo
partido, era duvidosa, por haverem de atravessar a bahia, e caminhar
athe Sofala, ou esperar hum anno, que viesse o outro Navio.
Havia em qualquer destes caminhos grandes difficuldades, porque
o de Sofala era largo, e de dous mezes pelo menos, que sobre tres
que tinhao caminhado, era grande soma para a fraqueza que todos
traziao : se se determinavao esperar ; era mayor o perigo, porque
ha via de ser ao menos hum anno, ao cabo do qual se nao chegaria
com vida, sendo a terra muy enferma, as agoas roins, e os manti-
mentos poucos. Pelo que com justa causa se alegrerao muito
aquella noite com a certeza de nao ser partido o Navio.
Tornou como foy manhaa hum dos homens que Nuno Velho
tinha mandado ao Rey Inhaca com larga relapao do Navio, que
em tudo era conforme com o que o Enviado dissera. E assim,
278 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
posto que chovendo, se levantou o Arrayal alvoropado, e caminhou
athe a povoacao do Inhaca, da qual vinhao muitos negros encontrar
os nossos chamando-lhes Matalotes. Mandou o Capitao mbr
recado ao Key da sua chegada, e da sua parte Ihe foy respondido,
que o fosse esperar ao pe de huma arvore, que estava junto da sua
caza, em quanto elle se levantava e vestia. Assim o fez Nuno
Velho levando comsigo oito Arcabuzeiros, o Provedor, o Thesou-
reiro, o Piloto, e o Lingoa, e assentado debaixo da arvore em esteira,
que o Eey tinha mandado estender. Veyo o Inhaca sem nada na
cabeca, cingido hum panno ao modo que o trazem na India as
mulheres, e com hum grande ferragoilo cuberto. Era de alta
estatura, agigantado, bem feito, e de rosto alegre e aprazivel, e
chegado a Nuno Velho, que ja estava em pe, o tomou pela mao, e
juntos se assentarao na esteira. Deo-lhe as embbras da chegada,
e os pezames da perdicao, o que Nuuo Velho agradeceo com
muitas palavras, e assim o que n'zera a Dom Paulo de Lima, e aos
da sua companhia da Nao S. Thome, quando por alii passarao, e
pedio-lhe hum homem para mandar huma carta ao Capitao do
Navio. A tudo se mostrou o Eey obrigado pela amizade, que seo
pay tivera com os Portuguezes, e logo chamou hum negro seo que
com Antonio Godinho, e outros dous Soldados, e huma Lingoa
levarao a carta. Seguio-se apoz isto o prezente do Capitao mbr,
que foy hum sombreiro de Feltro negro, hum panno da China
lavrado de seda, e euro, duas vacas, huma dellas prenhe, e em
duas cadeyas de prata, que se tirarao do apito do Mestre, huma
medalha, e huma pequena garrafa de prata. E porque os nossos
estavao desacomodados, mandou o Eey (que com as pepas se
mostrou contentissimo) a hum negro seo, que os fosse agazalhar
em hum sitio perto das cazas, em que havia agoa e lenha. Nelle
se ordenou logo o alojamento pelo Capitao Juliao de Faria, que se
foy com toda a gente, e ficou Nuno Velho, e os Officiaes, e os
Soldados que o acompanhavao, praticando com o Inhaca. E
parecendo horas de jantar disse o Piloto, que assinalava o relogio
as onze ; de que o Eey se nmravilhou assas, e muito mais de Ihe
mostrar pelos rumos do Agulhao o caminho que athelli fizerao.
E assim sendo tempo se levantarao, e dadas as maos se forao ao
alojamento, onde depois que o Eey vizitou D. Isabel e sua filha,
jantou com Nuno Velho na sua tenda, e sendo dims horas se
licenciou a todos com boa graca, para se despedir ao outro dia.
Assim o fez como foy manhaa, vestido hum roupao de griia
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 279
guarnecido de veludo encarnado, o sombreiro, que Ihe derao, na
cabeca, as cadeas do apito ao pescoco, e os brajos cheyos de
manilhas de latao ; fizerao-se as devidas cortezias entre elle, e
Nuno Velho, o qual Ihe deo o apito, e o poz nas cadeyas donde se
tirara, e tocando-o o Mestre, ficou o Hey delle contente, parecendo-
Ihe boa pepa para a guerra : e a hum filho seo se deo hum cbpo
de prata, que o pay Ihe tomou. Estando ja todos em ordem de
marchar, se despedirao do Inhaca, e elle delles, com afectuosos
abrapos, e postos no caminho, por baixo de arvoredo, e ao longo
de alagoas de agoa doce, forao andando athe as des, que pararao
a passar a calma. Alii virao des negros da terra com dous
Marinheiros do Navio, e hum natural de Mozambique (que la
chamao Topas) o qual disse a Nuno Velho, que estando resgatando
marfim pelo rio acima, soubera dos Cafres, que estavao Portuguezes
com o Inhaca, pelo que deixado tudo os vinha ver, com aquelles
seos companheiros. Pagou-lhes esta boa vontade Nuno Velho
dando ao Topas huma garrafa de prata, e aos dous Marinheiros
outra, e sendo horas de continuar o caminho, o fizerao athe a
tarde, que onde houve agoa se alojarao.
Sendo nove horas do dia seguinte, que foy o de S. Pedro,
chegarao a huma povoapao de hum filho do Inhaca, o qual com
recado que teve de Nuno Velho, o veyo logo visitar, e Ihe deo
hum homem seo, que Ihe pedio, para o mandar com outra carta
ao Capitao do Navio, que com hum dos dous Marinheiros partio
com toda a diligencia ; em recompensa Ihe aprezentou Nuno Velho
hum pe de cbpo de prata, e hum panno da China como o que se
deo a seo pay, e elle em retorno Ihe fez hum prezente de huma
cabra, e de hum cesto de Ameixoeira. Era este Cafre muy parecido
a seo pay, e vivia aqui delle apartado, e em sua desgraca, por
Ihe haver procurado a morte, e occupar o Eeyno. E com a
communicapao dos Portuguezes fallava algumas palavras das nossas.
Despedio-se delle o Capitao mor, e caminhando depois das horas
de sesta, junto de hum brejo se estanciou.
Faz o mar nestas terras do Inhaca huma grande bahia de quinze
ou vinte legoas de comprido, e a partes pouco menos de largo,
e nella esbocao quatro grandes rios, pelos quaes entra a mare dez
e doze legoas. primeiro da parte do Sul se chama Melengana,
ou Zembe, que divide as terras de hum Eey assim chamado, das
do Inhaca ; o segundo Ansate, e dos nossos de Santo Espirito,
ou de Lourenco Marques, que iprimeiro descobrio nolle o resgate
280 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
do marfim, de quern -tomou a bahia o nome ; o terceiro Fumo,
por passar pelas terras de hum Senhor deste nome; e o quarto,
e ultimo do Manhica, que he da parte do Norte, ao Ion go do
qual foy o desbarate de Manoel de Souza Sepulveda, e as lastimosas
mortes de Dona Leonor sua mulher, e filhos, e seo desaparecimento ;
e nelle acabou tambem D. Paulo de Lima, mas nao a memoria
de suas gloriosas empresas. Fica na boca desta Bahia (a qual a
lugares tern quatorze e quinze brapas de fundo) junto da sua ponta
Austral, huma II ha grande de ties legoas de circuito, a qual faz
nella duas entradas, huma pela parte do Nordeste, de sete ou
oito legoas de largo, e outra do Sul, estreita, e de pouca distancia.
Chamao os nossos a esta Ilha do Inhaca, e nella traz o Rey muito
gado pela abundancia do seo pasto. De huma ponta desta Ilha faz
o mar huma Ilheta, a qual se passa de baixamar com a agoa pelo
joelho, tern de altura vinte e sinco graos quarenta minutos, e
chamao-lhe hoje, dos Portuguezes, pelos muitos que nella estao
enterrados, dos que se salvarao da Nao S. Thome. Vem aportar
a ella de dous em dous annos hum Navio de Mozambique a resgatar
marfim, e nella estava quando estes nossos Portuguezes chegarao
as terras do Inhaca. E porque segundo a relacao dos Negros,
era ja moncao, e tempo da partida, e nelle pretendia embarcar-se
Nuno Velho com os niais Portuguezes, que com elle vinhao,
escreveo por todas as vias ditas a Manoel Malheiro Capitao do
Navio, que os esperasse, e mandasse embarcapoens a praya, que
os passassem a Ilha. De que nao teve reposta, senao o derradeiro
de Junho, que partidos os nossos do brejo, em que o dia antes
se alojarao, e perto ja da praya, encontrarao hum Cafre Marinheiro
do Navio com duas cartas, huma do Capitao para Nuno Velho,
e outra do Piloto para Rodrigo Migueis. Nellas os avizavao como
ficavao em sua companhia os homens que Ihes derao as suas, e
que o dia seguinte viriao as embarcacoens a passar a gente a Ilha.
E sendo quasi noite chegarao em huma embarcapao o Capitao do
Navio, que foy bem recebido de Nuno Velho, e porque vazava
a mare, pareceo bem, que se tornasse logo, levando cornsigo Dona
Izabel, e sua filha, o Provedor Diogo Nunes Gramaxo, e os dous
Frades, Frey Pedro, e Frey Pantaleao. Assim se fez ficando os
companheiros bern agazalhados, e providos dos mantimentos da
terra, que erao milho, ameixoeira, gallinhas, peixe, e marisco.
Tornou a mesma embarcapao com outra, como foy manhaa para
passar todo o Arrayal a Ilha, o qual estava ja ao longo da praya
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 281
esperando-as. Mas como a mare nao fosse senao as tres horas, e
na passajem do gado se gastasse muito tempo, nao se passou da
primeira Ilha, e nella se alojou aquella noite. E como foy manhaa,
e conjunpao de mare vazia, atravessarao os nossos a outra Ilha,
na qual estava a gente do Navio aposentada em choupanas feitas
nella para seo gazalhado, nas quaes com grande vontade forao
recolhidos e hospedados cento e dezasete Portuguezes, e sessenta
e sinco escravos, que a ella chegarao salvos do naufragio, e
peregrinacao. A qual fizerao em tres mezes, e nelles caminharao
mais de trezentas legoas, posto que do Penedo 'das Fontes, donde
partirao, athe esta Ilha em que estavao, por linha direita nao sao
cento e sincoenta legoas.
Quiz logo ao outro dia saber Nuno Velho os mantimentos, e
agoa que havia no Navio, e perguntando ao Capitao, disse-lhe,
que os Marinheiros tinhao noventa cap apos de milho, q sao alguns
setecentos alqueires, e feijao, e ameixoeira, e os tanques do Navio
cheyos de agoa, nos quaes poderia haver doze pipas ; e porque era
pouca despejarao-se por ordem de Nuno Velho quinze jarras, que
hiao cheas de mel (que o ha na terra muy bom) e encherao-se de
agoa. milho, e mel, logo o mandou pagar aos Marinheiros, pelo
preco que valprin em Mozambique, e n'um se montou cento e
oitenta cruzados, e no outro noventa e seis. Sobejarao tarnbem
da Jornada cento e nove vacas, que foy hum grande terjo da
matalotajem. A qual assim ordenada, e feita, e o marfim do
resgate por lastro, muy bem arrumado, e igualado para servir de
camas molles a estes nossos Portuguezes, embarcarao-se a nove de
Julho para esperarem no Navio a conjunpao da Lua, q era a doze,
e com ella os Ponentes para fazerern sua viagem ; e anticipa-se
tanto a embarcacao, porque para partir o Navio, se hade por fora
de hum baixo, que esta perto da Ilha, onde se espera o tempo,
que a estar dentro delle, nao pode sahir com o mesmo Ponente.
Metidos no Navio huns, e outros, que faziao numero de duzentas
e oitenta pessoas, ficou tao embaracado, que disse o Piloto delle
(chamado Baptista Martins, Marinheiro que fora da Nao S. Thome)
que se nao atrevia a governallo, nem se poderia marear ; pelo que
se tomasse algum meyo em tamanho excesso. Chamou o Capitao
mbr a conselho, e nelle se averiguou, que deixassem em terra os
Marinheiros do Navio com suas mulheres, e familias, os quaes
erao Mouros, e como taes teriao nella melhor remedio, que os
Portuguezes. Logo se poz esta determina^ao em effeito, e desem-
282 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
barcarao-se todos os Mouros com suas familias, e fato, qne erao
quarenta e sinco pessoas. que elles soffrerao bem com a boa
paga, e satisfapao, que Nuno Velho Pereira Ihes mandou dar, com
a qual esperavao fazer a Jornada por terra a Mozambique, mais
proveitosa e aventajada, que a que podiao fazer por mar, no seo
mel que ficou pela praya, e no milho que levavao os Portuguezes.
Desembaracado por este modo o Navio, e chegada a conjuncao
da Lua, ficou o tempo levante donde estava, e assim foy necessario
esperar a outra Lua seguinte. De que enfadados, alguns Portu-
guezes, e assim a estreiteza do Navio, e carestia da agoa, deter-
minarao de hir por terra athe Sofala, que erao dalli cento e sessenta
legoas, e posto que Nuno Velho Pereira sentio muito quererem-se
apartar da sua companhia, vendo a sua resolupao, e como era em
beneficio dos que ficavao, Ihes deo licenca, e oito espingardas com
toda a municao necessaria, e cento sincoenta cruzados em pegas
de prata, e muita roupa. Foy por Capitao destes Portuguezes,
que erao vinte e oito, hum Soldado chamado Baltazar Pereira, de
alcunha o Eeynol das forcas, os quaes desembarcados aprestarao
duas embarcacoens (que o Navio trouxe, para fazer o resgate pelos
rios) em que passarao a outra banda da Bahia, ao rio do Manhipa,
e fazendo seo caminho por aquella terra, fizerao tantas desordens,
que sendo a estrada seguida, pela qual forao muitos Portuguezes
da Nao S. Thome, e as jornadas contadas, forao todos mortos dos
Cafres, e s6 dous homens desta companhia chegarao a Sofala.
Vinda a monpao, partio o Navio (que se chamava Nossa Senhora
da Salva?ao) aos vinte e dous de Julho a Mozambique, e metido
do Cabo das Correntes para dentro, houve hum tempo Sul tao
rijo, que se tiverao os nossos por mais perdidos, que na Nao S.
Alberto. Alijarao muitos mantimentos ao mar, e passados dous
dias desta borrasca, voltou bonanca, com que chegarao a Mopam-
bique a seis de Agosto : onde desembarcados todos, forao em
procissao com os Trades Dominicos (que avizados os esperavao na
praya) a Nossa Senhora do Baluarte, dando grapas a JESU Nosso
Eedemptor, e a Sacratissima Virgem sua May pelos extraordinarios
beneficios, e singulares merces recebidas de suas Divinas, e liberaes
maos, neste seo Naufragio, e Jornada.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 283
[English translation of the foregoing.']
WRECK
OF
THE SHIP SAINT ALBERT
At the Eock of the Fountains, in the year 1593.
The account of the wreck of the Saint Albert at the Rock of
the Fountains, where the Land of Natal commences, and of the
hundred days' journey of the Portuguese who were saved and
travelled overland until they reached the river of Lourenpo
Marques, where they embarked for Mozambique, is of great
importance to our navigators, and very useful as a warning to
them. It teaches them what they should do in a similar case,
what advantageous means of safety they should use, what is
apparently most prejudicial and to be avoided, what precautions
should be taken to reduce loss by sea and render their journey
by land more secure, and how they may disembark with the least
peril.
The cause of the loss of this ship (which is the same in nearly
every case of wreck), and the account of the journey, show what
should be followed and what avoided, what preparations should
be made in view of a march of such length and difficulty, how
the Kaffirs should be treated and communicated with, and by
what means the necessary commerce with them should be carried
on. The barbarous nature and customs of those people are also
exemplified.
That the necessary information upon matters so novel and
important may not be wanting, I have written this brief treatise,
in which I have abridged the contents of a long manuscript
account written by the pilot of the said ship, which I have
corrected and verified by information afterwards given to me by
Nuno Velho Pereira, chief captain of the Portuguese during the
journey.
The ship Saint Albert left Cochin on the 21st of January 1593.
Her captain was Juliao de Faria Cerveira, her pilot Rodrigo
284 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Migueis, and her master Joao Martins. In her there were pas-
sengers for Portugal : Dona Isabel Pereira, daughter of Francisco
Pereira, captain and chief officer of customs in the island of Goa,
a widow who had been the wife of Diogo de Mello Coutinho,
captain of Ceylon, who was accompanied by her daughter Dona
Luiza, a beautiful girl of sixteen ; also Nuno Velho Pereira,
recently captain of Sofala, Francisco Velho, his nephew, Fran-
cisco da Silva, Joao de Valadares de Sotomayor, Dom Francisco
de Azevedo, Francisco Nunes Marinho, Gongalo Mendes de
Vasconcellos, Antonio Moniz da Silva, Diogo Nunes Gramaxo,
captain of the ship St. Luis, of Malaca, which ran ashore in a
port in India, Antonio Godinho, Henrique Leite, Friar Peter of
the Cross, an Augustinian, Friar Pantaleao, a Dominican, and
many others.
The ship pursued her course with favourable weather till she
reached latitude 10 S., where her misfortunes began, for here
she sprang a leak, though not a very large one. It did not
prevent her from following the course for the southern point of
the island of Madagascar, but having reached twenty-seven
degrees a south wind arose which caused the leak to increase.
The ship was sailing on a bowline very near the wind, in order
to keep off the said point, when she gave a forward plunge and
sprang the bowsprit, which was, however, at once repaired. Pro-
ceeding thus, without much trouble with the pump, they came in
sight of the Land of Natal on the 21st of March, in latitude 31i a ;
and keeping along that coast, the latitude next day was found to
be 32.
That evening a westerly wind was blowing from the land, with
which they stood out to sea with only the large sails set, and
in the third watch, without any cause from wind or sea, the ship
began to leak very much, the water rising rapidly in the pump.
Going below to examine the cause, they found that the water
was coming in at the stern under the flooring timbers, a very
dangerous place, where it would be difficult to provide a remedy.
It seemed to the captain and officers that they might get at the
leak by cutting away a portion of the flooring timber, which they
did, and found it. They then began to stop it, for which the pilot
and the master asked a reward from Nuno Velho Pereira, who
promised them one. But this improvement did not last long, for
the water, finding the weak spot that had been made, pressed
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 285
against it with greater force, and entering the ship, increased
rapidly.
This experience shows, and also the case of the ship 8t. Thomas,
which was similar, that every means should be tried to find a
leak except that of cutting away timber, because it is more
necessary to strengthen than to weaken such a place. Though
it may appear a good plan, it afterwards makes matters much
worse, as was seen in the case of both these ships, for if they had
not cut away timbers in the St. Albert and in the St. Thomas, the
water would not have overwhelmed them so, and it being less and
other remedies more successful, one might have reached Mozam-
bique, and the other have been run ashore and not have been
wrecked so far from it.
The officers, seeing the dangerous condition of the ship and
that there were eighteen palms of water in her, determined to
resort to baling and to raise the stern by throwing goods over-
board. Both plans were at once put into execution, the master
opening the main hatch, through which they drew up the water
in kegs, which greatly relieved the ship.
On learning this, some who were attached to the baubles in
their chests, which were brought on deck, hesitated to cast them
overboard, still hoping to save them and themselves as well, but
Nuno Velho Pereira promised, if God brought them safely to
land, to give them instead forty -five quintals of cloves which were
in the ship. This hope of profit was so powerful that the deck
was immediately cleared ; and the peril afterwards increasing,
they threw overboard everything in the bombardiers' quarters
and in the store-rooms, so that the sea was covered with treasures,
most of them thrown away by their owners, to whom they were
now as hateful and valueless as they were formerly beloved and
esteemed.
When it was nearly dawn of the next day, the water was
coming in in such quantities that the chests could not be removed
from the second deck, but they were broken open with hatchets,
and their contents thrown overboard. Though the water waa
drawn out in kegs through the hatches and store-room and the
pumps were used at the same time, no effort availed to reduce it.
They continued at this labour all day, Nuno Velho Pereira, the
captain, the noblemen, and the soldiers working in one place with
great diligence, and the master and seamen in another.
286 Beewds of South-Eastern Africa.
At nightfall the pumps got stopped with pepper, and became
useless. There were now twelve palms of water in the ship,
owing to which many lost courage, and those who did not were
so weary that there was no one to go below to fill the kegs,
though the salvation of the ship depended upon the continuance
of this labour. Nuno Velho Pereira therefore went down into
the lower hold at great risk, hanging to the baling tackle, and
began to fill the kegs. Moved by his example the other noble-
men and the soldiers did the same, and did not cease from these
efforts all that night.
At dawn of the following day they saw the land, as the pilot
had promised the previous afternoon ; the sudden sight of which
gladdened them all and filled them with hope, as if the saving of
their lives was not as doubtful on shore as on the ship, which the
sea was engulfing with great fury.
Seeing land, they occupied themselves with throwing over-
board everything in the after castle and on the poop, and having
thus somewhat relieved the ship, they set the main and sprit
sails to reach the coast more rapidly, being still able to steer,
though it would seem a miracle, for both decks were covered with
water and the chain plates were dragging in it.
Nuno Velho, foreseeing the future need of arms and ammuni-
tion, without which they would as certainly lose their lives on
the land they were approaching as on the sea where they now
were, advised the captain to command all the arms, powder, lead,
and lunt that could be found to be got together, and he ordered
Antonio Moniz da Silva to collect as many guns as he could and
tie them together and put them in a large cask, that they might
be saved in it. This was done, and all these things were placed
on the forecastle, whence they were saved with difficulty when
the pieces of the ship washed ashore.
This precaution and forethought of Nuno Velho was of such
importance that without it there would have been no help for all
the Portuguese, for the Kaffirs were obliged by their fear and
awe of firearms to be friendly, to sell provisions to them, and to
refrain from working their will upon them, those people being
naturally inclined to theft and treachery, as will appear in the
course of this narrative. Thus on similar occasions, and in the
like disastrous circumstances, great care should be taken to
collect the arms, cloth, and copper, for defence and trading, upon
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 287
which so much depends, and everything should be placed on the
forecastle that it may more easily be saved.
Being now near land, by order of the master the carpenters
began to cut away the masts, and in eight and a half fathoms
the rudder striking was displaced, and in eight fathoms the ship
first struck the ground. At once the shrouds were cut, and the
masts fell amid the loud and piteous clamour of all on board.
When the masts fell many rashly threw themselves upon them,
thinking this a sure means of escape from the wreck, but being
still encumbered with part of the rigging, the impetuous waves
which broke against the ship with great fury swept over them,
and all on them had their arms and legs broken and were
drowned.
This evil was balanced by a benefit from the masts unexpected
by the living, (who saw the mournful spectacle from the ship),
for the furious blows which terrified them and which they
expected to overwhelm them proved their salvation by striking
against the ship and breaking it. She grounded between nine
and ten in the morning of the 24th of March, at about four
hundred paces from the shore, and at once broke into two pieces.
The upper deck parted from the lower, which last remained in
the place where the ship struck, and the other drifted towards
the land until very close to it.
On the front part were the captain, the pilot, the master, and
many others. All the rest were upon the poop, with Nuno Velho
Pereira, who accompanied and was much attached to Dona Isabel
and Dona Luiza, and who tried to protect them from the waves
which rolled in between the masts and the poop and broke in
spray over them. He sheltered the ladies with a large camlet
cloak, and stood so as to receive the first shock, which was such,
especially on the poop that was still encumbered with part of the
rigging attached to the masts, that many men were obliged to
lash themselves to some of the fixed timbers to avoid being
washed off. Others, who knew how to swim, fearing that night
would fall before the piece of the ship on which they were should
reach the shore, and that then the masts would either crush them
or force them under so that they would be drowned, jumped into
the sea, and by blows from the wreckage that was tossing about,
and the back current of the huge waves which broke upon the
great and sharp rocks of the shore, many of them perished.
288 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
*
At the fall of night the poop separated from the fore part, to
which it had till then been attached by the fastenings under-
neath. By this it was also freed from the masts, and drifted
straight ashore and grounded. Nuno Velho, fearing that the
currents on that coast, which flow south-west, would carry them
away, when it was nearly low tide directed one of his servants, a
good soldier named Diogo Fernandes, to swim ashore and fasten a
rope by which the piece of the ship could be made secure. The
soldier did this, with a great effort and a better will, and most of
the people on the poop jumped ashore. In the middle of the
night the forecastle part was brought to the poop, which served
as a bridge, and those who were on it got to land. And at the
beginning of the third watch Nuno Velho Pereira and the noble-
men and soldiers who accompanied Dona Isabel and Dona Luiza
drew the poop in by the rope while the tide was rising, and when
it ebbed they landed dry shod.
After they had greeted each other with tearful embraces, they
gave thanks to God for the great mercies He had shown them on
the day of His miraculous incarnation, by delivering them from
the perils of shipwreck and bringing them to this shore. The
latitude of the place is thirty-two degrees and a half south. It is
called by our people the Rock of the Fountains, and by the
negroes Tizombe. The Portuguese, on counting their numbers,
found they were one hundred and twenty-five living and twenty-
eight dead, and slaves a hundred and sixty living and thirty-four
dead.
They spent the rest of the day drying the clothes with which
they had escaped before fires which they made with the timber
that drifted ashore from the wreck, warming themselves from the
severe cold they had endured, and resting from their past labour
and anguish.
Such was the wreck of the ship Saint Albert, caused, not by the
storms of the Cape of Good Hope, as she was lost before reaching
it and in favourable weather, but by careening and overloading,
through which this and many other vessels have been buried in
the depths of the sea. Both these evils are due to the covetous-
ness of the contractors and navigators. The contractors, because
it costs much less to careen a ship than to lay her aground, are
delighted with the Italian invention, which, though it serves
very well in the Levant, where galleys may remain in harbour
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 289
during storms and tempests, and where they put into port every
eight days, in this our ocean is one of the causes of the loss
of ships.
Besides the rotting of the timber caused by being so long in
the water, even though cut at the proper season, it is strained
when a ship is turned over for careening, from the weight of such
large vessels. When a ship is caulked in this way she does not
take the oakum properly, being damp and badly dried, and after-
wards during a voyage, when she is beaten by heavy seas and
buffetted by strong winds, the caulking drops out and the open
seams let in the water, which sinks her. Experience has shown
that when this prejudicial invention was not in use a ship could
make ten or twelve voyages to the Indies, whereas now she
cannot make two.
This evil is increased by the officials who undertake the work,
or get it done by contract, which is a prejudicial system. These,
to spare time when they cannot spare the materials, never finish
anything properly, as is necessary in work of such importance,
and thus leave everything imperfect. If they discover in an old
ship any defects or deficiencies which cannot be remedied with-
out loss to themselves, they conceal them, and hide the damage
so that all appears to be in good order, but the certainty of
shipwreck lurks beneath.
They also fell the timber out of the proper time, which is in
the waning of the January moon, and this causes it to be heavy,
green, and unseasoned. On this account it warps, shrinks, splits,
becomes displaced at the joints, and casts the nails and caulking,
so that the seams gape, and with the dampness of the water
without and the great heat of the pepper and spices within, it
grows rotten and useless on the first voyage ; hence one plank
cut out of season is sufficient to cause the loss of a ship. In this
state the timber of the Saint Albert must have been, for her keel,
which is the chief base and foundation of every ship, was so
rotten that when the fury of the sea dashed it from the spot
where it was aground and washed it ashore, with several pieces
of artillery, Nuno Velho Pereira broke small pieces off it with
a Bengal cane.
The navigators are no less to be blamed for the loss, though it
affects them more closely. They adventure their lives in a ship
which they overload, without distributing the merchandise
II. U
290 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
properly, putting the light goods in the lower part, and the
heavier above, which is contrary to what ought to be done. To
enrich themselves quickly they overload a ship in such a manner
that they exceed her proper cargo, which necessarily makes it
impossible to govern her, and if any of the aforesaid mishaps
occur her timbers part and she goes down. This is so inevitable
that without it the other causes will hardly suffice to bring about
the loss of a ship, but this alone is sufficient. Experience shows
that some old ships, repaired and fitted for sea by careening,
come from India, because they do not carry a full cargo, whereas
new ships with an excess of cargo are lost.
Our people being thus saved from the wreck of the Saint
Albert, the next day, the 26th of March, the captain directed
them to set to work to collect what arms and provisions they
could find, which was immediately done. The master, boatswain,
and all the seamen went to the pieces of the wreck, and the
soldiers searched along the shore. These found three barrels of
powder, and the others twelve guns, several shields and swords,
three caldrons, and a little rice. The powder was entrusted to
the bombardiers, the office of chief-gunner being given to the
most experienced, that they might dry and refine it with a barrel
of vinegar which was washed ashore.
The provisions and arms were placed along the quarters of
Nuno Velho Pereira, all our people watching with great vigilance
to secure themselves from the thefts and assaults of the Kaffirs.
To the same end they entrenched themselves, as well as time and
the site would permit ; and to shelter themselves they made tents
of valuable carpets of Cambaya and Odiaz, of rich quilts, of gun-
joens, chests, and mats from the Maldive islands, which had been
laden in the ship for a very different purpose ; and in these they
took refuge from the cold at night and from the sun by day.
The next day, which was the 27th, they resolved to choose a
chief captain, for which purpose the soldiers named ten electors,
who were the captain Juliao de Faria, Francisco da Silva, Joao
de Valadares, Francisco Pereira Velho, Goncalo Mendes de
Vasconcellos, Diogo Nunes Gramaxo, Antonio Godinho, Fran-
cisco Nunes Marinho, Friar Peter, and Friar Pantaleao ; and the
seamen named the pilot and the master. These were given full
power, and the rest obliged themselves by oath to hold good
their election, and to obey whoever they might appoint.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 291
With one consent they elected Nuno Velho Pereira, on account
of his nobility, prudence, strength, and experience. He objected
to their choice, begging them to give this charge to the captain
Juliao de Faria, who by his parts and his behaviour during the
wreck of the ship had well deserved it, and he promised to assist
him with such counsel as might be desired and could be expected
from his age. They would not accept this refusal of Nuno Velho,
and that he might not persist in it, they declared that if he
would not undertake the command, they were determined to
separate, and pursue their journey disunited and in bands, where
and how they pleased. As this resolution meant the total
destruction of all these people, that it might not be carried out,
putting the public good before his own ease, he accepted and
took the usual oath to fulfil the obligations, the others taking a
similar oath that they would obey him.
It being now late, and the tide low, some of the seamen went
to the wreck with the master, and brought back six guns, twelve
pikes, and three bags of rice, all of which was delivered to Nuno
Velho, who commanded it to be dried, that with what had
previously been recovered it might be equally divided among all.
In order to obtain everything else of value, that night they set
fire to the relics of the ship.
This should always be done in similar cases, that our people
may obtain the nails with which to trade, and that the negroes
may not get them except from their hands, and thus they may
have the necessary value. That which cannot be made use of
should be thrown into the sea when they are not looking, and
where they will not be able to profit by it ; for if the wreck is
left on the shore in a position such as this one was in, when the
Kaffirs come afterwards to trade with cattle, seeing it there, they
will not sell them, but take them back, knowing that they will
soon get possession of the iron for which they were ready to
barter their cows and sheep.
In the morning of the next day Nuno Velho sent the captain
to the shore, and the master with several men to the ship, where
they found three muskets, four guns, two bags of rice, a hogshead
of meat, two of wine, four jars of bread, some oil, and a large
quantity of preserves. After dinner they found a chest belonging
to the chief captain, which contained many gold and silver pieces,
and some small writing desks full of glass rosaries. All these
u 2
292 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
things were given to the captain, who delivered them to Nuno
Velho, and they were put under guard by his command.
Provisions were then served out to the people.
It being now late, the chief of that land, who had heard from
some of his Kaffirs that our people were there, came to visit the
chief captain with about sixty negroes. When he drew near,
Nuno Velho rose and went forward a few steps to receive him,
and the negro, after saluting him, said Nanhata ! Nanhata ! in
sign of peace and friendship. He laid his hand on the chief
captain's beard, and stroking it down, kissed his hand afterwards,
the other savages showing the same courtesy to our people, and
they to them.
This negro was called Luspance. He was of good stature, well
made, of a cheerful countenance, and not very black. He had a
short beard, and long moustaches, and appeared to be about
forty-five years of age.
When these courtesies had passed between Nuno Velho and
the negro, they both sat down upon a carpet, and beside them
were two slaves, one belonging to Manuel Fernandes Grirao, who
understood the language of these Kaffirs and spoke also that of
Mozambique, the other belonging to Antonio Godinho, who spoke
the last named language as well as ours ; and thus through the
medium of these two interpreters they conversed.
Nuno Velho asked the Kaffir what he thought of his soldiers.
He replied that he had a high opinion of them, for their bodies
were fashioned like his, and they were the children of the sun,
being white ; but he would be glad to know how they came there.
Nuno Velho answered this question by saying that they were
subjects of the most powerful king on earth, to whom the whole
of India was obedient and paid tribute, where his viceroy dwelt
to govern it. He was going from India to Portugal, his country,
in a great ship which held all these people and as many more
who had perished ; but the fury of the sea had thrown them on
this coast, where the ship was broken to pieces. At this all the
Kaffirs were lost in wonder.
The king then made them a present of two large sheep of the
Ormuz breed, which were killed at once, and divided among the
people. The negro, seeing them dead, went with one of his
Kaffirs to the place where they were being flayed, and ordered
him to take up some of the refuse from their entrails, which he
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 293
threw into the sea with his own hands, with some ceremony and
words of gratitude that it had brought these Portuguese to his
country, from whose loss he hoped to get great gain; and
therefore he offered the sea this present, as to a friend.
This being done, he returned to Nuno Velho, who invited him
to partake of sweetmeats and wine, which he praised very much,
it seeming to him a very good thing for the stomach, which was
warmed by it. When he was about to leave, the chief captain
gave him a brass basin full of nails and a gilt Chinese writing-
case, with which the negro was much delighted. Taking leave
of him and the other Portuguese with the same ceremonies as on
his arrival, he withdrew, promising to send one of his men the
next day to show them where to find water, of which they already
felt the want. Till that time they had been drinking water from
the barrels washed up on the shore, though it was somewhat
brackish from the mixture of salt water.
The dress of these Kaffirs is a mantle of ox-hide, with the hair
outwards, which they rub with grease to make it soft. They are
shod with two or three soles of raw leather fastened together in a
round shape, and secured to the feet with straps ; in these they
run with great lightness. In their hands they carry the tail of
an ape or a fox fastened to a thin piece of wood, with which they
clean themselves and shade their eyes when observing. This
dress is used by almost all the negroes of Kaffraria, and their
kings and chiefs wear, hanging to the left ear, a copper ornament
made after their own fashion.
These and all other Kaffirs are herdsmen and cultivators of the
ground, by which means they subsist. They cultivate millet,
which is white and the size of a peppercorn ; it is the fruit of a
plant of the size and appearance of a reed. Of this millet, ground
between two stones or in wooden mortars, they make flour, and of
this they make cakes, which they cook among embers. Of
the same grain they make wine, mixing it with a quantity of
water which, when it has fermented in a vessel of clay and has
cooled and turned sour, they drink with great enjoyment.
Their cattle are very fat, tender, well-flavoured, and large, the
pastures being very rich. Most of them are hornless, and the
greater number are cows, in the abundance of which their riches
consist. They use milk and the butter which they make from it.
They live in small villages, in huts made of reed mats, which
294 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
do not keep out the rain. These huts are round and low, and if
any person dies in one of them, the others take it down with all
the rest of the village, and remove to another spot, thinking that
in a place where their neighbour or relation died everything will
be unlucky. And so, to save this trouble, if anyone is ill they
carry him into the thicket that if he is to die it may be out of
the houses. They surround the huts with a hedge, within which
they keep the cattle.
They sleep in skins of animals, in a narrow pit in the ground,
six or seven palms in length and about two deep. They use
vessels of clay dried in the sun, and some of wood carved with
small iron axes, which are like wedges set in a piece of wood ;
with these they also clear the thickets. In war they make use
of assagais, and they employ gelded dogs in size and appearance
like our large curs. They are very barbarous, and worship
nothing : thus they will readily receive our holy Christian law.
They think the sky is another world from this in which we
live, inhabited by a different people, who cause the thunder by
running and the rain by making water. Most of the inhabitants
of this land, from latitude 29 and downwards, are circumcised.
They are very sensual, and have as many wives as they can
maintain, of whom they are very jealous. They obey chiefs whom
they call Inkosis.
The language is the same in nearly all Kaffraria, the difference
being only like that between the different dialects of Italy and
the ordinary dialects of Spain. The people never go far from
their villages, and thus they know and hear nothing except what
concerns their immediate neighbours. They are very mercenary,
and so long as they have not received payment they will serve,
but if payment is made in advance no service is to be expected of
them, for when they have received it they run away.
They value the most necessary metals, as iron and copper, and
for very small pieces of either they will barter cattle, which is
what they esteem most, and with which they trade, exchanging
them for other treasures. They do not prize silver or gold, nor
does there appear to be any of these metals in the country, for
our people saw no signs of them in the parts they traversed.
The above is all they noticed of the dress, customs, ceremonies,
and laws of these Kaffirs, nor could there be more to notice
among so barbarous a people.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 295
The land has products in abundance and is fertile. The
Portuguese saw of plants which they knew : origanum, worm-
wood, ferns, water-cress, pennyroyal, mallows, garden rosemary,
rue, myrtle with large and excellent berries, brambles bearing
fruit, rosemary, blites, wild mint, and aloe shrubs so large that
they were like trees, the leaves being four or five palms in
length, and one in width, from the middle of which there grew
stems with yellow flowers. There were also many plants which
they had never seen except in that country. The trees were very
different from ours, and among them they found some bearing
very small olives, wild olive trees, jujub trees, and fig trees.
There are large and dense forests, in which they never saw
any lions, tigers, or animals of that kind. Of poisonous reptiles
they only met with one large viper, which they killed, several
cobras like our water snakes, and lizards: the rest will be
spoken of in their place. In the rivers, which are numerous,
they saw fish. Anything further of note will be spoken of in its
place, these remarks, applying to Kaffraria in general, being
made here that the particulars in the course of this narrative
may be better understood.
To return to the narrative. In the morning of the next day,
the 29th of March, it seemed necessary to the chief captain to
select officers for the proper government of their little army,
since without this nothing can be preserved for any length of
time. He gave the charge of arranging and dividing it to
Captain Juliao de Faria Cerveira ; Diogo Nunes Gramaxo he
appointed steward, and Joao Martins, the master, treasurer ; and
he ordered that they two and Friar Peter should have charge of
the pieces of gold and silver and other things for trading, and
that when bartering Antonio Godinho should be present, he
being a man of much experience in dealing with Kaffirs, with
whom he had long associated in the rivers of Cuama.
Captain Juliao de Faria then divided the camp into the
principal parts, namely vanguard, main body, and rearguard,
and divided the soldiers into three companies, to keep the
watches, of which Francisco da Silva, Joao de Valadares, and
Francisco Pereira were appointed captains. He also divided the
seamen into three bands, with the pilot, the master, and Custodio
Goncalves, the boatswain, as captains. The arms which had
been collected were given out to the soldiers in proper order.
296 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
They consisted of twelve pikes, twenty-seven firelocks, five
muskets, and swords and shields.
Nuno Velho, foreseeing what would be required for so long a
journey, commanded the bombardiers that after refining the
powder they should put it into some bamboos that were found on
the shore, and that had served instead of buckets on the ship.
These were covered with leather, to keep the powder from the
damp. He ordered that little bags like wallets should be made
to hold the copper of a kettle and six caldrons cut into small
pieces for trading, and other larger sacks of the same pattern to
contain the few provisions saved from the ship.
Nothing else having been saved, except the writing-cases
aforesaid and the chest of Nuno Velho containing seventeen
pieces of gold and twenty-seven of silver, he made a free present
of it to his soldiers, saying that he wished the gift was equal to
the good will with which he offered it to them. He ordered the
pieces to be given to the steward and the treasurer, that when
they reached one of our ports the value of what remained might
be divided among all, as was afterwards done in Mozambique,
where sixteen hundred cruzados, for which it was sold, were
distributed among them all.
These things having been arranged, our people provided
themselves with water, which the negroes showed them in two
places, one along the shore in a pool where there was but little,
and the other behind a hill in some pits on the banks of a river.
This scarcity of water is general along the whole coast of Kaffraria,
and not less so are springs in the interior, but rivers of good
water are abundant, so that springs are not needed.
On the last day of March, they consulted what course they
should take. Though the majority were in favour of travelling
along the shore, Nuno Velho, remembering the wreck of the
St. TJiomas on the land of Furnos in the year 1589, of which he
had read in Goa the account written by Gaspar Ferreira, the
under-pilot, urged that by this example and that of the galleon
St. John, which was wrecked in those parts in the year 1552, it
was shown what hardships, difficulties, and dangers they would
have to encounter, and the hunger, thirst, and sickness which
they would suffer in travelling along the coast of Kaffraria ; and
that their sufferings would surpass those of the other shipwrecked
people, the distance being much greater from the place where
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 297
they were to the river of Lourenco Marques, the first port along
that coast to which the Portuguese resort for trade and barter.
Upon this prudent advice (as was afterwards proved by
experience) they changed their minds, and resolved by common
consent to pursue their journey inland, and avoid the inevitable
hardships of the coast. This being settled, and the captain
having arranged the people in the order in which they were to
march, and the places where they were to keep their respective
guards having been assigned to the soldiers, there came the
same chief who had visited them before, and Nuno Velho asked
him for guides to conduct them to another chief, his neighbour.
He promised to provide them, and sent them when they were
setting out.
The chief captain ordered all to be ready to start the next day,
which was the first of April. During the night there was a false
alarm, and with great zeal and good order the soldiers seized
their arms, and placed themselves at their posts. When the
alarm was quieted, it being daylight, they began their journey,
moving to a valley which was between two mountains, marching
in very good order. Then the guides came with their chief
Luspance, and they brought two cows and two sheep, which they
bartered for three pieces of copper the size of a hand.
The cows, by order of Nuno Velho, were shot with the guns,
as was usually done before the negroes, in order to astonish and
terrify them. To the same end he ordered muskets to be fired at
some empty hogsheads, which were shattered with a loud noise.
The chief, overcome with fear, tried to escape ; but Nuno Velho
took him by the arm and reassured him, and our people did the
same to the other Kaffirs. When they had eaten in company,
the Kaffirs withdrew, to return the next day at the time of setting
out ; but the departure was deferred because it rained heavily in
the night, making it necessary to dry the tents and clothes in
the sun, which was very bright.
The next day, however, which was the 3rd of April, at nine
o'clock the Portuguese left the shore, some of them wounded
during the wreck, among whom was Francisco Nunes Marinho,
who was badly hurt in the leg, and a little negro with a broken
leg, who was left with the Kaffirs and recommended to them. In
return for copper given to them to nurse and maintain him, they
took him in, and lodged him with great show of goodwill. Thus
298 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
were left the pieces of the ship on which they were saved, and.
beneath the waves the riches they had amassed with such
anxiety during a long time, now lost in a single day.
The captain and pilot went in front with one of the guides,,
and the others with their king accompanied Nuno Velho. The
pilot observed the direction of their course upon a sun-dial, and
found that it was N.N.E. The road was level, and over a plain
covered with grass, through which they travelled slowly, it being
their first day's march. At three o'clock they reached a valley,
through which flowed a beautiful streamlet that entered another
river which farther down the vale mixed its fresh water with the
salt water of the sea. In this place the guide called a halt, which
was the first of the journey ; and along the river in thickets of
different colours which were in the valley, the people took
shelter.
The next day, searching along the river, which is the Infante
(the Umtata), for a ford by which to reach the other side, they
came upon two negroes, whom Luspance asked to conduct them
to their chief, for which they would be well paid. The two-
negroes agreed, and for this purpose were presented to the chief
captain, who put two glass rosaries round their necks, with which
they were satisfied. They then showed our people the ford,,
which they crossed with the water to their knees, the tide
being low. In this river there were many hippopotami and
many ducks.
When they reached the other bank, the negroes and the chief
Luspance who had accompanied them from the shore took their
leave, and thereafter they followed the two new guides. These
led them up a hill, thickly wooded, at the top of which they
reached an agreeable plain, bordered on each side with hills
covered with trees. The plain extended to the foot of a high
circular mountain, climbing up the side of which fatigued our
people very much. Therefore on reaching the summit, Nuno
Velho asked the guides if it was far to the spot where they
intended to halt, and on their replying that it was, and that they
could not reach it that night, he ordered that they should go no
farther, but that the people should take shelter, which they did
in a valley into which they descended, where there was plenty of
wood and a streamlet of very good water.
The direction in which they travelled that day and many others
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 299
was still N.N.B. They had marched about two leagues, and the
Kaffirs declared that in this direction they would always find
villages, with provisions, water, and fuel. When the negroes
saw our people encamped, they asked leave of the chief captain
to return to their village that night, and said they would bring
some cows next morning. He gave them leave, and promised
that the cows should be well paid for.
The Kaffirs kept their word, and returned in the morning with
eight cows, for which they were given pieces of copper worth
about two cruzados. That day they journeyed through rich
meadow lands, covered with long grass, and crossed by many
streams ; and at sunset they encamped on the bank of a river,
thickly wooded, where they killed two of the cows which they
had bought. The meat was equally divided among all, as was
done during the whole of this journey. In this place our people
buried two muskets, by order of Nuno Velho, because they were
very heavy, a great encumbrance, and little needed. There was
much rain in the night, for it was the beginning of winter in
those southern parts, the month of April there corresponding
with that of October in these our northern lands. An old Indian
woman, the captain's slave, remained in this place, being unable
to continue the journey.
As our people were very wet, they could not go far the next
day, though the ground was very good and level, with a few low
hills, and abounding with pasture and water. Though the negro
village was not far off, according to report, the rain came on so
heavily that they did not go over the river, which was well
supplied with wood, but remained upon its bank.
On the following morning, the 7th of April, when all the
people had eaten, which they did at dawn that they might travel
all day, they began their march over a good level road. Coming
in sight of some negroes' houses, which were those of the guides
who accompanied them, these, fearing our people would injure
their crops of millet, which surrounded the houses, left the road,
and guided them where there was no grain. The chief captain
noticing this, inquired the cause, and on learning it ordered a
halt and issued a proclamation that no one should touch anything
belonging to these Kaffirs, under pain of death. They, learning
this from the interpreter, were amazed, and laughing returned to
the road. Our people encamped close to their houses, and bought
800 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
a little millet from them for the slaves ; and one of them went
to visit his chief, who was not far off.
The next day, travelling over level ground with rich and
abundant pasture, our people reached the village of this king at
eleven o'clock, and found him waiting for them upon the road,
with four negroes in his company. They were amazed at seeing
white men, but being reassured by the negroes who accompanied
our people, they drew near, and their chief approached the chief
captain, using the same ceremony as Luspance. Laying his hand
upon his beard, and finding it soft and smooth, and his own
rough and woolly, he laughed heartily. He accompanied Nuno
Velho, and his followers accompanied our people, who continued
on their way, leaving the village behind them. The negro
ordered three cows to be brought, for which they gave him nine
small pieces of copper.
At four in the afternoon they encamped where there was wood
and water, and the chief having taken his leave, they killed three
cows, which were equally divided among the people, as usual.
In the country through which they had travelled they found
ducks, partridges, quails, doves, herons, sparrows, and crows.
Four of our slaves remained in this place, three negroes, and one
from Malabar.
The next day, the 9th of April, after travelling a short distance
they came to a village consisting of a few houses around a kraal,
in which there were about a hundred cows and a hundred and
twenty very large sheep of the Ormuz breed. Here lived an old
man with his sons and grandsons, who with great surprise and
joy received our people, and brought them gourds full of milk
which they got ready in haste. They bought four cows from
him, for copper which was worth about four pence.
Continuing on their way, they met five negroes, among whom
was the brother of the Kaffir guide to whom the chief Luspance
had entrusted them. He, hearing of his brother's coming, went
in search of him, and presented him to the chief captain, telling
him of the relationship between them. Nuno Velho received
him very politely, and he made much of him with their usual
ceremony. This negro was named Ubabu, he was of medium
stature, well made and proportioned, not very black, and of a
cheerful appearance.
It being midday, Nuno Velho commanded the pilot to take
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 301
the altitude of the sun with the astrolabe which was saved from,
the wreck, that they might know their present latitude. The
pilot having done so, found that they were in 32 6' south lati-
tude, by which reckoning according to the course they had taken
they had travelled ten leagues in eight days and a half, which
they did not think inconsiderable, considering their encum-
brances, not the least of these being Dona Isabel and her
daughter Dona Luiza, whom the slaves of the chief captain bore
on their shoulders in Indian cloths arranged like the hammocks
of Brazil, which in Cuama are called machiras.
At four in the afternoon they reached the village of the negro
Ubabu, who made our people sit down near his house, and with
every mark of satisfaction showed them his cattle, which were
very tame. They consisted of about two hundred cows, most of
them without horns, but those with horns were larger than the
others. They also saw a herd of two hundred large sheep. In
order to show his satisfaction at entertaining them, he sent for
his wives, who were seven in number, and three daughters and
several sons. He told the women to dance, and they, clapping
their hands and singing, there rose up about sixty negroes of the
village who were sitting round looking at our people, and began
to jump and dance to the same sound.
Nuno Velho declared himself satisfied with the entertainment,
and asked the treasurer for some glass beads threaded on silk,
which he gave to the children (as he did all through the journey),
and three chessmen tied to silk ribands which he threw round
the necks of the three daughters of Ubabu, at which the brothers
and father were much gratified, and they promised Nuno Velho
four cows in return. Then he and the rest went and encamped
near the village, along the bank of a river where wood was not
wanting.
The next day the negro, inflamed by covetousness which he
had hitherto concealed, besides putting them off all the morning
with pretexts and pretences when they asked for the four cows he
had promised, demanded of Nuno Velho a caldron in exchange
for them, and, as if sulking because he would not give it, went
and sat down near his house with his family. The chief captain
determined to win the negro with kindness, and accompanied by
fifteen arquebusiers and the interpreters, he went to him, and
with friendly words conducted him to his tent, where he treated
302 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
him with sweetmeats and wine. Here he again referred to the
matter of the cows, and the negro demanded for three a brass
candlestick which he had in his hand, at which Nuno Velho grew
weary of him, and commanded the people to set out, saying that
he would pftnish this Kaffir if he did not remember the kindness
of his brother (who was called Inhancosa) and the obligation he
was under to him.
This negro was absent, having gone to his house, which was at
a distance from the camp, and when he returned and heard what
had passed, he interceded for his brother Ubabu, and to excuse
him said that he must be mad. He offered to accompany Nuno
Velho as far as the road which ran behind an ascent at the back
of the houses. On arriving at that place, he sent his little son
for a cow, which he presented that afternoon. Here the people
encamped on the thickly wooded bank of a river, and Inhancosa
wished to depart, promising that he would return the next day ;
but Nuno Velho would not permit him to do so until he left
another negro as hostage.
The next day, which was Palm Sunday, they changed the
order of their march, the chief captain going first, because he
walked slowly and most of the people could keep up with him. '
Guided by the negro who had taken the place of Inhancosa, they
passed near a village, from which at the summons of the Kaffir
some people came to sell a cow after they had camped where
there was wood and water. Our people kept the cattle which
they bought where they could guard them, and when they
encamped they placed them in the middle, and watched them
carefully all night, that they might not be stolen by the Kaffirs.
If the latter were surprised at the difference of colour and
dress of our people, their cattle were not less so, for they would
run towards the Portuguese from a great distance, sniffing the
air as if amazed at such a novelty. The negroes were also
watched (in secret), that they might not leave after they were
paid, for it is their custom to run away as soon as anything is
given to them.
The musketeers being wearied by the muskets, and these being
unnecessary, it seemed proper to Nuno Velho Pereira and the
captain that they should be thrown into the river, which was
done with the consent of all. Then they journeyed on over a
stony road, where Kaffirs brought them milk in exchange for
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 303
pieces of nails, which made the day's journey short ; and when
they were encamped, other Kaffirs came and bartered three cows
for copper worth about two testoons. One of them offered to
accompany our people, and Nuno Velho ordered the lid of a silver
salt-cellar to be given to him.
The dress of these negroes is similar to that of the negroes of
Tizombe, but they wear red beads in their ears, which the others
do not. Nuno Velho asked the Kaffir to whom he gave the lid
where these were obtained, and he saw from their appearance
that they came from the land of the Inhaca, who is king of the
people living by the river of Lourenfo Marques. These beads
are made of clay of all colours, of the size of a coriander seed.
They are made in India at Negapatam, whence they are brought
to Mozambique, and thence they reach these negroes through the
Portuguese who exchange them for ivory.
The next day, before they had left the camping place, there
came a son of a chief who was close by, with twenty-eight negroes
in his company, round whose neck Nuno Velho hung the key of
a writing case with a silver chain. The Kaffir showed great
delight, and in the hope of getting something further said that
his father had sent him to see the strange people, and that he
would be glad if they would pass through his village, even if it
were a little out of their way. Nuno Velho answered that they
must keep to their course, but that they might meet upon the
road. Upon which the negro and his company took their leave,
and the other negro with great dissimulation went off with them,
taking the silver lid with him.
Our people being thus left without a guide, it was necessary
for the pilot to undertake that duty, by command of the chief
captain. This he did, and by means of the needle of the sun-dial
directed the course to the north-east, as had hitherto been the
route. Whenever afterwards a guide was wanting he performed
this duty, though he was often ill and suffering much pain, but
he bore up against it with great courage (having shown no less at
the time of the wreck), and fulfilled this obligation, guiding his
companions over those lands never seen or visited by them or
other Portuguese before.
Climbing a mountain which was near the camping place, they
came upon a good road, where many negroes brought a quantity
of milk, of which they gave a leather bag full, containing half
304 Becords of South-Eastern Africa.
an almude, for three or four pump nails. At sunset they reached
a large river, which the pilot thought to be one of the three
marked in that latitude on the charts, of which they had already
passed the Infante, which is the first, in which they saw the sea-
horses, and they thought from the latitude this must be the third,
which is called the St. Christopher, and their journey having
been inland, they did not come across the central one, which is
not very large.
This river was deep, and its current was very strong ; but
seeing that some cattle crossed it farther up than where they
were, they forded it in that place, though with trouble and fear
lest the current should carry away any of the sick and weak.
All, however, reached the other side in safety, where they camped
that night, and by the large fires which they made they warmed
themselves and dried their clothes, that were wet with the
passage.
The next day, following the course laid down by the pilot by
a good road with villages along it, from which the people came
to sell milk and a fruit resembling our water-melons, which the
Kaffirs call mabure, about eleven o'clock, the sun being very hot,
they rested beside a river shaded with trees. Here there came a
negro, accompanied by many others driving some hundred cows
before them, and as it appeared by his person and suite that he
was of higher rank than any of the chiefs /previously met, Nuno
Velho ordered a carpet to be spread outside the camp, where he
received him.
After saluting each other according to the custom of the
country, the negro inquired who were these Portuguese, where
they came from, and where they were going to. Nuno Velho
replied that they were subjects of the powerful king of Spain,
and he was their captain, that the sea (which the negroes call
Manga) had cast them upon this land as they were going to their
own country in a ship, and they were travelling through it in
order to reach that of the Inhaca, where they would find a vessel
to take them back to the place from which they started. Nuno
Velho asked him for guides and provisions, both of which the
negro supplied. The guides were two of his sons, with two other
negroes who accompanied them, and the provisions were two
cows.
When he approached Nuno Velho hung round his neck a
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 305
pestle which weighed about four pounds, and he also gave him
a small kettle and some glass beads. To three of his sons he
gave three rosaries. This negro seemed to be about eighty
years of age, his name was Vibo, and he was tall and very black.
At two o'clock he took leave of the chief captain, his two sons
remaining with our people as guides.
They conducted the party over a very level country, and at
sunset they halted and encamped under some large trees, which
were in a field close to a village. Here the two brothers
obtained permission to withdraw, leaving the other two negroes
in their place, but these also took their departure the next day,
fearing the unpopulated desert.
On the 15th of April, being Maundy Thursday, they set out
before sunrise, journeying over beautiful plains with abundant
pasture. They crossed two rivulets, near one of which they
remained an hour, and encamped at the next. Here they killed
two cows, which were sparingly divided, reserving the remaining
two for the desert country through which, according to the
negroes, they were to travel the next three days.
When our people were quiet after encamping, several pious
persons erected an altar between two rocks, upon which they
placed a crucifix with two lighted candles. Before it Friar
Peter recited the litany, and afterwards preached a sermon
suitable to the occasion, which was listened to with no less tears
than it was preached with devotion.
The next three days they journeyed through the desert
country. On the first day, which was Good Friday, at eleven
o'clock they came to a marsh, where there was only a little
muddy water and less shade ; but at four in the afternoon they
passed over a large running river, with the water to their knees,
and camped upon the other side. As their provisions were but
scanty, they availed themselves of certain roots which they
gathered on the way, resembling those found between Douro and
Minho and called there nozelhas, which were very sweet and
not unlike small turnips.
As the slaves of Nuno Velho Pereira were very weary with
carrying Dona Isabel and Dona Luiza, he begged the master to
arrange with some of the seamen to carry these ladies. The
master with the pilot's influence succeeded in arranging the
matter, and they bargained with sixteen ships' boys to carry
II. X
306 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
them as far as the river of Lourenco Marques for a thousand
cruzados, which Nuno Velho promised, and for which he was
security ; and he paid that amount for them in Mozambique.
On the eve of Easter, very early and in a heavy dew they
ascended a hill, and after sunrise they climbed others, which
tired our people very much, most of them being barefoot, the
shoes being already worn out, and a pair being now worth ten
cruzados. Thus ascending and descending (but always following
the same direction) they took their siesta under the shade of a
dense thicket, through which ran a river that they crossed with
the water to their ankles.
While they were resting here, a negro appeared, with two
women. They sent the interpreter to him, who brought him
to Nuno Velho (but leaving the women at some distance), and
he asked him to be their guide, promising to pay him well.
But the Kaffir excused himself, because of the women under his
charge, saying that had he been alone he would have done as
desired. Nuno Velho having given him a nail, he retired well
satisfied. Not so our people, finding themselves in this desert
country, through which they continued their journey until
sunset, and then encamped at the foot of a mountain where there
was wood and water.
On Easter morning they climbed the mountain, finding certain
roots on their way which resembled carrots in the leaf and in
taste, and in the thicket they found a fruit which was somewhat
sour and resembled our unripe fruit, by means of which they
felt their want of provisions less. They sheltered themselves
from the heat on a height in the shade of some trees, and it
being midday the pilot measured the altitude of the sun, and
by his reckoning found that they were in south latitude thirty-
one degrees. He immediately informed Nuno Velho Pereira and
the rest of the company of this fact, and all rejoiced at the
good news. But their joy did not last long, for resuming their
journey and climbing another mountain in hope of discovering
some village, nothing met their sight but vast and desert plains,
at which they were discouraged and saddened.
They encamped that night in a spot where there was wood and
water, and here they resolved that next morning they would
send ,four men to a height which was on the south of tln-ir
halting place, and four others to another height which was to
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 307
the north, to see if they could discover any village. And in the
meanwhile the rest would proceed to a valley which seemed to
be about half a league distant, in which they could see a large
river, and there await the explorers.
In the early morning the appointed explorers set out, and
when the sun was high the camp removed to the spot which
had been decided on the night before. At ten o'clock the
four men who had gone south returned without word of any
village, and at eleven came the others, who were Antonio
Godinho, Goncalo Mendes de Vasconcellos, Simao Mendes, and
Antonio Moniz, singing. When they came to the chief captain
they said that from the height to which he had sent them they
had seen people in a valley not far off, and many cattle
grazing.
All rejoiced at these desired tidings, and when the heat of
the day was past they began their journey up the bank of the
river, seeking a ford, which they found, and crossed to the other
side with the water to their knees. Then they climbed a
mountain, on the skirts of which they killed a hare, resting
three times on the way up, and from the summit they saw the
people and cattle which had been observed by the four explorers,
and which, as it was now late, were gradually moving towards
the village. It seemed advisable to Nuno Velho Pereira to send
some men there, and he therefore ordered the master, with
Antonio Godinho and an interpreter, to proceed to it, accompanied
by three soldiers, who were Gonpalo Mendes, Antonio Monte iro,
and Simao Mendes.
These men then set out, and the rest of the party kept under
cover of the hills, and encamped in a valley close to some rocks,
that they might not be discovered by the Kaffirs and frighten
them by their numbers. The master and his companions, after
they had walked about a league and a half, it being already
night, came to a house, and standing at some distance from it,
the interpreter called out and asked leave to enter. A negro,
who was within with his wife and children at the fire, put
it out that they might not be discovered in case they were
enemies who called, and then, coming out, asked who was there,
for he knew it was not a native of that country, from the
different pronunciation of the words.
The interpreter replied that they were men he would be
x 2
308 Records of Soutli-Eastern Africa.
pleased to see and converse with. The Kaffir, however, not
trusting what he said, told him to come alone and leave the
others where they were. He did so, and when the two negroes
had conversed, and he in the house heard from the other that
his companions came in peace, he said they might enter. The
interpreter called them, and they were well received by the Kaffir
and his wife, who gave them milk and fire, which they relit. The
master presented to their hostess a glass rosary, with which she
was very pleased, and she was much amazed to see that our
people exactly resembled the negroes, except in colour.
The husband for a piece of copper sold them a lamb, which
they killed at once and put to roast. As they were beginning to
eat, with no lack of good-will, there came three negroes, and
then six more, and though they sat down and reassured our
people, their supper did not taste so good as it would have
done without this company. Having finished it hastily and in
dread, they took leave of the Kaffirs, saying that they wished
to return to their captain and give him information concerning
them. This they did as soon as they arrived at the camp,
which was at dawn.
All rejoiced at what had occurred, and still more at the
certainty of there being a village, to profit from which they at
once proceeded on the road, which was very good. At nine
o'clock they halted at the foot of a mountain, where there were
three Kaffir houses near a river. The Kaffirs immediately
brought milk, which they exchanged for the customary tacks.
The chief of that country, named Inhancunha, hearing of the
arrival of our people, came to visit the chief captain, and was
received and entertained by him on a carpet. He gave him a
glass rosary, a piece of coral, and a brass thimble from the end
of an umbrella, with which the negro was extremely delighted.
He promised the guides that were asked for, and made Nuno
Velho a present of a cow, which, with six others that were
bought from him that morning, were killed and divided among
them all, as provision for two days. In the afternoon ten more
were obtained in exchange for pieces of copper. When the sun
had set Inhancunha took leave of Nuno Velho, to wait for him in
his village, which was on the summit of the mountain.
The next day they did not continue their journey, that the
people might rest from past hardship ; but they bought four
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 309
more cows and much milk and millet. It being known in the
surrounding villages that our people had not gone, many negroes
and negresses came to see them, and ten of the slaves remained
with them, fearing other deserts such as they had passed
through.
Nuno Velho, knowing how important it was to preserve what
copper, iron, and cloth there was in the camp, to exchange for
provisions and to pay guides, and that it was necessary to
keep some to present to the kings and chiefs of the country
through which they passed, hearing that some men were buying
provisions without order of the steward and treasurer, which
altered the price thereof and diminished the articles necessary
for trading, ordered an inventory to be made of all the copper,
iron, and cloth which they had. He obliged all to declare what
they had upon oath, and to deliver the same to the said officials,
that everything might be equally divided, and by being frugal,
articles for trade might not be wanting when they were most
needed.
The next day after sunrise they ascended the mountain, on the
summit of which the chief Inhancunha was waiting, and he gave
the chief captain two Kaffirs as guides, and three to herd the
fourteen cows which our people had with them. It was two
o'clock when they descended the mountain and reached a level
country covered with great trees that bore a yellow fruit of the
size of white plums, and somewhat sour in taste. Of these they
ate, and carried away many, all off the same tree, and it was so
laden with fruit that it seemed as if none had been gathered.
Having passed these trees, and journeyed a little farther, it was
time to halt, so they let the cattle loose in a field of abundant
grass, and the people encamped under the surrounding trees,
water not being wanting from a river which ran by them.
The next day, the 23rd of April, our people removed from this
spot, driving the cattle before them, and passing through many
villages, the inhabitants of which bartered milk and millet for a
few tacks and glass beads. They climbed other hills, which tired
our people very much, and at eleven o'clock they crossed a river,
the water reaching to their thighs, and took their siesta on the
other bank. When the heat was somewhat abated they resumed
their journey. The land was not level, but was thickly populated,
the soil being more fertile and richer than that of the country
310 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
which they had previously traversed. The negroes call it
Ospidainhama. In the woods there are sweet-smelling pinks,
both pink and red, exactly resembling those of Portugal, except
in the stalks, which are longer. At sunset they encamped near
a small village where they had wood and water, which latter was
not wanting from the heavens as well, for in the night there was
a severe thunderstorm from the west, with heavy rain.
Opposite the encampment there was a high mountain, which
they climbed the following morning, and from which they went
down into a plain covered with villages. Over this they
journeyed till eleven o'clock, when they came to a river flowing
among rocks that formed caves, in the shadow of which our
people passed the heat of the day. Here many negroes came to
see them from the villages, with women and children, and
entertained them with singing and dancing. They were nearly
all Fulos, good-looking and well disposed. Their dress was the
same as that of the Kaffirs of Tizombe, but they do not make so
much use of the ceremony of placing the hand on the beard. In
exchange for a few tacks they gave a quantity of milk and cakes
of millet, which they call sincoa. When the sun was declining
our people left this river, and journeying over the same plain,
reached another, near which they encamped that night under
some large trees without fruit. They had twenty-two cows with
them.
The next day they left this river, and began to climb a
mountain, which was the first real mountain of the journey, and
on the summit, which they reached at nine o'clock, there was a
village. Thence they descended to a plain, on which they
marched past numerous Chouses, until they reached a great river
containing many hippopotami. This river, according to the state-
ments of the negroes, was the same that they had left in the
morning, which winds through the country with many curves.
Our people encamped close to it, and the negroes bartered six
cows for a large gimlet and some pieces of copper which weighed
about a pound.
One of these Kaffirs talked apart with the interpreter, seeing
which the pilot asked what had passed between them. He
answered that the negro told him not to follow the path they
were then pursuing, for it was old and had fallen into disuse, and
along it there were many unpopulated mountains extending to a
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 311
great distance. He said that it would be better for them to take
another road, which ran along a mountain close by, and which
was not so solitary and rugged as the one they were on. It
seemed proper to the pilot to follow the advice of the negro,
more especially as the path pointed out was in the direction of
his course, so he conferred with Nuno Velho, reporting to him
all that had passed between the negroes.
The chief captain left the choice of the road to the pilot.
Though they asked the Kaffirs for guides and promised liberal
payment, none would undertake the task, fearing the unpopulated
country which they had to pass through. Therefore to prepare
for the journey next day, that night they killed two cows, which
were divided among all. Twenty-six remained, which were now
so tame that any Portuguese could take care of them.
At dawn they began their journey along the mountain, and to
get round it they went towards the east. The negroes call it
Moxangala. It is very fertile and cool, and water is so abundant
that during the two days which our people journeyed along it
they crossed twenty-three streams, of which three were very large.
They crossed several that day, but at four in the afternoon they
reached the foot of a height, where they encamped. Four
negroes, who had come in the morning to see our people as
something marvellous, accompanied them to this place. The
principal man among them, who was called Catine, presented
some milk to the chief captain, for which he paid with a
chessman tied to a thread of white silk, which he hung round
his neck.
These Kaffirs assured them that the road was right, and Nuno
Velho asking them to guide him, they promised to do so if the
pay was equal to the labour of traversing unpopulated parts.
They did not disagree upon this, for they were shown a brass
candlestick, and declared themselves satisfied. They remained
with our people that night, and next day they sent two of their
number for some cows to barter.
After this, when marching along the mountain, one of the
negroes who went for the cows was observed on a height without
them, upon which Catine fled. Our people laid hands upon the
other, who was called Noribe, and he, finding himself a prisoner,
cried out in fear and terror to the others, who consoled him
from afar. He was quieted, however, by good words and gifts,
3 1 2 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
one being the candlestick promised to his companion, and he
consented to guide them thus bound. Continuing along the
mountain, and passing the heat of the day in the shade of some
rocks among which a river ran, they journeyed in the afternoon
towards the north-east, and at sunset they passed the end of the
mountain, and came to a river which ran through a large forest
with great fury. They encamped beside it, and furnished
themselves with the necessary provisions for two days.
They crossed the river on some large stones which were in it,
and journeying over level ground, they came to another mountain
which extended from the east towards that of Moxangala, which
they had just passed. Between the two was a valley, which led
directly north-east. Our people travelled the whole length of
the valley, and then climbed the other mountain, on the summit
of which their guide escaped: from the turban by which Nuno
Velho Pereira led him bound. With a great leap he cleared a
brook, and fled, running with great agility.
Our people were left without a guide, and after they had
descended from the place where they were, and had climbed
another mountain which was all of stone, they lost the path they
had been following. Here they saw a plain with abundant
pasture, and at the end of it there were two large hills between
two mountains. As these hills were to the north-east, and as it
seemed that between them the road must pass, the pilot com-
manded that they should travel towards them. They did so, and
beyond the hills finding a river which flowed by a large rock,
they encamped there, but had no wood, which was very necessary,
because there was a thunderstorm and rain in the night.
At dawn they crossed the river by means of stones which were
in it, the water reaching to their knees. The ground on the
other side was level, and on both sides were high hills covered
with large green trees. The river made many windings through
the country, so that they crossed it five times that day. At
eleven o'clock they took shelter from the heat in the shadow of
high rocks, and when the sun had declined, they continued their
journey, and encamped on a large rock where there were a few
trees, not finding a better place ; and here they passed the night,
with great wind and rain.
On the last day of April in the morning they climbed a
mountain which was near the camp, and on its summit followed
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 313
level ground, until they crossed a large river, which flowed
between two mountains. Our people climbed one of them in
hope of discovering a village, but they were far from any, and
disappointed at not seeing one, they descended again by a path
which led to a valley, where they encamped at three o'clock,
because there was wood and water.
The next day, the first of May, they entered a wood which was
near the camp, so high, thick, and close overhead that though
the day was very windy and rainy, as the night had been, within
it they could not feel anything, and were sheltered as if in
houses. They encamped near a river which ran through it,
resolved to go no farther that day, as the wind, rain, and cold
made travelling impossible.
At midday, however, there was an opportunity of measuring
the altitude of the sun, and the pilot found that they were in
latitude 29 53'. This knowledge alleviated their present hard-
ships and caused Nuno Velho Pereira and the rest of the company
to rejoice. The pilot also affirmed that they had passed the
rugged and wooded part of the country, and that therefore the
weak should make an effort to travel on, and they would reach
the river of Lourenpo Marques at the end of June, which was the
time when the trading vessels sailed for Mozambique. Eodrigo
Miguels founded his opinion (with good reason) on the latitude
being that of the end of the land of Natal, which is higher than
that of any other part of the coast, and in consequence there is
in this locality intense cold at sea and still more violent
thunderstorms.
These ceased in the morning, and the weather cleared, there-
fore they broke up the camp, and leaving the forest, travelled
towards a small hill, from which they descended to level ground.
Thence they reached some hills, and having passed these, our
people rested on the summit of a mountain, where they found
water, as well as in the valleys. Here they left a dying
Portuguese named Alvaro da Ponte, who was very ill, and had
been carried on the shoulders of his companions, with great
charity, for three or four days; but the recent cold weather
reduced him to the last extremity. Friar Peter left him already
speechless with two slave men and a female slave of Dona
Izabel, who were in the same condition. With this comrade the
less, our people went forward after the heat of the day through
314 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
an extensive valley, where they found a large river, near which
they encamped, it being almost night. From this place the
pilot, seeing that to the north and north-east there lay great and
high mountains covered with snow, resolved to lead them east-
north-east, which he did during the next day's journey.
This proved very laborious, as they climbed many hills, and
then they came to a mountain. Two men went to its summit to
see if there were any signs of a village, but returned without
tidings of any, though they reported that they had seen four
columns of smoke to the east-north-east The people were some-
what cheered by this, thinking that these were signs of habita-
tion in the direction in which they were journeying ; but they
could only have been caused by hunters, for the smoke from
these negro villages is so slight that it can hardly be perceived in
a house in which there is a fire. Therefore keeping in the same
direction, they encamped on low ground near a river, where there
was no lack of wood, after having passed between two mountains,
and descended into the valley through which it flowed.
Next day, in a heavy fall of dew, they climbed a small hill
v covered with such thick high grass that they could not see each
other, and were obliged to hold it back to make way for them-
selves. From this hill, after descending to the level ground,
they came to the largest and deepest river they had yet met with.
It ran from north to south. The pilot and a companion went
down the bank, and two others went up it, seeking a ford ; but
they could discover no better place for passing than that where
the company had halted, for there it formed an island, and the
water, being thus separated into two arms, was more scattered
and flowed less furiously.
They all therefore resolved to ford it at that place. Two men
entered first with pikes in their hands, the water reaching to
their chests, and then they returned to show their comrades the
way. It was arranged that the strong should enter the water,
and extend pikes from one to the other, by which the weak and
the women could cross as if holding to a balustrade. The sick
were carried on the shoulders of their companions, with great
charity, and in the hammocks of Dona Izabel, who with her
daughter entered the river and crossed holding to the arms of
Francisco da Silva and Joao de Valadares, and the chief captain
crossed in the same way.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 315
This passage occupied the whole day. Having reached the
other bank, where the cattle were already, having easily crossed
the river, they made large fires, at which they dried and warmed
themselves. Spreading their tents under some great trees, they
took shelter for that night, having gathered in the woods in the
afternoon many jujubes and myrtle-berries.
There was a mountain opposite the camp, which they climbed
when it was morning, and having passed this and others, they
rested in the shade of some trees, refreshing themselves with a
kind of water-melon which they found here, and that seemed
more delicious owing to the sight of three negroes whom our
people perceived upon a height. Nuno Velho Pereira sent one
of his slaves to them, who through intercourse had now learned
the language. He returned with them and presented them, and
they saluted, saying Alada ! Alada ! a different salutation from
that used by the others.
They gave the desired information of a village, saying that it
was close by, and one of them then went to call eight of his
companions whom he had left behind the hill. They all returned,
and journeying in our people's company, (the heat being past),
asked them since it was late and they could not reach the village
that night, if they would halt at their houses? This seemed
advisable to the chief captain, and therefore the negroes guided
them to a deep valley covered with a thorny thicket, and as it
did not seem that the place could be inhabited except by wild
beasts, our people were upon their guard and prepared their
arms, fearing some treachery. Nevertheless they followed the
Kaffirs, and between some high sharp rocks, along which a river
flowed, they saw six houses in which these barbarians lived with
their wives; and close to these they encamped, keeping their
customary watch.
The negroes, seeing that they could not carry out their
purpose, which was to steal some of the cattle and whatever else
they could, this and the spoils of hunting being their means
of livelihood in that desert place, and fearing they might be
discovered and punished, fled during the night with their wives,
taking with them a little millet which was still in the ear, and
leaving nothing in their houses but traps and snares for birds.
It being clear day when it was discovered that they were missing,
after seeking them that they might show the way, Nuno Velho
316 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
commanded the pilot to guide them, as he always did on such
occasions.
He directed them to take their course to the east, and having
travelled a long way without finding any village, by order of the
chief captain some men went to two heights which lay to the
east and north-east of the place where they were, but none of
them could discover what they so ardently desired. The
impatient among them now began to murmur, finding fault with
this journey into the interior and desert parts, and loudly
demanding to be led to the sea. The pilot and the master
pointed out that their present course towards the east was the
nearest way to the sea, which being confirmed by Nuno Velho,
they were appeased. Striking the camp, and still keeping to
the east, they came to a continuous path, along which they
journeyed leisurely until night, when they encamped on the
bank of a river, where there was much grass and very little
wood.
The contrary was the case at their next halting place, which
was under a grove of high trees, without water, having journeyed
all the morning along a good and continuous path, which they
lost in the afternoon in a valley, but found another a little before
they encamped upon a height, after having climbed others and
seen two negroes in the distance while they were resting at mid-
day, who fled when they observed our people.
This stage brought them to the end of the uninhabited parts,
which they traversed in fourteen days ; and to make the journey
less whoever passes through this Kaffraria when they are in
latitude thirty degrees should travel east-north-east, for in this
direction they will cross less desert and will sooner come to the
inhabited country. Our people entered it on the 8th of May, so
well provided with provisions that they forgot the want of them
in the desert, for they lived upon cows, and of the twenty-seven
which they had at the commencement they reached this place
with twelve remaining.
In the morning of this day they continued their journey, in
which they met four negroes who had seen our people long before
and were watching them, fearing the injury they might do them
by their number, and not daring to approach. Therefore Nuno
Velho sent Antonio God mho and Antonio the interpreter to the
four who showed themselves, and for pieces of copper which were
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 317
given to them, three remained while the other went to call about
fifty who were hidden behind the hill. They all came to the
camp, and the principal men among them conversing with Nuno
Velho gave him long accounts of the fertility and population of
the country.
There being a question of buying provisions where the road
divided into two leading to two villages, a difference arose among
the Kaffirs as to which of them our people should visit first.
Nuno Yelho appeased them by giving to the chief of the four
who were first met a tambaqua ring which he took from the
finger of Goncalo Mendes de Vasconcellos, and promising that he
would buy cows from them all, beginning with those who were
nearest, who were the fifty that had come at the call of the first
four. Singing and dancing, they guided our people still to the
east-north-east, and coming to a valley with many trees and
water, as it was late and the village about half a league farther
on, they made their camp.
It did not seem too far for the negroes, for they brought a
quantity of millet, cakes made of the flour of a grain resembling
our millet in size and colour, which they call ameixoeira, beans,
a vegetable called jugo, which is of the size of small beans, also
milk and butter, which they exchanged for a few tacks and
pieces of nails. Among these barbarians were some youths
dressed in reeds fashioned like mats, which is the attire of a
young noble before he bears arms or has female assoriates^which
is generally at the age of twenty-two and upwards, [jhese
people are all good-looking, blacker than those met before, more
truthful, and they had no dogs in their company like the others."
At two o'clock in the morning a negro came to see the chief
captain, he was called Inhanze, the son of the king of that country,
and he brought a present of a cow with a fairly- worded message
from his father, saying that the king being in. one of his villages
at a little distance from the camp had heard of his arrival, at
which he was much pleased, and as it was late and time that he
should rest from the labour of his journey, he did not come to
visit him then, but would do so in the morning. Nuno Velho
Pereira replied with words of thanks, and gave him a piece of
copper the size of a hand and a large nail, with which Inhanze
withdrew well satisfied.
It seemed to Nuno Velho that in order to recover themselves
318 Eeeords of South-Eastern Africa.
from the fatigue of their journey and gain fresh strength to
pursue it, as well as to buy a large number of cows, it would be
well to rest for two days in the valley in which they were
encamped. The negroes of the vicinity, on learning this, brought
for sale a grain like canary seed, which they call nechinim and
of which they make flour, sesame, millet, milk, butter, hens, and
sheep, all in such quantities that no cows were killed, and enough
was left over for the slaves, there being no one else in the camp
who would buy anything more. In these two days they obtained
also in barter for copper of small value twenty-four cows, which
with the twelve that remained after crossing the uninhabited
part, made thirty-six in all.
At eleven o'clock the king of the country, called Mabomboru ka
Sobelo, accompanied by about fifty negroes armed with assagais,
came to the camp, and he also brought his mother with him.
The chief captain received them with due courtesy, and all three
seated themselves upon a carpet. The Kaffirs were amazed at
the sight of our people, and the king wished to hear the parti-
culars of their shipwreck and wanderings, which were related by
Nuno Velho Pereira.
The negro and his people showed great amazement when the
chief captain stated that his fame had reached him before he
came to his country, and had induced him to travel in this
direction to see him. At this the king was very vain. His
attendants said that it was fitting our people should be well
entertained and guided by him, since they had come from so
great a distance to see him. He assented, and promised guides
and everything else which his villages contained. Nuno Velho
thanked him, and placed a branch of coral fastened to a silk
string round his neck, giving him also the lid of a kettle, and to
his mother some green speckled glass beads. As it was dinner
time, they partook of food with him, and at three o'clock with-
drew with all their company.
During this halt the pilot measured the altitude of the pole,
and found the latitude to be twenty-nine degrees and forty-five
minutes, the little difference from his last observation being
caused by their having travelled east-north-east and east.
Four slaves two Kaffirs, one Japanese, and one Javanese
remained in this valley, which they named the Vale of Mercy, on
account of the great mercy God our Lord had shown them there,
Becords of South-Eastern Africa. 319
by bringing them to this more fertile and abundant land of
Kaffraria, after they had traversed the desert for fourteen days.
They left it on the llth of May, with the guides which the king
gave to Nuno Velho according to his promise. Before taking
leave of him that morning the chief captain hung round his neck
the silver cover of a water bottle fastened by a white silk string,
and to the two negroes he gave two pieces of copper and two
nails.
Their road led to the north-east. They climbed a height, the
descent from which was of rock, and in the valley they found
three villages. Having passed these, as well as a rivulet and a
mountain, where they bought two cows, when it was getting late
they reached another rivulet that flowed down through a thick
wood, and then came to a mountain range which extended from
the north-east to the other mountain. Here they were over-
taken by the night, which was very dark, and thus they did not
reach the lower ground where there was water, but encamped
without it.
The next day at ten o'clock they descended the mountain.
There was a good road to the north, shaded with trees bearing a
very bitter fruit resembling ferrobas, along which they journeyed
about half a league, until they reached a river which they forded
with the water to their thighs. This river was the limit of the
land of the chief Mabomboru ka Sobelo, and therefore, when they
had crossed it, one of the guides went to summon the lord of the
land in which they were, whose name was Mocongolo. He came
at once, bringing a cow for the chief captain, showing himself
pleased to see him, and promising that he would furnish the pro-
visions and guides which the two negroes who had accompanied
them asked for in the name of their king.
This being the limit of their journey, the guides departed, with
two more pieces of copper and two glass rosaries, ornamented in
green, with which they thought themselves well paid. The
others considered this such excessive prodigality that, coveting a
similar gratification, many immediately offered themselves as
guides. When the two negroes had gone, and Mocongolo had
taken leave of Nuno Velho to await him in his villages, leaving
some Kaffirs to guide him thither, they proceeded on their way,
and encamped along the most beautiful and freshest stream
which they had yet seen in their journey. It flowed from west
320 Eecords of South-Eastern Africa.
to east, through a valley between high rocks, all covered with
large and spreading trees of different colours.
Invited by the coolness of this stream they remained there for
a day, and on account of its charming appearance they named it
the Biver of Beautiful Flowers. The negroes call it Mutangalo.
They left it in good health on the 14th of May, with two negroes
supplied by the chief, who was not dissatisfied with what Nuno
Velho gave him. When they halted at eleven o'clock to rest
during the heat under some trees, the wives of their guides
came with two gourds of good butter, which they bartered
for copper of the value of six reis. But Nuno Velho wished
to reward them for the good will they had shown in bringing
it, and gave them two halves of glass rosaries, with which
they were extremely delighted, and their husbands were very
grateful.
As there was no water in that place, and our people were in
need of it, one of the negroes went to bring some from a spring
which was at a little distance from the camp. This was the first
spring they had seen on their journey, having hitherto found
excellent water only in the rivers which they passed. The mid-
day heat being ended, which could be felt, although it was
winter, when the sun was not covered with clouds, our people
journeyed by a good road, where three negroes came to them
with a gourd of very delicious white honeycomb, which the chief
captain bought and divided among all as a novelty. A little
before night-fall they encamped in a fresh valley which extended
between great rocks. In it there were fifteen villages, from
which the negroes came with quantities of provisions, that they
sold at the usual price.
Our people went round one of the rocky projections, which
faced south-east, and having passed a river that ran along it,
they again journeyed north-east until ten o'clock, when they
rested. And there came more than five hundred and fifty
negroes and negresses with provisions, of whom they bought six
cows, for the value of three testoons, many cakes of millet, milk,
butter, and honey. These Kaffirs were accompanied by their
chief named Gogambampolo, who made the chief captain a present
of a cow, as did also one of his sons who accompanied him, in
return for which they received two pieces of copper and two
large nails. Upon this they took their leave, and our people
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 321
journeyed on over a level plain covered with high grass, where
they remained that night, near a river.
In the morning of the next day, continuing their journey over
the same plain, at ten o'clock they came to a small river, where
there were about thirty villages on both sides. Many negroes
came out from them, rejoicing and singing at the sight of the
Portuguese, and with great show of affection, for which they
were well paid, helped them to cross the river. The villages on
the other bank were subject to another chief, who came at once to
visit Nuno Velho, and presented him with a cow. In return he
received a piece of coral, two pieces of copper, and some glass
beads. Upon this he gave his people leave to bring what they
had for sale, they not being in the habit of doing so without
permission, but they delayed, and our people made such haste
that they left the place without trading for anything. In
another spot where they found water they encamped and killed
what cows were required for food, as they did whenever it was
necessary.
While this good road lasted, our people made no delay, and
journeyed two leagues by eleven o'clock. While they were
resting they saw five negroes on a hill, and one of the guides
went to them, reassured them, and induced them to call their
chief, who with more than a hundred Kaffirs was concealed
behind the hill. The negro came, accompanied by his people,
all armed with assagais, and saluting Nuno Velho with his
Alala ! Alala ! he gave him welcome to his land, in which, he
said, he should be well entertained and provided with guides.
As they wished to continue on their way, the chief captain led
the chief by the hand, and his negroes going singing before,
guided them to a river, which they did not cross, both because it
was late and because the path terminated on that bank. On the
other bank there was a rugged mountain range, and villages on
both sides from which the people came to sell quantities of pro-
visions. Nuno Velho gave the negro the usual treasures, which
were a branch of coral, some beads, and two pieces of copper, in
return for a cow which he presented to him. On being asked
for two of his men as guides, he gave them at once.
One of these negroes affirmed that they were already in the
land of the Inhaca, where the Portuguese come with their pan-
gayos. Although this was false, our people were much rejoiced
n. Y
322 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
on hearing it, thinking they were in a land where they were
known, and that the river of Lourenpo Marques could not be at
any great distance, since this negro had been there, it being the
natural custom of the Kaffirs not to travel far from their villages.
But they were deceived, for it was more than a hundred leagues
off, and the negro had never been there. However, it gave them
fresh courage and animated them for the rest of the journey, and
they passed that night in more than usual contentment in their
camp, which they made along the said river.
. Here they waited next day for the chief until nine o'clock, and
when he arrived he arranged with Nuno Velho that he should
give the guides three pieces of copper of the size of six fingers
when they returned. There also came the father of one of them,
and asked for something, without which he would not allow him
to leave. Nuno Velho ordered a piece of copper and a small
nail to be given to him, upon which the negro was willing that
his son should go. This having been arranged, they broke up
their camp and set out, following a good and continuous road,
crossed by a river which they passed over, and then climbed a
mountain, where they halted during the heat of the day. Here
there came many negroes and negresses from the villages on
the skirts of the mountain with milk, butter, and cakes of millet ;
and the siesta being over they resumed their journey. An hour
before sunset they halted under some large jujube trees laden
with fruit, with which they refreshed themselves that evening,
water not being wanting from a river, in which there were many
wild ducks.
The cold and dew were so great that night that our people set
out the next morning at eight o'clock. They crossed a large
river by means of stones, the water reaching to their knees, and
following a good road, took their siesta near another river, where
they were surrounded by many villages, from which the negroes
came to sell millet cakes and milk. They encamped that night
in a place where there was an abundance of wood and water,
and when they were settled about a hundred and twenty negroes
descended a hill, accompanying one of great dignity who the
guides said was their king. Nuno Velho therefore received
him upon a carpet, and told him, through the interpreter,
of his having been wrecked and how he had travelled far
through these lands, and had always been well received by
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 323
the kings thereof, so that he hoped for similar treatment at his
hands.
The king, who was called Gimbacucuba, replied that he also
was lost, and absent from his kingdom, which another, his neigh-
bour, had taken from him in warfare, killing many of his people
and obliging him to withdraw to this country, which belonged to
one of his relations ; and he regretted that he was not in his
kingdom to receive him as the other kings had done. The chief
captain expressed his sorrow for his misfortune, and his desire to
assist him in recovering his kingdom, at which all the negroes
gave a joyful cry. He then asked him the motive of the war,
and the name of his enemy. The king replied that one of the
Inhaca's captains took his kingdom and killed his people, so
that he was deprived of both and had no means of pursuing the
matter.
Nuno Velho promised to use his influence with the Inhaca to
induce him to restore him to his kingdom, out of consideration
for the Portuguese, of whom he was a friend ; and that his people
might see how he would proceed in this business, he bade him
send two of them in his company. The negro accepted the offer,
and being poor and in exile presented to Nuno Velho a gourd of
milk, for which he gave him some beads and a branch of coral,
that he esteemed very highly on their telling him it was good
for the heart and the eyes. When it was nightfall he withdrew,
and our people remained in their camp.
They set out in the morning, and at a little distance met the
king Gimbacucuba, who was waiting for them at the foot of a
tree with three of his wives and many negroes. The chief captain
sat down with him, and again asked him for two men, that when
he had obtained from the Inhaca the restoration of his kingdom,
as he hoped and believed to be certain, they might return to him
with the news. The king was grateful for his good will, and
taking aside two negroes whom he had chosen for the journey,
he conversed with them as if instructing them what they were to
do. When it was dinner time he took leave of Nuno Velho,
carrying with him a piece of muslin, of which they made four
cloths, which he and his wives put on as a new and strange gala
costume, for so they esteemed it.
While they halted here, there came several sick and lame
Kaffirs, and asked the chief captain to cure them, offering him
Y 2
324 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
sheep and kids. Desiring to cure their souls, if not the sickness
and infirmities of their bodies, he told them that one only God in
heaven, pointing thither with his hand, had power to give health,
as He alone gave life and withdrew it ; and with the sign of the
cross (a powerful means of working greater wonders than the
cure of these heathens) he dismissed them, taking none of their
presents.
When the heat was over, our people went on their way, passing
through many villages, in which they were well received and
entertained with songs. In one of these they saw a great number
of cattle coming out of a kraal, among them two very large oxen,
of which the first had three horns branching out of one about a
hand- breadth from the head, where all three turned back very
regularly, one remaining in the middle, and the other ox had
four horns, two ordinary and two under these which twisted round
the ears. At sunset they encamped along a river, having passed
seven others in that day's journey.
The nights in that country are very cold, and this seemed still
more so to our people for want of wood. Therefore as soon as it
was morning, in order to warm themselves by exercise they began
to march through an uninhabited country, as they did also during
the two following days. Nevertheless there were good pastures
and high trees, and it was so habitable that going round a
mountain they passed numerous rivulets, and halted near one
which made many windings through an extensive plain. Here
they found partridges, but saw no more lizards, snakes, and
beetles as they had seen in the country previously passed through.
On the 22nd they came to a mountain range, and in order to
cross it more easily the negroes led them to the north-west.
Then returning on the same day to the north-east, after climbing
mountains, journeying through valleys, and crossing rivers, they
encamped beside a stream with their cattle, of which they killed
what was required for their maintenance. At this halting-place
they found that they had thirty-nine cows.
It rained in the morning of the next day, and while they were
thus prevented from continuing their journey, Nuno Velho sent
one Andre Martins de Alcouchete with an interpreter and one of
the guides to ask leave of the lord of the country to pass through
it. At ten o'clock they broke up their camp, and travelling
along the foot of a mountain, under thorny trees, for nearly a
Eecords of South-Eastern Africa. 325
league, they came to two negro houses, near which they encamped
again. Here Andre Martins came with the chief, whom Nuno
Velho received as he did the others, and pleased him by ffivinp-
i . , J o o
him some glass beads, in return for which he promised guides
and everything else that his country contained.
But the next day when our people reached his villages, which
were seven, where they encamped, he would give nothing but
milk, butter, and millet cakes, not allowing his followers to sell
cows, because he was at war with one of his neighbours, and
would not permit provisions to be disposed of, in case they might
be needed. But coveting a china bottle which he saw in the
possession of the chief captain, he gave him a large ox in
exchange, and with great delight seeing it shine and that the
glazing would not rub off, he put it to his eyes and to those of
his people, and to those parts of the body in which they felt any
pain, they persuading themselves that it would give them health.
And when it was known in the villages that their chief, who was
called Uquine Inhana, had this bottle, they all came to see it,
observing the same ceremonies and superstitions.
This gathering of negroes was very necessary to assist our
people on the 26th in crossing a very large river, which without
their help would have been a matter of great difficulty and
danger, for it was extremely rapid, and the water reached to their
waists. On the other bank the negro took leave of them, giving
them two guides, and not allowing those they had with them to
go any farther, nor the two negroes whom the exiled king
Gimbacucuba sent with Nuno Velho Pereira to bring back the
answer from the Inhaca, these Kaffirs not permitting the negroes
of other rulers to pass through their lands. When they had
rested a little, they resumed their journey though an inhabited
country, where many people came to see them and sell them
provisions. And though it was only two o'clock in the afternoon,
our people encamped where there was wood and water, for the
next water was a long distance off.
They reached it the following day at ten o'clock, and it proved
to be a river running from the north-east to the south-west. It
was the widest and had the strongest current of any they had
yet come to, and if there were negroes to assist them in fording
the last, they were not wanting here, where they were more
needed. For when our people reached the bank, they saw the
326 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
lord of that country, whose name was Mutuadondommatale, with
about thirty others ; and one of them, in return for a nail which
Nuno Velho Pereira ordered to be given to him, crossed the river
with the water to his chest, the current running so furiously that
our people were doubtful if they could ford it.
The pilot therefore looked in the thickets for some wood to
build rafts, but all they found was so heavy and close-grained
that it would not float on the water, but sank to the bottom like
a stone. Hereupon Nuno Velho, hearing from the chief that the
river would go down the next day, being swollen from a recent
thunderstorm, ordered them to encamp in that place, and asked
the negro, who wished to retire, to return with his people in the
morning and help them to cross.
These negroes are even more covetous and self-interested than
those met earlier in the journey, and for the same amount of
copper, of which they wear bracelets, for which the others gave
three cows they would only give one, it not being so valuable
among them, and they also value calico, which the others would
not accept. It is therefore proper to trade with copper and iron
for the purchase of provisions until reaching this place, and to
keep calico for this place and the country beyond, for this is what
they demanded in exchange for cows.
Nuno Velho, seeing signs of covetousness in them, that it
might not lead them into some excess ordered that the cows
which they required for their maintenance should be shot, as was
their custom in similar cases, that the timid might be frightened
by the discharge. This had the desired result, for having killed
a cow in this manner, the Kaffirs who were present were struck
with amazement, and the chief, who had already gone, hearing
the report, returned in great haste to see what it was. Seeing
his people overcome with surprise at what to them was a great
marvel, which they related to him, he asked Nuno Velho to
command another to be killed, which was shot with an arquebuss,
and fell immediately.
At this the negro was no less amazed, and taking the arquebuss
in his hands he turned it about a thousand times, saying that
since it killed cows, it would no doubt kill men. The interpreter
assured him that such was the case, and that it would deprive
everything of life, killing an elephant or a little bird, at which
he was much confused, and in great fear withdrew to his villages,
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 327
the terror of those who accompanied him being no less than
his own.
At dawn of the next day it was so cloudy that our people
feared it would rain and swell the river, but at sunrise the clouds
dispersed, making the weather clear and serene, so that they
resolved to cross, more especially as from a mark which they had
placed the night before they found that the water had decreased
by a handbreadth and a half. The negro with his people having
arrived, they chose ten of the tallest, who began to carry the
young men over on their shoulders. Francisco Pereira and
Francisco da Silva with some other negroes took Dona Isabella
and her daughter on their shoulders in quilts, and the rest of the
party followed them. The cattle crossed with great difficulty, for
not keeping their footing they were swept away by the current,
but a Kaffir got a cow over by pulling at a cord fastened to its
nostrils, and with the help of this device the rest were got to the
other side. Here they encamped, accounting the fording of this
perilous stream a good day's journey. The negroes, who were
well paid for their trouble, call this river the Tugela.
The next morning the chief sent two negroes as guides,
according to his promise, and one to take their pay which was
two pieces of copper back to him (who did not go without it), and
as our people were only awaiting this to continue their journey,
they set out at once, and with great fatigue, the road being very
stony, they skirted a large mountain which lay to the north, and
at the foot of it on the bank of a streamlet they were overtaken
by night in a place where there was good pasture and trees.
Following in the same direction the next morning, at eleven
o'clock they met a negro whom Nuno Velho sent to bring his
chief. It was not long before he came, with about forty others,
all armed with assagais and shields, which they make of hides.
They were well received by our people, and Nuno Velho leading
the chief by the hand while the others went skirmishing before,
they reached their villages, which were on the bank of a river.
Here they halted, but nothing was brought for sale except a
cow belonging to the lord of the country, because provisions were
scarce that year, owing to want of rain. The cow therefore cost
dear, as they gave for it a piece of a broken astrolabe, two handles
of a kettle, and six pieces of copper. The land could not be very
fertile, for it was full of rugged mountains, with large stones and
328 Records of Smith-Eastern Africa.
rocks of a black colour, and with only a few thorny trees. The
country which they traversed on the last of May was of the
same character, and our people encamped when they found a
convenient spot.
There were two ships' boys in the company suffering from a
bloody flux caused by drinking so much milk, and being unable
to keep up with their companions they remained in the place
where they encamped on the 1st of June, after they had been
confessed by Friar Peter, in the care of a negro, who in return
for four pieces of copper engaged to provide them with food for
the days they might live, which, judging from their weakness,
would be but few.
The ground being now better and the road clearer, our people
halted during the heat of the day near some villages. As the
captain Juliao de Faria was indisposed, they remained there that
night, and bought a cow from the lord of the country, for the
handle of a kettle, three pieces of copper, and a piece of Turkish
silver money of the size of a real of eight.
The next day as the captain was better they set out with the
guides given them by the chief of those villages, dismissing
those who had come there with them. They climbed to the
summit of a mountain, and descended from it to a level and
pleasant land, where they met many negroes and negresses who
offered them ears of millet to lay their hands on those parts of
their bodies where they suffered pain, hoping to be cured by these
means. Our people made the sign of the cross upon them, at
which they were extremely happy and contented, and placing
themselves in the van went along singing after their manner.
Midway in the descent of a mountain they encamped, as it was
late, and when it was nearly night two negroes came to the camp,
bringing a cow which they presented to Nuno Velho Pereira
from a widow, who had been the wife of a chief. Nuno Velho
showed the Kaffirs how much he valued this attention, by
sending to the widow three pieces of copper and a bed-curtain
of China silk of different colours worked with gold.
In the morning they descended the mountain and crossed a
river which flowed at the foot of it, and with their faces to the
north they climbed another mountain, on the summit of which
the road turned to the north-east. Though the ground was
stony and wounded the feet of those who were unshod, they
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 329
walked on until it was very late, when they reached a spot where
they made their camp, because there was wood and water.
They set out again on the 4th, and passed several villages
from which the negroes came out with great rejoicing to embrace
and kiss them, treating them with the utmost familiarity and
taking the rosaries which hung round their necks, kissed the
cross upon them, as they saw our people do. Understanding the
great esteem in which our people held this holy sign, they asked
if it was lawful for them to associate with their wives after they
had received it. Conversing thus, they came to a great river,
which the Kaffirs helped our people to cross with much pleasure
and goodwill, for which they were paid with some glass beads
and strips of cloth, which they immediately tied round their
heads.
It being now the time of the siesta, they halted by a field of
millet which was already ripe, but they did not touch it, in order
not to offend the negroes, who were very liberal with that which
they had gathered, disposing of it at a low price, as also cakes
made of it, and butter and milk. The heat being past, they
crossed a river, where they found very large and sweet myrtle
berries, and travelled over a plain covered with crops of millet
and irrigated with water from a mountain which was in front of
it, on reaching the summit of which they met the chief of the
villages with about thirty negroes.
The chief captain received him, and on his relating the par-
ticulars of the shipwreck and journey, and asking him for what
was necessary, the Kaffir said that he was sorry for his many
hardships, but it was fortunate that he had escaped death, and
that guides and provisions should not be wanting. In proof of
which promise he sent for two large oxen, four sheep, and a
gourd of milk, for which he was paid three pieces of copper, the
handle of a kettle, a branch of coral, and a silver Turkish coin.
Nuno Velho also gave him another curtain of Chinese silk like
that he had sent to the widow, with which the chief, who was
named Panjana, was extremely pleased. They all travelled on
together through his territory.
When the camp was formed his people brought this negro a
large gourd of wine made of millet, called by them pombe, which
was full of insects, and he offered some to Nuno Velho and to
the other Portuguese who were with him. They all tasted it to
330 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
please him and show him courtesy. And as it was now almost
night, he withdrew to his village, promising to return next day
with guides, and our people retired to their shelters.
The negro was as good as his word, and detained our people in
their camp until dinner time, bartering an ox for three pieces of
copper, and making Nuno Velho a present of another, in return
for which he gave him some glass beads, a bloodstone, and a
little balsam which he told him was a good remedy for asthma,
from which he suffered. Seeing the pilot with a flask of Ormus
glass, he asked him for it, and gave him a large ox and a fine
sheep in exchange. It being now past mid-day, they struck their
camp, and journeyed on over a good and level road, the chief,
who would not part with them, being still in their company.
After sunset, when they were encamped, he took leave of them
and of the chief captain, sending him a calf and a sheep.
The negroes, fearing the tract of uninhabited country now before
them, did not come the next day, which was Pentecost, to guide
our people as the chief had promised. For the same reason there
were several impatient Portuguese, who determined to press
forward and separate themselves from the rest of the company.
Nuno Velho, hearing of this the night before, and knowing that
they would be lost if they carried out their mistaken purpose,
with his customary prudence appeased this disturbance.
When they had struck their camp in the morning, they
travelled, without guides, over good ground until eleven o'clock,
when they halted on the bank of a river. Here they were visited
by many negroes, with their chief, who was called Malangana.
These lived in some villages at a little distance from the road.
Seeing our people, they came out, bringing a cow, which they
bartered for a piece of coral and two pieces of copper. Nuno
Velho asked the -chief for guides, which he refused on account of
the country being uninhabited, but he pointed out the road,
showing with his hand the direction in which they must go.
The pilot noted this with his compass, and it was to the north-
east. After the negroes had gone, our people travelled in that
direction till night, when they encamped in a thicket.
They went through the desert on the 7th, and on the 8th at
mid-day they came to a richly verdured mountain range, which
divided into two, one running north, and one running east, a great
valley extending between them. On entering it, our people saw
Records of South- Eastern Africa. 331
eight negroes, who were burning the grass, and sent an interpreter
to summon them. Some of them went for their chief, who came
with twenty others. They were rebels, who lived in these
mountains, subsisting by theft, and therefore they were all armed
with assagais and arrows. They pretended that their village was
at a distance, and in order to carry out their purpose conducted
our people to a deep valley, where there was no wood or water.
Nuno Velho led one of these negroes with him, and seeing that
he was restless and showed signs of wishing to separate a cow
from the herd, in order to steal it, he told his soldiers to be upon
the alert. And the pilot, who was in front, noticing the same
disposition in those who accompanied him, turned back, and all
the rest of the company with him. The negroes, thinking their
evil intention was discovered, continued to dissimulate, until one
of them, getting among the cows, succeeded in separating one
from the rest ; but he was punished for his daring by a blow on
the head from the butt end of a halberd, which felled him to
the ground. Seeing this, the others fled at full speed, and he
after them. Freed from such bad company, our people ended
that afternoon's journey, and camped on the mountain when
it was almost night, keeping a vigilant watch for fear of the
Kaffirs.
In the morning they journeyed along the mountain range
which ran towards the east, with their faces to the east-north-
east. They were seen from the mountain by some of the negroes
of their last encampment, at whose cries many others assembled
with assagais, and began to descend a hill towards the camp. In
order to act as on previous occasions and not be found in dis-
order, our people called a halt, and having formed in order,
resumed their march. The negroes, seeing their purpose, delayed,
and some of them separating from the rest came to a spot where
they could be heard, and asked who they were, and what they
were doing in their country.
The interpreter gave the usual answer, and being reassured by
him and Nuno Velho, they went and called their chief, who was
entertained, and dismissed with a rosary of glass beads. These
being gone, when they had journeyed on a little distance, they
met about sixty others, of whom three came to the camp, and the
oldest among them, when he heard of the shipwreck and journey
of our people, cried aloud to the rest, " Come, come and see these
332 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
men, who are the children of the sun and go to seek him."
Upon which all the rest, leaving their arms in charge of a com-
rade, ran down to see and make much of our people, and journeyed
with them till the hour of the siesta, which they took in the
shadow of a wood.
Here some negroes brought millet, which they gave in exchange
for glass beads and strips of coloured cloth for their heads. Their
chief also came to this halting-place, and Niino Velho not
receiving the welcome he expected from him, and detecting in
him a desire to attack our people if he found them off their guard,
warned the soldiers who accompanied him to prepare their
arquebusses, and each to fix upon the negro at whom he would
fire. Seeing this, the negro dissimulated his intention, and the
chief captain ordered the company to set out again, and to take
no notice of him or his village, before which they afterwards
passed. At sunset they encamped in a convenient spot, of which
they stood in need. Here there came two negroes from other
villages, who, satisfied with two pieces of copper, promised to
return the next day to guide our people.
They kept their word, coming to the camp in the morning,
and under their guidance they climbed a mountain, and though
from its summit others appeared, the Kaffirs led them by paths
which made the ruggedness more easy. They encamped at
night at the foot of the last, which they crossed next day, going
east and east-south-east. Having passed it, they resumed their
course to the east-north-east, through thick woods of high and
dark trees, and descending a hill, in the valley, between great
rocks, there were some negro houses, near which they encamped.
These Kaffirs were poor, and had nothing but a little millet
and some milk, which they gave. There remained with them, in
a hut which they made him apart from theirs, an old man of
seventy years named Alvaro Goncalves, the boatswain's father,
who was very ill, and all his comrades were so tired that they
could no longer carry him on their shoulders, as they had
hitherto done. His pious son would have remained with him,
but not being permitted to do so, left him copper to buy what
he required, and the names of the necessary things written on a
piece of paper, that he might be able to ask the negroes for
them. With general tears at such a sorrowful parting, they drew
the son away from his father, who dismissed him with a blessing,
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 333
and remained, having confessed himself, like a good Christian
resigned to the will of God.
This delayed them in the camp until mid day of the 12th.
The pilot observed the altitude of the sun, and found that they
were in latitude 27 27', for which reason they determined to
travel east by north, in order to reach the seashore sooner, from
which they were now forty leagues distant. At two o'clock the
chief of the villages came with guides, for whom Nuno Velho
gave him four pieces of copper. Following them over good and
level ground directly to the east, in which direction, these negroes
said, lay the village where their red beads were sold, which are
those which come from the river of Lourenpo Marques, at sunset
they reached a valley where they encamped.
They left it on the 13th, the feast of Saint Anthony, and at
ten o'clock they saw many villages, from which numbers of Kaffirs
came out to see them, and on reaching them saluted them by
saying, Nanhata ! Nanhata ! like the first met with. Among
them was their headman, who dwelt there by command of the
chief, who was absent. He was well received by the chief captain,
and on asking him for some necessary information concerning
the road farther on, the negro answered that it was six days'
journey to the sea from that place, and in another direction
twelve, passing through the territory of the Inhaca, where it was
necessary to ford a great river, with the water to their breasts.
This news pleased them all, hearing that they were so near the
place where they hoped to find a ship.
During the time of the siesta, a son of the chief came from his
father to visit Nuno Velho, and having done so returned imme-
diately with a silver medal round his neck, which was taken from
a goblet. Our people, after they had killed several cows for their
ordinary provisions and bought millet, milk, butter, and sheep,
journeyed on with the headman himself for their guide, until
they encamped, when it was almost night, near a river, where the
negro sent word to his chief to come and see Nuno Velho in the
morning.
His village was far off, and therefore he did not come until
nearly eleven o'clock. Nuno Velho went out to receive him,
accompanied by fifteen arquebusiers, and the chief, who was called
Gamabela, had with him a hundred unarmed negroes. Taking
each other by the hand, and seating themselves upon a carpet,
334 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
the chief captain told the other how much he was rejoiced to see
him and to arrive in this his country, where he was sure of
assistance to reach his desired destination. Gamabela replied
that he did well to rejoice, for he was now near the end, and to
conclude his journey nothing should be wanting which he had or
could do.
Then they exchanged presents, the chief gave two cows, and
Nuno Velho some mother-of-pearl beads, a piece of silver, seven
pieces of copper, and a blood-stone. After this they treated of
guides, and Gamabela named the headman who came with our
people from the village and two other negroes. All the people
were pleased with their good treatment by this Kaffir, and he
still more so in showing it to them. He said to Nuno Velho that
in return for the good will with which he had given them all
they asked for, he wished for some token in his name by which
he might always remember him and the Portuguese who accom-
panied him. Nuno Velho replied that he would grant his
request, and would give him the most precious and valuable jewel
in the world ; and taking the cross off the rosary which he had
round his neck, and removing his hat, with his eyes raised to
heaven, he kissed it with great devotion, and gave it to the
Portuguese near him, who went through the same ceremony ;
then he gave it to the chief, saying that this was the sacred
pledge of his friendship which he would leave him, bidding him
show it the same reverence as he had seen them do. The
barbarian took it, and with the same gesture kissed it and put it
to his eyes, and thus did all the other negroes.
Nuno Velho, seeing the veneration which they showed to the
most holy cross, bade a carpenter make from a tree which stood
close by (happily and fortunately grown in that Kaffraria, since
from one of its branches was made the symbol of our salvation) a
cross which he constructed at once, eight palms in height.
Holding it with his hands, Nuno Velho delivered it to Gamabela,
telling him that upon that tree the author of life overcame death
by his own death, and therefore it was a remedy against it, and
health to the sick, and in virtue of that sign the greatest emperors
had conquered and the Catholic kings now overcame their
enemies; and as an excellent gift he offered and gave it to him,
that he might place it before his house. And every morning, on
coming out, he should reverence it, and kiss it, and adore it on
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 335
his knees, and when health was wanting to his subjects, or rain
for his fields, he should ask for it with confidence, for a God and
Man who died upon it and redeemed the world would grant it.
With these words he delivered the true trophy and singular
glory of Christianity to the chief, who placed it on his shoulders,
and being dismissed by our people with salutary tears at the
pledge he was taking from them, followed by his people, who
numbered about five hundred, he carried it to his village to do
as Nuno Velho had said and requested. This was a triumph of
the Holy Cross, worthy of being celebrated like those of Constan-
tine and Heracleus, for as those most Christian and pious emperors
were truly delivered by it from their enemies, one from the
Jews and the other from the Persians, by which it was exalted,
this one (the image of the other) was by this honourable and
virtuous nobleman lifted as a standard in the midst of Kaffraria,
the centre of heathenism, over which it is triumphing to-day.
And since by clinging to this sweet wood the world was saved
from wreck, may God our Lord enlighten the understanding of
these heathens, that clinging to the faithful cross which was left
to them, they may be saved from the perdition and blindness in
which they live.
The tree of the Holy Cross having been thus planted in
Kaffraria, from which sweet fruit of salvation among these people
may be expected, the next day, which was the 15th, our people
having taken leave of it, with Gamabela, who wished to accompany
the ;chief captain the first stage, and the guides whom he had
appointed, they left that spot, and at ten o'clock reached a house
where the chief took leave of Nuno Velho with sincere demon-
strations of friendship. The negro having gone, they continued
their journey among thorny trees and through uninhabited
country, in which there were many aloe shrubs, and at nightfall
they encamped beside a fresh river.
In the morning they continued their journey, and travelled on
until two o'clock, when they came to some villages where there
were no people, but many hens and much provisions. Nuno
Velho ordered them to be careful that nothing was taken from
the villages, and the owners, who were on some hills, being called
by the guides and interpreters, some of them came down, and
gave as the cause of their flight and the desertion of their houses
the war in which they were then engaged with some of their
336 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
neighbours, who a few days before had carried off all their cattle.
Seeing that our people were not the enemies they feared, all
returned to their huts, and gave them a negro to guide them to
a place where there was the necessary wood and water for that
night's encampment.
The next day, which was the feast of the Blessed Sacrament,
they travelled over an extensive plain, where were good pastures
and trees, and many wild cattle, buffaloes, stags, hares, pigs, and
elephants, which were grazing in large herds. These were the
first animals of the kind which they met with in their long
journey, and they had come down to the plains from a great
mountain range that ran from north to south. Our people
entered the plain by a valley with a river flowing through it,
which they crossed many times, and near it they encamped.
In the morning they struck their camp, and journeyed until
ten o'clock along the same valley and river, amid extremely rank
vegetation. The ground was covered with trees of different
colours, in which were seen many green parrots with red beaks,
partridges, turtledoves, and other kinds of birds. They climbed
a spur of the mountain from the south-western side, and on a flat
upon its summit they met four negroes, who were engaged in
hunting. These, hearing from the guides with what liberality
our people bought provisions, went away, saying that they would
bring some from their village. But the travellers did not wait
for them, and made no delay, except during the hours of the
siesta, which they spent in a wood along the river.
On the other side was a hill, which they climbed when the
heat was past, and then followed an extensive plain watered by
the said river ; and here, besides the game which they saw the day
before, were geese, ducks, thrushes, cranes, wild hens, and monkeys;
and in a large pool which the river formed at the place where our
people encamped at night, they saw many hippopotami, whose
neighing prevented them from sleeping quietly. Therefore they
arose later than usual the next day, and came to a marsh, which
the guides said was near a village, and encamping beside it
Nuno Velho sent a man to tell the chief of their arrival.
The next morniDg he sent Antonio Godinho with a negro to
visit him, and he returned when his comrades had reached the
other side of the marsh, very weary with dragging over the cattle
with ropes, without which they stuck fast. The tidings which
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 337
he brought, however, made them forget all their past labours. Ho
said that the chief he had visited was one of the Inhaca's captains,
and that he gave him welcome and promised to provide them
with everything in his country until they reached the Inhaca,
with whom he knew that the Portuguese were friends ; and that
the ship was not gone, because a few days before negroes passed
through his village with ivory for the trade.
Then there came one of this chiefs headmen to visit Nuno
Velho on his behalf, bringing two kids and two hens ; and after
him came the chief himself, whom Nuno Velho seated on his
carpet. After he had confirmed the tidings given by Antonio
(rodinho, and shown his pleasure at the chief captain's inquiries
about the Inhaca, he presented him with two cows. Nuno Velho
gave in return the lid of a silver goblet and four pieces of copper,
and to a nephew whom he had with him three other pieces, and
hung round his neck half of a small silver cup, with which they
withdrew well pleased to their village, which was at a distance,
and our people remained still more so. They did not remove
from their halting-place by the marsh. The pilot measured the
altitude of the sun, and found that they were in south lati-
tude twenty-seven degrees and twenty minutes, a distance of
thirty leagues from the port where the ship was.
Our people went towards the negro's village in the morning,
hoping to find good and faithful guides, but they proved bad and
false. One was the chief himself, who, wishing to vex and tire
them that they might give him something more, led them by a
roundabout way back to the marsh from which they had started.
Nuno Velho complained, showing himself displeased, and asked
him to return what he had given him, for he wanted no guides
from him. The Kaffir, finding his vain hope deceived, took two
more pieces of copper which they gave him, and with three other
negroes who wished to accompany him, led them by a sandy path,
along which there were wild palm trees, some bearing dates and
others a fruit which in Cuama is called macomas, which is of the
size and appearance of grey pears. When it was night they
encamped under some trees, without water.
The next morning they reached some houses, and the chief
took the owners of them with him, and led our people out of the
road into a thicket, intending to separate some of the cows from
the herd and make off with them. Having passed this thicket
u. z
338 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
and crossed a river, they entered another wood, but in all these
places our people, warned by the chief captain, were never off
their guard. The negro, who went in front with the interpreter,
finding that he was unable to accomplish his purpose, and the
wood being thick so that he was not seen by those who followed,
threw an assagai at his companion, and, missing his aim, fled.
The interpreter caught hold of one of the negroes from the houses,
who was near him, and shouted, at which our people came up
and laid hands on the companions of him who was already
prisoner.
With them they left the wood, and returned to the road from
which they had been led away, and on asking them who the
chief was who had fled, they replied that he was a great thief
named Bambe, whom they obeyed and accompanied out of fear.
On Nuno Velho asking them if they would lead him to the
Inhaca, they promised to do so, and said that he might kill them
if they failed to bring him there. Nevertheless with great
caution they journeyed through a wood and crossed a marsh, and
on the other side there was a good road which they followed until
night, when they encamped beside a river, wood not being wanting
from some great trees which were close by.
This land is very boggy, and has many marshes. Having
passed those already mentioned, on the morning of the 23rd they
crossed another with great trouble, for besides sticking in it a
great deal, in the middle it was so deep that they could not feel
the bottom with a pike. They crossed it where it was not wide
with the help of trunks of trees which they cut down, of which
they made foot-bridges, and for the rest supported themselves by
grasping the many reeds which grew in the marsh. When they
reached the other side, it was time to rest from their efforts and
the heat, which they did in the shade of some trees.
Here Nuno Velho ordered one of the negroes to be set free,
that he might return to the houses and give tidings of the rest ;
and with a strip of red cotton cloth and a piece of copper the
Kaffir was compensated for his captivity. With those who
remained, who were also content, hoping for liberal pay, they
journeyed on until sunset, when they came to another marsh,
where they encamped. From this place the source of a river was
visible to the south-west, which in the charts is called the Saint
Lucia, in latitude 28, almost the same as that where they had
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 339
crossed it the day before without trouble, far from the mouth.
In this river Fernando Alvares Cabral, captain of the ship
St. Benedict, met his death, while crossing it on a raft, and on its
bank, at the foot of a hill, beyond the reach of the water which
drowned him, he is buried.
In the morning of the feast of Saint John the Baptist, which
was the next day, they saw some villages from a height, the
Louses of which were like our vintage huts, and not round like
those previously seen. The negroes of the villages, seeing our
people, assembled to the number of about two hundred, and the
interpreter went to speak to them. Learning from him that the
strangers were Portuguese, they came directly to see the chief
captain, and assured him that he was in the country of the
Inhaca, this being the village of one of his sisters ; and they said
that the trading ship had not left. All were rejoiced at such
pood news, and on reaching the houses, the Inhaca's sister, of
whom the negroes had spoken, came with her husband to visit
Nuno Velho. He received them with due courtesy, and expressing
his regret that he could not stay with them some days, gave them
a piece of black cloth and two pieces of copper. From this village
the sea is visible, which excited our people as if the view of it
was new to them. It was that part of the coast which is called
the Banks of Gold.
As the heat of the day was now past, they resumed their
journey with one of the Inhaca's negroes, who had come from
him to visit his sister, and dismissed the other guides well paid.
They travelled along a great tract of reddish sand, which tired
them in a little while, and then climbing to the top of the banks
where they could walk with less fatigue, at sunset they reached a
village beside a river, which they crossed, the tide being low.
It being now night, they encamped on the northern bank, where
for some small pieces of cloth they bought millet, hens, and large
and delicious fish called tainhas.
The next morning, it being high tide the river was much
swollen and formed an islet in its mouth, and thus when it is not
low tide it cannot be forded. This is the river to which the
wrecked Portuguese of the ship St. Thomas gave the name of
Abundance. Striking the camp, they journeyed on behind the
sandbanks, through a fresh and pleasant country, until midday,
when they halted beside a village. Here the pilot measured the
z 2
340 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
altitude of the sun, and found the latitude was 26 45'. When
the heat was past, they crossed a marsh, and then encamped
under large trees, which proved very necessary to shelter them
from the rain which fell that night.
Over wide and extensive plains they travelled next day until
ten o'clock, when they reached a beautiful lake of fresh water
about a league in length, near which were two villages where
they bought some hens. While they were taking their siesta in
the middle of the day, the pilot observed the sun, and found the
latitude was 26 20'. Thence they travelled along the lake,
seeing many ducks, geese, and herons, and on a plain beyond it
they encamped, as they were not able to reach the village before
dark. Here they killed three cows for their ordinary provision,
twenty-three still remaining.
Inasmuch as a negro who passed through the camp stated that
the ship had not left the river, Nuno Velho resolved to send
three men with the guide to make sure of what all these Kaffirs
said. These were Antonio Godinho, Sitnao Mendes, and Antonio
Monteiro. After darkness had set in, there came with the guide
a negro sent by the Inhaca to visit Nuno Velho, who drawing
near to him made a deep bow, took off the cap he had on his
head, and said " I kiss your worship's hands." He was a Kaffir
brought up among Portuguese, who had remained in that land
from the wreck of the galleon St. John. All were delighted at
his speech and courtesy, and Nuno Velho asking him who he
was, he replied that he came from the king, who was glad to see
the Portuguese in his village and to hear from them that they
had arrived in that land ; that he wished to visit him at once,
but put it off as it was night ; and that they should rest mean-
while, for the ship was still in the river.
This was the most joyful news which the Portuguese had heard
in all their journey, for the ship being in the river, they all had
hope of life and safety, which would have been doubtful if she
had sailed, for then they would either have been obliged to cross
the bay and travel to Sofala, or to wait a year for the arrival of
another vessel. Both of these courses presented great difficulties,
for the journey to Sofala was long, and would take two months at
least, which, after the three they had been travelling already,
would be a great undertaking in their weak state ; and if they
should resolve to wait, the peril was still greater, as it would be
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 341
for at least a year, at the end of which they would not be alive,
the country being unhealthy, the water bad, and provisions
scarce. Therefore they had good cause to rejoice that night,
hearing for a certainty that the ship was not gone.
The next morning one of the men whom Nuno Velho had sent
to the king Inhaca returned with a long account of the ship,
agreeing in every particular with what the envoy had said.
Therefore, though it was raining, they joyfully struck their camp,
and proceeded to the village of the Inhaca, from which many
negroes came out to meet them, calling them sailors. The chief
captain sent the king word of his arrival, and received an answer
from him that he should go and await him under a tree close
to his house, while he was rising and dressing. Nuno Velho
accordingly did so, taking with him eight arquebusiers, the
steward, the treasurer, the pilot, and the interpreter, and sat
down under the tree upon a mat which the king had ordered to
be spread.
The Inhaca came, with nothing on his head, girt with a piece
of cloth such as women wear in India, and covered with a large
cloak. He was very tall, corpulent, and well built, with a cheerful
and pleasant countenance. He drew near to Nuno Velho, who
was already standing, and took him by the hand ; and together
they sat down upon the mat. He congratulated him upon his
arrival, and condoled with him concerning his shipwreck, for
which Nuno Velho thanked him with many words, and also for
what he did for Dom Paul de Lima and the company of the ship
St. Thomas, when they passed that way. The chief captain then
asked him for a man to carry a letter to the captain of the ship.
The king declared himself obliged to act as he had done, because
of his father's friendship with the Portuguese. He then sum-
moned one of his negroes, who with Antonio Godinho, two other
soldiers, and an interpreter, carried the letter.
The chief captain's present followed, which was a black felt
hat, a piece of Chinese cloth worked with silk and gold, two cows,
one of them with calf, two silver chains taken from the master's
whistle, a medal, and a small silver bottle. As our people were
uncomfortably situated, the king, who was delighted with the
presents, ordered one of his negroes to lead them to a place near
the houses where there was wood and water. Here the camp was
arranged by Captain Julia-o de Faria, who went there with the
342 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
people, Nuno Velho and the officials and soldiers who accompanied
him remaining in conversation with the Inhaca.
It now seemed to be dinner-time, and the pilot said that it was
eleven o'clock by the watch, at which the king was somewhat
surprised, and still more so when he was shown with the compass
the direction in which they had until then been travelling. And
thus, as it was time, they arose, and hand-in-hand went to the
camp, where, when the king had visited Dona Isabel and her
daughter, he dined with Nuno Velho in his tent. At two o'clock
he took leave of them all with good grace, promising to speed
them on their journey the next day.
He came in the morning, dressed in a garment dyed with
cochineal and trimmed with red velvet, the hat which they gave
him on his head, the chain of the whistle round his neck, and his
arms covered with brass bracelets. The usual courtesies having
been exchanged between him and Nuno Velho, the latter gave
him the whistle, fastening it to the chain from which it had been
taken, and the master sounding it, the king was very pleased
with it, as it seemed to him a good thing in time of war. To
one of his sons they gave a silver cup, which his father took
from him.
Being now ready to march, they took leave of the Inhaca and
he of them, with affectionate embraces, and setting out, they
journeyed on under the trees and along lakes of fresh water
until ten o'clock, when they halted to rest from the heat. Here
there came some negroes of that country, with two sailors
from the ship and a native of Mozambique (who are there called
Topas). This man told Nuno Velho that as he was trading for
ivory up the river, he heard from the Kaffirs that there were
some Portuguese with the Inhaca, whereupon he left everything
to come and see them with his companions. Nuno Velho
rewarded them for their good will, by giving the Topas a silver
bottle, and another to the two sailors ; and as it was now time to
continue their journey, they went on until evening, when they
encamped where there was water.
At nine o'clock the next day, which was the feast of St. Peter,
they reached a village belonging to a son of the Inhaca, who,
upon a message from Nuno Velho, came at once to visit him,
and supplied a man at his request to carry another letter to the
captain of the ship. This man with one of the two sailors set
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 343
out with all diligence. Nuno Velho gave the chief the foot of a
silver goblet and a piece of Chinese cloth like that he had given
to his father, and he in return made him a present of a goat and
a large basket of grain. This Kaffir was very like his father, and
lived here apart from him, and out of his favour, on account of
having attempted to kill him, in order to succeed to the kingdom.
Through intercourse with the Portuguese he spoke a few words
of our language. The chief captain took leave of him, and
journeying on when the time of the siesta was past, they
encamped near a marsh.
In these lands of the Inhaca the sea forms a great bay fifteen
or twenty leagues in length, and in parts little less in width,
into which flow four great rivers that the tide enters for ten or
twelve leagues. The first, to the south, is called the Melengana
or Zembe, and divides the lands of a king so-called from those
of the Inhaca. The second is called the Ansate, and by our
people the Santo Espirito or river of Lourenco Marques, the man
from whom the bay takes its name having been the first to open
up the ivory trade here. The third is called the Fumo, because
it passes through the territory of a chief of that name. The
fourth and last, called the Manisa, lies to the north, along which
occurred the disaster of Manuel de Souza Sepulveda, the pitiful
deaths of his wife Dona Leonor and of his children, and his own
disappearance. There also died Dom Paul de Lima, but not the
memory of his glorious exploits.
In the mouth of this bay (which in parts is fourteen or fifteen
fathoms deep), near its southern point, is a large island, three
leagues in circumference, which divides the entrance into two
passages, one to the north-east seven or eight leagues in width,
and the other to the south narrow and confined. Our people
call it the island of Inhaca, and the king keeps a quantity of
cattle there, because of the abundant pastures. A channel of
the sea makes off one point of this island a separate islet, which
can be reached at low tide with the water to the knees. It is in
latitude 25 40', and is called to-day the island of the Portuguese,
because of the many who escaped from the wreck of the St. Thomas
only to die and be buried there.
A ship from Mozambique visits this bay about every two
years, to carry on the ivory trade, and one was there when our
Portuguese reached the country of the Inhaca. According to
344 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
the statements of the negroes, it was now the monsoon and time
for it to leave, and as Nuno Velho wished to embark in it with
the other Portuguese who were with him, he wrote by the
different messengers aforesaid to Manuel Malheiro, the captain
of the ship, to wait for them, and to send boats to the shore to
carry them to the island. To these letters he received no reply
until the last day of June, after our people had left the marsh
where they had encamped the previous day, and had nearly
reached the shore, when they met a Kaffir sailor from the ship,
with two letters, one from the captain to Nuno Velho, and the
other from the pilot to Rodrigo Migueis, informing them that
the men who had carried the letters had remained in their com-
pany, and that the boats would come the next day to carry the
people to the island.
When it was almost night the captain of the ship came in a
boat, and was well received by Nuno Velho ; and as the tide was
ebbing, it was thought proper that he should return at once,
taking with him Dona Isabel and her daughter, the steward
Diogo Nunes Gramaxo, and the two religious, Friar Peter and
Friar Pantaleao. This was done, and the others remained, well
sheltered and provided with provisions of that country, which
were millet, ameixoeira, hens, fish, and shell-fish.
In the morning the same boat returned with another to convey
to the island the rest of the company, who were already on the
shore awaiting them, but as the tide was not suitable till three
o'clock, and much time was spent in getting the cattle across,
they went no farther than the first island, where they encamped
for the night. In the morning, the tide being low, our people
crossed to the other island, where those from the ship were
lodged in huts made to shelter them, and where with great good
will they received and entertained a hundred and sixteen Portu-
guese and sixty-five slaves who arrived there, having survived
the shipwreck and their wanderings, in which they had spent
three months, and in which they travelled more than three
hundred leagues, although from the Rock of the Fountains, from
which they set out, to this island, the distance in a direct line is
not a hundred and fifty leagues.
The next day Nuno Velho wished to know what provisions
and water were in the ship, and inquired of the captain, who
replied that the sailors had ninety bags of millet, equal to about
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 345
seven hundred alqueires, and some beans and ameixoeira, and
the ship's tanks were full of water and held about twelve pipes.
As this was insufficient, by order of Nuno Velho they emptied
fifteen jars that were full of honey, which is very good in that
country, and filled them with water. He ordered that the sailors
should be paid for the millet and honey, at the price which
those articles were sold for in Mozambique, and one came to one
hundred and eighty cruzados and the other to ninety-six. There
were also left over from their journey one hundred and nine
cows, which made a considerable portion of their provisions.
This being ordered and carried out, and the ivory placed as
ballast, -well and evenly stowed in order to make beds for our
Portuguese, they all embarked on the 9th of July, to await in
the ship the change of the moon, which would be on the 12th,
and with it the westerly wind for their voyage. They embarked
thus early, because for the ship to get away it must be outside a
reef which is near the island, and there await favourable weather,
for if it is inside it cannot put to sea with the said westerly
winds.
When all were embarked, to the number of two hundred and
eighty souls, the ship was so overweighted that the pilot, who
was named Baptista Martins and had been a sailor in the ship
St. TJwmas, said he could not undertake to steer it, and as it
would be unmanageable some measure must be taken to rectify
the matter. The chief captain called a council, in which it was
agreed that they should set on shore the ship's sailors, with their
wives and families, who were Moors, and as such would be better
able to provide for themselves than the Portuguese. This
resolution was immediately carried out, and all the Moors disem-
barked, with their families and goods, being forty-five persons.
They offered no objection, on account of the liberal pay and
satisfaction which Nuno Velho Pereira ordered to be given to
them, with which they hoped to make the journey by land to
Mozambique with better advantage and greater profit than they
could have done by sea, with the proceeds of their honey, which
had been left upon the shore, and their millet, which the Portu-
guese took with them.
The ship being thus relieved, after the change of the moon the
wind still remained east as before, and thus it became necessary
to wait for the next moon. Some of the Portuguese, impatient
346 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
at this and at the want of space in the ship and the scarcity of
water, determined to go by land to Sofala, which was a hundred
and sixty leagues distant. Although Nuno Velho Pereira re-
gretted that they should wish to separate from his company,
seeing their determination and that it would be for the benefit
of those who remained, he gave them his permission and eight
firelocks, with all the necessary ammunition, fifty cruzados in
silver pieces, and a quantity of calico. The captain of these
Portuguese, who numbered twenty-eight, was a soldier named
Baltazar Pereira, nicknamed the champion of the forces. They
prepared two boats, which the ship had brought for trading up
the rivers, in which they crossed to the other side of the bay, to the
river Manisa, and journeying through that territory, they com-
mitted so many disorders that, though the road was open, by
which many Portuguese of the ship St. Thomas had travelled and
noted each day's journey, they were nearly all killed by the
Kaffirs, and only two men of this company reached Sofala.
When the monsoon commenced, the ship, which was called
Our Lady of Salvation, set out on the 22nd of July for Mozam-
bique, and keeping inshore from Cape Correntes, there blew so
great a tempest from the south that our people thought themselves
more surely lost than in the St. Albert. A quantity of provisions
was thrown overboard, and after two days' duration of this
tempest the weather became fine again, so that they reached
Mozambique on the 6th of August. There they all disembarked,
and went in procession with the Dominican friars who, being
advised of their arrival, awaited them on the shore to our Lady
of Succour, returning thanks to JESUS our Redeemer, and to the
most holy Virgin his Mother, for the extraordinary favours and
singular mercies received from their divine and liberal hands in
this their shipwreck and journey.
Records of South- Eastern Africa. 347
EXTRACTOS
DEL LIBKO LLAMADO
EMPKESAS MILITARES DE LVSITANOS
ESCRIPTAS FOR
LVYS COELLO DE BARBUDA,
CKIADO DE SU MAGESTAD, NATURAL, Y VESINO DE LA ClUDAD DE LlSBOA.
DESPUES el ano 1607 tentaron los Olandeses la conquista de
Mopambique ; dioles occasion a querer emprender la rnuy grande
falta que en la fortaleza auia te todo lo necessario a su defensa,
de que (con grande diligencia) se auian informado, el ano 1604
estuuieron entonces alii cerca de vn mez, en que sondaron la
barra, obseruaron arreeifes, y todas las mas cosas importantes a
este su disignio. Es Mopambique vna pequena Isla que esta en
la costa de Africa en diez y seys grades, de la parte del Sur :
diuidela de tierra firme vn rio por dode se bastece de todo lo
necessario a la vida : tiene puerto capaz de muchas naos poder
estar en el : es tierra baxa, y por esto enferma, por razon de los
pantanos, que con sus vapores inficionan el ayre, y hazen mal a la
salud de sus habitadores. Los naturales desta tierra son Negros
idolatras, aunque los principales de la Isla (quando Don Vasco de
Gama la descubrio, como auemos dicho) eran morenos de color,
Moros en profession, y de naciones differentes a que sus interesses
auia lleuado alii : es plapa de grande comercio, por tenerle con
los rios de Guama, de donde los nuestros traen oro, ambar, y
rnarfil, a trueque de conticas de vidrio, lienpos negros de poco
porte : en ciertos tiempos se hazen vnas ferias en las orillas de
aquellos rios, con vnos Negros del Monomotapa : era este vn Rey
muy poderoso, y a quien otros pagauau tributo seuor de vna Isla
de trezientas loguas, ay en ella tantas minas de oro . . . . : es
348 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
tambien este Barbaro sefior de muchas minas de plata (la muestra
della han traydo ya por vezes los nuestros a Espana y se hallo ser
mejor que la de Indias) Siendo el Rev Don Sebastian de lament-
able memoria informado dellas, embio a su conquista Francisco
Barreto (Gouernador que auia sido de la India) el afio 1569 el
qual como muriesse en esta empresa, y los Portugueses no
tuuiessen tanto conocimiento de aquella tierra como agora tienen ;
y como tambien el Bey muriesse, dexo la conquista. Vino
despues este gran Bey a tan miserable estado (por la rebelion de
sus vassallos) que le fue for?ado valerse de algunos Portugueses
(que a su Corte auian ydo) y por su medio se confederb con el
Capitan General de aquel castillo de Mozambique Don Esteuan
de Atayde, para que le diesse fauor con que se defendiesse de los
leuantados: hizo por este socorro donacion a su Magestad (por
vna escriptura publica) de las minas de plata; dando para
seguranca desto en rehenes sus proprios hijos permitiendo que los
Beligiosos de Sancto Domingo que en las Iglesias de Sene y Tete
residen) los hiziessen Ckristianos. He querido referir breuemente
las grandezas desta tierra, para que se vea que hasta en las mas
escondidas regiones del mundo tiene su Magestad thesoros, si
quisiere gozarse dellos.
En veinte y nueue de Marco del ano ya dicho de 1607 llego a
vista desta Isla de Mozambique vna armada de oeho naos gruessas
de Olandeses, en que venian mil y quinientos soldados a cargo
de Pablo Varcaden, y dieron fondo fuera de la barra. Estaua
entonces la fortaleza aun sin acabarse (andan estos descuy dos
eslabonados a la paz) con poca artilleria, y la que auia estaua sin
caxas, los lugares por donde auia de jugar desempedrados, y con
muchos hoyos, no auia artillero, ni soldado de paga ; la gente que
auia era poca, y la que podia tomar armas eran setenta hombres,
los quales el Capitan Don Esteuan de Tayde repartib por los
quatro baluartes de la fortaleza, con quatro Capitanes : Martin
Gomez de Caruallo en el baluarte San Joan : en San Gabriel
Diego de Caruallo: en Sancto Antonio puso Antonio Montero
Corte Beal y en el otto puso Andres de Alpoem de Brito : y lo
mejor que con el no esperado successo pudo ser, se ordenaron
a la defensa. Empepb la armada enemiga a entrar por la barra,
emparejadas las naos de dos en dos, soltando el artilleria (de que
cada vna traya dos ordones) porque con el grande humo no-
pudiessen de la fortaleza bazelle punteria, pero coino ella esta
.Records of South-Eastern Africa. 349
fundada en lugar eminente sobre vna punta que de la Isla sale a
la barra, pudieron los nuestros con su artilleria hazelle mucho
dafio. Estauan en el puerto tres nauios de mercadurias, a dos
abrazaron los Portugueses, y el vno se lleuo el enemigo, el qual
con grande silencio, gastb aquella noche en enterrar los muertos,
y curar heridos : y al otro dia en reparar el dano que sus naos
auian recebido de la fortaleza : fueron despues desembarcando,
sin alguna resistenoia, porque cincuenta mosqueteros que se les
mostraron, no hiz eron mas effecto que darles a entender que
auia gente de guerra en la fortaleza, adonde se retiraron, dexando
pegado fuego a la poblacion que tenian fuera, para que las cosas
que alii se hallassen no fuessen de prouecho al enemigo : pero
como el agua q llouia mitigasse el fuego, quedosse despues
aprouechando de muchas dellas, en dafio nuestro.
Fueron los Olandeses marchando desde la marina hasta el
Monesterio de Sancto Domingo, adonde (por ser sitio acomodado
a ofender, y defenderse del artilleria) hizieron vna trinchea, en
que acestaron dos piecas, con que ernpeparon a batir la fortaleza,
sin recebir algun dano, por quedar tambien reparados con el
muro de la Iglesia, que en lo ancho casi igualaua a sus murallas :
fueron lleuando otra trinchea de pipas de tierra hasta vna eremita
que esta entre el Monesterio, y la fortaleza, y alii pusieron vna
compania de mosqueteros, que por entre estos reparos dauan a los
nuestros grandes cargas muy continuadas, no parecia con esto
persona alguna sobre el muro.
Al otro dia hizieron otra trinchea de la otra parte de la
eremita, adonde pusieron otra pieca de artilleria gruessa, co
otra compania de mosqueteros, y rompiendo la pared de la
capilla mayor, acestaron otra pieca de mayor grandeza que las
otras, y echaua bala de veinte y ocho liuras de hierro : deste
lugar, y del Monesterio, y otros fueron rompiendo la tierra, y
haziendo valos de mas de doze palmos de altura, hasta llegar
cerca de la fortaleza ; y en el Monesterio hizieron vn terre pleno,
sobre que acestaro tres piepas gruessas de artilleria, con que la
batian por la parte mas cercana a sus puertas : enfrente hizieron
otro terrepleno, en que pusieron cinco piecas de artilleria de las
mayores que trayan, porque teinian que los nuestros se las
cegassen, las cubrian con liencos aznles del mismo color de los
fardos, y costales con que tenian reparado todas aquellas estancias
de los valos, y trincheas : erun tan altos, que nuestra artilleria
350 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
no podia offender los enemigos, bien que al descubrir la suya
tambien les hazia dano : no recebia poco el baluarte San Antonio
del terreplano, porque el primero dia de la bateria pusieron por
tierra todo lo alto del, y deshizieron todos los fardos, y costal es,
que por reparo auia los nuestros echo, y co esto les fue forcado
rehazerse la noche siguiente, ayudados de alguna gente para esto
prouechosa, aunque inutil para las armas, y de las mugeres que
de la poblacion se auian recogido a la fbrtaleza.
Auia diez y ocho dias que el enemigo era desembarcado en que
(no siendo mas de mil y quinientos soldados, y algunos gastadores)
tenian echo quatro baluartes, 6 terreplenos, dos plataformas, rota
la tierra por muchas partes, y lleuada en altura de doze palmos,
y diez de ancho, hasta la misma fortaleza, y trabajado con tanto
cuydado, y perseuerancia que parece que vencia la misma dureza
de las piedras: algunos dellos perdian la vida en esta obra:
obligaualos a ello con grandes exortaciones su Maesse de campo,
el qual andaua armado de armas blancas, siempre a vista de los
nuestros, pareciendole que alii no podria ser offendido dellos,
pero fue muerto de la fortaleza, y siendo por los companeros
lleuado de alii, luego otro succedio en su lugar, que fue con-
tinuando con la obra mas acauteladamente.
Batieron en estos dias la fortaleza con siete piecas de campana,
y muchos berfos, y dieron grandes cargas de mosqueteria (que
por sus estancias auia) tan continuadamente, que no passo ninguno
en que los tiros de artilleria no fuessen cieuto y veinte : despues
amaneciron vn dia treinta passos del baluarte San Gabriel, con vn
terrepleno echo de inadera muy junta, y pusieron muchos
caxones de tierra auialos hallado en la poblacion) vnos sobre
otros, en que acestaron muchos berfos, y guarnecieron con
dozientos mosqueteros, los quales sin mucho interualo dauan
cargas a la fortaleza, y al baluarte San Gabriel, a que descubrian
casi todo, y como la distancia era poca, no recebian dano de
nuestra artilleria. Pudo con los nuestros el desseo de la defensa,
y la venganpa del mal que padecian tanto, que antes de ser
mafiana hizieron sobre dos puntas que del baluarte, y el parapeto
se estendian azia el campo dos estancias de madera, en que
pusieron algunos costales de tierra, de donde hizieron aquel dia
notable dafio a los enemigos, matando al que se descubria aunque
con grande peligro por la bateria de los bercos y mosquetes)
liasta el poner del Sol, en quo vn Olandes (como estauau tun
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 351
cerca leuantb la voz, diziendo : Portugueses, el matar callando es
solo de fieras, no se haze la guerra entre hombres politicos con
tanto silencio : varies casos nos hizieron enemigos, pero naturaleza
a todos hizo hermanos: Descancemos, y demonos cuenta do
nuestros successes, no para aliuiar los animos,sino para engrandecer
cada qual sus hechos, y boluer a pelear con mayor esfuerco ;
tenemos para esto licencia de nuestro General : si alcancays lo
mismo del vuestro, lo estimaremos. Bien oya Don Esteuan de
Tayde estas razones, porque estaua presente a ellas, y entendiendo
que esta tregua podia ser de algun aliuio a sus soldados, y tambien
para reparar algunos dafios recebidos, concedio que seguramente
pudiessen hablar con ellos, la primera media hora del quarto de
prima. Auian los enemigos procurado esta tregua, para con
mayor dissimulacion poder llegar a la muralla de la fortaleza las
galerias, y maquinas que auian echo, y como eran muy grandes
no las podian traer por dentro de los valos, y por de fuera venian
expuestas a la artilleria de la fortaleza.
Llegb la hora de la tregua, y se mostraron algunos Olandeses
mas cerca del muro, entre su baluarte, y el de San Gabriel :
saludaron los nuestros : dieronle buenas nueuas de la salud de su
Magestad, (que esta en el Cielo) de algunas cosas de la Corte, y
del Reyno de Portugal, diziendo, que el ano atraz no auian
passado naos a la India, que la occasion no auia sido el viento
Sur, como alia se auia escripto por tierra, pero que aquella
armada que alii tenian, con otra muy grande esquadra que en su
compania entonces yua, se atrauessb en la barra de Lisboa, y no
dexara salir por ella ningun baxel, en quanto durara la mocion
de poder yr a la India : que en aquel presente ano no tenian que
esperar, porque el Reyno estaua tan impossibilitado, que no
podria embiar mas de tres, 6 quatro carracas viejas, y mal
aparejadas, las quales no podrian escapar de aquella armada que
alii tenian, y de otras treze naos, por que aguardauan : que
tambien no tenian que esperar socorro de la India, porque el
Virrey Don Martin Alfonso de Castro auia lleuado al Sur todo lo
que en ella auia, adonde le auian desbaratado otras catorze naos
suyas que tenian puesto cerco a Malaca ; que ya todas aquellas
fortalezas le estauan sujectas, y presto se lo estarian todas las que
quedauan ; pero que no se espantauan ya de sus malos successos,
porque despues que auian perdido la libertad, quedando sujectos
a Castilla degenerauan de los antigos Portugueses, de quien
352 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
ya no parecian descendientes. Los nuestros (agradeciendoles
primero las buenas nueuas que de la salud de su Magestad les
dauan les respondieron, que a las otras no dauan credito, porque
su poder no passaua del ordinario officio de piratas, que quando
por descuydo de los Espanoles, o mal gouierno, aspirassen a
mayores cosas, seria en vano, que sus intentos les seruirian solo
de manifestar al mundo mayor rebelion : que quanto mas se
jactassen de que y a toda la India era suya, mas grandes hazian
sus delictos, y mayor su soberbia : que las occasiones auian
mostrado que sus fuercas no se estendian a mas que a baxeles
desarmados desuiandose siempre de aquellos de que podian
recebir dano : que si querian experimental* si los que estauan en
aquella fortaleza eran descendientes de los antigos Portugueses,
alcancassen licencia de su General para cincuenta Olandeses
entrar en campo con veinte y cinco Portugueses, y que en este
desafio se cocluyesse la pretencion de la fortaleza, que su Capitan
General seguraua el campo, y daria rehenes a cumplir la palaura ;
que el eligir las armas, y el dia, dexauan a su aluedrio. Suspenses
quedaron los Olandeses vn rato, como que no auian deliberado la
respuesta, hasta que haziendo los nuestros instancia por ella, dixo
vno, que lo comunicaria con su General Y porque los nuestros
mostraron que entendian dellos rehusar el desafio : respodieron,
que era costubre antigua de pocos, viendose en semejantes aprietos,
sacar fuercas de flaqueza ; que mal podria el Capitan auenturar
veinte y cinco soldados, quando todos los que estauan en la
fortaleza no llegauan a ciento, que mejor seria tomar bucii consejo,
con tiempo, y entregarse, que llegar al vltimo estado, y rompi-
miento de la fortaleza, occasion en que la piedad no tenia lugar,
y la licensiosa furia de la guerra todo lo arruyna : que procurassen
saluar las vidas, que era lo que se deuia estimar, pues estauan
ciertos que quando los muros perseuerassen contra su artilleria, no
podian durarles municiones, y bastimientos, mas de tres mezes,
que ellos tenian muy bien medidos con su possibilidad, que si el
hambre, y las otras necessidades de cercados los auian de obligar
a rendirse entonces, (juica co meuos ventajas, porque lo guardauan
para tiempo en que con la fortaleza perdiessen las vidas, y la
libertad con las haziendas. Los Portuguezes pareciendoles
mengua, y falta de su natural brio escuchar razones semejantos,
les respondieron ; que pues sabian tan mal gnardallcs el decor* >,
no <jueriiin miis oyr hublurlos, ni otra conuersacion ulguiui o>u
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 353
ellos, mas que la de las armas, en que no se mostrauan tan fuertes
por las obras, como en las palauras.
Estauan ya los enemigos tan cerca, que le parecio al Capitan
Don Esteuan que pudiese prejudicalle vna puente lleue dica que
estaua en el fosso y daua seruentia del lugar a la fortaleza,
quando estaua liure, y porque tambien los enemigos no pudiessen
aprovecharse de la madera della, para alguna de sus maquinas,
embib vna noche diez soldados, que el quarto de la prima rendido
salieron por vn postigo, y con mucha diligencia tomaron de alii
la puente, y la escondieron a vista del enemigo, y segando la
puerta de la fortaleza de la parte de fuera, se retiraron a ella :
toparon en el camino dos espias Olandesas, y echando mano
dellas, empegaron a dar vozes por los companeros, con que todo el
exercito se puso en arma, y toco a recoger : los dos oyendo el
alboroto, temiendo que acudiessen a quitalle los prezos, los
mataron, y se entraron por donde auian salido.
Deliberados los Olandeses en querer abreuiar el cerco, dieron
fin a diez y siete galerias, 6 mantas de altura, y ancho de los
valos, con que auian llegadose a la fortaleza, y las metieron por
dentro dellos, hasta el baluarte adonde las sacaron fuera de los
valos de noche. Todo el dia siguiente estuuieron aquellas
maquinas a vista de los nuestros, sin que con el artilleria pudiessen
hazerles dano alguno. La noche siguiente fueron abriendo vn
grande fosso, para por el llegar a papar la muralla : pudieron yr
haziendo esta obra sin ser sentidos, por la grande tempestad de
la noche, que con el obscuro agua, truenos, y vientos, los
fauorecia, no se oya rumor alguno de los golpes que para abrir la
tierra dauan, hasta que reparando bien en ello los cuydadosos
defensores, vieron algunas centellas que el hierro con los golpes
hazia saltar de las piedras en que dauan. El Capitan del
baluarte San Gabriel (para certificate de lo que barrutaua) se
dexo baxar con vna soga por el muro y aduirtiendo que se venian
ya llegando a el, dio vozes a los soldados, que llegassen a impedir
el intento del enemigo. Tocosse la campana del rebato, y todos
se pusieron en orden, luego empeparona tirar a bulto algunos
mosquetes, y sin saber de que effecto serian, dieron fuego a
algunas alcanzias de poluora, y las dexaron caer al pie de la
muralla; con esto descubrieron los enemigos, que casi llegauan
ya con la maquina al baluarte San Gabriel : echaron los nuestros
azia aquella parte muchos arteficios de fuego, con que abrazaron
n. 2 A
354 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
much os enemigos, y los mas se fueron retirando a su baluarte,
dexando los instruuientos de la obra, sin que por aquella noche
vsassen mas dellas.
Venida la manana, descubrieron los nuestros vn fosso tan ancho,
que en la parte adonde se acercaua mas a la fortaleza, estauan
dos galerias emparejadas de altura de veinte palmos: la noche
siguiente se llegaron con otras dos (sin que se lo impidiessen los
danos que de la muralla les hazian con los arteficios de fuego,) y
las arrimaron al mismo baluarte, y las refirniaron de manera, que
ni con piedras muy grandes, ni con algun fuego las pudieron
derribar, 6 abrazar Apartados los enemigos, pidieron los soldados
licencia al General para darles vn assalto, y abrazarles las dos
maquinas mas cercanas ; concedioles lo que pedian, y con orden
suya se conformaron para esto veinte y cinco soldados, y tomando
por caudillo San Pedro Martyr (cuyo dia de su fiesta era el
siguiente) salieron de noche, embiaron vno de la compaiiia a
descubrir el campo, y a pocos passes dio con dos exploradores
Olandeses, los quales dando rebato a los suyos, se pusieron en
arma luego. El Capitan Don Esteuan pareciendole que ya
aurian perdido la occasion del hecho que yuan emprender, inando
tocar a recoger, a tiempo que ya los nuestros auian dado principio
a la obra : entrando por los fossos pegaron de las maquinas para
quitarlas de alii, y no pudieron hazerlo por estar clauadas en la
tierra, y ser tan fuertes, y pezadas, que ni mouerse podian ; pero
consitados de su mismo furor (viendo que les succedia mal su
intento) le passaron a los enemigos, hizieron rostro a ellos
(estauan treinta passos del baluarte San Gabriel) hallaron en el
fosso que auian echo para la fortaleza quatro soldados Olandeses
que estauan de posta, acometiendolos mataron dos, y los otros dos
heridos los entregaron a dos companeros, que los fueron guiando
a la parte por donde auian salido : los veinte y tres enuistieron
los valos de los enemigos, los quales juntos hasta ciento vinieron
a los nuestros, dandoles vna ruciada de mosqueteria, para terror,
en ninguno hizieron dafio, temiendo hazello tambien a los com-
paneros, con la obscuridad de la noche, que todos auia rnesclado,
y no diuisauan los Olandeses quales eran vnos, 6 quales otros :
con esto tuuieron lugar los Portugueses de matar algunos, y los
fueron lleuando (despues de passados los valos) hasta su cuerpo
de guarda, adonde siendo socorridos de los companeros ernpef aron
a hazer grande resistencia, pero quedando de peor codiciou que
Becords of South-Eastern Africa. 355
los nuestros, por auerse subido en los caxones de tierra que por
trinchea auia puesto, y por quedar muy altos en aquel lugar
recebian mas dano de los nuestros, y les hazian menos : ayudaua
tambien la fortuna de los pocos Portugueses, ser aquel lugar
estrecho adonde peleauan, y los enemigos muchos, en los quales,
despues de aner quebrado las lanpas, se valieron de las picas de
los enemigos ; hizieronlos (al fin) retirar hasta su mismo baluarte,
adonde acudiendo su General con quinientos hombres, se empe-
caron a retirar los nuestros (siempre con la cara a ellos) azia la
fortaleza, sin recebir dano notable : y como los enemigos del
socorro se diessen mucha priessa, llegaron al fosso de la fortaleza,
casi a tiempo que los Portugueses le auian passado por vn lugar
estrecho en que les hizieron rostro, quedando ya con las espaldas
seguras en la muralla, y por vno, y otro lado amparados del agua
de la marea que auia llenado el fosso, no dexando mas de vn
pequeiio lugar, en que solo cincuenta Olandeses podian pelear, y
como llouia, no podian los mosquetes tomar fuego, y los nuestros
se defendian sin notable peligro, hasta que siendo sentidos de la
fortaleza, fueron de los muros ayudando a los suyos, y matandoles
los Olandeses con muchos arteficios de fuego, de manera, que los
obligaron a retirarse desordenados, y algunos cay an en el fosso,
donde el agua los cubria, y ahogaua. Alcanyada esta vitoria,
fueron los veinte y tres al postigo por donde auian salido, y los
dos compafieros que alii quedaron con los dos Olandeses, viendo
que dauan vozes para que los suyos le acudiessen, los mataron,
temiendo ser sentidos, y con las cabecas los aguardaron, y se
entraron todos en la fortaleza, aunque bien heridos, contentos
del successo.
Los Olandeses, 6 porque no se vuiessen bien con la deliberada
osadia te tampocos, y con esso se les difficultasse mas la empresa,
b porque tuuiessen grandes dafios que reparar (segun se entendia
suspendieron la bateria, y en todo el dia siguiente no vuo alguno
que diesse fuego a pie?a, 6 mosquete. Don Esteuan queriendo
aprouecharse desta suspension, mando vn soldado que pegasse
fuego a las maquinas, el qual ayudado de los materiales que de
encima del muro le echaron, las abrazo, y se retire, sin que del
baluarte Olandes (que tan vesino estaua) le tirassen bala, 6 se lo
impidiessen de algun modo.
En esta suspension de armas estuuieron los Olandeses ocho
dias, en fin de los quales embio su General pedir al Capitau Don
2 A 2
356 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Esteuan licencia para escreuirle, que entre tanto que lo hazia, y
le respondia, sessassen las armas de vna, y otra parte concedida,
llegaron al pie de la muralla seys Olandeses vestidos en traje
Espanol, saludaron los nuestros, y les dieron la carta por vn cordel,
que del muro echaron para esso, contenia lo siguiente.
Notoria cosa es a los que tienen noticia de la guerra, que los
enemigos hagan vnos a otros todo el dafio possible. En esta que
auemos empepado es nuestro intento destruyr, y abrazar todas las
Iglesias, Monesterios, casas, y palrnares desta Isla, y los de mas
edificios, y eredades de tierra firme ; pero antes que lo executemos,
lie querido hazerlo saber a V Sefioria, para que pueda libertar la
perdida que desto se puede seguir; para lo qua], con toda
breuedad, podra embiar personas para ello, y les otorgamos saluo
conduto, despues que por los portadores desta vuieremos entendido
su deliberacion de V. Seiioria : fecha en siete de Mayo del afio
607. PABLO VANCAEDEN.
Vista la carta por Don Esteuan de Tayde, consideradas las
razones que auia para no acostumbrallos a semejantes rescates,
respondio a los Olandeses en esta forma.
Obligado de cortesia respondo a la de V. Sefioria : que ni quiero
su seguro, 6 saluo conduto para mis soldados, ni doy credito a las
razones de su carta : no tengo otra orden de mis Mayores, ni otro
intento de mas que de hazelle toda la guerra que me fuere possible.
Fue for9oso no poner los nuestros en precio los males que deler-
minauan hazer en lo que estaua fuera de muro, 6 defensa, porque
la cudicia los obligara a querer vender los mismos dauos a los
nuestros todas, 6 las mas vezes que passassen con armada gruessa.
Con la respuesta de Don Esteuan, pegaron los Olandeses fuego a
todo el lugar, talaron los palmares, y arboledas de la Isla, y las
huertas que eran muchas ; y lo que es rnucho mas de sentir, y de
llorar, abrazaron los perfidos ereges, con nefanda furia, todas las
imagines que auia en las Iglesias, despues de que con mil barbaros
desacatos las trataron (esto auia de anticipar el castigo desta gente
rebelde, y obstinada.) Auiendo dado fin a este hecko fiero,
fueron leuantando el cerco, lleuando con grande silencio el
artilleria, y embarcandose estuuieron en las naos ocko dias, adonde
mas seguros pudiessen descanpar ; y passados salieron de la barm
vna mafiana de niebla, fueron de la fortaleza muy mal tratados
del artilleria, y vna de sus naos del todo destrocada, con que ellos
mismos dieron en tierra para sacacalle el artilleria, y lo que mas
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 357
lleuaua de municiones y bastimiento, despues le pegaron fuego,
y a las otras repararon, y partieron de alii. Murieron de los
Olandeses mas de trezientos : y de los nuestros fueron muertos
treze, en el discurso de dos mezes que duro el cerco.
Estando despues reparando la fortaleza, llego de Portugal Don
Jeronymo Coutmo con ties naos, de que yua por General,
desembarcando mando a su gente que deshiziesse los baluartes de
los enemigos, y los valos, e igualasse la tierra de los fossos, mando
acabar de derribar el Monesterio de Sancto Domingo, y la eremita
de San Gabriel, porque si boluiessen hallassen menos aquellos
reparos, con que offendian a la fortaleza a que tainbieu proueyo
de moniciones, y bastimiento, acudiendo con grande diligencia a
todo. Queriendo despues dar fin al viage de la India, fue vista
el armada Olandesa, que auiendose reparado en la Isla del
Comoro (que esta cerca) daua buelta a ver si hallaua la fortaleza
descuydada, 6 si hallaua alguna nao del Keyno de Portugal, por
que aguardauan. Llegaron los enemigos a la barra, y viendo
nuestras tres naos que estauan dentro, se quizieron informar del
poder que trayan, y del estado de la fortaleza, para lo qual
echaron fuera vna lancha, y la embiaron arrimada a tierra firme,
por fuera de la Isla de San lorge hasta meterse en el rio de
Calunde, sin ser vista de los nuestros, adonde estuuo sin poder
tomar alguna persona de la Isla, que era lo que pretendia ; y al
romper de el Alua, le dieron ca$a los bateles de las naos hasta las
suyas, sin que por su ligereza pudiessen tomarla : viendo los
Olandeses que le seguian su lancha, soltaron el artilleria, y inos-
queteria, para terror, y que viessen quan bien aparejados venian.
Estauan nuestras naos llenas de banderolas, y gallardetes, y otros
apercebimientos, mostrando que con alegria los aguardauan;
pero no les dib el temor lugar a tentar la fortuna, pareciendoles
difficultosa la empresa. Dexaronse los enemigos estar surtos en
la barra sin hazer mas de entrar, y salir de guarda, con grande
estruendo de su mosqueteria. Don Jeronymo Coutmo despues de
auer socorrido la fortaleza) considerando quanto importaua dar
remedio a la falta que naos de Portugal en la India hazian,
determine de passar, aunque rompiesse con el enemigo, el qual,
6 porque entendiendolo assi, lo rehuzasse, 6 por querer dar fin
a su nauegacion, lleuo las ancoras, y dexo la barra, con que
nuestras naos se fueron tras ellas a la India, adonde llegaron
primero.
358 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Auianse facilitado los Olandeses la conquista de Mopambique,
con tan ciertas esperan9as, que antes de partirse de Olanda el
General Vaucarden dib (segu despues se supo) el omenaje de la
fortaleza de Mopambique, teniendo por cierta su conquista : tanto
ha crescido en los rebeldes la confianca, y el atreuimiento, con el
poder de Principes impiis que para ello les dan fauor, y ayuda
con que no solo ban procurado perturbar el comercio de las
Indias Orientales, y Occidentales, mas tambien ban passado a
querer impedir la predicacion Euangelica en aquellas Prouincias,
sembrado sectas, y doctrinas nueuas de sus Eresiarcas. Prometib
Vancarden sustentar la fortaleza, hasta que el Agosto que se
seguia le embiassen socorro con que se pudiessen defender del
armada de Portugal, que por este tiernpo alii suele llegar. Por
esta razon embiaron los Estados rebeldes treze naos, con mas de
dos mil hombres, a cargo de Petro Blens, el qual llegb a la Isla
de Sancta Elena tan temprano, que le fue necessario aguardur
alii la mocion de los Punientes, para passar el Cabo de Buena
Esperanca.
Partio desta Isla a tiempo que en veinte cinco de Julio llegaron
las treze naos a Mozambique : pusieron luego vna bandera blanca
en la Capitana, que deuia de ser la senal para saber si la fortaleza
estaua por suya, entendiendolo assi Don Esteuan de Tayde,
mando poner en la fortaleza otra colorada, y juntamente hizo dar
fuego a vna piepa de artilleria con bala, para mostrarles que con
ellas los aguardaua. Con esto quizo Petro Blens tambien teiitar
la fortuna, fue entrando la barra, y desernbarcando en las lanchas
con tanta diligencia, que no tuuieron lugar los de la poblacion
de recoger a la fortaleza sus haziendas ; el mismo rigor passo vna
nao que alii auia inuernado, y por estarmal proueyda, la tomaron:
pero despues, a pezar del mismo enemigo, fue por los nuestros
abrazada, con vn galeon del trato de Goa, que tambien alii
estaua.
Pusose en orden la defensa de la fortaleza, con la breuedad
possible, aunque contrabajo, por la grande priessa con que los
Olandeses desembarcaron : despues de se auer dado los lugares
de la defensa a quien tocauan, al repartir de la poluora, dexo por
descuydo) vn soldado bisono caer la cuerda en mucha parte della,
con que abrazb algunos hombres : passara mas a delante esta
desgracia, si no la atajara la mucha diligencia de Don Esteuan de
Tayde, que con grande peligro de su persoua mitigo el fucgo que
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 359
pudiera abrazar la fortaleza, 6 a lo menos los almazenes de las
municiones.
Sentaron los enemigos el cnerpo de su exercito, adonde los
passados auian echo, era el Monesterio de Sancto Domingo,
fueronse llegando con trincheas de mar a mar, hasta la fortaleza,
y quarenta passos della leuantaron dos baluartes de tierra, poco
distantes el vno del otro, y en medio dellos hizieron vna trinchea,
con que fueron continuando hasta la marina, y co ella se cerraro,
por ser acomodada a ello la parte q de la Isla viene, con la
fortaleza hasta el mar : pusieron en los baluartes ocho piefas, y
las nias que quedaron en el sitio del Monesterio, empefaron a
batir la fortaleza muy perseueradamente, de manera, que al otro dia
de la bateria vuo personas que contaron mas de trezientos tiros
de artilleria, con que arruynaron grande parte del lienpo de la
muralla (que esta entre el baluarte San Antonio, y San Gabriel,)
adonde su artilleria estaua acestada, y se auian echo larga entrada
para la fortaleza, por la qual, si fueran Portugueses, vuieran sin
duda subido: pero como los Oladeses no son mas q buenos
artilleros, y fuera desto, no valen mas de para abrazarse, como
desesperados ereges, no tuuieron animo para acometer la entrada
por lo arruynado de la muralla.
Gesso la bateria con el dia, y venida la noche se repararon los
nuestros con diligente cuydado : pusieron fuegos en el muro, para
ver si los enemigos se llegauan con el obscuro de la noche, por no
atreuerse de dia. Tanto que fue mafiana, y vieron los enemigos
la diligeneia con que los nuestros se auian reparado del dano
passado : los combatientes de que los muros estauan guarnecidos,
y el valor con que defendian sus puestos, afloxaron la bateria,
como quien desconfiana de poder entrar la fortaleza. Los nuestros
queriedo aprouecharse de la occasion de su temor, pidieron veiute
y cinco dellos licencia al Capitan Don Esteuan, para dar vn assalto
al enemigo, como el del cerco passado (bien que a differente
hora,) concedida, salieron a las doze del dia de la fortaleza, con
grande silencio, y tanto que les parecib que podian ser descu-
biertos, dieron de golpe en la primera estancia de los Olandeses
(inuocando Sanciiago) de manera que a todos hizieron dexar las
primeras trincheas, y se fueron retirando para el cuerpo de guarda,
adonde estaua su General : siguierolos dandole en las espaldas,
hasta que de la fortaleza les tocaron a recoger : fue notable el
animo de vno de los veinte y cinco llamado Moraria, el qual
360 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
viendo tres Oladeses apartados de sus baluartes, entre sus
trincheas, y la fortaleza (estauan con picas armados de peto,
espaldar, y murrion) los acometio, y con vna lanya niatb dos a
vista de todos los que estauan sobre el muro, y al otro que subio
a la trinchea tambien trato muy mal. Viendo los del assalto que
los socorros del enemigo se venian llegando, se retiraron, dexando
muertos treinta, trayendo consigo dos banderas, tres caxas, quinze
mosquetes, petos, y picas, que todo auian dexado con el subito
temor los enemigos : fue tanto su desacuerdo, y prissa con que
desampararon sus puestos, que si los nuestros lleuaran aparejos,
pudieran clauarle el artilleria.
Al otro dia se vino vn soldado de los enemigos corriendo a
los nuestros, y llegado al pie del muro dio vozes, diziendo ser
Catholico, echandole sogas con que le subieron, dixo que era
Frances, y con mucha verdad informo a Don Esteuan de lo que
passaua en el armada, de su disignio, y de como le auian muerto
mas de dozientos hombres; y que quando llegaron les parecio
que la fortaleza estuuiesse tomada por la primera esquadra,
(como el General della auia prometido en Olanda) de cuyo
malsuccesso estauan muy sentidos, y de cofiados de poder entrarla :
tambien le informo de otras cosas quejconuenia saber.
Este mismo dia embib el General Olandes al Portugues vn
trompeta con vna carta, en q le dezia, que por les principios de
aquella guerra podria juzgar quales vendrian a ser los fines
della : que le aconsejaua embiasse con tiempo algunas personas
de confianca que tratassen con el alguna buena composicion, y
coucierto, antes que del todo quedasse expuesto a la furia de sus
soldados. Don Esteuan le respondio, que no tenia que tratar
con el composicion alguna, mas de aquella que las armas deter-
minassen; que ya auia obligado con ellas a Vancarden dexar
aquella Isla, y lo mismo esperaua hazer con el.
Poco despues se passaron a los nuestros quatro soldados de los
enemigos, diziendo, que eran Catholicos : el General Don Esteuan
los recogio, con prosupuesto de que lo eran : pero el Olandes
lo sintio de manera, que luego con grande diligencia embio
pedirselos, amenazandole con que si no los diesse mataria otros
Portugueses que tenia prezos, y auia tornado en la nao, antes
que los nuestros la pegassen fuego. Kespondiole Don Esteuan,
que no le entregaria los soldados, pues con nombre de Catholicos
se auian amparado del. Pero el impio Olaudes mando apart a r
Records of South- Eastern Africa. 301
seys Portugueses de los que tenia consigo, y atadas las manos,
los mando matar a balazos, a vista de la fortaleza.
Al otro dia que fueron diez y siete de Agosto del ano ya dicho,
se mostro vn galeon de Portugal que yua para la India, y
queriendo acometer la barra, le rindio el enemigo, despues de
larga resistencia, hazia la gente del, numero de ciento y sessenta
personas los mas dellos enfermos, a que el General Olandes
repartio por sus naos, y les dixo que escriuiessen al Capitan Don
Esteuan, diesse los quatro que a el se auian passado, y que no
haziendolo, daria la muerte a todos. Ellos lo hizieron assi
escriuiendole vna carta, en que le representauan su vltimo estado,
quedando condenados a morir. Don Esteuan (despues de leyda
la carta) se compadecio natablemente de los prezos : mas viendo
que el entregar los Olandeses encontraua su fidelidad, se delibero
en entregar aquellos que dezian ser Catholicos : quizo (al fin)
auenturar las vidas de tantos Portugueses, por conseruar la de
quatro Olandeses que podian enganarle en lo que dezian.
Quedaron con esta respuesta los afligidos prizioneros muy
atemorizados, pareciendoles que fuesse en ellos executada la yra
del General Olandes ; mas dissinaulando la venganpa prornetida,
y contentandose solo con las amenazas echas, leuanto el cerco a
diez y nueue de Agosto, mandando primero pegar fuego a la
poblacion, y a lo que por aquella Isla auia. Y con el silencio
de la noche, y su escuridad, salio la barra, con toda el armada.
Echo todos los Portugueses que auia tornado en el galeon, y
en la nao que los nuestros abrazaron, en la Isla de San lorge
enfrente : y se fue derrota a la India.
[I must acknowledge my indebtedness to Senhor Eduardo
Henrique da Silva Guimaraes for assistance in making an English
translation of the foregoing, as, to my regret, I am not sufficiently
acquainted with the Spanish dialect to do it unaided. G. M. T.]
362 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Extracts from " Military Achievements of the Portuguese," * written
(in the Spanish language) by Luiz COELHO DE BARBUDA,
servant of His Majesty, a native and residing in the neighbour-
hood of the city of Lisbon.
After the year 1607 the Dutch attempted the conquest of
Mozambique; for this enterprise taking advantage of the very
great want of the fortress in everything necessary for its defence,
of which (by great diligence) they had obtained information. In
the year 1604 they were there about a month, when they sur-
veyed the bar, inspected the reefs, and all things most important
for their design. Mozambique is a small island which lies on
the coast of Africa in sixteen degrees South latitude : it is
separated from the mainland by a river by which they get all the
necessaries of life : it has a port sufficiently large to contain
many ships : the land lies low, and for that reason is unhealthy,
on account of the swamps, which infect the air with their exhala-
tions, and injure the health of the inhabitants. The natives of
this country are negro idolaters, although the principal people
of the island (when Dom Vasco da Gama discovered it, as we
have said) were of brown colour, Moors by creed, and of different
nations whose interests had brought them there : it is a place of
large commerce, with the rivers of the Zambesi, whence our
people bring gold, ambergris, and ivory, in exchange for glass
beads, black handkerchiefs of little value : at certain times fairs
are held on the borders of those rivers, with certain negroes of
Monomotapa : this was a very powerful king, and to whom others
paid tribute, lord of an island of three hundred leagues, and
there are in it many gold mines . . . . : this barbarian is also
lord of many silver mines, a sample of which has been taken
several times by our people to Spain and was found to be better
than that of the Indies (i.e. America). The king Dom Sebastian
of lamentable memory being informed of their existence, in the
year 1569 sent Francisco Barreto, who had been governor of
India, to conquer them, and as he died in this enterprise, and as
the Portuguese had not so much knowledge of that country then
as they have now, and also as the king had died, the conquest was
* A crown quarto volume of six hundred and sixty-nine pages, published at
Lisbon in 16^4, now difficult to be obtained. It is regarded in Portugal as a
wurk of high authority. G. M. T.
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 363
abandoned. This great king came afterwards to such a miserable
state, in consequence of the rebellion of his vassals, that he was
obliged to have recourse to some Portuguese who had gone to
his court, and through their aid he entered into an alliance with
the captain general of the castle of Mozambique Dom Estevao
d'Ataide, in order that he should do him the favour to protect
him from the insurgents: in return for this help he made a
donation to His Majesty, by a public deed, of the silver mines ;
giving as security his own sons as hostages with permission that
the Dominican friars, who reside in the churches of Sena and
Tete, should convert them to Christianity. I have wished to
refer briefly to the grandeur of this country, in order that it may
be seen that in the most hidden regions of the world His Majesty
possesses treasures, if he wished to enjoy them.
On the 29th of March 1607 there arrived in sight of this
island of Mozambique a fleet of eight large Dutch ships, in which
came fifteen hundred soldiers under command of Paul van
Caerden, and they cast anchor outside the bar. The fortress
was then unfinished, the neglect being due to the peace ; it was
provided with little artillery, and that without carriages, the
embrasures were unpaved and with many cracks, there were no
artillerymen nor paid soldiers ; the people in the place were few
in number, and those who were able to bear arms were seventy
men, whom the captain Dom Estevao d'Ataide distributed among
the four bastions of the fortress under four captains : Martim
Gomes de Carvalho in the bastion S. Joao, in S. Gabriel Diogo
de Carvalho, in S. Antonio he placed Antonio Monteiro Corte
Real, and in the other he placed Andre de Alpoim de Brito ;
and in the best way that they could, though not expecting
success, they prepared for defence. The enemy began to cross
the bar with their ships arranged in two lines, firing their
artillery, of which each one carried two tiers, because in conse-
quence of the thick smoke they could not direct their fire from
the fortress, but as it is built on a height upon a point which
runs out from the island towards the bar, our men with their
artillery could do much harm to them. In the port three
merchant vessels were lying, two of them were set on fire by the
Portuguese, and the other was captured by the enemy, who in
great silence spent that night in burying their dead and attend-
ing to their wounded : and the next day in repairing the damage
364 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
that their ships had sustained from the fortress : they afterwards
landed without any resistance, because fifty musketeers who
were shown to them were intended for no other purpose than to
make known to them that there were people of war in the fortress,
to which they retired, having set fire to the town which was
outside, so that the things which were contained in it should nut
be of profit to the enemy : but as the rain which was falling
extinguished the fire, they afterwards obtained much, to our loss.
The Dutch marched from the seaside to the monastery of
Saint Domingo, where, as this was well situated for offensive
operations and for protection from artillery, they made a trench, in
which they placed two guns, with which they began to fire upon
the fortress, without receiving any damage, because they were
also protected by the wall of the church, which was in its extent
almost equal to the walls (of the fortress) : they made another
trench of casks filled with earth as far as a hermitage which is
between the monastery and the fortress, and there they stationed
a company of musketeers, who from these works made con-
tinuous discharges upon ours, although no person was seen upon
the wall.
Next day they made another trench on the other side of the
hermitage, where they placed another large gun, with another
company of musketeers, and opening the wall of the chancel
they placed in position a piece of artillery of larger size than the
others, and which threw balls of iron twenty-eight pounds in
weight : at this place, and at the monastery, and other positions
they dug the soil, and made trenches of more than twelve hand-
breadths deep, until they got close to the fortress ; and in the
monastery they made an earthen bank, on which they placed
three heavy guns, with which they battered it at the part nearest
the gateways: in front they made another bank of earth, on
which they placed five of the largest guns they had, because
they feared that our people might damage them, they disguised
them with calico of the same colour as the bales and sacks (full
of earth) with which they protected their works : they were so
high that our artillery could not injure the enemy, although
when they were discovered some damage was done to them : the
bastion S. Antonio received no little damage from the bank of
earth, because on the first day the battering broke down all the
upper part of it, and destroyed all the bales and sacks (full of
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 365
earth) which our people had made for defence, and in conse-
quence of this they were compelled during the following night
to remake them, assisted by some people useful for this purpose
although useless for bearing arms, and by the women from the
town who had taken shelter in the fortress.
Eighteen days had elapsed since the landing of the enemy in
which, not being more than fifteen hundred soldiers and some
pioneers, they had built four batteries or banks of earth and two
platforms, had opened the earth in many parts, and raised banks
co the height of twelve palms and width of ten nearly up to the
fortress, and worked with so much care and perseverance that it
seems as if they surpassed the hardness of stone : some of them
lost their lives in this work : compelled to it by the great urgings
of their master of the camp, who went about in white armour,
always in sight of our people, bearing himself as if he could not
be injured by them, but he was killed from the fortress, and
being carried away by his companions, was at once replaced by
another, who proceeded with the work more carefully.
They battered the fortress in these days with seven field guns
and many short cannon, and they made great discharges of
musketry (which they could do from their positions) so con-
tinuously that no day passed in which the discharges of artillery
were under a hundred and twenty ; afterwards they gradually
approached one day within thirty paces of the bastion S. Gabriel,
with a platform of timber well put together, and they placed
many boxes of earth, which they had found in the town, one
upon the other, on which they mounted many short guns, and
garrisoned it with two hundred musketeers, who at short intervals
fired upon the fortress and the bastion S. Gabriel, from which
everything could be plainly seen, and as the distance was short,
they did not receive any damage from our artillery. The desire
to protect themselves, and revenge for the evil they had suffered,
acted upon our people so much that before daybreak they made
two timber scaffolds on two points which extended from the
bastion and the parapet towards the camp, on which they placed
some sacks full of earth, whence they did on that day notable
damage to the enemy, killing any one who exposed himself,
although in great danger from the battery of short guns and
muskets, until sunset, at which time a Dutchman, as they were
so close, shouted, saying : Portuguese ! killing without com-
366 Eecords of South-Eastern Africa.
munication is only suitable for wild beasts, war is not made
among civilised men with so much silence : various circumstances
made us enemies, but nature made us all brothers : let us desist
from fighting for a little, and let us talk over our successes, not
to relieve the minds, but for each to magnify his deeds, and to
return to the fight with greater zeal ; for this we have permission
from our General ; if you succeed in getting the same from yours,
we shall be delighted. Dom Estevao d'Ataide could well
appreciate these arguments, for he was present at the time, and
thinking that this truce might be of some advantage to his
soldiers, and also for making good some of the damage received,
he consented that they could converse together in safety during
the first half-hour of the first watch. The object of the enemy
in proposing this truce was with greater deceit to push forward
the galleries and the engines they had made towards the wall of
the fortress, and as these were very large they could not convey
them within the trenches, and outside they would be exposed to
the artillery of the fortress.
The hour of the truce arrived, and some Hollanders showed
themselves closer to the wall, between their battery and that of
S. Gabriel : they saluted our people : they gave them good news
concerning the health of His Majesty (who is in heaven), con-
cerning several occurrences at the court, and of the kingdom of
Portugal, stating that in the preceding year no ships had sailed
for India, that the cause had not been the south wind, as had
been communicated by letters overland, but that the fleet which
they had there, together with another large squadron which was
then sailing in their company, had blockaded the bar of Lisbon,
and had not allowed any vessel to leave while the monsoon
lasted which would enable it to proceed to India : that in that
year they had nothing to expect, because the kingdom was in
such a state of depression that it could not send more than three
or four old carracks, ill fitted out, which could not escape the
fleet they had there and the other thirteen ships which they
were expecting : that also they had no help to expect from India,
because the viceroy Dom Martim Affonso de Castro had taken
to the south all the vessels in those seas, where he had been
defeated by other fourteen ships of theirs which they had
stationed near Malacca; that all those fortresses (i.e. of Malacca)
were already subject to them, and all the remaining ones would
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 367
soon be ; but that these misfortunes did not surprise them,
because since they (i.e. the Portuguese) had lost their indepen-
dence, remaining subjects of Castile, they degenerated from the
old Portuguese, of whom they did not appear to be the descend-
ants. Our people thanking them first for the good news they
gave concerning the health of His Majesty replied that they did
not believe the rest, because they (i.e. the Hollanders) followed
nothing but the ordinary occupation of pirates, that when through
the neglect of the Spaniards, or bad government, they aspired to
greater things, it would be in vain, that their efforts would serve
only to exhibit their rebellion more clearly to the world : that
the greater their boast that the whole of India was already theirs,
the greater they made their own crimes and the greater their
haughtiness : that events had shown that their power did not
extend beyond (capturing) unarmed vessels always avoiding
those from which they could receive injury : that if they wished
to prove whether those who were in that fortress were descendants
of the old Portuguese, they should obtain permission from their
general for fifty Hollanders to enter the field against twenty-five
Portuguese, and that in this challenge the ownership of the
fortress should be decided, that their captain general would
guarantee no interference in the combat, and would give hostages
to keep his word ; that the selection of the arms and the day.
they would leave to their (i.e. the Hollanders') decision. The
Dutch remained for a little while in suspense, as if they had not
arrived at a decision, until our people insisting upon a reply, one
of them said that he would communicate with his general. And
because our people showed that they understood the challenge
was refused, they (i.e. the Hollanders) replied that it was an old
habit of a puny force, seeing itself in such difficulties, to conceal
signs of weakness ; that the captain could hardly risk twenty-
five soldiers, when all that were in the fortress did not reach a
hundred, that the best course would be to take good advice in
time, and surrender, rather than hold out to the last extremity
and until the fall of the fortress, in which event no mercy would
be shown, and the licentious fury of war would lead to total ruin :
that they should endeavour to save their lives, which was what
ought to be taken into consideration, as they might be sure that
even if the walls should withstand their (i.e. the Hollanders')
artillery, the munitions and supplies could not last longer than
368 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
three months, of which the possibility had been well calculated,
that if hunger and other necessities of a siege should compel
them to surrender, perhaps with less advantage, why did they
hold out for the time when with the fortress they might lose
their lives and liberty with their property. The Portuguese,
thinking that it was against their natural mettle to listen to such
reasoning, answered them that as they did not know how to
preserve decorum, they would listen no longer to their prating,
nor have any other conversation with them than that of arms, in
which they did not show themselves so strong in deeds as in.
words.
The enemy were already so close that it seemed to Captain
Dom Estevao that a drawbridge which was over the moat and
gave admittance to the fortress from the place where they were
might cause some injury if it were left exposed, and also that the
enemy might not make use of the wood of it for any of their
engines, he sent out ten soldiers one night after the first watch
who went through a postern, and with much diligence removed
the drawbridge and hid it from the enemy, and blocking up the
gateway of the fortress from the outside, they reentered it : on
the way they came across two Dutch spies, and on seizing them
they began to shout for their companions, upon which the whole
force sprang to arms, and sounded the recall : the two (who
guarded the captives) seeing the disturbance, fearing that they
might come to rescue the prisoners, killed them, and went in by
the same way they had come out.
The Dutch having decided to endeavour to shorten the siege,
constructed seventeen galleries or movable wooden coverings of
sufficient height and width for the trenches with which they had
approached the fortress, and they laid them along as far as the
bastion but took them away from the trenches at night. All the
following day those engines were in sight of our people without
their being able to. do any harm to them with the artillery.
Next night they went on opening a large trench, so as to get
under the wall : they were able to carry on this work without
being noticed, in consequence of a great storm in the night,
which with the darkness, rain, thunder, and wind favoured them ,
the noise of the blows given to open the soil was not heard, until
on looking well into it the watchful defenders saw some sparks
which the iron with the strokes caused to come out of the stones
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 369
which they struck. The captain of the bastion S. Gabriel, in
order to ascertain what was going on, let himself down with a
rope from the wall and noticing that they were already approach-
ing it, shouted to the soldiers to come to prevent the design of
the enemy. The alarm bell was rung, and all placing themselves
in order, immediately began to fire some muskets at random, and
without knowing what effect the shots would have, they set fire
to some grenades and let them drop at the foot of the wall ; by
this means they discovered the enemies, who had nearly reached
the bastion S. Gabriel with their engine : our people threw many
fireballs in that direction, with which they burned many enemies,
and the others withdrew to their battery, leaving behind the
implements of their work, without making more use of them
that night.
Morning having arrived, our people discovered a trench so
wide that at the part nearest the fortress there were two wooden
shields for protection side by side twenty palms high: next
night they approached with two others, without being hindered
by the damage which was caused by the fireballs from the wall,
and placed them against the said bastion, and they made them
so firm that neither with large stones nor with any fire could
they be destroyed or burned. The enemy being in separate
divisions, the soldiers asked the General for permission to sally
out and burn the two nearest engines ; he granted them what
they desired, and under his instructions twenty-five soldiers
made ready for this enterprise, and taking as leader Saint Peter
Martyr, whose festival was the following day, they sallied out in
the night, sent one of the company in advance as a scout, and a
few paces distant he discovered two Dutch scouts, by whom the
alarm being given to their people, they placed themselves at
once under arms. Captain Dom Estevao thinking they had
already lost the opportunity for the deed which they went to
undertake, ordered the recall to be sounded, just at the time
when our people had commenced their work : entering the
trenches they got hold of the engines in order to remove them,
and they could not do it because they were firmly fixed to the
ground and were so strong and heavy that they could not even
be moved; but impelled by their own fury, on seeing their
design wanting in success, they rushed on towards the enemy
and faced them. They were thirty paces from the bastion S.
II. 2 B
370 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Gabriel. They found in the trench that had been made towards
the fortress four Dutch soldiers who were there on duty, attacking
them they killed two, and the other two being wounded they
placed under charge of two of their companions, who proceeded
with them towards the place from which they had sallied out :
the twenty-three attacked the intrenchments of the enemy, who
having collected a hundred men came to meet our people, giving
a discharge of musketry to frighten them, from which no one
was hurt, they fearing to harm also their companions, in conse-
quence of the darkness of the night, which had mixed them all,
and the Dutch could not distinguish one from the other : owing
to this the Portuguese had an opportunity to kill some, and they
pressed onward, after having passed the intrenchments, as far as
the main guard, where being assisted by their companions the
Dutch commenced to make a vigorous resistance, but being in a
worse condition than our people, in consequence of being obliged
to climb on the boxes of earth of which the intrenchments were
made, which were very high at that place, they received greater
damage from our people and did less : the good fortune of the
few Portuguese was also aided by that place being narrow, and
the enemies many, in which, after having broken their lances,
they made use of the enemies' pikes ; at last they made them
retreat to their own battery, where their General coming to the
rescue with five hundred men, our people began to fall back
towards the fortress, with their faces always towards the foe,
without receiving any notable damage : and as the enemies who
had come to help pressed them close, they reached the moat of
the fortress almost at the same time as the Portuguese passed it
by a narrow passage, where they faced them, remaining with
their shoulders against the wall on one side and the other pro-
tected by the water of the sea which had filled the moat, leaving
a very small spot where only fifty Dutch could fight, and as it
was raining the muskets could not be fired, and our people
defended themselves without notable danger until being observed
from the fortress those on the wall helped their own people and
killed the Dutch with many fireballs, so that they were compelled
to retire in disorder, and some fell into the moat where the water
covered them and drowned them. This victory being achieved,
the twenty -three went to the postern by which they had come
out, and their two companions who were there with the two
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 371
Dutch prisoners, seeing that they were shouting for their own
people to help them, killed them for fear of being observed, and
with their heads were waiting there, and all went into the
fortress, although sorely wounded, well pleased with their
success.
The Hollanders, either because they lost their self-confidence
by the determined bravery of so few and saw that their enterprise
would be more difficult, or because they had much damage to
repair, suspended the battering, and all the following day not a
single person appeared to fire a gun or musket. Dom Estevao
wishing to take advantage of this suspension, ordered a soldier
to set fire to the engines, who being helped by materials which
were thrown to him from the wall, burned them and returned,
without a shot being fired from the Dutch battery, which was so
near, or being impeded in any other way.
In this suspension of arms the Dutch remained eight days, at
the end of which their General sent a message to Captain Dom
Estevao to ask permission to write to him, and that while corre-
spondence was being exchanged there should be a truce on both
sides. This being granted, six Hollanders dressed in Spanish
costume arrived at the foot of the wall, saluted our people, and
gave them the letter fastened to a string which was thrown from
the wall for the purpose. The contents were the following :
It is well known to those who are acquainted with war that
enemies do each other all the injury possible. In this which we
have commenced our object is to destroy and burn all the
churches, monasteries, houses, and palm groves of this island and
the buildings and plantations on the main land ; but before we
carry out that design we have wished to inform you of it, in order
that you may ransom yourself from the loss that may follow ;
for which you may send persons to us as quickly as possible, and
we grant them safe conduct after we have been informed of your
decision by the bearers of this. Dated on the 7th of May 1607.
PAUL VAN CAERDEN.
The letter having been read by Dom Estevao d'Ataide, the
reasons for not accustoming them to such ransom having been
considered, he replied to the Dutch as follows :
Obliged by your courtesy I reply to yours that I do not want
either your security or safe conduct for my soldiers, nor do I give
2 B '2
372 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
credit to the arguments of your letter : I have no other order
from my superiors nor other design than to carry on the war as
vigorously as possible.
It was necessary for the protection of our people not to set a
price upon the injuries which they determined to do outside the
wall, or beyond defence, because greed would drive them to sell
the same damages to our people every time or nearly every time
they passed with a large fleet. With the reply of Dorn Estevao,
the Dutch set fire to the whole place, destroyed the palm groves
and all the trees of the island and the gardens which were
numerous ; and what is more to be thought of and deplored, the
perfidious heretics burned with abominable fury all the images
that were in the churches, after which they treated them with a
thousand barbarous indignities (this should anticipate the punish-
ment of this rebellious and obstinate people). Having completed
this ferocious deed, they raised the siege, carrying away the
artillery in great silence, and having embarked they were eight
days in the ships, where they could rest with more safety ; and
at the end of that time they crossed the bar one misty morning,
they were badly treated by the artillery of the fortress, and one of
their ships was totally destroyed, which they themselves ran
ashore in order to take out the artillery and whatever else she
carried of munitions of war and supplies, after which they set fire
to her, and they repaired the others and left. Of the Dutch
more than three hundred died : and of our people thirteen were
killed during the two months that the siege lasted.
After this when the fortress was being repaired, Dom Jeronymo
Coutinho arrived from Portugal with three ships, of which he was
the General, on landing he ordered his people to destroy the
batteries and the intrenchments of the enemy, and to level the
ground of the trenches, he commanded them to complete the
demolition of the monastery of S. Domingo and the chapel of
S. Gabriel, in order that if they (the Dutch) returned they should
not find those works with which they injured the fortress, which
he also provided with munitions of war and supplies, attending
to everything with great diligence. Wishing afterwards to
complete the voyage to India, the Dutch fleet, which had been
repairing at the island of Comoro (that is close by), was seen,
returning in order to ascertain if the fortress was unguarded, or
Eetords of South-Eastern Africa. 373
if any ships from the kingdom of Portugal were there, for which
they were waiting. The enemy arrived at the bar, and seeing
our three ships which were inside, they wished to ascertain their
strength and the condition of the fortress, for which purpose they
put out a boat and sent it close to the shore beyond the island
Saint George until it reached the river Calunde, without being
seen by our people, where it remained without being able to
take any person from the island, which was its object ; and at
break of day the boats of the ships gave it chase until it reached
its own vessel, without succeeding in capturing it, in spite of
their speed: the Dutch seeing they were pursuing the boat,
fired with artillery and musketry to frighten them and that they
should see how well armed they were. Our ships were decked
with flags and pendants and other decorations, showing that with
cheerfulness they were waiting for them ; but fear did not
allow them to try their fortune, the undertaking seeming to them
very difficult. The enemy remained at anchor at the bar without
doing anything beyond keeping a good look out and making a
great noise with their musketry. Dom Jeronimo Coutinho after
having succoured the fortress, considering how important it was
to supply the great want of ships from Portugal in India, resolved
to proceed on his voyage, even if he had to fight the enemy, who
declined to oppose him, either because they knew how matters
stood, or because they wished to complete their voyage, they
raised their anchors and left the bar, on which our ships followed
them to India, where they arrived first.
The Dutch had regarded the easy conquest of Mozambique
with such sure hopes that before leaving Holland General Van
Caerden appointed (as was afterwards known) a commander of
the fortress, being sure of its conq uest : so much have the con-
fidence and the impudence of the rebels increased, with the
power of the impious princes who give them favour and aid, with
which they have not only tried to disturb the commerce of the
Indies East and West, but also have gone so far as to endeavour
to hinder the evangelical preaching in those provinces, and to
disseminate sects and novel doctrines of their heresiarchs. Van
Caerden promised to hold the fortress until in the following
August they should send him help with which they could defend
themselves from the Portuguese fleet which by this time should
arrive there. For this reason the rebel states sent thirteen ships
374 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
with more than two thousand men, under command of Pieter
Willemsz Verhoeff, who arrived at the island of St. Helena so
early that he had to wait there until the monsoon from the west
should allow him to pass the Cape of Good Hope.
He left this island at such a time that on the 25th of July the
thirteen ships arrived at Mozambique : they hoisted at once a
white flag on the admiral's ship, which was intended as a signal
to ascertain if the fortress was theirs, understanding it so Dom
Estevao d'Ataide ordered one of another colour to be placed on
the fortress, and at the same time directed a gun to be fired with
ball, to show that with these they were waiting for them. With
this Verhoeff also wished to try his fortune, he crossed the bar,
and disembarked in his boats with such diligence that the people
of the town had not time to remove their property to the fortress ;
a ship which had wintered there, and which was poorly provided,
experienced the same rigour, they seized her, but afterwards, in
spite of the enemy, she was burned by our people, with a galleon
in the Goa trade, which was there also.
The fortress was put in order for defence with all possible speed,
although with difficulty, on account of the great haste with which
the Dutch landed : after the places of defence were assigned to
those to whom they pertained, on distributing the gunpowder an
inexperienced soldier dropped through negligence a (fuse) string
in the greater part of it, through which he burned some men :
this mishap might have had worse consequences, if it had not
been checked with much promptitude by Dom Estevao d'Ataide,
who to the great danger of his person subdued the fire which
might have burned the fortress, or at least the storehouses.
The enemy stationed the main body of their army where the
previous besiegers had been posted, it was the monastery of Saint
Domingo, they approached with trenches from sea to sea towards
the fortress, and at forty paces from it they erected two batteries
of earth at a little distance from each other, and between them
they opened a trench, with which they pressed on as far as the
seashore, and with it they cut off the part of the island on which
the fortress stands : they placed eight guns on the batteries, and
the remainder of their artillery on the site of the monastery, they
began to batter the fortress with great perseverance, so that on
the second day of the firing persons could count more than three
hundred discharges of artillery, with which they destroyed a
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 375
great part of the section of the wall between the bastions S.
Antonio and S. Gabriel, to which their artillery was directed, and
had made a large entrance to the fortress through which, if they
had been Portuguese, no doubt they would have stormed : but as
the Dutch are nothing more than good artillerymen, and beyond
this are of no account except to be burned as desperate heretics,
they had not courage to rush through the ruin of the wall.
The battering ceased with the day, and the night having come
our people repaired the breach with diligent care : they placed
fires on the wall in order to see if the enemy should approach in
the darkness of the night, as they had not dared to do in the
day time. As soon as it was morning and the enemy saw the
diligence with which our people had repaired the damage done,
the combatants with which the walls were garrisoned, and the
bravery with which they defended their posts, they slackened
their fire, as if they had lost confidence in being able to enter
the fortress. Our people wishing to avail themselves of the
opportunity of their fear, twenty-five of them asked permission
from Captain Dom Estevao to make a sortie upon the enemy like
that of the preceding siege, although at a different hour, this
being granted, they sallied from the fortress at midday with great
silence, and as soon as they thought that they might be discovered
they rushed suddenly on the first position of the Dutch, invoking
S. Thiago, so that they forced all to abandon the first trenches
and withdraw to the main guard, where their General was : they
followed them closely until the recall was sounded from the
fortress : the spirit was remarkable of one of the twenty-five
named Moraria, who seeing three Hollanders at a distance from
their batteries between their intrench men ts and the fortress,
armed with pikes and wearing breastplates, shoulder pieces, and
casques, attacked them, and with a lance killed two in sight of
all who were on the wall, and the other who climbed the intrench-
ment he also treated very badly. Those who were engaged in
the sortie seeing that the enemy was receiving succour, drew back,
leaving thirty dead, and taking with them two flags, two boxes
(of ammunition), fifteen muskets, breastplates, and pikes, all of
which the enemy had left behind through sudden fear : the
disorder and haste in which they left their posts was such that
if our people had carried the necessary tools they might have
spiked the artillery.
376 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
The next day a soldier of the enemy came running to our
people, and on arriving at the foot of the wall shouted, saying
he was a Catholic, they threw ropes to him with which they pulled
him up, he said he was a Frenchman, and with much truthfulness,
informed Dom Estevao of what was going on in the fleet, of their
design, and how more than two hundred men had been killed ;
and that when they arrived they thought the fortress had been
taken by the first fleet, as its General had promised in Holland,
whose ill success they regretted very much, and that they were
confident of being able to enter it: he also informed him of
other matters which were convenient to know.
The same day the Dutch General sent to the Portuguese a
trumpet with a letter, in which he said that by the beginning of
that war it could be judged what the end of it would be : that he
advised him to send in time some trustworthy persons who should
treat for a favourable capitulation and agreement before they
were all exposed to the fury of his soldiers. Dom Estevao replied
that he had nothing to do with any arrangement except that
which should be determined by arms ; that he had already with
them compelled Van Caerden to leave that island, and hoped to
do the same with him.
A short time afterwards four soldiers of the enemy passed over
to our people, saying they were Catholics : General Dom Estevao
received them under the belief that they were so : but the Dutch
(commander) was so much annoyed that soon with great diligence
he sent to demand them, threatening that if they were not
surrendered he would kill the Portuguese prisoners that he had
taken in the ship before our people had set fire to her. Do in
Estevao replied that he would not deliver the soldiers to him, as
they had claimed his protection as being Catholics. But the
impious Dutchman ordered six Portuguese to be separated from
those he had with him, and their hands being tied, he ordered
them to be shot in sight of the fortress.
The next day, which was the 17th of August of the year
already mentioned, there appeared a galleon from Portugal which
was on her way to India, and trying to cross the bar, the enemy
captured her after much resistance, the number of her crew was
one hundred and sixty persons, most of them ill, whom the Dutch
General distributed among his ships, and told them to write to
Captain Dom Estevao to give up the four who had gone over to
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 377
him, and if that were not done he would put them all to death.
They did so, writing a letter in which they represented that they
were in the last extremity, having been condemned to die. Dom
Estevao, after he had read the letter, felt great compassion for
the prisoners : but seeing that surrendering the Dutch would be
contrary to his fidelity, if he decided to give up those who said
they were Catholics : he came to the conclusion to risk the lives
of so many Portuguese in order to preserve the four Dutchmen
who might deceive him in what they said. With this answer the
distressed prisoners were much alarmed, thinking that the rage
of the Dutch General might fall on them : but taking no action
to carry out the threatened vengeance, and satisfying himself
with the menaces made, he raised the siege on the 19th of August,
having first ordered the town and whatever there was on the
island to be set on fire. And in the silence and darkness of the
night he crossed the bar with the whole fleet. He left all the
Portuguese that he had taken in the galleon and in the ship that
our people had burned on the island Saint George in front : and
directed his course to India.
The Dutch account of these transactions is to be found in the
work entitled Begin ende Voortgangh van de Vereenighde Neder-
lantsche Geoctroyeerde Oost Indische Compagnie, vervatende de
voornaemste Bey sen by de Inwoonderen derselver Provincien derwaerts
gedaen. Two thick volumes printed in 1646.
378 Eeeords of South-Eastern Africa.
EXTEACTOS
DO LTVEO CHAMADO
DO ESTADO DA INDIA.
Segunda Parte deste Liuro do Estado da India a qual Contem as
plantas de todas as fortallezas q ha desde o Cabo de Boa
Esperanza athe Chaul Descripsao de todas Ettas e de toda a
Costa, Reis com quern confinao e tudo o mais que se pode
Alcansar Rendimento e despeza de cada huma m to Pello Meudo.
FEITA PELLO CAPITAO P BAEEETTO DE EEZENDE.
[From a Manuscript Volume in the Library of the British Museum. The
author, Pedro Barreto de Rezende, was secretary to the viceroy, the count de
Linhares, by whose instructions he performed the work. It was then submitted
to Antonio Bocarro, chronicler and keeper of the archives of India, who revised
it before it was sent to the king, Philip III of Portugal, in 1635. The book is
illustrated with numerous plans, of which one is here given, reduced by photo-
graphy.]
Ho Estado da India Oriental comessa No Cabo de Boa
Esperansa q dista Pera a parte do Sul Em Altura de Trinta e
quatro graos e Meo e fenesse na ponta da Enseada Do Nanquim
Alem da China que dista pera a parte do Norte Em Altura de
Trinta e quatro graos E nisto se Comprehende toda a Costa da
Asia descuberta q contem Incluziuam te conforme as Cartas de
Marear mais sertas Tres mil Nouec tas e desaseis Legoas por Costa
nam fazendo a medida Pellas Enseadas nem pellos Estreytos do
Mar Koxo, e de Ormus ; Nem pellos Eios que por toda esta Costa
Vam entrar no mar : qual em toda a dita Costa desde o Cabo
de Boa Esperansa athe A Ponta do Nanquim fas Tres Entradas
pella Terra dentro A modo de Arcos chamadas Enseadas. A
primeyra Tern principio no Cabo de Boa Esperansa e fenesse no
Cabo de Comorim Abaixo de Cochim. Esta Enseada com-
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 379
pi-ehende Toda a Costa da Etiopia, Arabia, Persia, e A India.
Porque a Costa de Etiopia comessa no Cabo de Boa Esperansa
E Vay fenesser No Estreyto do Mar Eoxo dentro Em Sues:
Donde Volta a Costa da Arabia E Vay fenesser pello Estreyto de
Ormus dentro Em Bassora. Aonde tern prinsipio A Costa da
Persia que vay fenesser No Rio Indo que passa pello Sinde e se
Vay meter no Mar Na Enseada de Cambaya. Na boca Deste
Eio comessa a Costa da India q fenesse No Cabo de Comorin.
A segunda enseada comessa No Cabo de Comorin E acaba no Eio
fermozo Alem de Malaca. Nesta grande Enseada se Compre-
hende a Prouinsia de Charamandel q Chama Sam Thome, A
prouincia de Bengalla, o Eeyno de Tanasarij, o de Beguu E
outros, E o de Mallaqua. A Treseira Enseada se prinsipia no
Eio fermozo E Vay acabar Na ponta do Nanquim da China, Na
qual se Comprehende por Costa o Eeyno de Siam, de Pam, de
Bugor, Cochim China, Champa, Camboja, E o da China, e pellas
Ilhos os Eeynos da Java Mayor e Menor, o de Maluco, Macasar,
E outros Muitos. A primeira Enseada do Cabo de Boa Esperansa
athe o Cabo de Comorim Tern de Costa duas mil setenta E
sinquo Legoas. -A segunda do Cabo de Comorin athe o Eio
fermozo Tern Noue centas quarenta e huma Legoas, a Treseira do
Eio fermozo ate a ponta do Nanquim : Tern por Costa Noue c 188
Legoas q por todos sao As sobreditos Tres mil noue c* 88 e desaseis
Legoas E fazendo a Medida Entrando pella Costa dos Estreitos
de Meca E Ormus Ve a ser toda a Costa da India Oriental de
sinquo mil Cento Trinta e seis Legoas por q ho Mar Eoxo por
ambas as costas de Etiopia e Arabia conforme as Cartas de Marear
mais Verdadeiras Tern sete Centos Vinte e seis Legoas E o
Estreito de Ormus ou Seno Persiao por ambas as costas da Arabia
e Persia Tern quinhentos Legoas. Em Todas estas Costas da
India do Cabo de Boa Esperansa athe a ponta do Nanquim Tern
sua Mag de quarenta e oito fortallezas e sidades de q he sor : e o
grande imperio de Manamotapa e outras muitas Terras e ilhas de
que tudo vam plantas neste Liuro estampadas ao Natural com
descripsoes de tudo o que ha em todas e em cada huma dellas.
E Muito pello Meudo a Eeseita e despeza de cada huma das
ditas fortallezas em q se vee Claramente o que Eende e gasta
Todo o dito Estado.
E Tambem vam estampadas algumas Ilhas e fortallezas q Nam
sam do estado : Mas Como Estam nas ditas Costas da India Me
380 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
pareseo pellos aqui som 16 por curiosidade posto q Como nam
pretensem ao Estado nao Ihe fis descripfao nem ho Tempo me
deu Lugar em quanto Estiue naquellas partes pera Ihe procurar
co outras ocupasois do seruisso de sua Mag 66 .
Deseripsam da fortalleza de Sofalla.
A Primeira fortalleza que sua Mag de Tern No Estado da India
Oriental Comesado do Cabo de Boa Esperansa E a fortalleza de
Sofalla sita em Altura de Vinte e hu graos escasos da Banda do
Sul por hum Eio dentro de agoa salgada distansia de Mea Legoa
piquena da boca do dito Eio pera a qual se entra por sima do
Parsel tarn Nomeado de Sofalla q lansa Vinte legoas ao Mar de
Largura : e de comprido se Estende ao longo da Costa em
legoas : porq toma desde as ilhas de Angoxa Athe o cabo da
Bina; porem Junto a este Bio de Sofalla fas dous Canais da
forma q se pode ver da planta E co as brasas de fundo q Nella
estam apontadas E assi tambem continua pello Eio dentro de
duas brassas sem nenhus baixos depois de Entrar a Barra posto
q sempre os pillotos Portugueses quanto la ua leuao Malemos q
sam pillotos da Terra e assi nam podem entrar nesse Eio naos
grandes q demandem mais fundo do q Esta apontado. A costa
dessa fortalleza de Sofalla das ilhas de Angoxa athe a do fogo
corre a hoes sudueste e toma alguna couza para a quarta de
hoeste os Ventos q Cursam na dita Costa sam de abril por diante
athe Outobro ouis e suestes ; e de outubro athe Abril Leuantes q
Alii vem a ser nordestes : Entre estes ha outros particullarm te
Entre Monsa E Monsa q he em fim de Marpo e de Outubro porem
na sam ventos fertos nem gerais. As correntes das Agoas nesta
Costa sam a maior parte do anno pera o Sul grandissimas e has
vezes Tambem Correm pera o Norte co a mesma forsa princi-
palm te Com hos Leuantes e assi de ordinario Vam cotra o Vento
q E m 10 pera Notar. A fortalleza de Sofalla Em si E Couza
piquena feita em quadro como se vee da planta com quatro
Balluartes nos Cantos Toda E de pedra, e Cal. Cada Lanso de
Muro Tern des Brasses de Comprido e sinquo de Altura, e sinquo
palmos de grosso : na tern parapeitos por q Ihe seruiam delles as
Casas dos soldados q estaua pella banda de dentro pegadas ao
Muro q de presente na ha : como tambem na ha soldados nem
presidio Algum mais q o Capitam em humas Casas de sobrado
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 381
piquenas junto ao Muro em Cusas Logess se podem agazalhar
monisois e mantimentos, q destes nao ha nenhiis e monisois mui
poucas porq A Artilharia na he mais q Oito falcois Entre grandes
e piquenos e hum Camollete de Metal q Estam Eepartidos pellos
Balloartes. Os casados branquos q Viuem em huma pouoasao
Junto a fortaleza nam sam mais de ties, E dons outros mais q
Nam sam casados os quais tern algus Cafres Catiuos gente de
Armas q Podecam em alguma Ocasiao meterse na fortalleza a
qual co A dita pouoassa como se vee da planta fica em huma jlheta
de obra de quatro Qentas brassas em Eoda, e de Mare chea a serca
hum braso do Rio mas sempre co mui pouca Agoa e fundo e de
Mare Vazia em seco : so co huma Lamaseira da Agoa, o gasto q
esta fortaleza faz ha fazenda de Sua Mag de na he oie nenhu porq
posto q Antigamente se pagaua na feitoria de Mosabique ao
Capitao desta fortalleza quatro c tos e des Cruzados de Ordenado o
Conde de Linhares Vizo rei do Estado sabendo q o dito Ordenado
se pagaua quando os Eios Corriam por contrato ordenou q o
Capitam de Mosambique q hos traia Arrendados paga se de sua
faz da ho dito ordenado pois punha na dita fortaleza Capita de sua
Ma e Ihe Vendia os prois e precalpos della por q tro c tos Cruzados
dandolhe porem doze bares de Liberdade : hum Cayxa de hum
Bar e muita CogomCada e Embarcasa pera chegar isto la
Christandade nenhuma tern os nas terras de Sofalla: ou ao
menos de pouca cosiderassa porq os mais dos Cafres sam gente
barbaro Natural in* cruel e pouco dados ao Culto diuino : e so os
q sam Nossos Catiuos se fasem Christaos por esse Eesp* durando
Ihe a Christandade em quanto Ihe dura o Catiueiro, sendo q na
Repugnam muito a Nossa sancta fee Catolica, Nem ho Eei da
terra Tolhe que se bautise quern quiser, E assis auendo Culti-
vadores desta Vinha na deixara de ir Cresendo m to Se fore des-
interessados, os frades de sam d 08 sam os q Asistem por Esta Costa
e hum he Vig ro da igreia q esta dentro na fortalesa de Sofalla o
qual nam deixa de procurar a Conueisa dos Naturais co segindo a
de algus mas p Tern largas Terras justo e q Ouuera m 108
pregadores. O trato da terra he setenta legoas da fortallesa e as
fasendas q ha nella na sa outras mais que marfim q Ordinariam*
se Resgatao por panos pretos e branquos, Canequis, e Teados como
se fas por Toda esta Costa dos Cafres que por panos se Compra
Tudo : como tambem ho mantimento ; e em Tempo de Pas na
deixa de ser em muita abundansia e barato q he Arros, Milho e
382 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Carries de toda sorte. Kei do Conca de Sofalla se chama o Qui
Teue Cafre q nem he mouro nem Christam e pera o nomear por
gentio na se pode diser q lei professa porq na se sabe de nemhuma
foi sogeito ao Emperador de manamotapa mas como esteue a
Nossa sombra Ihe veo quasi a negar a obediensia hoje he sobre si
amigo dos Portugueses e quando nam anda a terra desenquieta
co algumas gerras andamos pel las suas co toda segurinsa porq
com nosquo Earam te te nem quer ter gerra o poder q te" he de des
athe doze mil Cafres q na sa ta nomeados por Valentes como algus
otros daquellas partes : As Armas de q uza sao Arcos e frechos e
Azagaias e tern notauel rnedo has Espingardas nao te este Eei
comoni9asa co outra nasa mais q a hos Portuguezes nem ategora se
sabe q outra de Europa toma se falla em suas terras Resgalas por
estas costas m 10 ambar por mui baixo preso da mao dos Cafres mas
na em parage serta, o ynteto co que se fes e susteta esta fortalesa
he pera sustStar o Comersio de toda esta Costa e Eios de Cuama q
como seia de ouro, marfim e Ambar e esperasas de minas de prata
pede a importasia destas Costas e das largas terras de q hos
Portugueses por estas Costas senhorea o trato q he athe ho Cabo
de boa Esperansa q se procure euitar na entre nasois estrag 03 nelle
prouedose esta fortalesa como coue porq as terras della p o Cabo
sa ta Estendidas e Eicas de ouro e Marfim q A todos os Portu-
gueses da India e do Reino e de outras nasois da ao Comersio as
grandes ganhos porem como o Capita de Mocabioue Te estanque
o trato pella pensa q paga a sua Mag de o fas elle soo co hum
pataxo deixando de Conseguire m tos os intereses q tambem pud era
ter delle. E he nesesario cosiderarse m to bem isto es que se nam
podem sustentar os Eios co m 108 Mercadores porq Val a Eoupa
m 40 barata.
Bios de Cuama.
Porto de quell imane he o primeiro por onde se entra pera
hos Eios de Cuama. A Barra do qual esta de Mossambique pella
Costa abaixo distansia de Cem legoas q he hum brasso por onde
desemboca e sae ao Mar o Eio Zembeze ho mais piqueno de
dous com q entra nelle porq o maior Brasso q he a Madre do
dito Eio sae desoyto legoas abaixo desta Barra pera o sul e Ihe
Chamao A Barra de Luabo pella ilha deste nome q Ihe fica no
meyo, por hunia e houtra se entra pera hos Eios de Cuama pera
onde se parte de Mosambique em duas Monsoes huma em oubro
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 383
e a outra Em Marco. Tern a Barra de Quillimane a entrada por
meyo de hum Banco q A atravessa E Vay correndo a Costa como
Parsel : Cuia boca sera de seis brassas de largura : ho menor
fundo q tern de Baixa mar he de Catorse palmos pera sima e em
mare chela he de tres brassas e hainda mais : nam tern outra
balleza q se va de mandar mais q ir por donde arrebenta Menos
o mar. E assi entrando por aqui os nossos Nauios de athe mil
Candis de Cargoa que sam os Em que se fasem Estas Viageis,
Vam sobindo pello Bio asima que sera de hum tiro De pessa
Caminho de quatro legoas athe hum forte q em lingoa da terra
se chama chuambo q Temos feito nas terras da Banda da ma
direita q sao as do Baroro co des ou doze casas de palha ao
longo do Rio onde Vivem Entre outros Christaos quatro portu-
gueses E o Capitam q he posto pello Capitam de Mosambique.
He ho dito forte feito de Estacada de paos grossos e fortes co
huma Caua por fora foi feito so pera se poder brigar de dentro
Cubertos E assi tern seus balluartes do mesmo q tinda q Athe
gora nam tinhao Artilharia comtudo com hos mosquetes se
defendiam bastantemente, e no anno de seis Centos trinta e tres
entrando nos ditos Bios Joam da Costa co huma Carauella em q
veio do Beyno a traser hiis mineitos E a outros particullares
deixai no forte de Quillimane seis pessas de Artilharia de sinquo
athe seis libros de Callibre de ferro. Tern este forte em sircuito
sesenta brasses, nam esta nelle presidio nenhum de paga se nam
soo quando ha Nouas de gerra, se meten dentro hos Cazados
com os Cafres q tern Catiuos E os mais q se Ihe podem ajuntar
dos Vassallos de sua Mag de das Terras Vesinhas e se defendem
athe auisarem ao Capitam de Mosambique. As gerras q Oje se
tern he so co ho Mozura e sua gente serue este forte de senho-
rear As terras vesinhas q sam de sua Mag de pella fralda do Mar
vinte legoas de Costa pera o Norte athe licungo e Casungo q he
ho Bio dos bons sinais Em q Vasco da Gama entrou com a sua
Armada, e des legoas pella Terra dentro e pello Bio asima
sinquo athe Mocabone Onde esta hum xeque Mouro Em Terras
de Muito arros : de que nao deixa de Pesar ao Mozura disendo q
como Estas Terras Estam do banda do Bororo, sam suas e Ihe
pertensem As mais dellas Coinem os mesmos Cafies q nellas
Morarn tirandos as Vesinhas ao forte q estam dadas aos portu-
gueses de Quillimane : Tambem outros q Ihe obedessem e pagam
lo q Pagaua a seus Sores q na lengoa da Terra chama fumos, do
384: Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Kestante das ditas terras nos Contentamos so Com a obediensia
que dam ao dito forte, E de Virem quando os chamao pera
qualqner oCasiam e termos o trato e comersio dellas.
A ilha de Luabo em que atras fallamos e fas ilha ho mesmo
Kio Zembeze deuedendo se em doas distansia de trinta legoas do
Mar Onde se vem desembarcar, Vindo ho braso menor pella
Banda de Quillimane que fas a barra q temos dito ; E o outro
maior pera a outra banda q fas a Barra de Luabo deixando a ilha
no meio : E de huma barra a outra ha distansia de desoito legoas
que sam as q tern de Costa de mar a ditta ilha ficando em hum
Triangullo : porq donde o Rio se comessa a partar e faser a
dita ilha athe a barra, Assi pella banda do Baroro, como da Outra
banda q chama da Botonga, ha distansia de trinta legoas de Cada
parte ; e desoito legoas de Costa com que fica ho dito Triangullo
Tendo setenta hoito de sircuito : Esta ilha he sogeita A sua
Mag de : he por Estam fertil de todo ho mantimento e com ni ta
Madeira de que se pod em faser Embarcasoes piquenas como sam
Almadias e pangaios. Esta Abitada q Alem de algus mouros
mercadores Tern muitos Cafres de pelleia sogeitos a sua Mg de q
Cada ves q sao Chamados dandose alguma Eoupa so Aos Cabessas
q baste para se Vestirem E aos Capitais e a algus filhos seus
Vam a gerra ua faser o q Ihes mandao Todo ho tempo de
huma gerra que ordinariamente nam passa de seis meses porq em
chegando ho Tempo de Colher em suas sementeiras se Ihe nao
derem lisensa se ha5 de ir sem ella : E nam se Ihes da Outro
mantim* , Vestido, nem arma, ou cousa alguma, e he m 10 pera
notar o pouco q Cada hum destes soldados Cafres leua Comsigo
nem avya Mister porq ho Vestido na he nenhum : E quando leua
m 10 nam Passa de hum pano com que se singe : E quando nao
hum encacho de pelles de animais q Ihe cobre somente o mesmo.
As Armas cada hum leua as suas q sam Arcos, fachas, e Azagaias
e nunqua as largam : E algus tambem com Eodellas com que
fasem Trincheiros muitas vezes que defendem ho Arraial : porq
As nam passa Azagaia, nem frecha : comer nao he mais q tudo
o q Matam ; desde ho mais piqueno animal athe o maior. Ou
seiam Tambem homes molheres ou meniuos de sorte q de qual-
quer genero destes que primeiro Matam fasem matallotagem athe
chegar a matar Outro : Estes q Comem gente Vmana sam so os
Baroros q he a mayor parte dos Com que nos seruimos e grandes
home's de gerra por Cuio Respeito he a nossa gente inui tcmida
Records of Soutli-Eastern Africa. 385
dos Botongas ; E Mocrangas porq Como estes nam comem gente
nem Carne Vmana, Temem muito os outros particularmeute
Vendo Ihe trazer has Costas, ou do modo q milhor se acomodam
os Mortos pera sua Matallotagem : sem se Ihe dar que apodressam
porq Assi os Comem milhor sem Ihe fazer em mais q Assallos
mal ; que paresse q impremio o Crueldade e Barbaridade nestes
Negros, Toda a desvmanidade e bruteza : sendo q Poco ate a parte
Dam Bazam como quern Tern conhessimento do bem e do mal.
Esta Esta ilha de Luabo Reparlida Por fumos que assi se chamao
os senhores ua sua lingoa A quern os Gapitaes de Mosambique
Entregam As terras pera as Cultiuarem, e gouemarem a gente
mas como Ella he Tarn pouco dada ao grangeamento o nam
fasem mais que pera seu sustento por onde o Bendimento he
Mui pouquo ; E nam deixara de ser m 40 se ouuera quern as Culti-
uara como ja Bendem Aos padres da Companhia huas terras q
tern nesta ilha. Esta pegada co Esta ilha de Luabo, Outra q
chama Maindo de quinze legoas deuedida so por hum Bio que as
aparta q Como fas Corpo da mesma de Luabo nam se pode
particullarisar descripsam Por q he abitada da mesma gente e co
as mesnias condisoes q A outra e se ouuera Portugueses q Abi-
tararn Esta ilha por si e com a gente della ser de Muita Con-
siderassa nesta paragem Pera seguransa dos Bios de Cuama porq
Manda sua Mag de se fassa hum forte nella paresse que para Este
intento : Viuem nesta ilha de Luabo Muitos Mouros os quais se
tern Mostrado grandemente fieis aos Portugueses pella ajuda
que deram ao gouernador fran 00 Barretto e sam oje os que fasem
mais Cultiuassao e Trato nella leuando a Senna Mantimento,
Cocos, Vinagre e Cairo das terras q Ihe fora dados pella dita
Aiuda e ate gora Nunqua Desmeresserao : Os pataxos q Vam
pella Barra de quillimane p a os Bios de Cuama, fleam No dito
forte E Ali desembarcam As fazendas todas, E as leuao Em Em-
barcasois piquenas q chamao Almadias ate Senna q esta sesenta
legoas da barra pello Bio Asima da Banda de Botonga q he da
ma Esquerda quando Vam pera sima Cuias Terras Todas sam
Nossas da dita banda nam so pella fralda do Bio ; mas trinta e
quareta legoas pella Terra dentro; E maig da Cento e Vinte
legoas de Comprimento desde a boca da Barra de Quillimane
pello Bio Asima, As quais Terras sam dadas Todas a Portugueses,
e huas sogeitas ao Capitam de Sena E outras Ao Capitam de
Tete e posto q seiam Tarn largas e estendidas com todo ho
n. 2 o
386 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Kendimento he pouco Assy pellas Rezoes apontadas, como porq
nos nao sam de todo obediente.
Descripsam de Senna.
He Senna huma Pouoassao de Portugueses sitta ao longo do Rio
Zembeze sesenta legoas do Mar pella Terra dentro : A qual tera
Trinta Cazados Branquos q todos tern suas Espingardas ha mayor
parte delles m* 08 Cafres Catiuos, hus a quarenta, outros a sinq to
houtros A Cento e todas sam mui boa gente de Armas. As Cazas
desta pouoassam todos sam de paredesde Taipas Cubertos de palha :
e so duas sam Cubertas de Telha : nam ha nella nemhum forte
porq hum q Antigamente Aiiia se desfes e Nunqua mais se tornou
A Ereguer ho qual tinha oito falcois q Pera a gente da Terra
era conta m to bastante : os falcois estam na feitoria do Capitam
de Mosambique botados no cham A qual feytoria he a prinsipal
Casa desta pouoassa Cuberta de Telha ; os falcois nam tern Bepoias
nem os aparelhos nessessarios pera se poderem valler delles.
Capitam desta pouoassao de Senna he elleito pello Capitam de
Mosambique, na tern oje nenhus ordenados da fasenda Real porq
ho Conde de Linhares Vizorrei mandou se nao pagassem mais os
q athe o tempo de seu gouerno se pagarao por cota da fazenda de
sua Mag de disendo que pois os Eios nao Corriam por conta do
dito Sor se nao por Conta do Capitam de Mosambique q hos trazia
Arrendados q elle deuia pagar os ordenados Ao Capitam de
Senna; Como tambem os de Sofalla e mais fortes dos Rios.
Este Capitam de Senna seme Tambem de juis e as sentensas
q Da Vam por Apellassa Ao Ouuidor de Mossambique como
Tambem Vam as do Capita de Sofalla q juntam te serue de juis.
Esta nesta pouoassa de Sena hua igreia chamada a fee da inuo-
cassam de Nossa Snora da Asumpsa, E Outra igreia chamada Sam
paulo dos padres da Companhia, e outra de sam domingos com
frades desta Ordem, E outra chamada a Misericordia onde asiste
hum Clerigo. Nesta pouoassam de Senna Tern ho Capitam de
Mosambique A feitoria com todas suas Roupas q Vende aos
Vassallos de sua Mag de E mais Cristaos q as Vam leuar pella
Terra dentro a Vender Aos Cafres A Troquo de Marfim E ouro q
sam as fazendas q ha por todos os Rios. A jurisdissam desta
Capitania de Senna, he desde a barra de Luabo athe hum Rio q
esta de Sena pera sima sinquoenta legoas chamado o Rio de
Records of South-Eastem Africa. 387
Aroinha, Onde Comessa a jurisdissam de Tete. Auera Em Toda
esta de Sena Trinta mil Cafres de Armas, Vassallos de sua Mag de
obrigados a acodirem ho Capitam os Chamando ; E assi ficam
sendo Cento e des legoas a jurisdissa de Senna E em partes tern
quarenta de largo Tudo Terras de sua Mag de dadas a Portugueses
como Temos dito pera Terem ho Eendimento dellas: e Com
serem fertillisimas de Tudo Eendem mui ponco pella Eezam
Eeferida e juntam te por Nos serem Estes Negros tirades os da
fralda do Mar, Aleuantados os mais delles pella Terra dentro,
porq conio os temos muitas vezes Castigados na gerra Nos Estam
sempre com Odio : Mas As terras por onde he Costume passar
indo Conforma has pazes E Consertos q temos feitos com elles
sam mui seguras porem quando queremos ir por partes nouas ou
fazer ho q nam Esta nos Consertos defendem no athe morrer :
Nem se tern athe guora Achado nas terras de sua Mag de nenhuma
mina de ouro, nem de Prata, E soo no presente Anno de 634, des
que se achou q As Terras de Maccarana : q Estam Distansia de
hum Tiro de Pessa de Senna, sam Minas de prata de q foram
pedras A sua Mag de que se tirara dellas E a experiensia Mostrara
a Verdade. Confina Estas Terras de Senna q chama de Botonga
com hum Eei Cafre chamado Machone e o seu Eeino Baro qual
Esta Em pas co hos Portugueses E por consertos q se tern feito
com elle Ihe pagamos dos Motoros, q sam os fardos de Eoupa q
leuamos por suas terras, sertos panos q elle Tambem por Cortesia
paga em Vacas E oje pellas Vitorias q temos Alcansado do
Chicanga seu Vesinho Eei de Manica Ihe damos muito menos do
q Antigamente Ihe dauamos e elle se contenta so co ho q Ihe
queremos dar e sempre nos paga como fica dito o q Eessebe por
Nos ter os Caminhos franquos e seguros como em effeito Tern.
No Seu Eeino na ha mais q As Ditas Vacas, e Algumas Machilas
q sam hus panos de Algodam de q tratamos adiante e Muito ferro
de q fasem Enxadas q he a moeda mais piquena: Por esta
Eeino do Baro passamos para ho de Manica q esta de Senna
Sesenta legoas pella Terra dentro Cuio Eei q chama ho Chicanga
matara hos Portugueses por se leuantar cotra elles e quebrar as
pases q tinha feito: E assi leuantara Outro seu irma q se fes
Christa, e Vassallo de sua Mag de co obrigassa de pagar Tres pastes
De Botonga Ao forte de Sena Cada anno : E co obrigassam de
Ihe pagarem de Cada Motoro hu pano, Alem de ser Sogeito ao
Monamotapa q tambem ho he de sua Mag de ficando mais acresen-
2 c 2
388 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
tado Este Eeino o sua Real Coroa no prinsipio do gouerno do
Conde De Linhares Visorrei deste Estado pella gerra q Ihe
Mandou faser Dom Nuno Alvares pireira Capitam de Mosam-
bique : Neste Reino de Manica Tern hos Portugueses hum forte
de Taipa chamado Chipangura de duas brasas de Altura com
suas feteiras feito Em forma Redonda com obra de Cem brasas
de sircuito Onde se Recolhem couza de Vinte e sinquo Cazados
Entre Portugueses e Algus pretos q nelle Moram Christaos ; e a
q tambem se Eecolhem os Portugueses e Mais Cristaos Yasalos de
sua Mag de que pello Reino andam fazendo tratos pella grande
Copia de Ouro q ha nelle. E junto deste forte de Chipangura ha
mina Onde se caua e Tira Ouro. Tern Alem deste Outra forte ou
Chuambo Neste Reino da Manica em hum lugar chamado Mutuca
Onde Tambem ha mina de Ouro, por Cuia Cauza se fes ali este
forte q he de Taipa Como ho de Chipangura e so nam Tern tantos
Cazados q nelle Asistam : porem Nunqua Esta sem Portugueses
Dos que passam e Vam Ali Contratar. Este forte fes hum joao
da Costa Cazado ; por onde Asiste nelle Como Cousa sua : E assi
ho Capitam de Mosambique nao Ihe poem ainda outro Capitam,
fasse Outra feira Neste Reino da Manica particullarmente aos
Portugueses, e Christaos de Sofalla Em Outra paragem q chamao
Bumba onde Tambem ha Mina de Ouro porem sem forte nenhum
Como nas duas Referidas ho que se pode Afirmar Com Verdade
deste Reino da Manica he ser fertellissimo de todo o genero de
Mantimentos, e nam menos de Ares mui sallutiferos, Tanto para
Estimar Tendo Tantas Minas de Ouro de sorte que a quantos
Portugueses Vierem nelle Morar podera faser Ricos, sustentar e
Conseruar com mais saude q As Nossas Terras de Sena, q Alem
de nam terem Em si ouro, sam mui doentias, E inda mais q
Mosambique E assi Morrem por ellas Muitos portuguezes.
A Christandade q temos neste Reino de Manica he mui larga
Assi de Cafres Nossos Catiuos q sam os que logo se fasem
Christaos como dos mais ainda q seia Senhores : porq hos Cafres
nao tern ley nenhuma e quando Muito nomea a Deos com A boca
porem nas obras nenhum sinal da de saber q Couza he Deos Antes
o seu ordenario falar he dizer q A sua barriga he seu Deos. E
assi depois de Christaos ha mister Muito pera os Meter a Caminho
de ho serem Como Conuem no q trabalhao hos frades de Sam
Domingos que sam hos q tern a Cargo a Conuersao deste gentel-
lidade dos Rios De Cuama pera o q tern huma igreia no dito forte
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 389
de Chipangura E duas mais no Eeino da Manica: q ho Bei
nam tolhe nem se Ihe da que se fossa Christao quem quiser por
Onde quanto mais obriros Andarem nesta Vinha mais Cultiuasa
fara nella.
De Senna a Tete sam sesenta legoas Caminhando pello Rio
Zembeze asima Tudo por Terras sugeitas a sua Mag de Tete he
hua pouoassao de Portugueses sitta nas Terras do Eeino do
Mocranga Ao longo do dito Bio Zambeze : q tera ate Vinte
Cazados Branquos e Com hos pretos mestissos sera athe trinta
Espingardas afora hos Cafres Catiuos q temos Casados que sam
m* 08 e todos mui boa gente de Armas : Esta pouoasao Esta sercada
toda ha Boda com hum Muro de hua brassa e hu quarto de
Altura Aonde Estarn seis Balluartes com Algiis falcois E meois
falcois q nenhum pessa de Oito lybres mas ho prinsipal funda-
mento q Aqui se fas he nas Epingardas q cada hum Tern mui
prestes, porq Como de ordinario assi hos Moradores desta pouoasa
Como Todos os Portugueses q Andam por Estes Bios andam
pellas Terras dos Cafres fazendo seus tratos, e nellas susede
muitas Vezes auera leuantam 108 na tern Cada hu Milhor acolheita
q A sua Espingarda com que se fasem fortes em algum lugar ;
onde Ouue ja de defenderense muito poucos portuguezes de
grandes Exersitos de Cafres Athe poderem ser socorridos. Tern
esta pouoassa de Thete Capitam q ho de Mosambique ellege : o
qual nam tern nenhiis Ordenados da fazenda de sua Mag de Mais q
Algumas liberdades q Ihe da o Capitam de Mosambique : como
tambem da Ao Capitam de sena, e ao de Sofalla, Em quanto Tras
hos Bios Arrendados, como Atras dizemos, serue juntamente o
Capitam de Tete de juis : ho distrito de sua jurisdissam he desde
ho Bio de Aroenha de q atras fallamos, Onde se acaba o juris-
dessam do Sena, athe o fim das Nossas Terras q he des legoas
adiante de Tete pello Bio Asima : Auera nella oito mil Cafres
Vassallos de sua Mag de que sam obrigados a acodir aonde e
quando o Capitam os chamar Todos gente de Armas frechas e
Azagaias. E a Capitania desta pouoassa de Tete he Tarn Cobis-
ada dos Cazados della q sam os de q Ordinariamente se ellege :
que fazem por ella seus Emprastimos ao Capita De Mossambique.
Estas Terras de Thete Tambem esta Bepartidas como as de Sena.
Por portuguezes huas por datados Capitals de Mosambique : E
390 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
outras por Merce De sua Mag de Mas todas de muito pouco Rendi-
ng segundo sua grandeza, os fortes que Temos pellas terras dentro
o primeiro he ho de Maiouao Nas terras de Botonga Des legoas
de Terra a borda do Eio do mesmo nome aonde se acabam as
Nossas Terras e dizem os praticos dellas q se este forte, ou
chuambo se puzer em Inhamigare meio dia de Caminho da outra
banda do Maiouao ; se na fechara por mais gerra q Aia o Caminho
deste forte pera ho de Luanze q he outro forte q temos mais
adiante quarenta legoas de Tete, porem Antes Rezam dos fortes
q temos pellas terras do Manamotapa sera justo q A demos da
firma da pas e da gerra q temos Com Elle e algua couza de seu
Reino.
O imperio de Manamotapa se chama A Mocranga, afora os
Rios q Ihe Eram e sam sogeitos ; he mui Estendido porq comessa
pella banda de leste oitenta legoas da Costa e Vai correndo em
coprimento desde o Rio Zembeze pera ho sul athe o Reino de
Butua, e pera a banda de oeste nam temos ainda alcansado Cuejos
sam hos Reinos Com quern Confina, sendo pera Esta banda mui
estendido E Com Terras de grandes minas e dizem algus q esta
aqui as de prata. Os Reinos q sera sogeitos A Este imperio sam
ho Quiteve q confina Com Sofalla de q ja tratamos, ho de Manica :
o do Baro ; E o de botonga q he todo de fumos q sam senhores,
Reino de Maungo : ho de Bire, E o de Boaca. A firma da Pas
q tinhamos co ho Emperador de Manamotapa Era q por hua
Curua q he ho mesmo que presente : a que tambem por outro
Nome chama Boca q Ihe daua Todos os annos o Capitam de
Mosambique q sempre importaria quinze Ou desaseis Mil
cruzados Tinha ho Dito Emperador franquas Todas suas Terras
pera tratarem nellas os Portugueses, e Venderem e Comprarem
todo 'ho ouro e Marfim q nellas Ouuesse : E costumaram hos
Capitals de Mosambique A mandar Ihe logo em chegando ho
primeiro presente a que chama Boca : co ho q ho Emperador
mandaua seus Embaixadores ao Capitam e Ihe mandaua a Curua
fazendo m* 08 gastos com elles, sendo Todos Estes presentes de
Muitas pessas Ricas sedas e panos de toda sorte q importaua a
dita cotia : Na Era de mil seis centos Vente E sete jndo Dom
Nuno Alures pireira per Capita de Mosambique Ihe mandou Esta
Curua por jeronimo de Barros portugues Cazado Em Tete fazendo
o off de Embaixador : porem ho Emperador chamado inharnbo
Prim ro q em lingoa da Terra quer diser uinguem preguiite quern
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 391
mandou fazer isto : E depois Ihe puzera hos Cafres outro Nome
chamado Caprasine que quer diser Eei q foge sem Cauza alguma
mais q de sua Maldade ; Mandou matar ao dito jeronimo de
Barros E a todos hos q hia com elle E dar Empata q he Como
pregam q matassem Todos os Portugueses q andassem por suas
Terras e Ihe Tomassem quanto Tinha. Estaua neste Tempo na
Corte deste Emperador hum Andre ferreira Capitam de hum forte
chamado Massapa E tambem se nomeaua Capitam Das portas
porq tenha obrigassam de ir tratar a ho Emperador Todas as
Couzas q Ouuesse entre elle e os Portugueses : o qual sabindo a
Morte do Embayxador se fechou co hos seus negros nas Cazas
onde pouzaua ; E Mandando o Chamar ho Emperador nam quis
jr e se defendeo ate noyte : na qual quasi por Millagre sobreueio
huma tromenta de Chuua mui grande Com que se pode sair
sem ser sentido e se pos a Caminho Com Toda a pressa amanhe-
sendo No seu forte donde mandou Recado a todos os Portugueses
q Andaua deuedidos pella Mocronga q se Recolhessem Aos fortes
das feiras q Nella Tinhamos e se forteficassem E aparelhassem
pera se defender como Em effeito fizera, e depois nem com ho
Emperador Vir sobre Massapa Aonde Andre ferreira Estaua com
sete portuguezes ho pode auer, nem a nenhum Dos Outros
fortes athe Ihe foi socorro de gente Nossa e Ihe dera muitas
batalhas com q ho desbaratarao E Venseram em todos : Leuan-
tando os Nossos por Emperador de Manamotapa A hum irma
do dito Caprasine Christao q hos frades de sam domingos
Conuertera E bautizara Chamando Ihe dom phellippe Mauura q
diante se chamaua assi como ainda nomea Algus dos seus : o qual
se sogeitou e fes Vassallo de sua Mag de com todo seu imperio
prometendo de Ihe pagar todos os annos de Vassallagem Tres
pastas de Botonga, pellos quais Ihe mandaria o Capitam de
Mossambique hum presente : O Emperador despoiado nam deixou
de fazer seus mouimentos de gerra Em q tiuemos a Elle varies
susessos hus de perda E outros de ganho : porem ho jrrna Esta
quasi obedessido : E este grande imperio com todos os Reinos q
lie sam sogeitos Acquerido Com justissimo Titollo ha Coroa de
sua Mag de No gouerno e Tempo do Conde de Linhares Vizorrei :
E assi conforme A importansia de Tarn Largas terras e Cheas de
tantas Minas de Ouro E outros metais he nessessario Extinguir
dellas este enemigo Caprasine ; q inda q todos dizem q he ja
morto : com tudo o seu Exersito nam deixa de Audar Em pee co
392 Becords of South-Eastern Africa.
elle ou com hum seu irma Chamado Dom Domingos q hos frades
desta Ordem Bautizara o qual em huma Rota q tiuemos se passou
pera seu irma Caprasine Porem sam estes Cafres Mocrangas tarn
amigos de seus Ritos na de RelligiS, que nenhuma Tern, se nam
do gouerno seuil q sobre isso perderam Muitas Vidas quando os
nam puderem defender: sendojuntam te hos mais obedientes a seus
Reis e senhores q se sabe de Nassam Outra alguma de Maneira q
ho segredo q Ihe manda guardar : ainda q seia Couza muy
publica nenhum ha q ho diga : Como bem se ve nas minas de prata
q Auendo as neste imperio Nam Ouue Cafre q athe guora nos
descobrisse aonde Estam, andando nos Tarn metidos Com elles :
E finalmente de Toda esta Costa da Cafraria athe Cabo de Boa
Esperansa he este Emperador de Manamotapa o senhor : E tarn
Reuerensiado de todos os Cafres q Cuidam q Elle Ihes da o sol :
Costuma Este Emperador a por hum Capitam geral q he a segunda
pessoa abaixo delle a que chama Macomoana nas terras de Botonga
Em hu lugar chamado Condessaca Onde he mui nessesario Termos
hum forte : porq Como os negros das ditas Terras, Como atras
Referimos, Estam Mui Ressentidos dos Castigos q Ihe Temos
dado com q Andaram ja publicamente Aiudando ao Caprasine
Em suas gerras seruira ho dito forte De termos sempre por nos a
o dito Macomoana porq abaixo da pessoa do Emperador a este
Obedessem Todos, e seguem seus mandados o qual he ordinaria-
mente Botonga de Nassao : o forte de Luanze em q atras tocamos
Onde os portugueses fasem feira Esta Nas terras de Mocranga
quarenta legoas de Tete, na he mais q huma Tranq De paos
Entulhada por dentro Com Terra com q ficam os de dentro
podendo brigar Cubertos ; E os paos sam de Callidade q depois
de metidos na Terra a dous E tres meses prendem e ficam sendo
Aruore do q dura muitos annos : O tamanho deste forte per dentro
e como De hum grande Terresa de Cem brassas de Roda Onde
asiste o Capitam q he elleito pello de Mosambique ; e com elle
os portuguezes e Christaos q se acham co tratando naquellas
partes, nam Tern nenhum Ordenado o Capitam do forte, nem
percalso mais que poder vender sua fazenda primeiro ; E Como
he mercador seiupre Ihe importa m to : As arinas com q se defendem
sam Espingardas dos mesmos Christaos mercadores, ho mesmo
Capita De Mosambique Ihe da poluora e pillouros pera ellas : Tern
este forte hua igreia em q Asiste hum frade de sam domingos q
serue de admenistrar os sacramentos Aos Christaos que passa E
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 393
esta uelle : e de Conuerter os Cafres que quiserem porq nam ha
empedimento Algum para Ihe pregarem, e pouquo da sua parte
para Ouuirem e Reseberem ho q Ihe pregam : porem he sempre
Com m** Repunansia ao Respeito de nam auer De ter mais q hua
so molher : porq sam Costumados a terem Muitas e leuam Mui
mal os Rigores com q defendemos isto. Esta logo pella Mocranga
adiante o forte de Ambarare aonde se fas feira : E Nesta parte
Caua E ha minas de Ouro : O qual forte E na forma do de
Luanze : e se defende co ho mesmo ; e se fes e sustenta pera ho
proprio effeito, Tern Alem destes Referidos outra forte Nas terras
da Mocranga chamado o forte de Massapa ; Onde Rezedia como
atras fica dito, o Capitam das portas Oje esta feito de Taipa Com
suas seteiras na forma q Cada qual dos outros : E se conserua e
sustenta com hos Portugueses e mercadores q Andam pellas Terras
fazendo seus Tratos. Tern mais os portuguezes nesta Mocranga
outro forte chamado Matafana, Onde tambem ha minas de Ouro
ho qual he feito como os mais Com paos : e Tern dentro huma
igreia a q admenistra hos frades de sam Domingos. Tern Alem
destes nestas Terras Outro forte, e feira chamado Chipiriuiri Onde
tambe se Caua ouro, he feito Na forma dos mais : nam Esta nelle
mais q hum portugues, ou dous com Algus filhos da Terra, Cuio
Capitam como o de todos os Outros Ellege o de Mosambique
sem por esso Ihe dar algum Ordenado nem percalso mais q os
Referidos e na so se defendem Assi : mas tambem se aiudam e
socorrem hus aos Outros Em Todas suas Nessessidades e gerras :
O Ultimo e mais importante forte q tinhamos Nesta Mocranga
Era hum q Mandou faser Dom Nuno Aluares pireira Na Mesma
Corte do Emperador Dom phellippe Mavura quando logo co
leuantara por Emperador pondo Ihe trinta soldados portuguezes
Todos Muito bons Espingardeiros com seu Capitam q como
depois ho largara largando tambem ho Emperador sua Corte
pondo primeiro o fogo a todas as Couzas della : porque assi foi
nessessario; nao ha Oje paragem serta aonde Esteia se nam
Andarem os trinta soldados acompanhando o Emperador em Todas
suas gerras aonde as temos e sustentamos Nestas terras com poder
tarn aventeiado aos poucos Fortuguezes q nellas ha : hoje inui
diferente do q Antigamente porq hos gerreamos a hos mesmos
Cafres com q elles nos gerreaua : E he muito pera notar q estes
nossos Catiuos Ou vassallos q brigam por nos Nunqua athe oje se
achou nelles traisam senam brigarem Contra os Cafres Como elles
394 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
com todo Esforso e fidellidade : Nem he menos pera estimar q
Todo ho trato E Mercansia que fazem os portuguezes por aquellas
Terras Tarn estendidas, seiam por maos de Cafres, ou Catiuos Ou
conhessidos Entregando Ihe grande Cantidade De Eoupas q he
ho q Mais se Estima e Val entre elles, As quais leuam Muitas
legoas pella Terra dentro, E as trocam por ouro, ou Marfim, E
tornam*A traser pontualinente Betorno com tanta Verdade e
fidellidade, q Em Considerassam de Vir hum Cafre q Nam Tern
nada de seu Cubertas so as partes Vergonhozas Cem legoas, e
Mais de Terra onde elle he Natural, e sabe athe os mais Escon-
didos Cantos dos Matos de sorte que querendo ir se se nam pode
saber pera onde : deue com Rezem fazer Vergonha has mais
Estimadas Nasois do Mundo Nos Asaltos, Eoubos e Crueldades
que hus aos Outros pera Este effeito se fazem : E se alguma ora
Estes Cafres afastam Alguma Couza do q se Ihes entrega he
Morrendo seu amo No Mato disendo q se outrem se ha de Vir
lograr delle ho quer elle faser ho pranto que fas por sua Morte he
se acham Algum gado Matallo e Comello.
As Minas de prata q ho pai deste Emperador chamado guase-
luzere prometeo a sua Mag de posto q Mostrou as pedras de prata
Enterradas Na chicoua Terras da Mocranga com tudo bem se
tern examinado na ser a Terra disposta pera minas De prata ;
Mas tambem pellas pedras se Vee q has ha neste imperio de
Manamotapa: e como Estiuer de todo quieto se podem buscar
e descobrir. Sam estas Terras de Manamotapa de Ares mui
sallutiferos, E assi os Portugueses, E mais Cristaos q Andam por
ellas nam padessem as Enfermidades co que outras partes destes
Kios de Cuama os trasem Ordinariam te Mui Enfermos Exsepto
ho Beino de Manica q Como Tambem fica dito he de Exsellente
Clima, E sam os Mocrangas os Cafres de mais opinia q Outros
Nenhus. Moram por Este imperio de Manamotapa muitos
mouros Arabics dos q Viuem por esta Costa q nam deixam Em
Toda parte de Nos ser Contraries : E assi pondo nos por codessa
ao Mauura quando o Ellegemos por Emperador que os Auia de
lansar fora E querendo o faser fiserao hos Mouros co hos Naturais
que fossem buscar ho Caprasine q ja Estaua Acolhido E Escondido
sem Esperansa De ser Kei ho fiseram Mouer nos gerra Em que
oje Andamos co Elle. Porem a Causa prinsipal de Estes Cafres
nam faserem Em suas gerras ho Muito que puderam comforme a
Multidam E Esforso com q Acometem: A primeira he iia
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 395
Escallarem ; nem Leuantarem Trincheiros : porq Em Vendo que
os matam sem Verem quern logo largam o acorn etimento, e a
segunda nam ser gente q sofra nesesidades de Cousa nenhuma :
porq Ematendo Vam buscar ho Kemedio della seia por onde ser :
E largem ho que largarem : E a Treseira q Nam presseueram Em
serco nem Em gerra que logo nam Vensam. Antes sem Auer
quern os tenha se Espalham, E Vam buscar sua Vida, E ainda
Vensendo hua Batalha por aos faserem dar Outra ha mister muito :
porq disem q ja nzera a gerra pera q Vinhao, e se neste comenos
Vim ho Tempo de suas sementeiras, onde as colhere A Nada Tern
Kespeito mais q A irem Tratar dellas.
Descripsam dos Animals q ha por estes Bios de Cuama.
Entrando pello Bio Zembeze Em quillimane athe a boca do
Bio aonde se deuide o Outro brasso pera Luabo que sam
distansia de Trinta legoas como fica dito : ha largura de huma
e outra parte ao longo do Bio couza de duas legoas decado cheio
de Muitos Alagoas de Agoa dosse que ficam cheas da Agoa do
Monte q sae da Mai do Bio nas inuernados por sima de Cuios
Campos anda Embarcasais quando Tudo Esta Alagado e depois
de a agoa se Becolher ao Bio ficando os Campos descubertos se
vem cheos de Tantos animais Terrestes q ha Bancho em que
anda sinquo e seis mil juntos Entre os quais se Vem ellefantes de
Extraordinaria grandesa ha Abados A q chama Vnicormos do
Tumanho de Ellefantes piquenos q nas Vnhas Tambem Ihe sam
semelhantes : Tern o seu Corno Mil virtudes e juntam te ho sangue ;
Tern duas pontas: a grande q tras Caido sobre a testa e so a
leuanta quando se apaixona e quer brigar q he a q se tras pera
Estas partes e Ihe chamao Vnicornio : E a ponta De baixo a q
Chama nharga : he hum Callo de Muito maiores Virtudes.
Ha Muitos Bufaros q Na arreigada do Corno Tern dous palmos
de largura e fecha hum Com ho outro na misma Arreigada a
Modo de Molhelha co que fica tarn fortes que A toda a Cousa onde
puserem a Cabessa leuaram posto que seia huma parede mui forte :
E sam estes animais hos mais Temidos q ha dos Cassadores ainda
sobre os tigres, e leois de q tambem ha muita copia Nestes
Campos e pellas Matos dentro: porq nenhum segue, nem
presegue a hum hoinen na forma q ho fas hum Bufaro destes
sendo Muito mais fortes e maiores q nenhum dos touros de
396 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Europa. Ha Porquos que Tern dous Cornos da mesma Came na
Cabessa a Modo de Mamillos, os olhos muito Piquenos, e Tern duas
Barbatanos da mesma Carne por baixo Dos queixos que botam de si
grandes Cabellos com q ficam Mais feios sam por Estremo feroses
e grandes : E ha Algus que tern Tambem denies Tamanhos q
Pesam Ambos quatro e sinquo Arrateis : Estes se chegam a
qualquer Aruore Cauando Ihe co ho fosinho a Terra Ihe Vain
Cortando As Raises co hos denies athe a cheguarem a derrubar
por Ihe comere o fruito. Ha Nhumbos q Arremedam a bois de Cor
parda derreados das Cadeiras, E Altos das maos Vnhas fendidas
e pontas como boi mas leuantadas pera sima : porem Tern Cabo
como Caualo e Comma, Tern huma Bofettada sobre ho naris com
huma lista branqua q Ihe singe Em Roda a Modo de Cabrestilho,
andam Em bandos, sam grandes Corredores, Remetem com
muita furia Mas Nunqua chegam. A Carne delles he a milhor q
ha No Mato. Ha Pacallas q sam hus animais a modo de Bois de
huas pontas mui Altas de quasi Tres quartos de Brassa, Estas tern
huma Corcoua sobre as maos mui grande : sa Vermilhos os peis
altos e Compridos : Vnhas fendidas : olhos E Beisos como
de boi.
Ha chefos que tambem sam quasi como as mesmas pacallas
porem mais sinsentos algua Cousa com a mesma Vnha fendida
singe os por Cada banda do lombo para a barriga q tro listras
branquas apartadas humas das outras Em igual Compasso. Estes
tern as pontas direitas asima e dos mesmos tres quartos de
Brassa com pouca Volta E no Redor destas pontas Vai Em
Caracol como Era q singe Algua Aruore hum debrum ate pota.
Ha Angamos q sam Como Merus mas maiores co que ficam do
Tamanho de hu Cauallo pardos : E Tambem Tern as pontas feitas
Em Caracol co debru ate pota. Ha outros animais Vermelhos a
q hos Cafres chamao Ballas q sam Como Nouillos de hum Anno
Tern sobre as Cadeiras hua Malha mais Clara As pontas fecham
sobre a Cabesa huma com a outra Com grande igualdade. Ha
Merus em grande copia q Tambem Tern huma listra branqua
sobre a Arreigada do Rabo q Ihe singe a Anca A modo de lua de
largura de quatro ou sinquo dedos Estes sam mui grandes, Tern
as pontas todas feitas Em nos sem botarem de si Esgalho nenhum.
Os Veados sam Tantos q andam Em bandas como de Carneiros
sam Vermelhos, e com as pontas na forma hos Merus sem
botarem de si Esgalho nenhum. Ha gamos que sam Mais pardos
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 397
e tern as mesmas pontas, E outros mais piquenos q chama emparas
sa picados de branco q se paressem com corsas : E outros mais
piquenos q chama guasellas: E Algumas Cabras porem Mui
piquenas : os quais animais se cassam Todos com muita fassellidade,
e se comem suas Games Tirado a dos tigres. E he muito para
notar que quando as Vezes se seria co gente muitos Animais,
nenhu delles foge nem grita, Em quanto Tern algum learn
comsigo : Ao qual logo os Casadores dam modo para se ir, q
como ho fas Tambem Cada hum dos outros animais Procura fogir
Com gritos E Allaridos muito grandes.
Sam Mui sellebrados os Cauallos Marinhos q ha neste Eio
Zembeze porq sam em grande cantidade, Os quais Vam pastar
Muito pella Terra dentro a Estes Campos. E se ha nam Acham
Alagoas em que se Recolham se Vem Kecolher Ao Rio : E Tern
Tal Calidade Comsigo que se nam Afasta de nenhum Animal por
m 43 feros que seia e quando se Recolhem ao Rio a qualquer
paragem aonde chegam ainda que seia Ribanseira Tarn alta
Como hua torre como as Veses he se lansa dello abaixo sem ir
buscar Outro Caminho : Sam do Comprim to de hum Cauallo : e
mais alguma Couza e Tarn grossos q hos na abareiara Tres homes
E no feitio como hum odre : os peis Mui grossos q Abrim co tres
Vnhas Redondas e grossas a Modo de pato E huma grosa E
Curta para detras : A barriga Ihe chega ao Cha : E no Kancho
aonde andam duz tos Animais destes na ha de auer mais q hum
Macho porq se matam Como suines : ha femea q ha de parir o
Vai fazer escondida so per Ihe na matere o macho, quando o
Pare : E depois de ser grande o tras ha manada Tern a boca dis-
forme de grande Estam metidos na agoa Com a cabessa de ibra,
E as orelhas em q paressem Cauallos mais q Em outra Couza,
Tern huma Estrilla na Testa, E embollirem sempre co as sobra-
selhos e Kinchare se paressem quasi co hos Cauallos as orelhas
sam piquenas.
Tern estes Eios de Cuama hum peixe q chama Tremedor q tern
Tal proprieda de q ho pescador q esta pescando Em Ihe este peixe
dando no Anzol larga a Cana Da ma pella na poder Ter porq
emprouiso perde a forsa de Todos os membros do Corpo E Ihe
estralla como cousa q quebra, ou arrebenta E estando em terra
nam ha quern Ihe possa pegar Em quanto Estiuer Viuo, nem
aleuantallo pella Virtude q tern : a pelle he muito grossa serue
para faserem Colleiros e Tern grandes Virtudes pera muitos
398 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
malles: Ha nestes Bios huns patos a que chama Romanes q
estam postos pellas Areas os quais anda Em bandos de mais de
tres e de quatro mil juntos sam do Tamanho de Carneiros grandes,
Tern Duas brassas e mea de ponta a ponta das Azas, os pels de
pato Curtos E o biquo de Comprimento de dous para tres palmos
Mui largo ; nam Tern lingoa E nos dous queinos do bico de baixo
tern huma pelle q Ihe serue de Bede pera pescar q Ihe Cabe nella
hum Almude de agoa. Estes passaros quern os Toma, Ou Matta
Em hos de pescando da primeira pesca acha huma penugem
pegada na pelle Tarn basta, Alua, E Massia q nenhum Arminho
he mais brando ao Tacto. Ha Outros patos a q chama gregos q
sam Como os Nossos de Europa : Mas pretos E Muito maiores os
peis de patos Vermelhos mas mais Altos o biquo de pato Tambem
Vermelho, a Game he muito boa Estes Criam na ponta da Aza
hum Espora q he quasi como hum dedo meminho co que brigam
co toda a Couza q Arremete com elles ha outros patos mais
somenos a q Chama patos branquos As Azas da Cor de perdis : E
as Sobranselhas Eoxas, ha lauancos : muitas Marrecas que sam
mais piquenas q Adais ; E outras pardas mais piquenas ha
outros maiores q hum Capam e Tern Crista, Com peis e biquo
como pato : Tarn gordos q se os peis os nam deferenseara na se
soabera qual Era a barriga ou as Costas he a milhor carne de todas
aquellas Aues : ha outros passaros q tern os peis co predissimos E
Esta sempre ao longo dos Bios : sam branquos E Vermelhos E o
biquo amarello e grade poen se na borda da Agoa : E Abrindo
ho Bico ho mete dentro nella a Modo de Laso e co ho pee q Tern
Em Terra bate as Eruas E Em Ihe passando o peixe por de baixo
do Bico ho Espetam E Assi se sustentam : ha Outros Aues m 10
grandes A q chama Capellinhos criam grandes plumas nos Babos
E Tern hum Capello no pescoso pera de tras E outra pera baixo
do garganta am bos Yermelhos e por dentro Vaos ha m to soma de
Adeis e de garsos Beais, E outras a q chama Batardos E outras
de m tos cores : m 108 picapeixes hus Azuis e Vermelhos, E Outros
branquos e pretos peis m to Curtos e bicos arresoados : ha muita
soma de ginchos, Aguias Beais, ha hus passaros a modo de garsos
com hu Tufo sobre o biquo que paresse velludo E orelhas pretas
q As singe a Boda Outro Velludo Tambem preto : E na Cabessa
huma Coroa, m 10 loura com fios Compridoes q Arremedam A
huma flor de Asafram E aindo mais fermoza Chama lie Coroanes.
Alem destes ha tantos outros nestes Campos e pellos mattos,
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 399
Assi da ferma dos q ha Em portugual como em outras partes que
fira infenitto Keferellos. O peixe q ha nestes Eios a q hos Cafres
Chama Mune Mune he em tanta copia q em Tempo de Chuua se
sae has alagoas e fica nellas de Verao ; sam Como Cabassos mui
grandes, Estes se aserta a ficarem alagoa q se seca se emborulha
na lama e faltando Ihe Ella se Beuolue de Man ra que se come
Cada hum Asi proprio da barriga Pera ho Eabo deixando so a
Espinha pera Viuer athe uir Agoa noua Com q tornam A Criar na
mesma Espinha Nouo peixe em menos de des ou doze dias. E
ha peixes destes de mais de mea brasa Nos quais fasem grande
Estrego as Aues de Bapina quando Ihe Vai faltando a agoa, ha
mais nos ditos Eios em Terra hus Eattos maiores q grandes
Coelhos a q Chama sangues, destes fasem hos Cafres grandes
Cassados pera Comerem por serem m 10 gordos e na se sustentarem
de mais q das Eaizes dos Eruassais grosos e dos mantim* 08 q hos
Mesmos Cafres semea. Ha huma Aruore nestes Eios de Cuama
chamada Made co que hos Cafres dam seus juram 108 ha qual
Esfolla a Casca e dam a beber ha pesoa que querem q jure : E se
tern Estamogo pera Vomitar aquillo Viue e se na morre por ser
Eefinada pessonha : Entam disem q ho q Morreo jurou mentira
e ho q viue o jurou Verdade : e tern esta aruore tal propriedade :
q nenhum pasaro se poem nella, ou pessoa por baixo q Nam
Morra : e se he animal de Mais sustansia e se deita debaixo della,
ou Esta Tempo a sua sombra Tambem Morre E ordinariamente
se Vem por Baixo della muitos osados : e pera Ihe tirare A Casca
Vam hos Cafres pella menha ao Nasser do sol pella banda do
mesmo Nagente pera Ihe ficar a sombra da outra parte e da
mesma man ha tarde ao por do sol por q acha q na sombra Tern
grande parte da pessonha.
Descripsam das ilhas de Angoxa.
As ilhas de Angoxa he huma Corda dellas q Comessa Trinta
legoas de Mosambique pera ho sul das quais huma so he Abitada
Esta sera de sinquo legoas de Comprido : A qual Esta metida na
terra e fica ilha por hum Eio que aserca Em Eoda em que fas
muitas ilhas ; E nam teni passo seco pera Terra firme, he Esta
ilha Abitada de Mouros com hum Eei tambem mouro sogeito a
sua Mag de E sendo Antiguamente dos feitores de Mossambique o
Capitam daquella fortallesa por Dizer que por aquella parte Ihe
400 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
Entraua Roupas nos Rios q trasia arrendados comprou a sua
Mag de : trato della por dous mil e quinhentos x 08 cada anno e
assi tern ho seu feitor que nam arrecada outra Cousa mais q Com-
prar E Vender com a gente Da Terra. Os Mouros sam Maos e
co hos Cafres q tern Catiuos Vem a faser mil E quinhentos pouquo
mais ou menos. Avia all antigamente Padre som te pera Dizer
Missa os Mouros o Matararn Na Era de seis c 108 Vinte e sete E de
Entam athe guera ho Nam Ouue mais. As ilhas de Angoxa q
Estam ao Mar sam sette desabitadas passe por Entre Ellas ha
Terra distansia de huma legoa, Em Oito athe Noue brassas : E
Antes da barra de Angoxa esta huma Coroa de area a quatro
legoas descuberta, E Tres legoas ao mar a q chama Sancto An to
sercada Toda de Arresife pella banda do Mar, bem pera temer :
E Mais adiante quatro legoas grandes Esta a ilha de Mafamede q
he a primeira ilha de Angoxa Desabitada.
Na mesma Corda, mas menor distansia da Terra mais Adiante
duas legoas Esta outra ilha q he a segunda chamase inhatirnbe
De fronte della Na terra firme Esta huma Barra pera hum pataxo
piqueno, Adiante desta ilha Esta huma Coroa de Area que
quasi se cobre de Agoas Viuas, e adiante Duas legoas Esta a ilha
de Macute. Auante desta duas legoas piquenas Esta a ilha da
Caldeira q Algus Chama da Aruore. Desta ilha q he a quarto de
Angoxa mais ao largo ao mar hum pouco cousa de sinquo legoas
por Costa Esta huma Coroa q chama de Moma. E dali a sete
legoas por Costa mais perto Da Terra Estam duas ilhas perto
huma da Outra Abaixo da Barra de Mocolongo, a primeira se
chama de Mocolongo, e a outra das Aruores porque As tem
muitas e grandes, desta ilha Cousa de huma legoa Esta huma
Coroa de Area que tambem de Agoas viuas quasi se Cobre, Desta
Coroa Couza De tres legoas avante boas, e Cousa de Outras tres
legoas mais afastada da Costa q nenhuma das apontadas Esta
ailha do fogo maior em Boda q nenhua Das Outras, e de Aruoredo
mais fechado e baixo. Avante desta ilha ao sudueste fica hum
baixo de Area como os atras e mais pera temer por quauto se
cobre de prea mar : quer co agoas viuas quer mortas : de dia
sempre se Ve bem Arrebentar ho mar sobre elle : e de noite ha
mister grande resguardo : Todas Estas Coroas e ilhas se ham de
Temer de noite pellos grandes arresifes q botarn pella banda do
mar : E como he nmi Alcantillado ho Tom he de pouco proueito
por quanto quando se acham em Vinte brasas e querem Toruar
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 401
a Lansar prumo Estam ja sobre hos baixos que Tudo he Rocha
Viua : Nenhuma destas ilhas Tein Agoa : mas no seu tempo
muitos, E as milhores jangomas q se sabe por Aquella Costa Com
serem Todas boas, Entre as ilhas e Coroas de Angoxa Athe
Moma ; ha Vista da primeira ilha de Mocolongo cousa de duas
legoas grandes ao Nordeste quem quiser Entrar pera dentro
Vindo do Mar Em fora Nam tern mais q guardarse do q Vir
Arrebentar: Tern fundo de dentro das ilhas de des athe seis
brassas, perto da Terra muito limpo e seguro Pera surgir : os q
Costuma ir pera os Rios de Cuama, de Mosambique Nauegam Com
Muita seguransa por Entre Ellas desde dentro de Quellimane
Athe perto de inhatimbe co ho prumo por muito Escuro q fassa
porq Tudo he limpo e na ha mais q nam passar de noue brassas
pera ho mar nem de seis pera Terra, Aqui fas mais mal ho medo
e a pouca experiensia q hos Portugueses q nauegam de portugal
Tern destas ilhas q ho perigo q na Verdade aia.
[Translation of the foregoing.]
EXTRACTS
FROM THE BOOK ENTITLED
OF THE STATE OF INDIA.
The second part of this look on the State of India, which contains
the plans of all the fortresses between the Cape of Good Hope
and Chaul, with a description of them all and of the whole
coast, the kingdoms upon which they border, and all oilier infor-
mation which can be procured. With the revenue and the
expenses of each shown in detail.
BY CAPTAIN PEDRO BAERETO DE REZENDE.
THIS State of Eastern India commences at the Cape of Good
Hope, which lies in south latitude 34, and ends at the point of
the bay of Nankin at the farthest extremity of China, in latitude
34 N. It comprises all the known coast of Asia, and measures
according to the most reliable charts three thousand nine hundred
and sixteen leagues of shore, not including the bays or straits of
the Red sea and Ormus, nor the rivers which flow into the sea
n. 2 D
402 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
along it. In the whole expanse of coast from the Cape of Good
Hope to the point of Nankin the sea forms indents in the land in
three places, in the shape of bows, which are called gulfs. The
first of these commences at the Cape of Good Hope and ends at
Cape Comorin below Cochin. This gulf includes all the coast of
Ethiopia, Arabia, and Persia to India, as the coast of Ethiopia
commences at the Cape of Good Hope and terminates at the
straits of the Eed sea at Suez, where the coast of Arabia circles
round and runs to the straits of Ormus at Bassorah. Here com-
mences the coast of Persia, which ends at the river Indus, a stream
that flows through Scinde and falls into the sea in the gulf of
Cambaya. At the mouth of this river the coast of India
commences, and it terminates at Cape Comorin. The second
gulf commences at Cape Comorin and ends at the river Fermoso
at the farther extremity of Malacca. On this great gulf are the
provinces of Choromandel, called St. Thomas, and of Bengal, the
kingdom of Tanasary, that of Pegu and others, and that of
Malacca. The third gulf begins at the river Formoso, and ends
at the point of Nankin in China, and has on the coast the
kingdoms of Siam, Pam, Bugor, Cochin China, Champa, and
Cambay, and that of China, also in islands the kingdoms of Java
the Greater, Java the Less, the Maluccas, Macassar, and many
others. The first bay from the Cape of Good Hope to Cape
Comorin comprises two thousand and seventy-five leagues of coast,
the second from Cape Comorin to the river Fermoso comprises
nine hundred and forty-one leagues, the third from the river
Fermoso to the point of Nankin comprises nine hundred leagues
of coast, which in all make the three thousand nine hundred and
sixteen leagues aforesaid. And measuring the coast of the straits
of Mecca and Ormus, the length of the whole seaboard of Eastern
India extends to five thousand one hundred and thirty-six leagues,
for the Red sea along the coasts both of Ethiopia and Arabia,
according to the most reliable charts, measures seven hundred
and twenty-six leagues, and the straits of Ormus or Persian Gulf,
along the coasts of Arabia and Persia, measures five hundred
leagues. On the whole of these coasts of India from the Cape of
Good Hope to the point of Nankin his Majesty has forty-eigb|
fortresses and cities, of which he is lord, and the great kingdom
of Monomotapa and many other lands and islands, of which plans
are annexed to this book, drawn exactly from nature, with H
Becords of South-Eastern Africa. 403
description of what pertains to all and each of them, and with a
detailed account of the receipts and expenses of each of the said
fortresses, clearly showing the condition of the whole of the
State.
Some drawings of islands and fortresses which do not belong
to this kingdom are included, but being on the said coasts of
India I thought proper to furnish them simply for curiosity,
though as they do not belong to the State I have given no
description of them, for time did not allow me to procure it while
I was in those parts, as I was occupied in other matters of his
Majesty's service.
Description of the Fortress of Sofala.
The first fortress which his Majesty possesses in Eastern India,
commencing from the Cape of Good Hope, is Sofala, situated
nearly in latitude 21 S., upon a river of salt water, at a distance
of hardly half a league from its mouth. To reach it one must
pass over the celebrated shoal of Sofala, which extends to sea
twenty leagues in width and in length along the coast a hundred
leagues, from the islands of Angoxa to Cape Bina ; nevertheless
near the river of Sofala it has two channels, as may be seen from
the plan, with as many fathoms of water as are therein set down.
The river is without shoals, after passing the bar at the entrance,
though the Portuguese pilots when they go there take with them
Malemos, who are the pilots of this country, and large ships
cannot enter the river, as they require more water than the depth
stated. The coast at this fortress of Sofala, from the islands of
Angoxa to that of Fogo, runs south-west and in places inclines to
the quarter of west. The winds from April to October are west
and south-west, and from October to April easterly, which there
become north-east. There are other winds besides these, espe-
cially at the changes of the monsoons, which are at the end of
March and October, but they are neither strong nor general
winds. The currents on this coast flow strongly to the south for
the greater part of the year, but sometimes to the north with
equal strength, especially during the east winds, and thus they
generally flow against the wind, which is a point to be noted.
The fortress of Sofala is a small thing in itself, built in the
form of a square, as may be seen from the plan, with a bastion
2 D 2
404 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
in each corner. It is built entirely of stone and lime. The wall
on every side is ten fathoms long, five high, and five palms in
thickness. It has no parapets, the soldiers' quarters formerly
serving the purpose, being joined to the wall on the inside ; but
at present there are none, neither are there any soldiers or garrison
except the captain ; in a few lofts of small buildings near the
walls provisions and ammunition might be stored, but there are
none of the former and very little of the latter, for the artillery
consists of only eight falcons large and small and a metal came-
lete, which are distributed among the bastions.
The married whites, who live in a village near the fortress, are
only three in number, and two unmarried, who have some Kaffir
slaves that could serve as soldiers in the fortress on occasion.
The fortress and village, as may be seen from the plan, are on
a small island about four hundred fathoms in circumference,
surrounded at high tide by an arm of the river; but the
water is never deep, and at low tide it is dry, only the ooze
remaining.
The expense of this fortress to his Majesty's revenue is at
present nothing, for though the captain formerly received from
the factory of Mozambique a salary of four hundred and ten
cruzados, the count de Linhares, viceroy of India, knowing that
the said salary was being paid when the trade of the rivers was
leased by contract, ordered the captain of Mozambique, who held
the lease, to pay the salary, and he placed in the fortress a captain
of his Majesty's and sold him the rights and profits thereof for
four hundred cruzados, giving him however certain merchandise
and craft to take it there.
There are no Christians in the territory of Sofa! a, or at least
they are very few, for most of the Kaffirs are a barbarous people,
of a cruel disposition, and but little inclined to divine worship.
And if those who are our captives become Christians for that
reason, their Christianity only lasts as long as their captivity.
But as they show no great repugnance to our holy Catholic faith,
and the king of the country does not hinder those who choose
from being baptized, if there were disinterested labourers in this
vineyard it would not fail to increase greatly. The friars of
St. Dominic are those who labour on this coast, and one is vicar
oLthe church within the fortress of Sofala, who does not cease to
exert himself for the conversion of the natives, and succeeds in
PHOTOGRAPH OF PLAN OF SOFALA
Records of South-Eastern Africa. 405
reclaiming some, though few. This territory being extensive, it
is proper there should be many preachers.
The market of the country is seventy leagues from the fortress,
the only merchandise being ivory, which is usually bartered for
black and white cloths, thin calicos, and other woven goods, as
is usual on all the Kaffir coast, where everything is bought for
cloth, including provisions, which in time of peace are always
abundant and cheap, and consist of rice, maize, and all sorts of
meat.
The king of the coast of Sofala is called the Quiteve. He is a
Kaffir, who is neither Moor nor Christian, and though supposed
to be a heathen it is impossible to say what religion he professes,
for none is known of. He was subject to the emperor of Mono-
motapa, but being under our protection he has almost come to
refuse him any obedience. At present he is friendly to the
Portuguese, and when he is not making war in the territory of
the Enquitas, we can traverse his country in security, for he is
rarely disposed to be hostile. His force consists of from ten to
twelve thousand Kaffirs, who are not so renowned for valour as
some others in those parts. The arms they use are bows and
arrows, and assagais, and they have a great fear of guns. This
king has no communication with any nation but the Portuguese,
nor is it known up to the present that any other Europeans have
entered his country.
There is a large trade in ambergris on this coast : it can be
obtained from the Kaffirs at a low price, but not in the interior.
The purpose for which this fortress was built and maintained
is the preservation of the commerce of this coast and the rivers of
Cuama, which consists in gold, ivory, and ambergris, with hopes
of silver-mines. The importance of these articles, the extensive
territory over which the Portuguese have dominion on these
coasts, and the trade which they carry on as far as the Cape of
Good Hope, demand that care should be taken to prevent the
entrance of foreign nations by providing properly for this fortress.
For the lands towards the Cape are so extensive and rich in gold
and ivory that the trade is coveted by all the Portuguese in
India and Portugal, as well as by other nations; but as the
captain of Mozambique holds a monopoly of the commerce in
virtue of the tribute he pays to his Majesty, he carries it on
alone, with only one small vessel, others thus losing the profit
406 Records of South-Eastern Africa.
which they might also derive therefrom. And it is necessary to
consider well this monopoly and whether the rivers cannot
maintain many merchants, cloth being worth very little.
The Elvers of Cuama.
The port of Quilimane is the first entrance to the rivers of
Cuama, the bar of which is at a distance of a hundred leagues
from Mozambique down the coast. It is an arm of the river
Zambesi, and is the smaller of the two by which that stream dis-
charges. The larger arm, which is the main body of the said
river, discharges eighteen leagues below this bar to the south-
ward, and is called the bar of Luabo from the island of that name
that lies between them.
The rivers of Cuama may be entered by both arms, to reach
which Mozambique is left during the two monsoons, the one in
October and the other in March. The entrance to the arm of
Quilimane is through a bank which travers
